Category: legislation

DoJ asks Congress to limit protections for social media companies

[ad_1] Politicians have been poking at Section 230 for months. The DoJ doesn’t typically weigh in on legislation, but now, Barr is asking Congress to roll back critical aspects of Section 230. Not only is that unusual, it could add to speculation that some politicians are attempting to “bully tech companies into political submission,” as […]

EARN IT Act amendments transfer the fight over Section 230 to the states

[ad_1] The other major concern opponents of the EARN IT Act raise has to do with Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which says that companies are not liable for much of the content that users post. Originally, the EARN IT Act proposed requiring that companies “earn” Section 230 protections by following recommended practices […]

UK EVs will get special ‘green’ licence plates later this year

[ad_1] Politicians announced the policy and simultaneously launched a consultation last October. The document included a few alternative plate designs — a completely green licence plate, for instance, and one that included a small green dot — but these were ultimately rejected. The proposal was inspired by a similar scheme in Ontario, Canada. The city […]

Bipartisan Senate bill aims to invest $100 billion in technology R&D

[ad_1] “The coronavirus pandemic has shown the science and technology gap between the United States and the rest of the world is closing fast and that threatens our long-term health, economic competitiveness, and national security,” Senator Schumer said in a statement. “America cannot afford to continue our decades-long underinvestment and expect to lead the world […]

Senate bill would set privacy requirements for COVID-19 tracking

[ad_1] This would theoretically prevent Apple, Google and government agencies from collecting more data than they should, or funnelling it into the hands of marketers and others who might abuse it. However, privacy advocates are concerned it doesn’t do enough and might even worsen consumer safeguards. Public Knowledge Policy Counsel Sara Collins claimed that the […]

Israel barred from COVID-19 phone tracking without new legislation

[ad_1] While the phone tracking hasn’t been detailed in earnest, it’s believed to involve anti-terrorism tech from the Shin Bet domestic security agency. The tracking was used to enforce quarantines, flagging infected people who left home. The government isn’t happy with the decision. Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz claimed the technology made a “critical contribution” to […]

Draft bill could penalize companies for using end-to-end encryption

[ad_1] The draft does ask the commission to consider issues like privacy and security when establishing the practices. However, the 15-person commission would be led by the Attorney General, and current AG William Barr has been a vocal opponent of end-to-end encryption. As the draft law would let Barr modify the rules without a consensus, […]

New York Governor vetoes bill to legalize e-bikes and e-scooters

[ad_1] The bill was passed in June with strong support, sailing through both the state Senate and the state Assembly will minimal opposition. The new legislation was particularly desired by delivery workers, according to StreetsBlog NYC, who often prefer e-bikes for their work. However, Gov. Cuomo chose to veto the bill due to a lack […]

Proposed NYC law would require drone inspections for building complaints

[ad_1] The drone inspections could alleviate staff shortages at NYC’s building department while saving money. More importantly, they could save lives. The council proposal comes days after falling debris from a fined building killed architect Erica Tishman while she was walking below. Ideally, this would have helped pinpoint and fix the problem. There’s one problem: […]