The daily business briefing: May 19, 2023

1. Disney scraps $1 billion Florida office plan as feud with DeSantis intensifies

Disney on Thursday dropped plans to build a $1 billion office complex in Orlando after accusing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) of "anti-business" attacks on the entertainment giant. Disney last month sued DeSantis and his allies for tightening oversight of Walt Disney World near Orlando in what the company called "a targeted campaign of government retaliation" for Disney's criticism of DeSantis' Parental Rights in Education or "don't say gay" law. Disney said it was pulling the plug due to unspecified "changing business conditions," which reportedly include budget cuts as well as the DeSantis feud. The office project would have added 2,000 high-paying jobs. The company also is scrapping an underperforming luxury hotel that simulated a two-night trip on a Star Wars spaceship.

The New York Times Orlando Sentinel

2. Supreme Court sides with Google, Twitter in terror liability cases

The Supreme Court on Thursday left protections for social media companies intact, ruling against relatives of terrorism victims who sued to hold Google and Twitter liable for attacks by terrorist groups that posted on their platforms. "Plaintiffs' allegations are insufficient to establish that these defendants aided and abetted ISIS in carrying out the relevant attack," Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the unanimous court in the Twitter case. The court expressed similar reasoning in the Google case. The twin rulings preserved protections under a law, Section 230, that shields social media companies from lawsuits seeking to hold them accountable for content posted by their users. The law has drawn attacks as social media companies face pressure to take down posts that stoke violence, racism, and disinformation.

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The Washington Post CNN

3. TikTok users challenge Montana ban

TikTok creators filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging Montana's statewide ban of the popular, Chinese-owned video app. The diverse group of users with hundreds of thousands of followers included a designer of sustainable swimwear and a Marine who uses the platform to connect with other veterans. They argued that Montana violated their free speech rights and threatened their livelihoods by imposing the nation's first statewide ban on TikTok. Federal officials have warned that TikTok poses a potential national security threat because China could access user data and use TikTok to spread disinformation. The suit says Montana's law "attempts to exercise powers over national security that Montana does not have." The state said it expected challenges and would defend the ban.

Bloomberg

4. Stocks little changed as talks continue on raising debt limit

U.S. stock futures inched higher early Friday as investors continued to look for signs of progress toward raising the debt ceiling to avoid a catastrophic default, which the Treasury Department warns could hit as soon as June 1. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.1 percent at 6 a.m. ET. S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were up about 0.2 percent. The three main U.S. indexes gained on Thursday. The Dow and the S&P 500 gained 0.3 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively. The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.5 percent. The Nasdaq and the S&P were on pace to post their biggest weekly gains since the end of March as hope for a debt limit deal increased.

CNBC

5. 'Tears of the Kingdom' becomes fastest-selling game

"The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom" sold more than 10 million units worldwide during its first three days of release, making it the fastest-selling game in the series, as well as the fastest-selling Nintendo game of all time in the Americas, Nintendo said. "Tears of the Kingdom," which launched on May 12, was one of the most anticipated games of the year, not only because "Zelda" games are always highly anticipated but because it's a direct sequel to "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild." Released in 2017 for the Nintendo Switch, "Breath of the Wild" was lauded for its open-world gameplay and is widely considered to be one of the best video games ever made.

Axios