The Chicago Journal

Social media faces more regulations in 2023

Edward Anderson Edward Anderson on March 20, 2023

Image source: Tech.co

Social media: The bipartisan spending bill passed by Congress last week essentially forbade the installation of TikTok on devices used by the government.

This year, advocates and legislators revealed proposals for tighter regulation of social media companies as 2023 kicks into gear.

TikTok

The video-sharing app, which receives more than 1 billion monthly users, is owned by the Chinese corporation ByteDance.

Christopher Wray, the director of the FBI, and lawmakers have publicly stated their positions on TikTik’s ownership structure.

They claimed that the structure exposes information about US users.

In addition, Chinese-based businesses are compelled by law to provide the government with user information on request.

The concern

The National Intelligence Law of 2017 and the Counter-Espionage Law of 2014 are the two Chinese laws that have alarmed the US government since 2019.

According to the Counter-Espionage law, businesses and individuals “may not refuse” to divulge information when the state security agency conducts an espionage investigation and discovers crucial information.

Organizations or people are expected to support, help, and cooperate with governmental intelligence initiatives, as stated in Article 7 of the Intelligence Law.

The state also protects those who assist them.

Response

Despite TikTok’s repeated assurances that US user data is not kept in China, little has changed from their comments.

TikTok has been compared to “digital fentanyl” by Wisconsin Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher.

Additionally, he thinks that the software has to be banned outright nationwide.

“It’s highly addictive and destructive,” said Gallagher.

“We’re seeing troubling data about the corrosive impact of constant social media use, particularly on young men and women here in America.”

Read also: Migrants delivered to Kamala Harris on Christmas

Social media regulation

Twitter, YouTube, and other social networking sites, like TikTok, use the same algorithms, claims Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen.

She thinks that increasing the transparency of their operations should be the regulators’ first move.

According to Haugen, the majority of people are unaware of the US’s gap in social media regulation compared to other countries.

“This is like we’re back in 1965,” said Haugen. “We don’t have seatbelt laws yet.”

Tech bills in 2022

Congress failed to pass some of the most radical elements of technology-related legislation the year before.

Antitrust law and a bill aimed at protecting children were among the legislations that were vetoed.

Antitrust legislation

Early in 2022, lawmakers created a bill that specifically targeted Apple’s and Google’s app stores for mobile devices.

The legislation also placed limitations on developers.

The American Innovation and Choice Online Act was advanced, which has some of the same objectives.

The Act forbids larger companies from unfairly treating or preferring their own products over those of competitors.

The plan states that developers would not be required to use the platform’s payment method for distribution if the app store had more than 50 million US users.

Additionally, app developers cannot be punished for selling their products elsewhere for a lower price.

Kids Online Safety Act

In November, bipartisan legislation was launched by Senators Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal to put regulations on websites that children 16 and younger can view.

The proposed law would compel platforms to restrict content that could cause minor users bodily injury or psychological trauma, including the following:

  • Self-harm/suicide
  • Encouragement of addictive behavior
  • Enabling online bullying
  • Predatory marketing

Additionally, websites have to follow the law’s requirements regarding connection restrictions and default privacy settings.

Even after the legislation underwent changes, several organizations still opposed it.

Read also: Sherrod Brown looking to have cryptocurrency banned in the US

Change

There is still a patchwork of state rules dictating how to maintain customer data, even though Congress made significant progress toward a consensus measure on national privacy standards in 2022.

Many of the bills that have reached the Senate floor enjoy bipartisan support, according to Senator Amy Klobuchar.

However, she cautioned that the tremendous influence of the tech industry might cause huge bipartisan support to collapse over the next 24 hours.

According to Klobuchar, the American people won’t demand social media company reform until they declare that “enough is enough.”

“We are lagging behind,” said Klobuchar.

“It is time for 2023, let it be our resolution, that we finally pass one of these bills.”

References:

More social media regulation is coming in 2023, members of Congress say

Huawei says it would never hand data to China’s government. Experts say it wouldn’t have a choice

Senate committee advances bill targeting Google and Apple’s app store profitability

Kids Online Safety Act may harm minors, civil society groups warn lawmakers

NetChoice claims California law violates First Amendment, sues state

Leah Cooper Leah Cooper on January 30, 2023

Image source: Knight Columbia

The extensive industry group NetChoice comprises tech giants like Amazon, Google, Meta, TikTok, and Twitter.

On Wednesday, the group announced its intention to sue California.

They decided to overturn the state’s recently approved Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, which they believe violates the First Amendment.

The Age-Appropriate Design Code Act

California’s legislation was modeled after those in the UK.

It wants to establish rules to make the internet safer for young people.

The Age-Appropriate Design Code Act mandates that kids always have the most privacy enabled.

Additionally, it mandates that websites intended for children under 18 assess the possibility of user abuse or exploitation.

The lawsuit

The NetChoice lawsuit is a developing legal case involving online free expression.

Legislators routinely want to weaken the extensive liability protections offered by online platforms for user posts and content control.

All political parties are impacted by privacy and content control issues.

However, there is still disagreement between Republicans and Democrats regarding the best ways to solve the issues.

Even though a majority Democratic legislature supported the California act, NetChoice filed lawsuits against Texas and Florida for the social media laws passed by those states’ legislatures.

By requiring tech corporations to delete posts with political undertones, the legislation seeks to make them accountable.

Allegations

In contrast to what it was supposed to do, the new law in California would harm adolescents rather than protect them, claims NetChoice.

Furthermore, they contend that compelling businesses to deduce from consumers the meaning of “inherently subjective terms” violates their First Amendment rights to free speech.

According to NetChoice, the state may impose financially ruinous fines if the companies are wrong.

“The State can also impose such penalties if companies fail to enforce their content moderation standards to the Attorney General’s satisfaction,” said the group.

The Age-Appropriate Design Code Act is anticipated to take effect in July 2024.

According to NetChoice, the bill will force content providers to drastically reduce their output to avoid paying fines for creating what California deems harmful.

“The over-moderation will stifle important resources, particularly for vulnerable youth who rely on the Internet for life-saving information,” said NetChoice.

Read also: Donald Trump slumps in voter standing based on recent poll

Defense of the law

A representative for California Attorney General Rob Bonta defended the legislation despite the accusations.

The statement claims that the policy provides essential new safeguards against the collection and use of children’s data.

Furthermore, it addresses some verifiable negative consequences of social networking and other online products and services.

“We are reviewing the complaint and look forward to defending this important children’s safety law in court.”

Prior concerns

The lawsuit’s language is similar to a bipartisan federal bill that aims to provide children with online protection but is being contested by civil society organizations.

The groups expressed concern that the bill would increase the danger posed by children and teenagers.

The following organizations were among those opposed to the legislation:

  • The American Civil Liberties Union
  • Center for Democracy & Technology
  • Electronic Frontier Foundation
  • Fight for the Future
  • Glaad
  • Wikimedia Foundation

Concerning the bill’s potential negative impacts, notably on the rights of the LGBTQ community, the organizations issued a warning.

People in the community are already concerned about how political prejudices can affect the standards used by content filters.

The bipartisan bill

The law would have imposed requirements on websites that minors under the age of 16 are likely to access.

Therefore, it would be their responsibility to reduce the likelihood of physical or psychological harm to young users, especially by encouraging the following:

  • Self-harm or suicide
  • Encouragement of addictive behavior
  • Enabling online bullying
  • Predatory marketing

“KOSA would require online services to ‘prevent’ a set of harms to minors, which is effectively an instruction to employ broad content filtering to limit minors’ access to certain online content,” wrote the groups.

“Online service would face substantial pressure to over-moderate, including from state Attorneys General seeking to make political points about what kind of information is appropriate for young people.”

“At a time when books with LGBTQ+ themes are being banned from school libraries, and people providing healthcare to trans children are being falsely accused of ‘grooming,’ KOSA would cut off another vital avenue to access to information for vulnerable youth.”

Revamping the federal bipartisan bill

The responsible legislators attempted to address the problems in a revised version of the legislation.

On Tuesday night, updates that addressed issues raised by the LGBTQ community and significant lawmakers were released.

In order to address worries that attorneys general with anti-LGBTQ attitudes may abuse the law, a modified “duty of care” language was introduced.

Additionally, a language stating that companies are not required to collect additional user information to determine the user’s age was changed.

Despite the changes, certain groups nevertheless opposed the law.

Read also: Elon Musk sells giant chunk of Tesla shares again

Content moderation

NetChoice opposes the laws in Florida and Texas that would weaken Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields the tech industry from legal culpability.

The Act safeguards the right to manage content.

Republicans, on the other hand, have been attempting to enact more regulations on social media because they believe that conservative ideas are being suppressed on well-known websites.

Popular sites have denied unfairly implementing their community guidelines when this has occurred.

According to a reputable study, internet discussions are often dominated by conservative viewpoints.

A Texas version was barred from taking effect in May by the Supreme Court.

The merits of the case were not, however, decided.

Lower courts have thus far rejected Florida’s version.

References:

Tech industry group sues to block California law designed to protect kids online over free speech concerns

Kids Online Safety Act may harm minors, civil society groups warn lawmakers

Revamped kids’ online privacy bill emerges in year-end push (1)

Drag in danger as Tennessee law seeks to ban shows

Nicholas Alexander Nicholas Alexander on November 11, 2022

Image source: Local Memphis

Drag has been on the rise for the past few decades but now shows in Tennessee are in danger of being banned.

Reports say Tennessee Republicans want to ban drag shows on public or private property.

The report

In a reverse turn of events, GOP members introduced a bill that would make drag appearances a crime if legislated.

Under Bill SB.3, charges range from a misdemeanor to a felony.

Although the bill is broad, it ranges from comedy to drag shows to story hours at local libraries.

Read also: President Joe Biden wary of Elon Musk

Statements

Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson makes it clear that the laws will identify those in drag.

“I don’t want to ban a theater company from doing a production of Mrs. Doubtfire in a public park,” he said.

“Most people have seen that movie where Robin Williams was dressing up as a woman. We don’t have an issue with that.”

“We do have an issue with men dressed as women simulating sex acts in public parks in front of kids.”

The bill

If approved, Johnson’s bill will change a Tennessee state law that prevents adult-oriented businesses from operating within 300 meters of a school, public park or a place of worship to include “cabaret shows for adults.”

The law stretches to exotic dancers and “male or female impersonators.”

If the bill passes through the Republican-controlled Legislature and wins Governor Bill Lee’s approval, first-time offenders could be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.

Additionally, the offense is punishable by up to one year in jail and a harsh $2,500 fine.

Repeat offenders will be charged with a Class E felony, resulting in a harsher sentence for drag queens.

Finally, the sentence could go as high as six years in prison with fines of up to $3,000.

Read also: Hillary Clinton calls out Republicans on their hypocrisy

Jack Johnson

The Tennessee Senate Majority Leader won re-election in the midterm elections and vowed to uphold the state’s conservative values.

One of Johnson’s success factors was his belief that marriage should be the sacred union of a man and a woman.

This week, Jack Johnson joined Tennessee House Majority Leader and fellow Republican William Lamberth to present a new bill.

The bill would prevent doctors from providing life-saving and gender-affirming health care to transgender young people under 18.

Reference:

Republicans submit bill that would criminalize drag performances in Tennessee

Oregon Has Spoken, Calls for Stricter Gun Laws

Edward Anderson Edward Anderson on August 1, 2022

The United States currently faces many challenges, including gun violence, prompting Oregon to take a strong stand against them, with many voicing support for stricter gun laws.

A recent poll shows that most Oregon residents are pushing for stricter gun laws at the state and national levels.

The statistics

The impartial Oregon Values ​​and Beliefs Center interviewed and found nearly 60% in favor of stricter federal gun regulations.

Meanwhile, 56% shared the same feelings about state rules.

The survey was conducted in the first week of June and collected more than 1,400 responses from Oregon adults. 

The gun control bill

On June 25, a month after the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, President Joe Biden signed into law a bipartisan gun law.

The law will strengthen background checks on young gun buyers and increase mental health spending.

It also expands the ban on the purchase of firearms by those accused of domestic violence.

The Gun Act directs the federal government to pay states that enact warning flag laws, a law that allows police to temporarily confiscate firearms from potentially dangerous individuals.

Read also: Assault Weapon Ban “Rational” for Gun Control, Says President Biden

Nationwide divide

In April 2021, Pew conducted a national poll that found three in five Americans want stricter federal gun laws.

The most significant gap in the Oregon survey was between people with opposing political affiliations.

90% of Democrats wanted more stringent federal gun laws, while 85% wanted tougher state laws.

Meanwhile, a quarter of Republicans call for stricter gun laws at the national and state levels.

Democrat Tina Kotek, running for governor of Oregon, has called for rigid state and federal regulations, including proposing legislation to expand background checks and bar domestic abuse suspects from making purchases.

Read also: Gun Violence is Turning America Into “Killing Fields,” Says President Joe Biden

Independent candidate Betsy Johnson voted against the measures as a Democratic senator.

Meanwhile, Republican Christine Drazan, who will chair the Republican House of Representatives from 2019 to 2021, has voted against legislation requiring safe weapons storage.

Drazan and Johnson’s feelings helped them gain an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association.

Sentiments in Oregon

Research shows that women in Oregon are nearly 20% more likely than men to require stricter gun laws and half as likely to own a gun.

Among rural and urban Oregonians, the former were more likely to own a firearm for hunting in rural areas.

One-third of respondents said they own a firearm, corresponding to the national figure.

Despite a large number of gun owners, 54% said there would be fewer mass shootings in the country if it were harder for others to buy guns.

Last year, the United States recorded nearly 700 mass shootings. According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been just over 300 so far in 2022.

The poll also showed that Oregonians under 30 and over 74 were likelier to call for tougher gun control laws.

People of color also support weaker gun control laws than white residents.

Church and gun

Joining the call for gun control is an interfaith group called Lift Every Voice Oregon.

The group volunteered and collected 160,498 signatures on Petition 17 – a measure to ban the sale of high-capacity magazines that covers ten towers and requires gun buyers to obtain permits – which will qualify for the November elections.

Lift Every Voice Oregon’s efforts allowed them to exceed the required number (112,000).

The Reverend Mark Knutson, the lead plaintiff for the Augustana Lutheran Church, said the measure’s passing was a testament to the movement’s voluntary work.

“I’m thrilled,” he shared. “Sixteen hundred volunteers – from every county across the state – made it happen.”

References:

Oregon voters will consider gun control measure in November

Most Oregonians favor stricter gun control laws at state and federal level, survey finds