Welcome to the Future!
New York Attorney General is calling for increased cryptocurrency transparency. The legislation will be released any day now & will have these 3 goals: reduce potential conflicts of interest, require public reporting of financial statements and improve protections for investors.
Governing | New York’s Letitia James Wants Increased Crypto Transparency
Now that Montana Governor signed the statewide TikTok ban, here comes the legal battle. Free speech lawyers call it unconstitutional. Montana’s Governor went the other way and directed some state employees to bar the use of all social-media applications tied to foreign adversaries on state equipment and for state business in Montana.
WSJ | TikTok Ban Signed in Montana, Paving Way for First Amendment Legal Battle
Last week an annual Government Social Media Conference gave rise to twitter concerns. For local government communications professionals twitter is described as a hellscape once the blue checkmark verification disappeared. With no verification, local government disinformation grows thanks to fake accounts run by bots.
Governing | Government Asks: Is it Time to Pull the Plug on Twitter?
Montana passed its statewide TikTok ban. In the legislative process the bill’s provisions providing for fines to app stores that sell TikTok was removed leaving the bill without clear enforcement parameters. The bill does place enforcement powers with the Montana Department of Justice- what they’re suppose to do… who knows…“This bill is breathtakingly obtuse in its approach,” said Andy Green, an assistant professor of information security and assurance at Kennesaw State University.
Route Fifty | Enforcement Questions Dog State’s Proposed TikTok Ban
So far in 2023, we’re up to 7 states that have passed state-level consumer data privacy law like California’s. Joining California in 2023 are Iowa and Indiana which followed Colorado, Utah, Virginia, and Connecticut. Its looking like state level consumer data privacy laws, like California’s, appeals to both red and blue states.
ALEC | States Passing Major Communications and Technology Legislation in Lively 2023 Sessions
Arkansas made exceptions to its social media for kiddos legislation by exempting the dancing social media: You Tube, the most popular social media application for kids, and TikTok.
The Verge | New Arkansas bill to keep minors off social media exempts most social media platforms
CNN | Arkansas governor signs sweeping bill imposing a minimum age limit for social media usage
California has removed a provision from its social media for kids bill that would have permitted to sue social media companies for “addictive design features,” . SB 287 (2023 | CA) Tech lobbying efforts by top trade associations for the technology industry, NetChoice, which represents Meta, Google, Amazon, TikTok and Twitter, and TechNet, which represents Meta, Google, Amazon and Snapchat led to the removal of this litigation provision.
SB 152 (2023 | UT) regulates kiddos use of social media. It stands out from the crowd by putting a curfew on social media use at 10:30 pm with an exception for LinkedIn. Social media companies must makes sure kiddos can’t find a work around.
Salt Lake Tribune | Utah first state to pass social media regulations aimed at protecting minors
IBM’s Institute for Business Value report, Electric vehicles: An on-ramp to sustainable mobility, points to the nature of EVs being in constant contact with other things like chargers and other vehicles as what makes them ripe for hackers. Here’s where things get interesting, this report ties this hacking risk to insurance. How do insurance companies assess these new automobile risks?
For the first time, Microsoft is supporting a right to repair bill that allows independent repairmen to repair tech. HB 1392 (2023 | WA) Why the change of heart? Microsoft said that “This bill fairly balances the interests of manufacturers, customers, and independent repair shops and in doing so will provide more options for consumer device repair.”