Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) signed the Right to Compute Act into law Wednesday, codifying state residents' ability to own and use computational technology, such as hardware, software and processing tools. It had previously passed the Senate 50-0 and the House 61-38.
The Oklahoma Senate Technology and Telecommunications Committee cleared a pair of social media bills Thursday, despite their sponsors admitting the legislation needs work before coming to the floor. One bill addresses cyberbullying while the other is about age-verification, which many states have addressed this year (see 2501170053).
Law enforcement called out John Molinelli, former Bergen County prosecutor, and the Public Safety Information Protection Coalition (PSIPC) for attempts to weaken Daniel's Law, which protects the sensitive information of certain public servants and their families. An open letter headed by Peter Andreyev, president of the New Jersey State Policemen's Benevolent Association (PBA), was published Wednesday in the New Jersey Globe.
Vermont's attempt at copying New Jersey's Daniel’s Law has faced much deliberation in the legislature over the measure's private right of action. Bill sponsor Rep. Monique Priestly (D) has tried to counter that by increasing the cure period and allowing state attorney general enforcement, she said during a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting Wednesday.
Maine lawmakers weighed a bill that would establish a working group to study the use of AI, social media and cell phones in public school settings Wednesday. While a member of the public testified in support of the legislation, some members of the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs worried about the cost, the effort's potential redundancy and that it could place an undue burden on Department of Education staff.
Lawmakers in the state legislature approved the bipartisan Arkansas Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act Tuesday and the measure now heads to the governor's desk for signature. HB-1717 is modeled after the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) 2.0 (see 2503040037), and would ban tech companies from collecting, retaining and disclosing minors' data, except in a few situations.
A proposed committee substitute for a North Carolina bill aimed at creating social media protections for minors passed the House Commerce and Economic Committee Tuesday by voice vote and will now be referred to the Rules, Calendar and Operations of the House.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) should veto SB-86, legislation intended to protect children from online harms, NetChoice wrote the governor in a letter announced Tuesday (see 2504040064).
An Oregon bill requiring carmakers to follow state privacy laws concerning collecting and using drivers' personal data from their car passed the House 51-0 Thursday. HB-3875, sponsored by Rep. David Gomberg (D), had support from consumer justice organizations, but opponents wanted commercial vehicles deleted from the bill (see 2503190031). The bill, which has no amendments, previously passed the House Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee on an 8-0 vote (see 2504010075).
The U.S. District Court for Northern California Friday partially dissolved a preliminary injunction prohibiting Treasury Department employees who are not in a Senate-confirmed position from accessing department systems that contain personally identifiable information (PII) or financial information of payees. The court ruled the states were unlikely to succeed on their E-Government and Privacy Act of 1974 claims.