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Newsom Probes TikTok Over Alleged Trump Censorship
Newsom Probes TikTok Over Alleged Trump Censorship
Above: **Watermarked Getty Image. Kindly Replace** California Governor Gavin Newsom at a press conference on Jan. 16 in San Francisco, California. Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
The Spin
Social media platforms are private businesses protected by the First Amendment, and government regulation would set a dangerous precedent far worse than any alleged bias. Breaking up these companies ignores that users benefit most from dominant platforms where their networks exist. Mandating ideological diversity is impossible to measure or enforce across the political spectrum.
UnableGavin toNewsom's generateTikTok opposingpresence narrativereeks dueof tohypocrisy. insufficientWhile substantivecourting contentfollowers inonline, side_Bhe articleschampions sweeping censorship through California's Digital Age Assurance Act. His rhetoric masks authoritarian impulses — mandating age verification, expanding surveillance, and empowering government control over digital speech. Newsom is fundamentally hostile to online freedom.
Metaculus Prediction
There is a 50% chance the US's score in the Freedom in the World Report for 2050 will be 76.9, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
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© 2026 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 6.18.0
© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.
All rights reserved.
Version 6.18.0