Facebook – Media & Communications Policy

September 18, 2025October 22, 2025 By Adonis Hoffman, Esq.

The Future of Conservative Media

The slaying of conservative activist and media personality Charlie Kirk as he spoke at a campus rally in Utah was a tragedy on many levels: the wrenching of a devoted family man from his wife and young children; the fatal silencing of a speaker in a nation where freedom of speech is a constitutional guarantee; and a manifestation of the increasingly brutal partisanship gripping this country.

This senseless killing also has drawn newfound attention to the environment in which Charlie Kirk thrived – the catalyst that propelled him to the forefront of a movement, making him a hero to millions and a public figure to all: conservative media.

March 13, 2025March 13, 2025 By Guest Author Curtis LeGeyt

Local Broadcasters Need Level Playing Field To Compete, Innovate, Serve the Public

America’s broadcasters are beacons of our democracy. Every day, they exercise their First Amendment right to report, inform, and help citizens understand the issues that affect their daily lives.

And let’s face it: This is a challenging time to be a broadcast journalist. As the truth competes with falsehoods on social media and political polarization gets the headlines, exercising our First Amendment right to inform the public and provide the facts has never been more challenging – or essential.

April 25, 2023April 18, 2023 By Stuart N. Brotman

How Silicon Valley’s Leap Ahead Was Preceded by Visible Government Footsteps

The recent passing of Intel co-founder Gordon E. Moore at age 94 has brought back well-deserved stories about how this tech legend played a leading role in developing silicon microprocessors, which served as the foundation for the exponential growth of our modern computer age. But this Big Bang in Silicon Valley was preceded by a series of events that created the environment that allowed Moore and his brilliant colleagues – notably Intel co-founder Robert Noyce – to achieve the technological breakthroughs that have changed the world.

Silicon Valley is a noted center of technological advancement and entrepreneurship, achieving innovations that have left lasting and unmatched imprints on society, here and abroad. Its centrality to such developments as the personal computer, social networks, and cloud computing has made the region so successful, with continual fueling by venture capital. Few are aware, however, that the staggering growth of the area had its roots in Washington, D.C., during the regulation-intensive climate of the late 1940s through the late 1950s.

November 8, 2022November 7, 2022 By Adonis Hoffman, Esq.

TikTok Is China’s Trojan Horse

People are easy to dupe. Give us something for free and we will open the door to just about anything in return, including our most sensitive family, health, and financial information.

The ancient Greeks knew something about the human psyche when they built a massive wooden horse and put it outside the enemy gates at Troy. Unsuspecting Trojans marveled at the gift and ushered it inside unexamined. Hidden in the horse were the Greek men of war who emerged to sack the city.

July 7, 2021July 7, 2021 By Guest Author Gary Shapiro

Attacking Free Speech Doesn’t Just Hurt Tech: America Must Stay True to Its First Amendment Principles

The First Amendment is one of the cornerstone principles that define this nation. There is no such thing as freedom if we cannot speak freely. 

Today, however, our nation seems less interested in protecting free speech than at any time I can recall. Major advocates of free speech like the ACLU are wavering in their support of our First Amendment, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are fighting for the government to censor online speech.

January 25, 2021July 7, 2021 By Adonis Hoffman, Esq.

Big Tech Must Self-Regulate To Protect Public Safety

In a single swipe, Twitter and Facebook have done what the U.S. government and the Constitution could not: delete the power of an irreverent president to rile and rally Americans to violent action.

Twitter announced Jan. 8 that it permanently suspended Trump’s account, while Facebook announced Jan. 7 it had suspended Trump’s account indefinitely.

December 10, 2020July 7, 2021 By Richard T. Kaplar

The Role of Targeted Advertising In Supporting First Amendment Principles

One can scarcely remember the time, only a few short decades ago, when life moved along without the array of personal digital devices that have come to define today’s culture. All of that changed, of course, with the advent of the Internet and the ability to access a burgeoning number of websites (which themselves were rapidly evolving).

Personal desktop computers, portable laptops, tablets, cell phones, and “smart phones” would fuel the tech revolution. Who could imagine that someday one’s phone, tablet, and computers would all be synchronized into a seamless whole. Or that millions of Americans would spend vast amounts of time engaging each other via something called “social media.”

February 27, 2020February 26, 2020 By Adonis Hoffman, Esq.

Can Big Tech Be Reined In by Rules It Consistently Breaks?

Well informed observers of the tech industry have cautioned against two things: economic downturn and government regulation. Each had a palpable sense of the inevitable – not a matter of if, but when. As we enter 2020, the conditions for both are present, if not altogether ripe.

Dire predictions of a global recession have been hovering over the economy for several quarters. But low interest rates, strong consumer spending, and investor confidence have kept the economy buoyant. The new China trade deal and record-high NASDAQ belie economic woes.

If this election year turns out like others, the economy will hum along through the first two quarters, then decelerate as we head into November. If an economic slowdown were to occur, it would owe as much to politics as to recessionary pressure. And even that might recede if the president gets re-elected.

July 8, 2019July 8, 2019 By Adonis Hoffman, Esq.

The Price of Privacy on the Potomac

In case you haven’t noticed, privacy – meaning the protection of your personal data and information – is all the rage today. In fact, privacy has become very big business not only in America, but also in Europe, where the General Data Privacy Regulation (GDPR) mandated sweeping privacy protections for consumers and strict restrictions on how companies can use personal information and data.

Doing business in this new era of privacy comes at a price, mostly for compliance. Compounding this is the lack of clear rules in the U.S. where there remains no comprehensive federal privacy law. It is no wonder that many companies have come to the privacy table kicking and screaming, forced to abide by a growing patchwork of inconsistent state laws with no federal preemption in place.

March 18, 2019March 18, 2019 By Adonis Hoffman, Esq.

Campaign To Break Big Tech Is Regulatory Overkill

When Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D) first went on the warpath against big banks, she captured the attention of middle America. Now, Warren has turned her wrath on Big Tech. Her mantra is that big companies are bad, and the bigger the badder they are for all of us. The government, she argues, should step up its regulation of these companies and step in to break them up if necessary. Not only is Warren wrong but she is also out of step with most Americans today.

It would be unfair to lay all the blame on Warren for the campaign against big corporations. This sort of populism has been a strain in American politics since the Revolution, and most recently since the Occupy Wall Street campaign. But today’s anti-corporate movement has a new look and a new lexicon, including terms like privacy, net neutrality, and transparency, to accompany the typical notions of competition and consumer protection.