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Welcome to Tech Friday, a new joint project of The Hill and Pluribus News covering tech policy across government.
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Vermont passes groundbreaking privacy law
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Sometimes, big policy comes from small places. That’s the case in Vermont, where lawmakers this week adopted new legislation giving consumers the right to sue companies over data privacy.
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It’s the first comprehensive data privacy package to include a private right of action, and a big win for consumer advocates who have been pushing lawmakers to add the right to sue to data privacy laws. Local retailers are nervous about the impacts on their businesses.
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Other states are racing to pass their own data privacy laws. Eighteen have done so already, including six this year alone. Expect consumer groups to try to export the right of action provisions to blue states across the country. Read more at Pluribus News.
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House passes ticket fee disclosure bil
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The House has approved legislation requiring ticket sellers to disclose the total cost of tickets to consumers upfront. The bill also bars speculative sales, in which sellers market tickets they do not already possess. Read more at The Hill.
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Senate AI bills in danger
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Legislation regulating the use of artificial intelligence in election-related communications passed the Senate Rules Committee on party-line votes this week. The bills would ban deceptive AI in political ads and require disclaimers on ads that use AI. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) opposes the bills. Read more at The Hill.
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TikTok creators sue to block ban
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Eight TikTok creators have sued the U.S. government to block legislation that would force the sale of TikTok by its parent company ByteDance. The suit alleges the law, signed last month by President Biden, is overly broad. Read more at The Hill.
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The European Union is investigating Meta over the potentially addictive effects its Facebook and Instagram platforms have on children. The European Commission is looking into the platforms’ age-verification tools. Read more at The Hill.
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OpenAI strikes Reddit deal
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Artificial intelligence giant OpenAI will partner with Reddit to add content to ChatGPT. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, reached a deal to use Reddit data to train its own large language model last year. Reddit stock surged on the news. Read more at Reuters.
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The man behind the meme-stock
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Shares of GameStop surged again this week after the internet user known as Roaring Kitty issued a single tweet from his long-dormant account. Read a profile of the former investment advisor-turned-meme stock magnate at The Hill.
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Magnificent Seven performance this week
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AAPL +2.6%, MSFT +0.2%, GOOG +6%, AMZN -1.7%, NVDA +3.5%, TSLA +1.8%, META -0.7%. NASDAQ-100 Technology Sector: +3%.
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Image © The Orange County Register via AP
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Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) has sued Amazon for allegedly violating consumer fraud and antitrust laws. The complaints focus on the difficulty of canceling Amazon Prime, and the way the e-commerce giant treats third-party sellers. Read more at Pluribus News.
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New York prepares social media restrictions
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New York lawmakers are racing to clear legislation that would regulate the way social media companies display their feeds to minors. The bill would require companies to offer feeds in chronological order, rather than through an algorithm. Read more at State of Politics.
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May 20: Microsoft hosts an AI media event in Seattle.
May 21: The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hosts a hearing on fraud and the online financial transaction site Zelle.
May 22: The House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will hear testimony on a legislative proposal to sunset Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
Fall 2025: Grand Theft Auto VI is set for release in the fall of 2025. It’s expected to top the 200 million copies of Grand Theft Auto V, released in 2013. Read more from Bloomberg.
Coming soon: TikTok is testing 60-minute videos among a limited group of users, the company said this week. It’s a move that will allow the app to more directly compete with YouTube by offering full episodes of TV shows. Read more at TechCrunch.
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Meta is testing a TweetDeck-like experience for certain Threads users, allowing users to create customizable feeds stacked in a column interface. Threads will also launch a chronological recent tab for searches. Read more at The Verge.
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A portal connecting residents of New York and Dublin via livestream was shut down this week after those on both sides demonstrated inappropriate behavior. In New York, one OnlyFans model bared all; in Dublin, someone held up an image of the World Trade Center from September 11. Read more at The Hill.
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You’re all caught up! See you next week.
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