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Today: The Trump administration used export controls to force Anthropic to shut down its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 AI models with no due process, marking the first time export controls reached deployed AI services. Supreme Court granted review on whether Florida's six-person juries violate the Sixth Amendment and when immigration detention requires a bond hearing. UK announces a ban on social media for children under 16, going further than Australia's model with age assurance requirements and restricted livestreaming.
Trump DOJ Approves $111 Billion Paramount-Warner Bros Merger
The Department of Justice approved the $111 billion Paramount-Warner Bros merger backed by Saudi and Chinese funding after a Friday news dump. The DOJ's antitrust division claims the deal will "increase competition by offering consumers a more robust competitive alternative to the larger SVOD offerings," despite Warner Bros' history of acquisition-related mass layoffs and price increases. The DOJ acknowledged Warner Bros has been "a repeated acquisition target in the media and entertainment industry" and cited investigations of AOL/TimeWarner (2001), AT&T/TimeWarner (2018), and WarnerBros/Discovery (2022), all involving "challenges that arise when the commercial rationale for a deal lacks clear alignment with competitive incentives." Paramount's top lawyer Makan Delrahim served as Trump's DOJ enforcer during the first administration and personally approved the Sprint-T-Mobile merger.
California Attorney General Enforcement (Implied Activity)
California AG is listed as a priority enforcement feed monitoring agency actions, but no specific enforcement actions were reported in today's articles. The feed's priority status reflects its role in state-level privacy and consumer protection enforcement.
Supreme Court to Review Florida Six-Person Jury Constitutionality (Kian Case)
The Supreme Court agreed to hear Hamed Kian's challenge to Florida's use of six-person juries in criminal cases. Kian was convicted by a six-person jury of five counts of practicing chiropractic medicine with a suspended license and sentenced to one year and one day in prison. He argues the Court should overrule Williams v. Florida (1970), which held six-person juries do not violate the Constitution. Kian contends that Ramos v. Louisiana (2020) rejected the "cost-benefit analysis" Williams relied on and returned to the original meaning of the Sixth Amendment right to trial by jury when it was adopted.
Supreme Court to Review Immigration Detention Bond Hearings (Genalo v. Black)
The Court granted review on whether noncitizens held in prolonged immigration detention have a constitutional right to a bond hearing and whether the government must justify continued detention by "clear and convincing evidence." The case involves Keisy G.M., a green card holder detained 21 months after an assault conviction. The 2nd Circuit ruled that when detention becomes "unreasonably prolonged," the government must hold a bond hearing to determine flight risk or danger to the community. The Trump administration appealed, noting that Jennings v. Rodriguez (2018) rejected statutory entitlement to periodic hearings but did not resolve the constitutional questions. The Court directed litigants to brief whether the case is moot because G.M. was released from custody in 2022.
$2.995M Tuft and Needle Deceptive Discounts Class Action Settlement
Consumers can receive 45% of the discount they received on mattress purchases from a $2.995 million Tuft and Needle settlement resolving claims of deceptive discount practices. The settlement addresses allegations that advertised discounts were misleading or inflated.
$2M Bestway Spa Pump Defect Class Action Settlement
Bestway agreed to a class action settlement resolving claims that certain Bestway spa pumps are defective and can cause fires. The settlement provides compensation to class members who purchased the allegedly defective pumps.
$725M Facebook Privacy Class Action Settlement Issues Bonus Payments
A second round of payments went out in the $725 million Facebook privacy class action settlement nearly a year after the first distribution. Eligible claimants received bonus checks from residual settlement funds not distributed in the initial round.
Johnson & Johnson Wins Talc Bellwether Trial Over Ovarian Cancer Claims
A Los Angeles jury found Johnson & Johnson and Red River Talc not liable in a bellwether trial involving claims that talcum powder products caused three women to develop ovarian cancer. The defense verdict provides J&J with momentum in ongoing talc litigation, but does not resolve the thousands of pending claims.
Covidien Faces Hernia Mesh Bellwether Trial
A federal judge cleared the way for a bellwether trial in a Medtronic hernia mesh lawsuit alleging that subsidiary Covidien misled physicians about a critical safety feature of its Symbotex Composite Mesh device. The trial will address claims that the mesh's barrier layer degrades too quickly.
Federal Judge Blocks Trump National Parks Display Removal Order
Massachusetts federal Judge Angel Kelley ordered the Trump administration to reinstall displays removed from National Parks sites under an executive order targeting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) content and climate change information. The court found the removals "set a dangerous precedent of censorship and sanitization" while undermining the "integrity" of the National Parks system. The court ruled the executive order violates laws governing the National Park Service and congressional oversight, and fails to justify itself by serving the public interest. Examples of censored content include exhibits memorializing people enslaved by George Washington at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, signage detailing climate threats at Fort Sumter in South Carolina, and signs involving slavery, abolition, immigration, labor, women's suffrage, and civil rights.
Trump Export Controls Force Anthropic to Shut Down Fable 5 and Mythos 5 AI Models
The Trump administration used export controls to force Anthropic to shut down access to its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 AI models with no due process, marking the first time export controls have been enforced to control access to a deployed AI model. The government claimed that for "national security" reasons, no foreign national could access the models, including Anthropic's own foreign national employees. Since Anthropic cannot determine which customers are foreign nationals, the company shut down all access. The trigger was a jailbreak, and Amazon (one of Anthropic's largest investors) tipped off the government. Fable 5 was available to any commercial subscriber, while Mythos 5 was limited to pre-vetted organizations. Anthropic's latest models required enterprises to accept 30-day data retention for safety reviews, departing from previous zero-retention policies.
UK Social Media Ban for Children Under 16 Announced
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the government intends to block youth under age 16 from using social media with what it calls the strongest kids online safety measures in the world. The ban will apply to user-to-user platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, X and YouTube, but not messaging platforms like WhatsApp. AI romantic companion chatbots and intimate functionalities will be restricted for children under 18. The government plans to pass legislation before Christmas with enforcement by spring 2027. The UK model goes further than Australia's December 2024 ban by requiring "highly effective age assurance" methods, blocking harmful functions like livestreaming and stranger communication with children under 16, possible overnight curfews, and required breaks in infinite scrolling for teens under 18. The UK's communications regulator must design age assurance measures and report back by October. Nine in 10 of 116,000 parents surveyed backed the ban. Australia's ban has not kept large numbers of youth off platforms, with 31.3% of previously active children still maintaining accounts after the ban took effect, primarily because tech firms had not asked them to verify their age.
Supreme Court Emergency Docket: Texas App Store Age-Verification Law (SB 2420)
Students Engaged in Advancing Texas and the Computer and Communications Industry Association asked the Supreme Court to restore orders blocking Texas from enforcing SB 2420, the Texas App Store Accountability Act, which imposes age-verification and parental-consent requirements on minors' access to apps and paid content. U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman temporarily blocked the law in December 2025, but the 5th Circuit put the block on hold June 4, 2026. The students argued the 5th Circuit's decision "would render virtually the entire internet, not to mention the distribution of every book, newspaper, magazine, movie, or record album, commercial speech the government could more readily ban, restrict, edit, or compel." The CCIA argued the decision "has upset the status quo by allowing the Act to be enforced for the first time, exposing app stores and millions of app developers to potential liability" and subjecting them to "enormous and unrecoverable compliance costs." Justice Alito instructed Texas to respond by 4 p.m. EDT June 22, 2026. Half the states have similar age-verification requirements for minors.
Counter-UAS Authority Gap for National Guard Personnel (Title 32 vs Title 10)
A gap in statutory authorization prevents National Guard personnel from protecting military installations in the U.S. from unmanned aircraft incursions when acting under state control and Title 32, even though they have authority when federalized under Title 10. These sites support federal missions and host Department of Defense equipment, and are often secured by National Guard personnel operating in Title 32 status. "The same individual, standing in the same place, confronting the same threat may be unable to act based solely on whether or not they're federalized."
Maine Closes Data Breach Portal After Fake Reports
Maine closed its widely used data breach reporting portal to the public after two fake breach notices were posted. One bogus notice appeared Thursday claiming 2.4 million VRChat customers were breached on fake VRChat letterhead. A fake Discord breach notice was also posted. Maine will still allow companies to report breaches but will not make the portal easily available to the public until it completes an audit of procedures to stop such incidents. Members of the public can contact the attorney general's office to inquire about existing reports. The portal was easy to abuse, historically allowing companies to add notices without review. VRChat stated the fake notice remained up for several hours despite requests for removal. The Maine portal has been a valuable resource for security researchers, reporters, and threat intelligence companies.
FACTA Credit Card Information Exposure Investigation
Top Class Actions is investigating potential FACTA violations where paper receipts displayed too much credit or debit card information. The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) limits the credit card information retailers can display on receipts to prevent identity theft.
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act: The Dissent That Became a Statute
SCOTUSblog published a retrospective on Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (2007), where Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's dissent inspired Congress to pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 without delay. The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that Ledbetter's pay discrimination claims were time-barred because the limitations period began when the discriminatory pay decision was first made, not when each paycheck was issued. Ledbetter, a supervisor at a Goodyear Alabama plant for nearly 20 years, was paid $3,727 per month while male counterparts earned $4,286 to $5,236. She only learned of the disparity through an anonymous note. A jury awarded her $3.5 million (reduced to $360,000 by statutory caps), but the 11th Circuit overturned the award. Justice Alito's majority opinion held the 180-day limitations period under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 began when the pay decision was made, not when paychecks reflecting that decision were received. Ginsburg's dissent argued pay discrimination is inherently cumulative and the statute should be read to allow claims based on the continuing effects of past discrimination.
Appeals Court Allows 10% Worldwide Tariffs to Continue During Challenges
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled Thursday that the Trump administration can continue collecting the 10% worldwide tariff imposed in February while challenges work through the courts. The Supreme Court struck down tariffs imposed under a different authority. Challengers contend the administration lacked authority to impose the tariffs under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which addresses "fundamental international payments problems," not trade deficits as the administration asserts. A split three-judge panel of the Court of International Trade found the 10% global tariffs illegal, but the Federal Circuit put that decision on hold. The Section 122 tariffs are set to expire July 24, 2026.
5th Circuit ICE Detention Ruling Bypassed by Constitutional Due Process Claims
The 5th Circuit ruled in February that ICE can detain without bond thousands of immigrants with established roots in the U.S. But judges bound by that ruling have overwhelmingly continued to reject ICE's detention policy by concluding ICE violated detainees' constitutional due process rights, a distinct violation the appeals court did not address. Federal courts of appeals have split over ICE's detention policy, putting the issue on a likely path to the Supreme Court.