In today’s news and commentary, Meta unveils new advertisements, “Blame-Democrats” emails are blocked by a federal court, and thousands protest in Portugal. 

Meta recently unveiled new advertisements promoting the company’s recent data center construction in various parts of the United States. The commercials, featuring towns like Altoona, Iowa, and Los Lunas, New Mexico, characterize the data centers as an opportunity for job creation and economic growth in otherwise stagnating communities. Their website, titled “Building America,” includes statistics on financial commitments and quotes from elected officials. Critics of the data centers think promises of long-term job creation are dubious and highlight the “nonstop noise, pollution . . . and rapidly rising electric bills.”

On Friday, a federal court granted summary judgment in favor of the American Federation for Government Employees’ lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s use of partisan language in automated out-of-office emails from government employees during the government shutdown. Judge Christopher R. Cooper of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia stated that the practice infringed on the free speech rights of the employees whose emails had been commandeered. Following the ruling, AFGE issued a statement saying that the “Trump-Vance administration’s use of official government resources to spread partisan messaging using employees’ email was an unprecedented violation of the First Amendment, and the court’s ruling makes clear that even this administration is not above the law.”

On Saturday, tens of thousands of people protested proposed labor reforms in Portugal. The reforms, put forth by Portugal’s center-right government, would make it easier to dismiss workers and place limits on various pregnancy-related benefits. The reforms are expected to receive parliamentary approval as the government aims to improve productivity and mobility in the labor market. The protest was organized by the country’s main labor union, which has also announced a general strike beginning December 11.