MediaPost

Tech companies appear to be concerned that they might face some unintended consequences as a result of a battle over whether President Donald Trump violates the First Amendment by blocking critics on Twitter. In court papers submitted the week of Aug 13, the Silicon Valley group Internet Association is urging a federal appellate court to clarify that Twitter can continue to block users -- regardless of whether Trump may legally do so.

California should reject requests by industry groups to water down the state's new privacy law, a coalition of 20 advocacy groups said in a new letter to lawmakers. "The sky is not falling, as industry suggests," said the ACLU of California, Berkeley Media Studies Group, Center for Digital Democracy, Consumer Action, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Public Knowledge and other advocacy groups. "The law and its particulars do not pose a threat to the California economy," they write.

To its credit, CBS News has not shied away from reporting on its own top executives who stand accused of committing acts of sexual harassment and tolerating a culture of inappropriate sexual behavior -- most notably within the CBS News division. Stories seen since the end of July on various CBS News programs have not evaded the key issues or, more importantly, the details of the accusations leveled by women who told their stories to the New Yorker's Ronan Farrow.