On August 14, the Maryland Tax Court struck down the state’s Digital Advertising Gross Revenues Tax, enacted in 2020. Across multiple rulings, the court found the tax unlawful and unconstitutional, violating the Internet Tax Freedom Act, the Dormant Commerce Clause, the Due Process Clause, and the First Amendment.
The update removes the requirement that a “news website” cover “a broad range of news on all subjects and activities and is not limited to any specific subject matter,” clearly allowing subject matter-focused sites, such as those covering sports, finance, or culture, to be registered under the option.
With today’s markup, Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-WA) advanced bipartisan work to protect children from addictive and harmful practices perpetuated by large online platforms, while preserving beneficial access to high-quality journalism.
The News/Media Alliance commends the Massachusetts Senate for the effort to protect a free press and will continue to work with the Massachusetts News Paper Association and other journalism advocates to push the measure forward as House and Senate leadership negotiate a final public records package.
On July 13th, Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe signed into law SB1067, the “Uniform Public Expression Act”, a measure providing Missourians with stronger protections against strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP suits) that are designed to prevent an individual or organization from exercising their First Amendment rights.
On July 3, the Department of Health and Human Services released its 2026 plan for regulatory actions, which includes a proposed Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rule on “Transparency in Direct-to-Consumer Advertising.”
The Supreme Court denied an emergency request to stay the Texas App Store Accountability Act, which would require developers to receive an age signal from a mobile store operator and obtain parental consent before allowing users under the age of 18 to download apps, make in-app purchases, or receive significant updates to the app offered.
On July 1, the California Assembly Privacy Committee overwhelmingly passed SB 690, a bill that would amend the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) to provide relief for news publishers targeted by unreasonable lawsuits based on the current text of the law.
On June 30, the News/Media Alliance filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in Salazar v. Paramount Global, concerning the definition of “consumer” under the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA).
Today’s comments commended the Office for proposing the update, and urged the Office to adopt the rule swiftly and with immediate effect.
