Major Advertising Agencies Settle Media Censorship Lawsuit With FTC

 by Jacki Thrapp via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and eight states secured a settlement on April 15 that will prevent three major advertising agencies from engaging in unlawful media censorship.

An American flag flies at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) headquarters in Washington on Nov. 24, 2024. Benoit Tessier/File Photo/Reuters

The defendants Dentsu US, Inc., GroupM Worldwide LLC (doing business as WPP Media), and Publicis, Inc. will no longer enter into deals that require them to restrict working with certain clients, according to the settlement.

“A coordinated group of woke, powerful individuals attempted to suppress that Constitutional right by manipulating ad agencies into sabotaging the reach, revenue, and credibility of conservative voices,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement released on April 15.

The plaintiffs - including Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia - alleged that censorship deals between ad agencies and companies had been happening in the background during the past decade, which limited rising voices in the alternative and online media space.

The lawsuit accused some of the largest ad agencies of establishing brand-safety agreements that labeled content creators as “misinformation,” making them unable to receive ad revenue.

The alleged brand-safety standards were part of a campaign to demonetize prominent figures in the conservative space such as Glenn Beck, Steve Bannon, and the late Charlie Kirk, according to court documents reviewed by the Epoch Times.

The campaign allegedly attempted to censor and suppress content from Fox News Channel and X, formerly Twitter.

“This is a deeply disturbing violation of antitrust laws and our Constitution,” Paxton added.

“This was an egregious attempt to control public opinion and silence those who speak out against the liberal elites and powerful corporations. I will continue to lead the fight against viewpoint suppression and protect the speech of Americans from corrupt manipulation.”

As part of the settlement, defendants also agreed to have a court-ordered monitor to make sure agencies are sticking with the agreement and no longer censoring political viewpoints.

The defendants agreed not to enter into or enforce any deal that would limit their advertising spending on political or ideological viewpoints or DEI commitments.

“The ad agencies’ brand-safety conspiracy turned competition in the market for ad-buying services on its head,” FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson said in a statement on Wednesday.

​Ferguson added, “this unlawful collusion not only damaged our marketplace, but also distorted the marketplace of ideas by discriminating against speech and ideas that fell below the unlawfully agreed-upon floor.”

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/major-advertising-agencies-settle-media-censorship-lawsuit-ftc

US expands visa bans in Western Hemisphere

 The United States Department of State announced on Thursday that it is expanding visa restrictions for the nationals of the countries within the Western Hemisphere who work for the countries that the US deems its "adversaries."

The government noted that the restrictions will target individuals who help "adversarial powers" obtain or dominate critical assets and strategic resources in the region, disrupt regional security initiatives, weaken US economic interests, and carry out "influence operations" aimed at undermining the sovereignty and stability of countries in the Western Hemisphere.

The targeted individuals and their immediate family members will be banned from entering the US, with the US government already having imposed those restrictions on 26 individuals across the Western Hemisphere.

https://breakingthenews.net/Article/US-expands-visa-bans-in-Western-Hemisphere/66087621

'US, Iran scale back ambitions, seek interim deal – Reuters'

 

US and Iranian negotiators have scaled back ambitions for a comprehensive peace deal and are instead seeking a temporary memorandum to prevent a return to conflict, Reuters reported, citing two Iranian sources.

A senior Iranian official cited by Reuters said the two sides had begun narrowing some gaps, including over management of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran wants any memorandum to include the unfreezing of some of its funds in exchange for allowing more ships through the strait, the official said.

The Iranian sources said the United States is demanding a halt to Iran's nuclear enrichment work for 20 years, while Iran wants to limit it to three to five years. Tehran also wants a timetable for lifting sanctions of UN, US and EU, they said.

While Iran was not ready to send all its highly enriched uranium (HEU) abroad, part of it could be sent to a third country, the report cited one of the sources as saying.

https://www.iranintl.com/en/liveblog/202604159162

US expands blockade to include contraband shipments

 The United States Navy announced on Thursday that it has widened its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian ports in order to include contraband shipments.

"In addition to enforcing the blockade, all Iranian vessels, vessels with active OFAC [Office of Foreign Assets Control] sanctions, and vessels suspected of carrying contraband are subject to belligerent rights to visit and search," the navy said in an advisory, adding that suspected vessels will be subjected to visit, board, search and seizure, regardless of location.

It was also noted that contraband refers to weapons, weapons systems, ammunition, nuclear materials, crude and refined oil products, as well as iron, steel and aluminum.

https://breakingthenews.net/Article/US-expands-blockade-to-include-contraband-shipments/66084602

Trump Signs Pipeline Permits To Boost US–Canada Oil Flow

 by Kimberley Hayek via The Epoch Times,

President Donald Trump issued several pipeline permits on April 15, including one for the construction of a new pipeline to facilitate the transportation of crude oil and petroleum products between the United States and Canada, according to documents released by the White House.

The action covers four permits in total. The permit authorizing construction was issued to the Bakken Pipeline Company LP for pipeline facilities in Burke County, North Dakota. Other permits were issued for the maintenance and operation of existing pipelines at border locations in North Dakota and Michigan. The recipients of those operational permits are “Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership” and “Enbridge Pipelines (Southern Lights) L.L.C.”—both indirect subsidiaries of Canadian pipeline giant Enbridge Inc.

According to the White House documents, the permits cover transport of crude oil and petroleum products of every description—refined and unrefined—including naphtha, liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas liquids, jet fuel, gasoline, kerosene, and diesel. The permits explicitly exclude natural gas subject to the Natural Gas Act.

Wednesday’s permits reflect the administration’s sweeping effort to expand America’s domestic and cross-border energy infrastructure.

At the CERAWeek energy conference March 2025 in Houston, Energy Secretary Chris Wright had said that Trump’s pledge to lower energy costs by boosting oil and natural gas production would require a corresponding increase in infrastructure investment.

“If ‘Drill, baby, drill’ is to [lower energy costs], we’re going to have to ‘Build, baby, build,’” Wright told reporters.

The Enbridge permits issued Wednesday supersede authorizations dating to 1991, 1994, and 2008, effectively reissuing and consolidating federal approval under the current administration. The cross-border pipeline landscape has grown increasingly complex in recent years—there are more than 2.6 million miles of oil and gas pipelines crisscrossing the United States, with 71 networks spanning the border with Canada, meaning they are primarily regulated under federal law and by treaties between the two countries.

Enbridge has long been a central player in that network, though not without controversy: The company confirmed in late 2024 that it had cleaned up roughly 60 percent of a nearly 70,000-gallon oil spill from one of its lines in Wisconsin.

The U.S.–Canada energy relationship has also been shadowed by tariff tensions. Trump threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on Canada over border security concerns, along with a reduced levy of 10 percent on Canadian oil and gas. Wednesday’s permits signal continued bilateral energy cooperation even as trade negotiations between the two countries remain active.

The permits arrive against a backdrop of years of pipeline battles between Washington and Ottawa.

Trump has pushed for the revival of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would transport crude oil from Canada to the United States.

“The company building the Keystone XL Pipeline that was viciously jettisoned by the incompetent Biden Administration should come back to America, and get it built—NOW!” Trump wrote on Truth Social in February 2025.

The Keystone XL project was ultimately suspended on Jan. 20, 2021, when then-President Joe Biden revoked its presidential permit, citing the need to “advance environmental justice.” Biden argued the project would “not serve the U.S. national interest” based on an analysis conducted under the Obama administration citing climate risk.

Canada has been eager to expand its access to U.S. markets. Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. has been in talks with customers about expanding its Mainline pipeline network—the largest pipeline system in North America—to handle growing volumes of Canadian oil output. Canada currently sends 97 percent of its oil exports and 100 percent of its natural gas exports to the United States, leaving it with limited leverage in any trade dispute.

Wednesday’s permits are the latest step in Trump’s strategy to make North America self-sufficient in energy and a dominant exporter.

https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/trump-signs-pipeline-permits-boost-us-canada-oil-flow

'More Hearsay Diplomats: US-Iran Deal Will Take Months, Gulf and European Officials Say'

 

Some Gulf Arab and European leaders believe that a US-Iran peace deal will take about six months to be agreed and that the warring sides should extend their ceasefire to cover that timeframe, according to officials from the regions familiar with the matter.

The leaders want the vital Strait of Hormuz opened immediately to restore energy flows and are warning in private that a global food crisis may develop if that doesn’t happen by next month, said the officials, who asked not to be identified discussing private talks.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-16/us-iran-deal-will-take-months-gulf-and-european-officials-say

Google in Talks to Allow Pentagon Use Gemini Models in Classified Settings

Google is negotiating an agreement with the Department of Defense to deploy its Gemini AI models in classified settings, according to a report from The Information, citing two people with direct knowledge of the discussions.

The deal would mark a significant shift from Google’s previous position on military collaboration and expand its role as a Pentagon technology contractor.

The discussions focus on allowing the Pentagon to use Google’s AI for all lawful purposes. Google has proposed specific contract language to prevent its AI from being used for domestic mass surveillance and autonomous weapons, including targeting, without appropriate human oversight.

The proposed terms appear similar to the agreement OpenAI reached with the Pentagon earlier this year. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman reportedly asked the Pentagon to offer the same terms to all AI companies to ensure industry-wide parity.

It remains unclear if Google’s proposed terms will be included in the final contract. The issues of surveillance and autonomy were central to a dispute that erupted in February between the Pentagon and Anthropic.

A standoff began in January after Anthropic refused to loosen safety guardrails on its systems. The Pentagon labeled the AI lab a supply-chain risk, putting the company’s government contracts in jeopardy.

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/google-talks-pentagon-over-gemini-135411059.html