Business

(WASHINGTON) — COVID-19 restrictions were designed to stem the tide of the biggest public health crisis in 100 years.

As the virus began to recede with mass vaccination, many of the most burdensome were relaxed or dropped altogether.

But there was at least one that many states, and their businesses, were more than happy to keep.

Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia had special provisions in place during the pandemic that allowed restaurants and bars to deliver alcohol orders to their customers.

Mike Whatley, the vice president for state affairs and grassroots advocacy for the National Restaurant Association, told ABC News to-go alcohol options increased restaurant sales on average 5-10% during the pandemic.

“Many restaurants are alive today because of cocktails to go,” he told ABC News.

All but 11 of those states have kept their alcohol to-go rules in place following the end of their governors’ emergency orders. Economic and political experts say those states that are on the fence should consider following suit if they want to ensure a stronger post-pandemic future for their restaurants.

Although most states have relaxed their limits on indoor capacity for businesses, restaurants and bars are still relying on takeout customers to improve their revenues, Whatley said. Restaurants still haven’t regained 1.5 million jobs lost before the pandemic, a 12% loss, according to the National Restaurant Association.

Nearly two-fifths of restaurant owners said they still can not afford rent, according to statistics from the association.

“Until every single person feels comfortable eating in a restaurant, we’re not going to be back to normal,” Whatley said.

Alcohol to-go gives customers more options to enjoy their meals, and most importantly, gives restaurant owners a way to sell their more profitable cocktails and spirit drinks, Whatley said.

Massachusetts state Sen. Julian Cyr told ABC News that his state’s temporary cocktails to-go rule was fully embraced by residents and business owners, so there was no question to extend it. Cyr introduced a bill that passed in the legislature extending the rule until May 2022.

“I think broadly we realized this was an industry that was really hurt and we wanted to do something,” Cyr told ABC News.

The senator, who previously worked a restaurant, said alcohol regulation is one of the toughest hurdles that business owners have to cross in Massachusetts and other states, since they have to get approval from both their local and state liquor authorities.

“I think more broadly, this is an industry where we don’t provide enough state investment from government,” Cyr said.

Experts say that red tape and years of precedent concerning alcohol laws are stalling other states from implementing more permanent delivery laws.

Kajal Lahiri, a distinguished professor of economics at SUNY Albany, told ABC News that alcohol laws in states have been linked to more conservative beliefs on drinking, such as no sales before noon on Sundays.

Lahiri contended that changing those laws, even for something as economically beneficial as cocktails to go, isn’t a big priority for state legislatures given the other recovery struggles.

“I think this slipped past [legislators’] priorities,” Lahiri told ABC News.

New York was one of the locations that, as of July, didn’t extend its alcohol to-go laws before Gov. Andrew Cuomo ended his COVID state of emergency. A bill was introduced during last year’s session to extend the regulation, but was never voted on.

Several restaurant advocates, including the New York City Hospitality Alliance, have called on the state legislature to pass legislation that would make alcohol to-go permanent.

Representatives from the New York State Assembly and Senate didn’t immediately return messages for comment.

Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Cuomo, told ABC News that the governor would like to see the statehouse come up with a solution to alcohol on delivery.

“We know what a lifeline this was to the industry during this pandemic and are more than willing to work with the houses on a legislative solution,” Azzopardi said in a statement.

Lahiri, who has consulted with the state legislature on economic matters, predicted that New York and other states will join the other locations in extending the alcohol delivery laws.

Aside from the pressure applied by restaurants that need that service, Lahiri noted the pandemic has forced elected officials to reconcile that their older rules and regulations may be moot.

For example, canceling classes because of inclement weather was no longer necessary because of the rise in remote learning, Lahiri said. When it comes to restaurants, there are few cons to having them deliver their drink menu items.

“It is a new era and we have now realized the old ways of doing things aren’t the best,” Lahiri said. “I think it will be easy because we’ve lived with this. It’s not uncharted.”

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(CLEVELAND, Ohio) — Margie’s Closet opened on June 5 to help transgender, non-binary and gender-expansive people buy clothing at an affordable cost.

Located in Ohio, Margie’s Closet is the first thrift shop in the state designed to help the transgender community by offering clothing and emotional support. The store, founded by the organization Margie’s Hope, sells an extensive list of clothing, from chest binders for transgender men to $5 pairs of jeans.

Jacob Nash, co-founder of Margie’s Hope and Margie’s Closet, told “Good Morning America” that he came up with the idea for the store after listening to questions from individuals in the transgender community.

“There was some conversation, first through a friend of mine who … had some clothes that she wanted to donate to folks in the trans community, and wanted to know if I knew of any place that served the trans community specifically,” Nash said. “Then, at the support group that Margie’s Hope has [Trans Ally] … a lot of people talked about shopping online because they felt uncomfortable in the stores … and then they end up sending a lot back.”

As a response to these conversations, he opened a pop-up event where people donated clothing for transgender, nonbinary and gender-expansive individuals. This event was extremely popular, Nash said, which inspired him to open up a store to sell this donated clothing.

“By the time we were done, we had so many clothes. We were like, ‘OK, so we obviously have a need here. What are we going to do?’” Nash said.

His dream became a reality when he discovered a space called Studio West 117, which was specifically created for the LGBTQ+ community, on the border between Lakewood and Cleveland that he found ideal to house the store.

“We toured the facility and realized that this would be perfect because we wanted to be able to provide folks within the transgender and nonbinary and gender-expansive community a space that they felt comfortable in [and] that they could get there everything [they] need[ed],” Nash said.

About six weeks after leasing the space, the store opened, just in time for Pride Month. So far, the turnout has been “phenomenal,” Nash said.

“We’ve had people coming in and purchasing items that are from the community, but also people that are supportive of the trans community that are coming in and saying, ‘We are coming here to shop because we want to support the community, the trans community, the nonbinary community,” Nash said. “It’s not just folks from the LGBTQ community that are coming in and shopping, or even donating, but it’s the whole community of Northeast Ohio.”

Monika Veliz, the executive manager of Margie’s Closet, agrees that the turnout has been “more than [they] could have hoped for.” She believes that the large numbers of people coming to the store can be contributed to local support and advertising.

“We realized that we can’t do this by ourselves, and the community realized that we can’t do this by ourselves, so everyone’s been really helpful,” Veliz said. “Surrounding businesses have been more than generous with welcoming us to the neighborhood. We’ve had, because of social media, and different platforms … people drive as far as from Cincinnati to Cleveland, from Bowling Green to Cleveland just to get to the store.”

This support is meaningful to Nash, but not because of the money made, making Margie’s Closet different from a typical business. In fact, the store offers opportunities for those who cannot afford the clothing to have access to $25 vouchers through community organizations or to ask for help from the store upfront. This is because Nash wants Margie’s Closet to care more about the people it helps than making a profit.

“We are trying, as our slogan goes, ‘building community one piece of clothing at a time,’ because it’s not about the clothing as much as it is building community, building family, building relationships and serving the population that is most needed,” Nash said. “If that means we give away product, then we give away product because it’s more about the people than it is about the money.”

When Veliz started working at the store, she did not realize this unique aspect of the store – that was, until she had a meaningful interaction with a transgender woman customer.

“She knew absolutely very little about women’s clothing, about her body type, her body shape, and she came into the store as we were closing. We actually stayed open an extra hour just for her so that I could help her pick up clothes and measure her and all that good stuff,” Veliz said.

“Up until that point, I thought it was just a business, if that makes sense…, but then I realized the importance we play in trans and nonbinary people who walk through our door,” Veliz added. “They’re looking for direction, they’re looking for… connection [and] community. That was the defining moment of what the store actually was for me.”

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(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department said Monday it has “fundamental concerns” with Purdue Pharma’s plan to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Purdue filed for Chapter 11 protection in 2019 as it faced thousands of lawsuits across the country over its aggressive marketing of OxyContin and other opioid products.

While the department said it supports Purdue Pharma’s proposed business model of becoming a public benefit corporation and welcomes the distribution of more than $4 billion to states for opioids mitigation, it opposes shielding the heirs of founders Raymond and Mortimer Sackler from additional opioids-related litigation since they themselves are not going through bankruptcy.

“The proposed shareholder release violates due process principles,” the Justice Department statement, filed with the bankruptcy court in White Plains, New York, said.

“To be sure, many individual creditors in the Purdue bankruptcy have agreed to give this release in exchange for the payments and other benefits they will receive under the plan, and presumably find this to be a fair deal. But many others, including states who have voted against or objected to the plan, have not agreed.”

Also on Monday, the United States trustee, who supervises bankruptcy cases for the Department of Justice, took the more formal step of objecting to the plan, which requires Sackler family members to pay over $4 billion in cash and assets, but does not require any admission of wrongdoing.

U.S. Trustee William K. Harrington cited the “extraordinarily broad release of the Sackler family” from any liability for the nation’s opioids epidemic as a reason for his objection.

“The plan provides that some members of the Sackler family will ‘contribute’ more than $4.3 billion to fund opioid abatement and compensation trusts established under the plan,” Harrington said in the court filing. “But there is a catch: Payment is conditioned on every member of the Sackler family and associated parties — which total hundreds, if not thousands — receiving a release from all liability from all persons, even if they are not creditors or parties in interest, for the Sackler family’s alleged wrongdoing in concocting and perpetuating for profit one of the most severe public health crises ever experienced in the United States.”

“Although styled as a third-party release, it is nothing less than an illegal, court-ordered discharge of a potentially limitless group of non-debtors,” the trustee wrote.

The Justice Department has, in other cases, formally objected to releasing third parties who are not going through the bankruptcy process themselves from legal liability.

In a letter last month, Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney urged Attorney General Merrick Garland to formally object to Purdue’s plan.

“Allowing the Sacklers to obtain legal immunity through Purdue’s bankruptcy would be a tragic miscarriage of justice,” Maloney said. “While the settlement will provide much-needed transparency about the Sacklers’ central role in creating, fueling, and profiting from America’s opioid epidemic, we remain troubled that the Sacklers are poised to escape accountability yet again.”

Purdue Pharma’s reorganization plan “has the potential to improve public health by speeding resources to communities and individuals affected by the opioid crisis,” Steve Miller, chairman of Purdue’s board of directors, said in a statement earlier this year. “That is what we have been working toward since the 2019 bankruptcy filing.”

The company last year pleaded guilty to three felonies — one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and two counts of conspiracy to violate the federal anti-kickback statute — as part of a settlement with the Justice Department.

A hearing to finalize Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy exit plan is scheduled for Aug. 9.

ABC News’ Celia Darrough contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — Ciara is a superstar singer, mom, wife and all-around mogul, and her latest venture, Dare to Roam, feels right on time.

Just ahead of back-to-school shopping, the “Level Up” singer has introduced a new line of accessories that are ideal for children and adults.

Dare to Roam launches Aug. 11 and includes stylish, functional backpacks, lunch boxes and pouches.

Ciara was inspired to create the brand after spending lots of time at home and wanting to transform the way we commute, travel and get back into the world post-pandemic.

The collection features EPA-registered antimicrobial texture, which serves as an added layer of protection against harmful bacteria — suppressing the growth of mold, mildew, fungi and bacteria.

The antimicrobial shield also helps to eliminate discoloration, odors and overall deterioration, which allows for each accessory to require less washing and be more sustainably used.

“I’m excited to share a cool new project I’ve been working on to help you rebuild your confidence as you Dare To Roam,” said Ciara in a statement Monday as she shared the collection on Instagram.

Dare to Roam came to life in partnership with NYC-based creative agency Harper + Scott with style, utility and protection top of mind, and the agency’s CEO Michael Scott Cohen mentioned in a statement that Dare to Roam was created based on Ciara’s vision.

Prices range from $42 to $98, and with every purchase, 3% of profits will go toward the Why Not You Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to education, children’s health, fighting poverty and empowering youth to lead with a “why not you” attitude.

 

 

 

 

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Ciara’s upcoming accessories rollout follows news of her husband, Russell Wilson, debuting his 3BRAND children’s clothing line.

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(NEW YORK) — As the end of summer approaches, teachers are already preparing for the school year ahead, which is happening again this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

To help teachers, select retailers are offering special back-to-school deals and discounts.

Here are some of the retailers offering special deals now for teachers.

Target

Target is offering teachers a one-time, 15% discount on select classroom supplies and essentials now through July 31. Teachers need to sign up for Target Circle and verify their teacher status to be eligible.

All K-12 teachers, homeschool teachers, teachers working at daycare centers and early childhood learning centers, university or college professors and vocational/trade/technical school teachers are eligible, according to Target.

Staples

At Staples stores across the country, teachers and school administrators can get 20% off select purchases now through Sept. 30.

Parents can also help support teachers through Staples’ Classroom Rewards program, which gives a percentage of their qualifying purchase made at a Staples store back to an enrolled teacher or school administrator of their choice, according to the company.

To start getting discounts, parents, teachers and school administrators must download the Staples Connect app and enroll in Classroom Rewards.

Check here for updates as more deals and discounts are announced.

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(NEW YORK) — Fried chicken fans are already clucking about Popeyes’ soon-to-debut chicken nuggets. Flocks of customers gobbled up the popular chicken sandwich, and the fast-food chain has plans to keep up with the anticipated demand of its new nuggets.

Popeyes announced in a press release the new menu item due to hit the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico on July 27, with claims it is looking to reset customer standards and revolutionize the nugget game.

Foodies swarmed social media with the news release, begging the question — will the hype bring on the same level of chaos caused by the brioche bun-enveloped crispy fried chicken sandwich with housemade pickles?

The pop-in-your-mouth-sized pieces of white meat chicken breast are seasoned just like the sandwich, marinated for at least 12 hours, hand-battered and breaded in buttermilk; then slowly fried to deliver a crisp, juicy bite, Popeyes said in a statement.

“We aim to show the world once again the magic of Popeyes chicken with our new Nuggets. We believe that these pieces of crunchy, juicy delicious chicken will have guests question how they ever enjoyed chicken nuggets before this,” Sami Siddiqui, president of Popeyes Americas said.

Popeyes said the recipe is steeped in Louisiana tradition and uses a special flour and batter system to provide the craggy and crisp texture in the brand’s classic flavor that pairs with signature sauces like Bayou Buffalo, BoldBQ, Blackened Ranch, Buttermilk Ranch, Mardi Gras Mustard and Sweet Heat.

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(NEW YORK) — The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 775 points — or 2.25% — early Monday, as renewed fears over the delta coronavirus variant cast a shadow on the economy’s post-pandemic recovery.

The S&P 500 was down some 1.9% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 1.6% shortly after markets opened. Monday’s sell-off comes on the heels of a record high for the S&P 500 approximately a week ago.

Some of the hardest-hit stocks include companies that would be impacted the most by new virus restrictions, including hotels, airlines and travel firms. Cruise liner Carnival Corp was down 7% in early trading and Boeing shed more than 5%.

The bloodbath also comes as the more-transmissible delta variant has become the dominant variant in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the delta variant has caused over half of all recent COVID-19 cases in the U.S.

Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions between China and the U.S. were also linked to stoking new anxieties among investors. On Monday, the U.S. and several allies joined forces to “expose and criticize” China for a “pattern of malicious cyber activities,” announcing that China is profiting off some of the cyberattacks it’s supported and accusing China of being behind the Microsoft Exchange server breach in March.

Finally, in another worrisome sign for equity markets, the yield on 10-year Treasury notes fell to its lowest levels in five months in a possible sign investors were seeking safe havens.

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(VAN HORN, Texas) — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is set to launch to the edge of space on Tuesday, fulfilling a lifelong dream and ushering in a new era of space tourism via the first crewed flight from his private space-faring firm Blue Origin.

The billionaire, who stepped down as Amazon CEO earlier this month, opened up about the historic spaceflight in an interview with ABC News’ “Good Morning America” on Monday.

“I have just been dreaming of this really my whole life, but I don’t know what it’s going to mean for me,” Bezos told ABC News’ Michael Strahan. “I don’t know, I’m very curious about what tomorrow is actually going to bring. Everybody who’s been to space says it changes them in some way. And I’m just really excited to figure out how it’s going to change me.”

“People say they see the thin limb of the Earth’s atmosphere, it teaches them how fragile and precious the planet is, how there are there no boundaries,” Bezos added. “I don’t know what it’s going to do but I’m excited to find out.”

Bezos will be joined on the historic journey by his brother, Mark Bezos. The other members of the crew include 82-year old Wally Funk, a pioneering female pilot whose dreams of being an astronaut in the 60s were deferred, and 18-year-old Oliver Daemen, a student from the Netherlands. Funk and Daemen are set to become the oldest and youngest people ever to go to space.

Funk told “GMA” that she trained not only in the U.S., but also with Russian cosmonauts during the original U.S.-Soviet Space Race era.

“About about two or three weeks after my training … I was told that I did better than the men,” she said. At the time, however, women were not being sent into space.

Bezos quipped that she is still “doing better than the men” when it comes to astronaut training. “She can outrun all of us, she’s 82-years-old and she can outrun all of us,” he said.

Daemon, meanwhile, said he hopes to set an example for other young people curious about space travel, but admitted it still feels surreal.

“I don’t think I’ve realized yet how special it is to become the youngest person ever, and it’s such an opportunity for me to do that,” he told Strahan. “And also to be an example for other kids.”

“It’s so amazing for me to go, I still can’t believe it,” the teen added.

With the launch less than one day away, Bezos said he is excited but not nervous, citing the successful test flights. He chose the date because it is the 52nd anniversary of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s moon landing on July 20, 1969.

The inaugural crewed flight for Blue Origin is set to launch Tuesday morning from west Texas. In total, the flight is only about 11 minutes, and approximately four minutes will be spent above the so-called Karman line that is defined by some as the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.

Bezos said the goal is ultimately to pave the way for future astronauts and make visits to space as commonplace as flying on a commercial jetliner.

“What we’re hoping to do is to build the road to space for the future generations,” Bezos said, adding that Blue Origin’s goal has been to make reusable launch vehicles and spacecraft that make space less costly and more accessible for all.

“If we can get to that stage, then the things that the next generations will figure out how to do in space, how to benefit Earth with all those things in space … that’ll be amazing to see, so that’s the real goal,” he said.

Bezos’ flight comes on the heels of a brief, successful spaceflight from Sir Richard Branson’s firm Virgin Galactic earlier this month. The back-to-back missions are seen as ushering in a new era of space tourism that has been propelled by an emerging, billionaire-backed commercial space industry.

The modern space race from the ultra-wealthy comes at a time, however, when the pandemic has only deepened the divide between the haves and have-nots — meaning not everyone is rooting for the billionaires heading to space the way Americans got behind astronauts in the Apollo era. A Change.org petition calling for Bezos to stay in space has garnered headlines and more than 150,000 signatures.

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(CANNES, France) — It was almost a strange sight; packed movie premieres and actors again walking the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival — maskless- — while throngs of photographers snapped away.

With going to the movies put on hold for more than a year, and the festival canceled last year due to the pandemic, even some of the stars were struck by what felt like a return to normal.

“I was a little overwhelmed last night, and I’m really glad that we’re here this year. Because I think we’ll all look back and remember launching out of COVID — and what a way to do it,” said actor Matt Damon, who teared up after the standing ovation he received at the premiere of his new film, “Stillwater.”

Beyond the glitz and glamour, the Cannes Film Festival is also home to the world’s biggest movie market, the Marché du Film. Set up inside the Palais des Festivals, a convention center behind the main theater where premieres are held, the marché is where thousands of directors, producers, sales agents and distributors from around the world try to get their movies made, bought, sold or distributed.

“The Marché du Film is really the business of film, we’re the less sexy and exciting part of the film festival,” said Monique White, senior vice president of distribution for California Pictures who’s been coming to Cannes for years.

This year, cinema’s power players were eager to get back to work, hoping the deals struck here will serve as evidence the business of film is also back. The industry took a massive hit during the pandemic — global theatrical revenue in the U.S. fell from $42.3 billion in 2019 to just $12 billion in 2020, according to the Motion Picture Association’s Annual Report — leaving film professionals scrambling to adjust.

“COVID-19 has forced more change on the film industry — from production and financing through distribution and exhibition — in 12 months than the business had seen in the previous decade,” wrote The Hollywood Reporter’s Europe bureau chief, Scott Roxborough.

Some argue perhaps the single biggest change was the streaming boom.

“COVID changed the way we watch anything now. Whether we’re watching on just the internet, on Facebook, Instagram, Netflix, Hulu, whatever. We have more eyeballs on our computers and our phones,” said White.

While tensions between traditional theaters and streaming platforms had been growing for a while, the problem really came to a head during the pandemic, with the controversial online release of Universal Pictures’ “Trolls World Tour” movie in April 2020 marking the beginning of a new era and sending shockwaves through Hollywood.

AMC, the country’s largest cinema chain, responded by temporarily refusing to run Universal movies.

“There used to be more of a professional understanding that you would wait a period of time before you released,” said White. “But now it’s really subject to the production and the producer and how they want to release the film domestically.”

The feud between Universal and AMC was eventually resolved, but a number of other studios have since then followed suit. Disney, the parent company of ABC News, decided to release films like “Mulan” and “Luca” online, and WarnerMedia announced the company would release all of its 2021 films on HBO Max the same day they hit theaters.

The shift to digital has even prompted the Oscars to change their eligibility rules — whereas movies first had to be released in theaters to qualify for the awards competition, the Academy is now allowing movies released online to participate.

As a result, “Nomadland” which was released on Hulu, eventually won best picture, and Netflix won seven awards and 35 nominations, the most of any studio this year.

Recently announced Emmy nominations are reflecting a similar pattern with streaming services winning more nominations in 2021 than those of broadcast and cable combined.

The Cannes Film Festival, for its part, is maintaining requirements that a movie must first air in theaters to be able to qualify.

“Of course, the streaming companies exploded and they needed lot more product which is great because now they’re asking for more,” said Hernan Aguilar, a distributor focused on the Latin American market.

Aguilar said he sees an upside to the shift to streaming.

“In general it’s good this thing is happening, because cause more product is being asked for,” he said. “The demand is going up, so in that sense, that’s good.”

The change is causing a certain uneasiness in the industry, with some fearing streaming services could not only put theaters at risk, but also the likes of producers and distributors. A number of streaming platforms are now producing their own content, instead of buying films made by independent filmmakers.

It’s an issue that’s top of mind in Cannes this year.

“Cinema and screening platforms can coexist. At one time, there was a thinking that TV was going to kill cinema. This stuff is not new. It’s all cycle,” said director Spike Lee, president of the Cannes Film Festival jury this year.

Some argue studios won’t be able to continue bypassing theaters, as there’s just no substitute for box office revenue. The recently released blockbuster “F9” — released exclusively in theaters — raked in $70 million on opening weekend.

White predicts streaming services will eventually have to raise their prices.

“They’re all gonna go up. And before you know it, let’s say in the next couple of years, it’s gonna be like 20 bucks for Netflix, I’m sure. That’s not gonna be sustainable,” she said.

Aguilar thinks it’ll be the opposite.

“I think what’s gonna happen is there’s going to be more and more streaming platforms and with competition the prices will go down but I think it’s really not expensive at all right now compared to tickets in the cinema,” he said.

Another big question: will streaming change the type of content that’s being produced?

“Streaming is definitely … if you see the quality of the content you’re seeing, you’re seeing more lower quality in terms of the story or how things are done,” said Juan Pablo Cadaveira, producer and co-founder of Blue Productions.

It’s unclear what will happen next, but some are hopeful the end of the pandemic will mean a return to theaters, pointing out it was the Great Depression that inspired Hollywood’s Golden Age.

“I just think now though hopefully with things opening up, we’re gonna be less on [streaming platforms] than we were before. No one wants to be in a small apartment. They want to go out and see people and go to the movies,” said White.

“I think as people go to church for religion, you go to the cinema to watch a good film, but it’s true that for me people are going to do it less and less because it’s so much easier to watch a good film in your house,” said Aguilar.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Misinformation – false information spread regardless of intent – is rampant across popular social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook.

Most speech, whether true or false, is protected under the U.S. legal system.

But questions about inaccurate information, spread maliciously or not, and its effects on many facets of our lives have led to efforts by social media platforms, fact-checkers and others to try to crack down.

The territory is murky and has ignited an intense debate as technology companies struggle to define the problem and attempt to get a handle on the flood of false and misleading information.

In the U.S., the situation came to a head during the 2020 presidential election cycle when social media platforms decided to fact-check and remove election-related statements from former President Donald Trump and ultimately decided to suspend or ban him in the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol for tweets that ran counter to the company’s glorification of violence policy. Facebook later announced the suspension would be lifted in two years under certain conditions.

The move led to an outcry, largely from conservatives as well as civil libertarians about free speech and the rights of social media companies to regulate what has become what many consider the new public square.

Misinformation has become such a crisis, in fact, that the U.S. surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, recently issued a warning about false information surrounding COVID-19 vaccines. And President Biden Friday said it was “killing people,” a description Facebook took exception to.

Some governments, however, have taken steps to go even further, and there are fears of using the concept of misinformation broadly to target dissent.

In recent years, Singapore, for example, implemented a law that requires platforms to remove certain posts that go against “public interest” such as security threats or the public’s perception of the government.

Similarly, Russia can legally fine those who show “blatant disrespect” online toward the state.

India takes on misinformation

In February, India, the world’s largest democracy, implemented new rules to regulate online content, allowing the government to censor what it claims to be misinformation.

Under the rules, large social media companies must appoint Indian citizens to a compliance role, remove content within 36 hours of legal notice and also set up system to respond to complaints, according to Reuters.

These restrictions give the government more power, in some cases, to dictate what can and cannot be circulated on digital platforms in the country.

For example, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that the COVID-19 variant “B.1.617,” now known as delta, was first detected in India last year.

According to Reuters, in May 2021, the Indian government sent a letter to social media companies demanding that all content that names or implies “India Variant,” as it became commonly (but not officially) known, be removed from platforms, calling that moniker “FALSE.”

In another case, late last year, farmers in India clashed with police over new laws that they believe will exploit their practices and reduce income while giving power to large corporations. In February, the Indian government issued an emergency order that demanded Twitter remove posts from the platform that used the hashtag “#farmergenocide.”

The government said in a statement that while India values the freedom of speech, expression “is not absolute and subject to reasonable restrictions.”

A Twitter spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News that when a valid legal request is received, it is reviewed under both Twitter Rules and local law. Should the content violate Twitter’s rules, it may be removed from the platform.

“If it is determined to be illegal in a particular jurisdiction, but not in violation of the Twitter Rules, we may withhold access to the content in India only,” they continued. “In all cases, we notify the account holder directly so they’re aware that we’ve received a legal order pertaining to the account.”

Separately, WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, has sued the Indian government, which is looking to trace its users, who use encrypted messages. The government wants to have the ability to identify people who “credibly accused of wrong doing,” according to Reuters. Although the Indian government said it will respond to the lawsuit, it hasn’t done so yet.

Krishnesh Bapat, a legal fellow with the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), an Indian digital liberties organization that seeks to ensure technology respects fundamental rights, highlighted the implications of the WhatsApp case.

“This is one of the most problematic consequences of these rules,” Bapat said. “Several experts have suggested that the only way to implement this would be to remove encryption.”

End-to-end encryption is a key feature for WhatsApp users, as it protects private conversations from being accessed by any entity outside the chat. WhatsApp claims the new rules are unconstitutional and a clear breach to user privacy.

“India is a big cautionary tale for how we have to be really careful of the most well-intentioned regulatory power,” said David Greene, senior staff attorney and civil liberties director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). “We used to say, ‘well that’s not a threat to democratic societies.’ I don’t think we can say that anymore, India’s a democratic society.”

ABC News could not immediately reach the IT Ministry for comment.

Difficulty in regulating

Platforms rely heavily on users flagging potentially harmful posts that break community guidelines, and that self-regulatory model may be the best bet for the future of content regulation, Greene said, as opposed to government or institutional regulation.

Similarly, A Yale Law review published earlier this year explains that a self-regulatory model should be considered to combat the spread of misinformation in India. The review says that implementing such a model should “ensure that the ‘outcomes-based’ code is not vague or tilted to serve state interests, and does not incentivize platforms to adopt an overly heavy approach to removing content. The outcomes should be built around common objectives, and should provide flexibility for platforms to develop protocols and technological tools to achieve them.”

The New York State Bar Association recently suggested that government policy and oversight can be just as important as a self-regulatory model when dealing with misinformation. It also mentions that combatting misinformation is not solely for one entity to address, claiming that it will require corporations, governments, educators and journalists to work together in an effort to prevent the continued spread of harmful, inaccurate information.

“Most democratic legal systems have robust free speech,” Greene said. “We find a lot of protection for false statements, and this is supposed to protect people because mistakes are inevitable. False statements have to actually cause a specific and direct harm before they’re actionable.”

This means that there must be a clear intent of defamation, written or spoken, in order for legal action to be taken, which is historically difficult to prove. In the U.S., libel laws in particular differ state to state, which adds an extra layer of complexity to any attempt at content regulation.

Greene also suggested that given the difficulty in casting information as verifiably false as well as the overwhelming number of posts that need to be reviewed, it’s nearly impossible for platforms to regulate content well.

In February 2018, the first Content Moderation & Removal at Scale conference was hosted by the Santa Clara University High Tech Law Institute. Experts and advocates gathered to “explore how internet companies operationalize the moderation and removal” of user-generated content. They developed what’s now known as the Santa Clara Principles.

The model, which is endorsed by EFF among other notable groups, provides three guiding principles for content moderators – being transparent about the numbers of people permanently suspended or banned, proper notice and reason for doing so and a “meaningful” appeals process.

Greene says that the Santa Clara Principles can be utilized as a guideline for companies in an effort to preserve basic human rights in content moderation. Alternatively, regulation that involves prescreening or filtering posts can have serious human rights implications, but although a post may include false information that contains offensive language appearing to hurt certain people or groups, it’s usually not illegal.

“By mandating filters, users are subjected to automated decision making and potentially harmful profiling,” Greene explained. “This has a chilling effect on speech and undermines the freedom to receive impartial information. When knowing to be censored, users change behavior or abstain from communicating freely.”

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