social media

Even after Cuba's communist regime shut down the internet this week, Cubans made sure the world still saw their protests — and the brutal response to them.

On this week's Florida Roundup, we discuss the latest on the ongoing recovery efforts in Surfside and the decision by a federal court to prevent Florida's law targeting social media companies from taking effect.

A federal judge late Wednesday issued an injunction against a recently-enacted state law that would’ve imposed stiff penalties on social media companies that de-platform political candidates.

They include a requirement for out-of-state online retailers to collect sales taxes on purchases made by Floridians, and surveys to assess the “intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity” at state colleges and universities.

The lawsuit contends that the measure, which was passed last month by the Republican-controlled Legislature, violates free-speech, due-process and equal-protection rights.

It was a rare defeat for Gov. Ron DeSantis who led a campaign against Big Tech companies.

The account “Are Publix Chicken Tender Subs On Sale?” said it had received a cease-and-desist order from Publix objecting to a related text-message notification service.

The invite-only app lets you eavesdrop on chats between celebrities, journalists and tech savants. Oprah, Elon Musk and White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain have all joined.

As Twitter and Facebook crack down on those spreading baseless QAnon conspiracies, adherents are finding other apps to communicate on, including platforms where they may be further radicalized.

More and more people are turning to social media for information. And not all of it is true. This new practice, researchers say, is making it hard for people to make good decisions about medical care.

Social network MeWe began as a privacy-focused alternative to Facebook. Trump supporters and right-wing groups disillusioned with mainstream social media have flocked to it since the Jan. 6 riot.

"Over the past several weeks, we've reported 98 examples to Parler of posts that clearly encourage and incite violence," Amazon Web Services said, according to court documents.