A post-budget social media feed fight

Apr 29, 2024

By Nick Reisman, Jeff Coltin and Emily Ngo

With help from Irie Sentner

The New York state Capitol is pictured in Albany, N.Y.

Lawmakers, with backing from Gov. Kathy Hochul, are pushing to turn off algorithmic-based feeds for minors. | Hans Pennink/AP

Regulating how kids use social media sites is expected to be the dominant issue facing lawmakers when they return to Albany next week for the final weeks of the legislative session.

Already the issue could play an important role in the upcoming election season.

The candidate questionnaire from the powerful New York State United Teachers, which backs legislation to rein in social media firms’ use of algorithmic-based feeds for users under 18, gauges those running for office on whether they support the bill, according to a copy of the form seen by Playbook.

Lawmakers, with backing from Gov. Kathy Hochul, are pushing to turn off algorithmic-based feeds for minors.

So instead of seeing a tailored feed based on their interests, kids would see posts chronologically — a move meant to limit the mental health concerns raised by experts over how young people perceive issues like weight loss or racism.

But the provision has stalled in Albany and ultimately was not included in the final budget deal this month.

Social media companies have raised free speech concerns as they lobby against the measure. Nevertheless, bill sponsors in Albany believe they have momentum.

“Parents are looking for us to act,” Brooklyn Democratic state Sen. Andrew Gounardes told Playbook. “Teachers, kids, mental health professionals — everyone is looking for action here.”

Policymakers across the country have started to take a hard look at social media companies and their influence, especially on younger users.

Florida approved a bill to ban kids under 14 from using social media; Congress and President Joe Biden are trying to force a sale of TikTok from a Chinese-based firm.

Gounardes is not concerned that the measure failed to get included in the spending plan.

“When you try to do new and big things, it takes a bit more work than it otherwise would,” he said.

Social media companies have signaled the bill would face a legal challenge. Gounardes insists the measure would withstand a court fight.

“Every state that has passed similar legislation limiting teen access to online resources has seen a legal challenge to that legislation,” said Chris McKenzie, a spokesperson for the industry group Chamber of Progress. “It’s not wild speculation to expect a legal challenge.”

And those efforts are expected to continue through June 6, the final day of the legislative session.

Social media companies are also trying to argue that regulating algorithmic feeds could have unintended consequences for young users.

“We’re going to continue making the case publicly that this is legislation that could inadvertently harm teen online users,” he said. — Nick Reisman

HAPPY MONDAY: Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.

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WHERE’S KATHY? In Albany with no public schedule.

WHERE’S ERIC? Appearing live on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” delivering remarks at the launch of “NYC Her Future,” hosting a rally in support of his “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” text amendment, giving remarks at a Jobs NYC hiring hall, making a workforce-related announcement, delivering proclamations to the New York University Women’s Basketball Team for winning the NCAA Division III Championship, speaking at Shared Interest’s 30th Anniversary Voices of Change Gala and delivering remarks at Greater St. Stephen United Church of God’s 50th-anniversary celebration.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “We deserve better than 50 acres of asphalt!” — from an online petition that’s part of a massive push by Mets owner Steve Cohen to win support for a Queens casino next to Citi Field.

ABOVE THE FOLD

Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn speaks at a podium.

Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn casually brushed off an accusation from former Assemblymember Peter Abbate that she shared information with the GOP operatives that knocked Abbate off the ballot. | Seth Wenig/AP

BROOKLYN DEMOCRATIC DRAMA: There won’t be a Democrat challenging vulnerable Republican Assemblymember Lester Chang in southern Brooklyn this year — and the leader of the Brooklyn Democratic Party couldn’t care less.

“Why are you trying to come back as a disgruntled old-timer, not a reflection of the community?” she told Playbook about the 75-year-old Abbate, who made a comeback attempt for his old district, which is now majority Asian.

She said younger Asian Democrat Jimmy Li should have run, but Abbate pressured him out.

“I am an old timer, and I believe in the Democratic Party,” Abbate responded in an interview, about Bichotte. “I think she’s just a self-serving individual.”

Abbate and Bichotte represent warring factions in southern Brooklyn and one of Abbate’s district leaders, Tori Kelly, considered challenging Bichotte for party leader in 2022. This year, each side challenged the other’s petitions for the low-level party position, but only Bichotte’s allies were successful, clearing the ballot for new district leaders Joyce Xie and Tony Ko.

Somebody then shared those specifications, showing that Abbate’s petitions weren’t valid, with allies of Chang — and a court knocked the Democrat off the ballot for Assembly.

Bichotte said it wasn’t her who did it, but “the Asian community,” who supported both the Chinese-American Democratic district leaders and the Republican Chang.

But critics say it’s the latest example of Bichotte putting personal politics ahead of helping her party — like when she openly battled with Democratic City Council Member Justin Brannan amid his tough reelection last year.

“The Kings County Democratic Party continues to collude with Republicans in broad daylight,” Brannan said to Playbook. “It is fraudulent, wholly disqualifying and completely batshit.”

Bichotte has been in court in recent days, meanwhile, personally working to knock off candidates who aren’t aligned with her, such as Council Member Kalman Yeger.

She’s been reelected to lead the state’s biggest county organization before, despite loud opposition, but she didn’t commit when Playbook asked if she’d run again this fall: “Um. I think I will. I haven’t fully decided yet.” — Jeff Coltin

CITY HALL: THE LATEST

— Hassan Naveed, the director of City Hall’s hate crimes prevention unit, was fired last week without being given a reason and is now planning to file a discrimination claim. (Daily News)

— New York City will pay $2.1 million to three white Department of Education executives who claimed they were demoted and replaced by less-qualified people of color. (New York Post)

NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY

Police arrest student protesters at Columbia University.

Legislators elected with the backing of the Democratic Socialists of America released a statement supportive of campus protesters at New York colleges and universities. | Irie Sentner/POLITICO

PROTEST AND SOLIDARITY: Campus protests against Israel aren’t just dividing Congress: State lawmakers in Albany, too, have split along ideological lines.

Legislators elected with the backing of the Democratic Socialists of America released a statement supportive of campus protesters at Columbia University as well as New York University, the New School, Cornell and the City University of New York.

The DSA-backed elected officials at the same time condemned antisemitism.

“We are moved watching students exercise their protected rights to freedom of speech and assembly in a united call for an end to the ongoing genocide in Gaza — and for their universities to divest from institutions that profit from this genocide, Israeli apartheid, and occupation,” the lawmakers said in the joint statement.

“We also stand firmly opposed to antisemitism, which is part of the same machinery of fear and division that these students are organizing against.”

Those signing onto the statement include Sens. Julia Salazar, Jabari Brisport and Kristen Gonzalez; Assemblymembers Zohran Mamdani, Emily Gallagher, Marcela Mitaynes, Phara Souffrant Forrest and Sarahana Shrestha.

Multiple local elected officials backed the statement, as well, including New York City Council members Tiffany Cabán and Alexa Avilés; Ithaca City Council members Phoebe Brown and Kayla Matos, and Tompkins County Legislator Veronica Pillar.

Republicans, however, are taking a far different view of the protests.

GOP lawmakers on Friday urged Hochul to end Columbia’s tax-exempt status in the wake of the ongoing protests.

Republican Sens. Joe Griffo, Peter Oberacker and Dean Murray wrote in a letter to the governor that the demonstrations have veered into concerns over safety for Jewish students.

“If New York state is serious about stopping antisemitism, then they should take action to address this issue and prove to New Yorkers that antisemitic and hateful acts will not be tolerated,” Griffo said. — Nick Reisman

CUOMO ON NEW YORK: Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo put it this way Sunday at a Brooklyn church: “The truth is New York is in crisis and it feels out of control — there is a growing sense that it is lawless and rudderless.”

Cuomo’s 15-minute speech touched on the flood of illegal marijuana shops in New York City; the lack of a federal response to the migrant crisis and the state not doing more to help (“The state of New York told the city basically to drop dead”); and the need for better control over any hate speech found at Columbia toward Jewish students from pro-Palestianian protesters.

“A rabbi at Columbia warned Jewish students not to come back to the campus because it wasn’t safe. This is the upper West side of Manhattan, it’s not Poland in 1938,” the three-term governor who resigned in scandal in 2021 said.

“Don’t tell the Jews to stay home; no one in this city should be afraid to come out of their house because of their race or religion,” he continued. “Let them go back to their campus, and if the so-called protesters break the law, then arrest them and enforce the law.”

The speech was another example of Cuomo wanting to reenter the public dialogue amid myriad challenges facing the country, the state and New York City — where he may consider a run for mayor next year if Mayor Eric Adams falters.

“It is time for your voice to be heard: voices of reasonableness, responsibility and common sense,” Cuomo said to the crowd. “It’s time for you to lead and when you do, I promise you the politicians will follow.” — Joseph Spector

More from Albany:

— Speaking of Cuomo: He has agreed to testify before a House panel investigating the response to the Covid-19 pandemic. (CNN)

— New York’s judicial oversight commission braced for budget cuts. But the watchdog got a reprieve. (Times Union)

— Hochul referred Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley to the state Commission on Prosecutorial Conduct after Doorley didn't stop for police after speeding near her home. (WXXI)

— Hochul's budget deal pushes Democrats to the center as key House races loom. (POLITICO)

KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION

Sen. George Latimer, D-Port Chester, during a joint legislative budget hearing on education on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, in Albany, N.Y.

Democratic House candidate George Latimer is focusing on abortion in his latest ad amid a costly and hotly contested primary challenge to Rep. Jamaal Bowman. | Mike Groll/AP

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Democratic House candidate George Latimer’s campaign is set to release its second ad, which will highlight his support for abortion rights.

Latimer is focusing on the issue amid a costly and hotly contested primary challenge to Rep. Jamaal Bowman in the district that covers parts of the Bronx and Westchester.

Latimer’s campaign is set to spend at least $249,000 on a cable run of the ad, according to the tracking firm AdImpact.

The one-minute ad highlights Latimer’s efforts both as the Westchester County executive and a state senator backing measures meant to sustain access to abortion.

Abortion has not loomed large in the primary challenge between the two candidates; the two candidates are chiefly at odds over Israel — Latimer has backed the country amid the war against Hamas; Bowman has been a prominent critic in Congress.

But the spot, set to hit airwaves today in the district, is a signal to Democratic voters of his support for a bedrock concern for the base of the party, which will decide the June 25 primary. — Nick Reisman

More from Congress:

— The candidates running for a Buffalo House seat disagree over key issues. (Buffalo News)

— The national campaigns have shifted to a focus on Arizona and New York, for very different reasons. (POLITICO)

NEW YORK STATE OF MIND

— The state budget has increased funding for mental health services amid heightened concerns over the issue. (Newsday)

— Tenants and landlords have one thing in common on the state budget: They are both concerned about enforcement of new ‘good cause’ protections. (POLITICO Pro)

— A New York Supreme Court justice ordered Forest Hills Stadium to quiet down following a lawsuit from annoyed neighbors. (New York Post)

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SOCIAL DATA

Edited by Daniel Lippman

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: NBC’s Hallie Jackson … Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.) … Dawn Kopecki … Business Insider’s Ari Isaacman D’Angelo … Alison Corwin … Damien LaVera … Kara Panzer … (WAS SUNDAY): Robert Murstein … Scott Mayerowitz of GlobeTrotScott Strategies … NYT’s Karoun Demirjian … Jason Schwartz … Austen Wells …

… (WAS SATURDAY): Hannah Kim … The Intercept’s James Risen … Michael Crittenden of the Levinson Group … Bloomberg’s Mike Shepard … Goldman Sachs’ Lee Brenner … Arielle Patrick … Alexsandra Sanford … Weesie (Vieira) Thelen … Reynold Levy ... Daniel Gerstein … (WAS FRIDAY): Richard S. Fuld Jr. ... NYT’s Russell Goldman ... WSJ’s Eliot Brown

MAKING MOVES: Fenton has hired Desiree Dozier as a vice president in the firm’s philanthropy and government practice.

MEDIAWATCH — The New Yorker’s succession race is kicking off,” by Semafor’s Max Tani: David “Remnick, per three sources, will stay at least through next year’s celebration of the New Yorker’s centennial … The devoted community of New Yorker aficionados and insiders believe he might leave then, or when his tenure touches three decades in July 2028. He has told colleagues he doesn’t want to overstay his welcome.”

— “Dan Rather, at 92, on a life in news,” by CBS News’ Lee Cowan

YOUR NEW YORK NUMBER OF THE DAY

55 mph

How fast Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley was driving in a 35 mph speed zone when she was pulled over by the police. Things went downhill from there.