Author Archives: Tessa Zavala

Examples of how the digital divide was closer to closed because of COVID: Seattle’s Digital Bridge pilot program connecting low-income residents with low-cost refurbished laptops Seattle partnered with Wave Broadband to offer low-income households free home Internet for 60 days Washington State created Wi-Fi hot spots across the state Chattanooga, TN & Hamilton County, TN […]

The legislation: National Biometric Information Privacy Act of 2020 What would corporations be prohibited from doing? keeping or maintaining biometric, including facial recognition, information prohibiting profiting from biometric information permits corporations to collect & maintain the information with consent How would it be enforced? By state Attorneys General & individuals could bring suit Senator Merkley […]

Does Texas require cyber security training for government officials? Generally yes. Does this apply to appraisal review board members? No because there is no definition of elected official even though the act specifically mentions that it applies to Appraisal Review Boards Do I need to know more? To get to this conclusion, it relied on […]

What’s happening? Connecticut passed the Connecticut Insurance Data Security Law which was modeled on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Model Cybersecurity Law. In response to this, the state insurance regulator, issued this guidance: Information Security Program Licensees must develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive written information security program (ISP) that complies with the Act by […]

The State: California The Legislation: AB (2020 | CA) Supporters: Unions Opponents: Business Groups What would the bill do? require public & private employers to notify an employee within 24 hours of exposure to COVID imposes a fine up to $10,000 for failing to provide notification failure to notify is a misdemeanor What kind of […]

Virginia became the 1st state to implement a COVID tracing app from Apple and Google What did the Governor clarify? “Now, I want you all to listen to this very closely. I want to be clear, this app, Covidwise, does not — I will repeat that — does not track or store your personal information. […]

Add New Orleans to the cities adding citywide internet access to help students. Where will New Orleans offer internet to help students with online classes this fall? rec centers parks How will citywide internet access work? it will  piggyback off city-owned fiber-optic cables Is there a win for the city in addition to providing internet […]

Which tech companies are joining forces to improve diversity & inclusion? SurveyMonkey 23andMe Age of Learning (creator of ABCmouse) Box Chime Eventbrite Genesys HeadspaceI Intuit Leaf Group PagerDuty Slack Tile Tinder Upwork Zoom What are these companies looking for in their vendors? representation of women in employees, leadership team, and board of directors representation of […]

The City: Philadelphia, PA What is Philadelphia promising students? Every student will have internet access (tools to access digital learning) What partnership is necessary to achieve this goal? A partnership between the city, district officials, and internet service providers What are some considerations to make this a reality? opening parts of school buildings, as well […]

Add Portland, Maine to the list of governmental entities prohibiting the use of facial recognition software. Will the city permit lawsuits against city employees who violate the prohibition? No Portland Herald Press via Governing | Maine’s Biggest City Decides to Ban Facial Recognition Tech