A Minnesota carpet cleaner is suing the United States Olympic Committee over its ban on tweeting about the Olympic games. The committee stipulated that non-sponsors are not allowed to mention the games on social media. (Gizmodo, August 3, 2016, by Matt Novak)
Mike Masnick, techdirt, August 2, 2016, says the International and U.S. Olympic Committee have gone to ridiculous extremes in muzzling the public. Even Dreamfuel, a crowdfunding site to provide money for training and family trips to the games, is barred from publicly congratulating Dreamfuel athletes who make the Olympic team, nor can they mention the “Olympics” or “Olympians.” And a new rule, Rule 40, holds that if a company tweets congratulations to athletes, the athletes could lose their medals.
The Olympic committees have warned companies who have not ponied up the money to become official sponsors but wish to help athletes with messages or material support not to use any of the official hashtags or the words and phrases, “Olympic,” “Olympian” or “Go for the Gold.” If the companies err, they could be sued. (ESPN, July 21, 2016, by Daren Rovell)