Hillicon Valley — Texas social media law temporarily blocked

View Online    Hillicon Valley Hillicon Valley     Texas social media law temporarily blocked © iStock The Supreme Court ruled to temporarily block a Texas social media law that would hinder companies' ability to moderate content, but the case may end up back at the court at a later date.     We'll also explore revisions to a key antitrust bill and how those changes may — or may not — sway Democrats wavering on support.    This is Hillicon Valley, detailing all you need to know about tech and cyber news from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. Send tips to The Hill's Rebecca Klar, Chris Mills Rodrigo and Ines Kagubare. Someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.   A win for tech groups   © The Hill, Greg Nash A Texas law that would bar social media companies from taking action on hate speech and disinformation was temporarily blocked Tuesday in a rare 5-4 Supreme Court ruling.   Justices John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Sonia Sotomayor and Stephen Breyer ruled in favor of tech industry groups looking to block the law, with Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Elena Kagan dissenting.     The decision is a win for tech groups pushing back on laws coming from Republican-controlled state legislatures that seek to put barriers on social media companies' ability to moderate content.     A case on the law itself may wind up back before the Supreme Court as it makes its way through challenges in lower courts. But Tuesday's decision means the law — which critics have said could lead to a more dangerous internet — will remain blocked for now in Texas, reversing a decision from a court of appeals earlier this month.    In Alito's dissenting opinion, he said he has not "formed a definitive view on the novel legal questions that arise from Texas's decision to address the 'changing social and economic' conditions it perceives."    Read more about the decision.     Klobuchar antitrust bill's path forward © Photo Credit Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) is pushing for a summer vote on a key antitrust bill targeting tech giants, but updates to the language released last week may do little to quell concerns from Democrats teetering on support.     Klobuchar and Sen. Chuck Grassley's (R-Iowa) American Innovation and Choice Online Act advanced with bipartisan support out of the Judiciary Committee earlier this year, but the chances of it passing hinge on supporters gaining a large enough coalition. Even some Democrats who voted to advance the bill in January have expressed hesitation in supporting it on a floor vote, and more may back off amid a dwindling deadline ahead of competitive midterm races.     Klobuchar, who chairs the Senate antitrust subcommittee, released revisions to the text late Wednesday night, before the Senate recessed for Memorial Day. She said she is excited about the "very bipartisan" bill's chance of proceeding.      "We've worked with a number of members and we are making progress," Klobuchar told The Hill Thursday.    Read more here.     UKRAINE ATTENDS ITS FIRST NATO CYBER MEETING   Ukrainian officials met for the first time on Monday with the steering committee of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) in Tallinn, Estonia, following the country's successful bid to join the cyber center.     Ukraine first applied to join the organization in August 2021. Its application was unanimously approved by all members of the steering committee in March.     According to a blog post released by Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, members of the committee are finalizing a technical agreement on the accession that will formalize Ukraine's participation in the organization.    Read more here.     SEC LOOMS OVER MUSK DEAL  Elon Musk's $44 billion deal to acquire Twitter has been the subject of countless headlines as the mercurial CEO has made his hang ups with the acquisition very public.     That tendency to share his thoughts on the public forum might be putting the billionaire on a collision course with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).     Musk has berated and antagonized the regulatory agency for years after being penalized for tweeting recklessly about taking Tesla private.      His latest conduct on Twitter as he attempts to take over the company could draw even more legal headaches, but it remains an uncertain whether the agency will find enough misconduct to rein Musk in.      Read more here.     BITS & PIECES An op-ed to chew on: Cybersecurity needs a whole-of-society effort    Lighter click: calling all journo pet parents    Notable links from around the web:    First she documented the alt-right. Now she's coming for crypto. (The Washington Post / Gerrit De Vynck)    After Uvalde, social media monitoring apps struggle to justify surveillance (The Verge / Corin Faife)    Anti-abortion activists are collecting the data they'll need for prosecutions post-Roe (MIT Tech Review / Abby Ohlheiser)    It's Time to Bring Back the AIM Away Message (Wired / Lauren Goode)      One more thing: Musk's bucket list  © Getty Tesla CEO Elon Musk listed several changes he would make to Twitter pending approval of a $44 million deal from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to acquire the social media platform.    The SEC cannot reject Musk's offer to buy Twitter based on his vision for the company. However, the federal agency can raise objections to the transaction if it believes that Musk has not been forthcoming on required disclosure forms.    The SEC could take issue with Musk's late disclosure of his stake in Twitter as well as his constant criticism of leaders on the platform.    But while his official offer awaits approval, here are some of the potential changes Musk could make if it is finalized.    Read more here.    That's it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill's Technology and Cybersecurity pages for the latest news and coverage. We'll see you tomorrow. Sign up for Hillicon Valley Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe Sign Up for Other Newsletters 1625 K Street NW, 9th Floor, Washington, DC 20006 © 1998 - 2022 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved.

Health Care — Tensions rise over drug pricing

View Online    Health Care Health Care     Tensions rise over drug pricing © The Hill, Greg Nash K-pop boy band BTS gave the White House something of a ratings boost, bringing in nearly 200,000 online viewers while speaking out against anti-Asian hate during a press briefing.    Today in health care, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) called for lower drug prices. An aide for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called him a phony.     Welcome to Overnight Health Care, where we're following the latest moves on policy and news affecting your health. For The Hill, we're Peter Sullivan, Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi. Someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.   Sanders aide calls Manchin 'phony' on drug prices  © The Hill, Greg Nash Tensions are heating up over action (or lack thereof) on drug pricing.   A top aide to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Tuesday called Sen. Joe Manchin  (D-W.Va.) a "phony" after the West Virginia senator called for action to lower drug prices.      Warren Gunnels, Sanders's staff director for the Senate Budget Committee, tweeted that Manchin's call for drug pricing action was empty given the senator opposed President Biden's Build Back Better package, which included measures to lower drug prices.      "What a phony. THE reason we failed to keep our promises to seniors is because @Sen_JoeManchin sabotaged the Build Back Better Act & refuses to end the filibuster," Gunnels tweeted. "In Joe's world, protecting the filibuster is more important than protecting seniors. No wonder billionaires love him."    Gunnels was responding to a tweet from Manchin after the senator met with AARP's West Virginia branch that read: "By allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, capping the cost of insulin at $35 per month, and allowing the importation of drugs from Canada, we can lower prescription drug prices in America. We must take action & keep the promises we've made to our seniors."     Signs of hope on a package: Manchin, speaking at the AARP event on Tuesday, gave some hope to Democrats eager for a deal.      "Drug pricing is something we all agree on," Manchin said. "If we do nothing else this year — I think we can do a lot more — but if we do nothing more this year, that's the one thing that must be done."    Read more here.     Vaccine misinformation affects pregnant women  © Getty Seven in 10 women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant believe or are unsure about false claims related to COVID-19 vaccines, a Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) poll found.    Twenty-nine percent of respondents in the demographic believed at least one of three false statements.     Among women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant, 60 percent said they believe that pregnant women should not get the vaccine or are unsure if this is true; 58 percent said they believe vaccines cause infertility or are unsure; and 52 percent said they believe it is unsafe for breastfeeding women to get vaccinated or are unsure about the claim.    Beyond those who heard the misinformation and believed it to be true, larger shares of pregnant women or those planning to become pregnant were unsure about the statements.    For women younger than 50, the poll found a higher tendency to believe or be unsure of the misinformation among those who were unvaccinated and those who did not have a college degree.      The impact: CDC estimates show roughly 3 in 10 pregnant women remain unvaccinated against COVID-19, a figure that lags adults overall.    Read more here.   UK RECOMMENDS PEOPLE WITH MONKEYPOX ABSTAIN FROM SEX   The U.K. Health Security Agency on Monday issued guidance recommending that people who test positive for monkeypox abstain from sexual activity while they are symptomatic.    "People with possible, probable or confirmed monkeypox should avoid contact with other people until their lesions have healed and the scabs have dried off," the agency said in its guidance. "Cases should also abstain from sex while symptomatic, including the period of early symptom onset, and while lesions are present."    Monkeypox is primarily spread through prolonged skin-to-skin contact with an infectious person — not just sexual. It typically causes lesions to form on an individual's face and body.    The agency noted that there is currently "no available evidence of monkeypox in genital excretions," but advised that condoms still be used for eight weeks after infection as a "precaution."    An individual who contracts monkeypox is generally considered to no longer be infectious once their skin lesions scab over and are fully healed.    As of Monday, 183 monkeypox cases have been confirmed in the U.K. In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified 10 cases of monkeypox.    Read more here.    PEDIATRIC SUICIDE ATTEMPTS BY POISONING ON THE RISE: STUDY   The number of suspected suicide attempts by poisoning among children rose sharply between 2015 and 2020, recent research suggests.      University of Virginia researchers conducted a study based on cases reported to the National Poison Data System as "suspected suicides" that involved both attempted suicides and deaths by suicide. They found a 26 percent increase in suspected suicides among children ages 6 through 19 during the study period.     The over-the-counter painkillers ibuprofen and acetaminophen were the two most common substances used in the suspected pediatric attempted suicide cases, researchers found, adding that the self-poisoning attempts resulted in 276 deaths and 14,916 cases of "major effects," which may include long lasting symptoms such as disfigurement.  Suspected cases of suicide by self-poisoning reportedly rose from 75,248 in 2015 to 93,532 in 2020 Girls accounted for 77.9 percent of all cases during in 2020 All pediatric groups saw increases in suspected suicides, according to the study, but the largest jump occurred in children between the ages of 10 and 12 who saw an increase of more than 109 percent "We need to be vigilant for the warning signs associated with suicide risk in our children," Christopher Holstege, chief of the Division of Medical Toxicology at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, said in a statement.        Read more here.    HHS announces new office of environmental justice   © Getty The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Tuesday announced an Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) within the department to address climate-related health issues particularly those affecting poor and marginalized Americans.     The office, which will be under the aegis of the HHS Office of Climate Change and Health Equity, will be responsible for developing the department's broader environmental health strategies and coordinating its annual environmental justice reports, according to HHS.   The department is seeking public comment on its implementation plan for the new office through June 18.    "By creating this new office and prioritizing environmental justice at HHS, Secretary [Xavier] Becerra is undertaking the type of bold institutional reform that is desperately needed to deliver clean air and clean water for all communities," White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory said in a statement.   "Today's announcement is a key step toward confronting environmental injustice – in all of its heartbreaking forms – with the full force and commitment of the Federal government."    Becerra announced the launch of the broader Office of Climate Change and Health Equity last August after a January executive order by President Biden laid the groundwork for its creation.     Still unclear is how the new office and initiative will be funded.     Read more here.    WHAT WE'RE READING Schools are struggling to meet rising mental health needs, data shows (Washington Post)  Young caregivers 'exist in the shadows,' offer crucial help (AP)  During the omicron wave, death rates soared for older people (New York Times)  Her first colonoscopy cost her $0. Her second cost $2,185. Why? (Kaiser Health News)    STATE BY STATE COVID-19 cases plateau in New York City, indicating latest surge may be over (ABC News)  Inside the effort to promote abortion pills for a post-Roe America (Time)   How many Montanans have lead in their blood? Health officials don't know (Montana Public Radio)    OP-EDS IN THE HILL What's really at risk with monkeypox?   That's it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill's Health Care page for the latest news and coverage. See you tomorrow.   Sign up for Health Care Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe Sign Up for Other Newsletters 1625 K Street NW, 9th Floor, Washington, DC 20006 © 1998 - 2022 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved.