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TikTok dispute in California
California Governor Gavin Newsom accused TikTok of censoring content critical of Donald Trump, saying his office had “confirmé de manière indépendante” cases of content removal after a deal that places the app under “contrôle majoritairement américain.”
“Gavin Newsom affirme avoir «confirmé de manière indépendante» des cas de suppression de contenus critiques”
Newsom said “Il est temps d’enquêter” and launched an inquiry to determine whether TikTok violates state law by censoring content critical of Trump.
Le Figaro also described users attempting this weekend to post videos about the death of Alex Pretti encountering difficulties such as an inability to publish and videos being submitted to moderation.
TikTok’s response, via a spokesperson, attributed the problems to a power outage in a data center and said it would be “inexact de rapporter qu’il s’agit d’autre chose que de problèmes techniques” confirmed transparently.
The dispute is tied to the finalized creation of a TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC with investors holding 80,1% of the capital and ByteDance retaining 19,9%.
Final debate before June 2
California’s top gubernatorial candidates met in a final debate before the June 2 primary, with seven candidates including Xavier Becerra, Chad Bianco, Steve Hilton, Matt Mahan, Katie Porter, Tom Steyer, and Antonio Villaraigosa.
The debate was hosted by CBS Bay Area and the San Francisco Examiner from the Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco, and USA Today said it came as ballots were already in voters’ hands.
CBS News California and the San Francisco Examiner described the event as a 90-minute debate beginning at 5:30 p.m. live from the Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco, moderated by CBS News Bay Area reporter Ryan Yamamoto and San Francisco Examiner editor-in-chief Schuyler Hudak Prionas.
In the debate’s lightning round, candidates were asked whether they would extradite a California-based physician for sending abortion pills across state lines, with Republicans Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton saying they would and Democrats Antonio Villaraigosa, Xavier Becerra, Matt Mahan, Tom Steyer and Katie Porter saying they would not.
CBS News California also reported that Villaraigosa argued for an “all of the above” energy policy, saying “We need an all-of-the-above energy policy, presque anyone who knows anything about this knows that, and we haven't spoken to it.”
Becerra pile-on and affordability
The final debate featured a sustained focus on affordability and public safety, with USA Today describing sharp disagreements over crime trends, law enforcement authority, and the role sheriffs should play in statewide policy.
“I like you personally, Xavier, but you shouldn’t be on this stage”
The San Francisco Standard said the night was “less a policy forum than a political street fight,” and it reported that Steve Hilton told Xavier Becerra, “I like you personally, Xavier, but you shouldn’t be on this stage.”
CalMatters reported that opponents ganged up on Becerra in the final debate before the June 2 election, attacking his ethics, his ideas, and his choice of political consultants.
CalMatters also cited the guilty plea earlier Thursday of Becerra’s former political strategist Dana Williamson, who “admitted to conspiring with Becerra’s former longtime chief of staff to steal money from his campaign account.”
In the Hill’s account of the affordability-focused debate, Tom Steyer pressed Becerra about single-payer healthcare and said, “So are they lying?” while Becerra responded by pointing to his service on the House Ways and Means Committee and saying he would propose changing the tax code so “everyone pays their fair share.”
