New Hampshire’s 2024 AI child-abuse-image clause needs no real child and no obscenity finding. The state Supreme Court rejected that reasoning in 2008 in State v. Zidel, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected it in 2002, and on Aug. 25 the Seventh Circuit refused to enforce the narrower federal version. The committee that wrote the clause called the missing element a loophole.
The article argues that Facebook has transformed the public square into a private entity, monopolizing civic discourse. It proposes regulating Facebook as a public utility to ensure free speech, fairness, and transparency. Increasingly vital for grassroots campaigns and local politics, the platform’s algorithmic decisions and content policies hinder democratic engagement.
