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    Florida Gov DeSantis pushes to end Disney self-government

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments969 Views
    The Walt Disney Co. logo appears on a screen above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Aug. 7, 2017. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday, April 19, 2022, asked the Legislature to repeal a law allowing Walt Disney World to operate a private government over its properties in the state, the latest salvo in a feud between the Republican and the media giant. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

    By Anthony Izaguirre

    TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) --

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday asked the Legislature to repeal a law allowing Walt Disney World to operate a private government over its properties in the state, the latest salvo in a feud between the Republican and the media giant.

    DeSantis, an ascendant GOP governor and potential 2024 presidential candidate, has battled with Disney over the company's opposition to a new law barring instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.

    On Tuesday, DeSantis raised the stakes.

    As lawmakers returned to the Capitol for a special legislative session on congressional redistricting, the governor announced he issued a proclamation that allows the Republican-controlled statehouse to take up bills eliminating Disney's self-governing district.

    "I am announcing today that we are expanding the call of what they are going to be considering this week. And so, yes they will be considering the congressional map, but they also will be considering termination of all special districts that were enacted in Florida prior to 1968, and that includes the Reedy Creek Improvement District," DeSantis said at a news conference, referencing the company's governing district without mentioning Disney by name.

    The Reedy Creek Improvement District is a private government controlled by Disney World and set up by the state Legislature in 1967 that allows it to provide government services such as zoning, fire protection, utilities and infrastructure.

    The move comes after Disney announced it would suspend political donations in the state over the new Parental Rights in Education law, which opponents dubbed "Don't Say Gay," over criticism that barring lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades would marginalize LGTBQ people. Disney is one of Florida's biggest private employers.

    Disney representatives did not immediately return an emailed request for comment.

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    Tags:Gov. Ron DeSantisWalt Disney Company



    EU accuses TikTok of “addictive design” that harms children, seeks changes to protect users

    Friday, February 6, 2026
    The icon for the TikTok video sharing app is seen on a smartphone in Marple Township, Pa., Feb. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

    The European Union on Friday accused TikTok of breaching the bloc's digital rules with "addictive design" features that lead to compulsive use by children, in preliminary charges that strike at the heart of the popular video sharing app's operating model.

    EU regulators said their two-year investigation found that TikTok hasn't done enough to assess how features such as autoplay and infinite scroll could harm the physical and mental health of users, including minors and "vulnerable adults."

    The European Commission said it believes TikTok should change the "basic design" of its service. The commission is the EU's executive arm and enforcer of the 27-nation bloc's Digital Services Act, a sweeping rulebook that requires social media companies to clean up their platforms and protect users, under threat of hefty fines.

    TikTok denied the accusations.

    "The Commission's preliminary findings present a categorically false and entirely meritless depiction of our platform, and we will take whatever steps are necessary to challenge these findings through every means available to us," the company said in a statement.

    TikTok's features including infinite scrolling, autoplay, push notifications, and highly personalized recommender systems "lead to the compulsive use of the app, especially for our kids, and this poses major risks to their mental health and wellbeing," Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier said at a press briefing in Brussels.

    "The measures that TikTok has in place are simply not enough," he said.

    The company now has a chance to defend itself and reply to the commission's findings. Regnier said "if they don't do this properly," Brussels could issue a so-called non-compliance decision and possible fine worth up to 6% of... Read More

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