all right. thanks for joining us. you're watching, getting answers. i'm kristen sze. how far can the federal government go to combat controversial social media posts? should they have the right to force tech giants? facebook youtube or x to take down your posts? and what kind of content should they have a say in removing? these questions are at the heart of a potentially seismic case argued before the us supreme court today. joining us live now to talk about this issue, internet policy counsel for tech freedom, a libertarian leaning tech policy think tank. corbin barthold corbin, thank you for your time. good to be here. so the case is murphy versus missouri. that's us surgeon general vivek murthy versus the state of missouri. but it's really missouri, louisiana and some social media users versus the biden administration. explain to us, the combatants and what they're fighting over here. >> that is correct. it was initiated by louisiana, missouri. we also have some doctors who had posts taken down during the covid pandemic, the

case has grown to sort of encompass as many players as the states could come up with precisely because, as was disputed during the argument today, it's not clear who has standing because it's kind of hard to point to individual government actions that lead to individual posts getting taken down. at any rate, at the core of this lawsuit, there's a sprawling record. but the covid 19 pandemic in 2021, there was extensive coordination between the government, the federal government and major platforms such as facebook and twitter to address uh- covid 19 pandemic and vaccine misinformation action. there are some other issues around the edges, such as elections, but the main issue is , is how far could the federal government go in working with and or pressuring platforms to take down material at the height of the pandemic? right >> so just give us maybe one example of what kind of a content would the biden

administration say, hey, this is just wrong. this is hurting people. take it down. and the social media platform would agree, give us an example. >> sure, there was a wide range going out from things, you know, like there are microchips in the vaccines all the way to things that really go up against the line. so not long after president biden was inaugurated, robert f kennedy uh- tweeted out about the death of hank aaron. hank aaron, the baseball star, had died. i believe it was only a few days after getting the covid 19 vaccine. and robert kennedy did a sort of classic just asking questions, tweet where he said, you know, kind of isn't, you know, he died and he just got the vaccine. coincidence? and the government pressured the platforms or twitter to take that tweet down. i believe in that instance, they did not. they left it up. they didn't find it across the line under their own rules. right? >> i mean, i know these platforms don't generally like to do that anyway, but they have in cases and in this case, this

lawsuit, the lower and appeals courts, i understand found in favor of the states that said, hey, they don't have the right to do that. so on what grounds can you talk about what the legal argument was? >> a core violation that everybody in this dispute agrees would violate the first amendment is if there's a clear here's a piece of content we don't like, and if you don't take it down, here's some kind of consequence that we, the federal government, are threatening to bring down on you, but down in the trial court, it got much more complicated than that. the district judge issued a ruling that was extraordinary broad that, kind of didn't connect the dots, basically said there was a lot of talk back and forth between the two sides and then ruled against the government, the court of appeals narrowed that ruling pretty substantial, but still sort of applied wishy washy standards. for instance, the court of appeals decided that the federal bureau of investigation just by virtue of

its enforcement power as a law enforcement agency, comes into any conversation with a coercive, patina to their words, and maybe is violating the first amendment in any discussion that it has. so actually, you're, hitting on an issue that is a subject of great debate here, and ongoing confusion of what test will the supreme court apply? >> all right. so what was the reaction from the justices today? sometimes you can read the tea leaves a little bit and see, hey, which side is winning the argument here, which side? they, you know, might they might favor in terms of the ruling, what do you think? >> i think they were skeptical of how the state set up this case, and i think they were skeptical of, one might say, the service that they have gotten from the lower court rulings in the trial court and the court of appeals. i don't think a majority of the justices felt that they were set up to issue a ruling for the states that they they don't regret it, there were multiple justices who have

worked themselves in the federal government and seem to say, look, i've been on the other side of this and you're not actually alleging something that is as nefarious as you seem to think you are. the government is always, expressing its opinion, sometimes quite strongly, including to traditional media outlets. that's actually kind of a story as old as time, i don't know how they will rule. i think there is a possibility that they will rule for the states, but i think it's pretty clear the states are not going to get everything they want here. >> all right. so bottom line, you're not putting money down on this bet yet, right? okay >> this was yeah. it's tea leaf reading. still even after this argument. >> let me just ask you this. look, the biden administration wasn't the first, to try to influence social media in the sense that you say this is harmful. take it down. right. i know in researching this, other politicians have done this. ted cruz comes to mind during the whole texas power outage going to cancun thing. sometimes the

argument is, hey, this content is bad for the people like citizens. we're trying to protect other times it's, hey, this is bad for me or my family, should, you know, both be reasonable standards to apply in terms of being able to ask social media companies to take these down? >> we're having so many internet speech law cases at the supreme court lately, and one that was recent. they issued just a week or so ago, talked about the fact that government officials have first amendment rights as persons. they don't forfeit those when they go into government. so if a uh- politician finds say, that his home address is being thrown around on social media and he goes to the social media company and complains, i actually don't think that's terribly, problematic. i think that is speech in that person's capacity as a private citizen to try to protect their privacy, if they get some special treatment because they're a powerful individual, i think we're getting into problems of, of human nature more than constitutional law. as long as they don't tie it to some kind

of, you know, take it down or i will do x in my official capacity, but you're certainly right that this has been going on since before the biden administration. and to a degree, i think it's unfortunate that it's been, put through a partizan lens specifically because of how covid went, you saw the trump administration doing many of the same things that the states are now complaining about. i think if we abstract it out, the discrete issues here, it wouldn't be that controversial that as a democratic society, we want our government to have opinions about stuff. that's why we vote them in, and so we'll see what happens. hopefully the justices will understand that as well and give us a ruling that is good for not just today, but tomorrow and the day after. >> i understand that in these debates, sometimes people bring up the concept of, oh, this is orwellian, right? in a reference to george orwell, author of 1984, who gave rise to the idea of big brother that most americans are opposed to. but

now accusations of acting orwellian are commonplace. but you argue that it's being misused and you have, yes, touched on something. >> i've been banging on my high chair about this that i wish that people would stop taking what i consider the very first world problem of having their tweet taken down and comparing it to, orwell's 1984, which i always think of as more, living in a dystopian totalitarian society, like under, you know, kim jong un or something, where your family gets disappeared along with you if you say the wrong thing, people also try to say that things are orwellian because we're changing the meaning of words somehow. justice alito, in an earlier argument, complained that we should be calling what social media platforms do censorship, and that it's orwellian not to do so. and i disagree. the government is the most powerful, kid on the block in this country, and it's the entity that engages in, in in

censorship. that's what that word means. >> fascinating. why is this decision, in murphy versus missouri ultimately important for the future? what are the potential outcomes that would affect us all? >> there's such a range of directions that the court could go, going back to my point about the standards still being pretty unclear, were they to go sort of whole hog for the state's position, that could cut off all communication between the federal government and the social media platforms, which could have huge ramifications for, among many other things, our elections, our federal government tracks foreign attempts to meddle in our domestic elections. it is no secret that nations like russia and china, try to influence our elections by starting accounts or buying ads on our major social media platforms. federal government often has insight into to what is a foreign puppet

and what is not, and cutting off that avenue of communications between the platforms and the federal government, it's cutting off our nose to spite our face, frankly. >> interesting way to put it. certainly something we're going to keep watching. corbin, barthold and you are policy internet policy counsel for tech freedom. thank you so much for sharing your expertise today. >> it's been a pleasure. >> thank you, thank you. >> coming up next. what a start for bay fc, the bay area's newest pro sports team kicks off its inaugural season with a huge win coming up. their coach joins us to talk about that and what are living in the moment and taking ibrance. ibrance with an aromatase inhibitor is for adults with hr positive, her2 negative metastatic breast cancer as the first hormonal based therapy. ibrance plus letrozole significantly delayed disease progression versus letrozole.

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fc won their first ever match in los angeles. the nwsl expansion club is making a buzz in the national women's soccer league. there were a few different watch parties yesterday across the bay area. it's been over a decade since a major league women's soccer team was established in the bay area, so that's why this is so exciting. and joining us live now is bay fc head coach albertine montoya. thank you so much for joining us. did i say your name right? is it alberton or albertine? >> albertine montoya. and thank you so much for having me. okay. >> excellent. i'm so excited by the way. congratulations. like huge right? i mean, you come out uh- beat angel city one. nothing and your inaugural game. that is saying that new kid on the block is ready to play, right? >> it wasn't too bad. no, it was a lot of fun. uh- so proud of the team and they exceeded our expectations. uh- we were going in there just to try to compete. it's a new team. uh- we've been seven weeks together. uh- some of the players have just joined us for the last couple of weeks and showed a lot of character

and determination, and we went out there and got a great result against an excellent opponent. so, really proud of this team. wow. >> did you say they really only came together seven weeks ago? that's not a lot of practice time. >> no, it's not exactly. no, it's seven weeks. and some of our international players, joined us, two weeks ago, and we still have, another player that's going to join us in, probably this week. so that's why it was, i think, an incredible and historic win for us, the team has come together a lot sooner than we thought it would, and it just goes to show their character and, the team chemistry has been exceptional, it's only, like i said, seven weeks, but the seven weeks feels like it's been 2 or 3 months because of, the quality of the players and, and, individuals. we have, and they're only going to get better. >> sounds like, so that's great. by the way, so many people were watching this. i mean, watch parties here in the bay area, but in the stands there, i understand, ted lasso star jason sudeikis was there. did you know

that? by the way, i did not. >> i did not know that until my wife told me about it. i'm like, wait a second, but i'm not really paying attention to that, what's great to hear is all the watch parties around and the support that we're having from the fans, it's, it's, you know, it's exciting and we can't look forward, we were looking forward to playing in our home opener on the 30th. and excited about the fans that we're going to have there for us. >> i'm sure you're going to pack the stands. look, this is the third time in bay area sports history that a women's pro soccer team has made its debut. is it different this time? do you think there's going to be staying power? >> it is very different, than last time i coached actually 13 years ago, the last bay area team, they were called the pride. and, the amount of energy and support. look at the fans. i think we had, over 20,000, at this game. and there's so much energy around this. the game right now around the world. and, it's this is an exciting time. the league's been together. i mean, inception now for ten

years, and, it's here to stay. yeah. >> i mean, why do you think it's different this time? right? like, what's changed? i mean, you got sponsors. i understand sutter health has a $13 million deal, you know that. what has changed? i mean, there's tv advertising like what's going on, the energy on the field, you could see that game. >> there's over 20,000 fans rooting. look at the watch parties going on. i mean, there's just this energy and the game has grown in such a way, and there's such a demand for the women's of football because it's a beautiful game. and, it's just something special. i mean, 13 years ago, yes, we had great players from all over the world, but this just feels different. it's just the energy, the support. i mean, it's just the right time. and we're seeing this. it's consistent across all the teams in the league. and, i mean, it's just it's an exciting game. it's the most beautiful game in the world. and the women right now are playing it as good as anyone at, around. so it's, it's here to stay. yeah. and when you've got, like, oshoala there, i see in the background

scoring goals like she did. i mean, it's, it's going to be fun. so i hope that our fans are as even better than, angel city's so. >> oh, no doubt about that. i mean, if you look at the wnba, also, all the excitement surrounding that people really are recognizing women's game can be just as exciting, if not more so. but i want to tell you this, i find it interesting that this team came about in a very silicon valley kind of a way. can you just give us the brief story behind that? >> well, i mean, the founders, we've got leslie osborne, brandi chastain, allie wagner and danielle slayton. right. so barry and natives played at santa clara university, got this started. and then the owner is another bay area, native. and it's just, and then i've coached here in the bay area since i was , well, for 25 years now. so there's just this feel that. and that's why i think the support is there. there's so much excitement everywhere you go around. i see i was out today, doing some work with one of our

coaches at a coffee shop, and we ran into 3 or 4 fans that had bay fc. hats on and shirts and, it's just, you know, this is it's just a really good time. and there's so much, soccer that's played in northern california, and it's such an a talented way, very high level. and, it's just coming together at the right time. yeah. >> and you're the person to lead it. and i read up a little bit about your interesting history as well. native of cuba, played at santa clara university, of course, after you moved here, played professional in mls, just, a lot of coaching history as well, and it's all brought you to this moment. so before i let you go, coach albertine, what are your goals this season? pardon the terrible pun, but what are your big dreams for the season? >> so we are really investing in playing a beautiful style of football, which is a possession based, game that's going to take some time because you really have to understand each other on the field, but it's where it excites the fans. we're going to be an attack minded team where we go forward. we send, players

into different parts of the field where it's going to create problems for the, the opponents, and it's just an exciting way, a game where the players also express themselves. you're going to see them laugh and enjoy themselves, compete and we're trying to bring all that together. it's not just the wins. and that's why i was very impressive that we got the win last night. but when we put our tactics together with our style of football, and just the heart and soul of this team has already shown, i think it's going to be quite special. >> bay fc head coach albertin montoya. congratulations! you can catch them in action at paypal park this season. thanks so much. >> thank you so much for having us. and, look forward to seeing everyone out there. >> yep. best of luck. all right. coming up next earth dayea and y area aquarium launches a first of its kind contest, and the winner is going to get something out of this world, literally.

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aquarium of the bay at pier 39 is hosting a special contest. it's the first ever earth day poster competition, and the deadline is friday. here with us now to tell us all about it is doctor george jacob, president and ceo of the aquarium of the bay, just up the street. thank you so much for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> all right. so this is very exciting. i mean, i was never good at art, but i always wish i was one of those kids who can just take my imagination and throw it on paper. and you're giving them a chance to do that through your first ever earth day poster competition, right? yeah tell us about it. >> so april 22nd is earth day, and every year we do a number of activities for kids on earth day. and this year, in addition to our regular activities, we are planning to do a poster competition. and the theme of course, is earth day and there are three different categories for junior school middle school and senior school students. and the winning entry will probably

fly to the moon. >> okay, tell us about that. that's too exciting. did you hear that, kids? okay, it's one thing to be on the google doodle and everybody sees your you know, drawing when they log on. but to go to the moon, tell us, what is that? what's going on there? >> so the winning entry would be on the, firefly lunar module that will be launched on falcon nine through spacex, some time later this year. >> wow. yeah. and it's going to the moon. yes. where it's going to do what, is it just going to stay there. >> is it it's, most likely going to be on a microchip. oh, and it will be taken in a time capsule and it will be on the moon. wow, what an exciting. >> imagine being able to tell your children that someday, right? okay, so what are the entry requirements and who's doing the judging? and what are you looking for? >> so we have an internal jury of specialists from the aquarium animal care team, from the education team, and the administration team. and we'll pick the winning entries

depending on how effective they are as a poster. and how original they are as a poster, okay. >> and we have some of the entry requirements up there on the screen for you to see. that's right, one person. oh that's interesting, 200 words or less on how it relates to earth day. so you have to write a little something in addition to submitting whatever you drew a little something. >> yes. >> okay. and does it have to be drawing. can it be like something you design on the computer? it can write. >> it can be so it can be digital. it can be hand-drawn. it can be, you know, any of those formats. >> this is fantastic. of course you offer all sorts of programs for children at the aquarium year round, right? >> we do. and during covid and post covid, we also introduced a robot so that can actually walk you through the aquarium tunnels and tell you about the marine biodiversity in the san francisco bay. >> wow. okay. and what kinds of hands on things do you have? like if i were to just stop by. >> so we have, multiple galleries inside the aquarium, and we have the longest tunnel systems in the united states. we have clear acrylic tunnels that are 300ft long. we hold about 750,000 gallons of saltwater,

24,000 animals. and then once you come out of the tunnels, there are touch touch pools and labs where you can actually engage in a variety of experiments. >> oh, just like they do at monterey bay aquarium. it's of course, smaller, but you've got all the cool things that people really enjoy about aquarium. >> pretty much. >> okay. do you have any favorite exhibits or special animals that you have a lot of love for there at the aquarium? >> well, they're all my children , but if i was to pick a favorite, i would say otters. i would say octopus, i would say sea bass. i would say patrice, and the list goes on. >> can i ask you something? are are those sea lions at pier 39 still there? >> they are. they are on the other side, on the west side of the pier. and that's why they're appearing less frequently. >> is that just my imagination or is that actually happening now? >> when they breed, they go down to la and then they come back. so quite often you'll find a lot of bachelors there. >> okay. i see a lot of bachelors. i ask you because, folks, if you have guests in town and you're going to pier 39, you're thinking, we're going

to look at the sea lions and they're not there. don't worry. just go to the aquarium by the bay, which is right there in the front. you can't miss it. and you'll see all sorts of cool animals, like you said, otters that are local to here. and uh. and you can touch things, right? absolutely. okay. yeah and education is a big part of what you do. >> it is a big part. and this year we have four fantastic sponsors, including abc seven, and eerie, alcatraz cruises. they'll all help us find volunteers and help us with education programs. all right. >> so hey, when are the entries due this contest that you're running? are they poster i think they do this this week. and then where do people go to submit? >> and they can go online on our website and simply submit to the poster competition with a click of a button. all right. >> great. this is fantastic. thank you very much, doctor george jacob for stopping by. thank you. all right. can't wait to see who the winner is. indeed. work to go up in space to the moon. absolutely. >> thank you, thank you. >> and remember 24 seven abc seven news is streaming so you can get the abc seven bay area

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with oprah tonight at 8:00. then right after, it's the all new bachelor women tell all at nine. then don't miss abc seven news at 11. and that's going to do it for now. thanks for watching. getting answers. we'll be here every weekday at 3:00, answering questions with experts from around the bay area. world news tonight with david muir is next. and i'll see you back here at tonight, breaking news involving donald trump. his lawyers telling the court he doesn't have the money.