California is considering some “awful” regulations for AI, tech entrepreneur Andrew Ng said Thursday. His comments came a day after California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) warned state lawmakers against overregulating AI.
Public broadband advocates applauded Minnesota for removing municipal broadband restrictions last week. The changes were part of SF-4097, a commerce omnibus that Gov. Tim Walz (D) signed last week and also included net neutrality and social media disclosure proposals (see 2405200059). Minnesota’s change “highlights a positive trend -- states are dropping misguided barriers to deploying public broadband as examples of successful community-owned networks proliferate across the country,” American Association for Public Broadband Executive Director Gigi Sohn said Friday. “While 16 states still restrict these networks in various ways, we’re confident this number will continue to decrease as more communities demand the freedom to choose the network that best serves their residents.” Minnesota struck an old law that let municipalities buy or construct telephone exchanges, which also included broadband networks, only if a supermajority approved it in a local referendum election, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSF) blogged Thursday. The state also eliminated a law that let municipalities construct broadband only if a private provider wasn't providing service in the area. Christopher Mitchell, director-ILSR's Community Broadband Networks, lauded the changes, saying he has long hoped “to see more deference to communities in how they want to solve these challenges that they understand better than anyone outside their region.”
California lawmakers supported limiting smartphone and social media time at school in votes last week. The Assembly voted 69-0 on Thursday to approve AB-3216, which would require schools to adopt limits or bans on student use of smartphones. Meanwhile, the Senate voted 35-0 to pass SB-1283, which would require a similar policy for social media. Each bill will now go to the opposite chamber.
Scams on Facebook and Instagram comprised nearly 75% of social media-related fraud reported to the FTC in 2023, the agency said Friday. The FTC released data from reports to its Consumer Sentinel Network. Facebook accounted for 51% of fraud originating on social media, and Instagram accounted for 22%. Best Buy’s Geek Squad, Amazon and PayPal were the top three most-impersonated companies, according to the report. Microsoft ranked No. 4, Apple No. 7 and Comcast No. 8. Consumers reported losing $60 million to Microsoft impersonators, more than Geek Squad, Amazon and PayPal scams combined. Consumers reported losing $15 million to Geek Squad impersonators, $19 million to Amazon scammers and $16 million in PayPal-related scams.
Louisiana could soon bar social media companies from collecting data on Louisiana minors younger than 18 for targeted ads. The Senate voted unanimously Thursday for the kids’ privacy bill (HB-577). Similarly, the House passed it unanimously April 30 (see 2405010010) but will have to vote again to concur with Senate amendments. Senate changes included removing the law’s applicability to app stores and developers, while requiring the state’s attorney general to give notice before taking civil action against a social media company. Also, the Senate-amended bill would require attorney fees, court and investigative costs to be paid to the AG if the court grants judgment in the state’s favor. In addition, the Senate pushed back the proposed law’s effective date by one year, to July 1, 2025.
California Assembly members supported a proposed ban on digital discrimination the same day that state senators backed a proposal that would remove a free internet requirement in the state’s public housing broadband grant program. Bills on universal opt-out and social media also cleared their originating chambers Wednesday. The Assembly voted 43-10 to pass AB-2239, which would codify in California law the FCC’s definition of digital discrimination and allow state and local enforcers to seek injunctive relief (see 2404230039). On the privacy front, Assembly members voted 53-7 to pass AB-3048, which would require web browsers to include an option to opt out of selling and sharing data on all websites. The California Privacy Protection Agency supports that bill (see 2403130048). Also, the Assembly voted 46-0 for AB-2481, which would create a mechanism for people who report threatening content on social media platforms. In the other chamber, senators voted 37-0 for SB-1383 to remove restrictions included in the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) public housing account that require ISPs to provide free internet before receiving grants. The cable industry supports the bill because it claims that the current restriction deters grant applications (see 2404020049).
The House Innovation Subcommittee on Thursday passed a federal privacy bill and a kids’ privacy bill despite objections to the latter from House Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J.
A new state task force will develop procedures and best practices for cable and utility outage notifications, the West Virginia Public Service Commission said Wednesday. The task force will first meet June 14. It must make final recommendations to the PSC in 60 days, the agency said. The PSC decided to make the task force after receiving information about current notification procedures by Altice, Frontier Communications and several utilities, according to the order in case 24-0338-G-W-E-CTV-GI. “The respondents use varying methods such as door hangers, telephone calls, e-mails, text messages, website, and/or social media posts to notify customers of outages.”
Several California bills crossed chambers Tuesday. The Assembly voted 47-15 to pass AB-1826, which updates the state’s 2006 cable law, the Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act. The bill would increase fines for service-quality problems and aims at increasing participation of the public and its advocates in the franchise renewal process (see 2404250036). The Assembly voted 71-0 for AB-2765, which would require the California Public Utilities Commission to report on inspections that ensure companies comply with resiliency plans. The body also voted unanimously for AB-2905, expanding the state’s autodialer definition to include calls made with an AI voice. On the privacy front, the Assembly voted 50-14 for AB-2930 to set rules for automated decision-making technology, including requiring impact assessments and disclosures to consumers. The same chamber voted 58-0 for AB-1949 to amend the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) to additionally stop businesses from collecting, using, sharing or selling personal data of anyone younger than 18, unless they get consent or if it’s absolutely needed for business purposes. The state’s Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta backed the bill (see 2401300049). In addition, the Assembly voted 50-10 to pass AB-1791, which would require social media platforms to delete personally identifiable information, called provenance data, from uploaded content. In the Senate, the vote was 38-0 in favor of SB-1223, which amends the CCPA to include “neural data” as a type of sensitive personal information. And senators voted 34-0 to pass SB-1504 to tighten a cyberbullying law that requires social platforms to have reporting mechanisms (see 2404230039). Also, the Senate voted 30-9 to approve SB-1460, which would require a group to develop model contract provisions for telecom sector apprenticeships.
Policy discussions are hopefully “boiling to the point” where Congress can repeal Communications Decency Act Section 230, House Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., told us Wednesday. He and Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., said the parallel efforts of Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and ranking member Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., are encouraging.