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Today: New Mexico judge orders Meta to pay $567 million for facilitating child exploitation on Instagram and Facebook, with new restrictions on youth usage. FTC settles with John Deere requiring the company to provide farmers with repair tools and software access after years of monopolizing equipment repair. Federal judges in Mississippi reject FBI cell tower dump warrants as unconstitutional, ruling they violate Fourth Amendment particularity requirements.
Meta Ordered to Pay $567 Million in New Mexico Youth Safety Case
A New Mexico state court judge ordered Meta to pay $567 million and implement sweeping changes to how youth use Instagram and Facebook. The ruling found Meta deceived users about platform safety and facilitated sexual exploitation of minors, labeling the company a "public nuisance." The penalty includes $420 million for treatment of New Mexico youth harmed on the platforms, with the remaining funds allocated to public awareness and prevention efforts. Judge Bryan Biedscheid's order prohibits Meta from sending push notifications to New Mexico youth between 10 PM and 7 AM, caps monthly usage at 90 hours, and requires public awareness screens explaining child protection features. This is the first of dozens of state attorney general cases against Meta to reach judgment, making it a bellwether for future enforcement. Meta announced plans to appeal.
FTC Settles with John Deere Over Right to Repair Violations
The Federal Trade Commission reached a settlement with John Deere requiring the farm equipment manufacturer to immediately provide farmers and independent repair providers with repair tools, diagnostic software, and technical resources. The settlement, joined by five states, resolves allegations that John Deere used control over repair tools to monopolize equipment repair and restrict farmers' ability to fix their own machinery. John Deere must make an initial tranche of repair resources available immediately and continue releasing additional resources through the end of 2026. The FTC and participating states will monitor compliance for the next 10 years. This settlement is separate from a $99 million farmer-initiated antitrust settlement John Deere agreed to in April, which also includes right-to-repair provisions.
Fifth Circuit Federal Judges Reject FBI Cell Tower Dump Warrants as Unconstitutional
A federal circuit judge in Mississippi affirmed a magistrate judge's rejection of FBI cell tower dump warrants, ruling they fail to meet Fourth Amendment particularity requirements. The decision relies on the Fifth Circuit Appeals Court's August 2024 ruling that geofence warrants are unconstitutional, which applied the Supreme Court's 2018 Carpenter decision on long-term location tracking. The FBI submitted four successive cell tower dump warrants requesting that all cell service providers in crime areas dump connection records matching search parameters. Even after the FBI narrowed requests to include only cell numbers with multiple hits, the magistrate found this insufficient. The magistrate ruled that authorizing searches of "data for every cellular device" based solely on location near a crime scene would violate particularity demands, turning "everyone into a suspect just because investigators don't actually know who they're looking for."
Preliminary Approval Granted for $18.7M Turkey Price-Fixing Settlement
An Illinois federal judge granted preliminary approval to an $18.7 million class action settlement involving House of Raeford Farms and Prestage Farms in litigation accusing poultry producers of conspiring to fix turkey prices.
Travelers Insurance New Mexico UIM Coverage Class Action Settlement Approved
Travelers Insurance reached a class action settlement for New Mexico uninsured/underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage. Class members can receive either a premium refund or claim re-evaluation.
Busch Gardens Faces Maryland Spam Email Class Action
A new class action alleges Busch Gardens sends false and misleading marketing emails to Maryland residents in violation of state consumer protection statutes.
Trump Signs New Birthright Citizenship Executive Order After Supreme Court Rejection
President Trump signed a new executive order on August 6 seeking to narrow birthright citizenship availability, one month after the Supreme Court struck down his January 2025 order in Trump v. Barbara. The new order applies narrower restrictions than the previous version, excluding from automatic citizenship children whose parents are foreign embassy employees, foreign government officials in the U.S. in official capacity, employees of international organizations like the UN and World Bank, designated "alien enemies" under federal law (including Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and New Irish Republican Army members), or participants in commercial "birth tourism" transactions. Chief Justice Roberts's majority opinion in Trump v. Barbara emphasized the 14th Amendment citizenship clause has "broad reach and narrow exceptions" limited to children of foreign ministers and members of certain 19th-century Indian tribes. Trump also signed a second order titled "Ending Birth Tourism" imposing visa restrictions on pregnant visitors. The orders face near-certain legal challenges arguing the new restrictions exceed the Supreme Court's specified exceptions.
FCC Proposes Expanding Know Your Customer Requirements for Burner Phones
The FCC under Chairman Brendan Carr proposed expanding Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements for prepaid phone services, requiring telecoms to collect and retain name, physical address, government-issued identification number, and alternate phone number for all new and renewing customers. The proposal is framed as a robocall prevention measure but raises significant privacy concerns. Sixteen privacy groups including EFF warned the requirements would endanger anonymous communications protecting whistleblowers, journalists, domestic violence survivors, and activists. The groups noted the proposal creates acute privacy risks by requiring collection of extensive personal data from companies with poor security track records. T-Mobile's 2021 breach exposed Social Security numbers and driver's licenses of 77 million people; AT&T's 2024 breach exposed call and text records of 110 million subscribers. The proposal would push anonymity out of reach for unhoused individuals, low-income Americans, older adults, and foster youth who may lack required identifiers.
Trump Administration Considers Removing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
President Trump renewed his effort to fire Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook by sending a letter dated August 5 informing her he is "considering" her removal. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino cited the Supreme Court's June 29 decision in Trump v. Cook, which required that Cook receive "notice and some opportunity to respond prior to her termination." The letter alleges Cook committed mortgage fraud in 2021 by listing two different homes as her primary residence on mortgage applications to obtain favorable terms. Cook has 21 days to respond. Cook's lawyers called the allegations "as baseless now as they were a year ago" and stated they will challenge "this latest pretext" to preserve her position and the Federal Reserve's independence. The Supreme Court in Trump v. Cook emphasized the need for the Federal Reserve to remain free of political influence.
FCC Eliminates Congressionally-Mandated 39% Broadcast TV Ownership Cap
The FCC voted on August 6 to eliminate the statutory 39% national audience reach cap for broadcast television ownership despite objections that only Congress can change limits it wrote directly into law. The 2004 appropriations statute explicitly states no single company may own stations reaching more than 39% of American households. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr argued the cap is "outdated" and replaced it with a case-by-case approval process allowing deals exceeding 39% if they "promote the public interest." The vote came immediately after Nexstar and Tegna merged into an entity massively exceeding the 39% cap with Carr's support. The lone Democratic commissioner, Anna Gomez, called the decision "unlawful on its face" and a violation of statutory boundaries, noting "Congress set this cap in federal law, and only Congress can change it." Republican members of Congress, the former FCC commissioner who negotiated the original cap, and House Majority Leader have all stated the FCC lacks authority to change congressionally-mandated limits.