Tag: passes
Illegal Migration Bill passes as Tory rebellion defused
Montana legislature passes TikTok ban
The Montana House of Representatives just passed a ban on TikTok, meaning the app will become illegal if Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signs the bill, which had already passed in the Montana State Senate. Past actions by Gianforte, such as his memo prohibiting use of the app on state equipment, suggest that the bill will in fact become state law.
This is not yet another ban preventing government workers from using TikTok. The bill has at least some teeth, to say the least. It at least forbids (though it appears not to penalize) the use of TikTok by individuals statewide, prohibits app stores from selling TikTok in Montana, and lays out penalties for app sellers.
This is far and away the most far-reaching and complete ban that has been passed anywhere in the U.S. since President Trump’s unsuccessful ban back in 2020.
The bill would keep TikTok out of Montana mainly by fining app stores $10,000 per violation per day if the app is ever downloaded in Montana. The bill forbids “the operation of tiktok by the company or users,” but also notes that its penalties, “do not apply to users of tiktok.” So to be clear, the $10,000 fines only go to app stores, not TikTok users.
In either case, under this new law, it would have been legally impermissible for the person who captured the following footage of a mountain goat in Glacier National Park to download TikTok and post it for all to see:
In a statement provided to CNN, TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter claimed that those who have pushed this Montana bill “have no feasible plan for operationalizing this attempt to censor American voices,” and added that “the bill’s constitutionality will be decided by the courts.”
The ACLU of Montana already signaled its opposition to the bill in the day’s before its passage, so TikTok may well be right that this will be decided in the courts.
As for TikTok’s claim that Montana doesn’t have a “feasible plan” for putting the bill into effect? That’s plausible as well, given that it’s not clear exactly how the law enforcement authorities of this sparsely populated state with just over 1 million inhabitants will go about finding perpetrators of this entirely new state cybercrime.
Montana legislature passes TikTok ban
The Montana House of Representatives just passed a ban on TikTok, meaning the app will become illegal if Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signs the bill, which had already passed in the Montana State Senate. Past actions by Gianforte, such as his memo prohibiting use of the app on state equipment, suggest that the bill will in fact become state law.
This is not yet another ban preventing government workers from using TikTok. The bill has at least some teeth, to say the least. It at least forbids (though it appears not to penalize) the use of TikTok by individuals statewide, prohibits app stores from selling TikTok in Montana, and lays out penalties for app sellers.
This is far and away the most far-reaching and complete ban that has been passed anywhere in the U.S. since President Trump’s unsuccessful ban back in 2020.
The bill would keep TikTok out of Montana mainly by fining app stores $10,000 per violation per day if the app is ever downloaded in Montana. The bill forbids “the operation of tiktok by the company or users,” but also notes that its penalties, “do not apply to users of tiktok.” So to be clear, the $10,000 fines only go to app stores, not TikTok users.
In either case, under this new law, it would have been legally impermissible for the person who captured the following footage of a mountain goat in Glacier National Park to download TikTok and post it for all to see:
In a statement provided to CNN, TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter claimed that those who have pushed this Montana bill “have no feasible plan for operationalizing this attempt to censor American voices,” and added that “the bill’s constitutionality will be decided by the courts.”
The ACLU of Montana already signaled its opposition to the bill in the day’s before its passage, so TikTok may well be right that this will be decided in the courts.
As for TikTok’s claim that Montana doesn’t have a “feasible plan” for putting the bill into effect? That’s plausible as well, given that it’s not clear exactly how the law enforcement authorities of this sparsely populated state with just over 1 million inhabitants will go about finding perpetrators of this entirely new state cybercrime.
Arkansas passes social media law requiring age verification
Arkansas has become the second state to pass a law requiring social media platforms to verify the ages of their users. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has signed the “Social Media Safety Act” into law, which requires companies verify the ages of users under 18 and to gain parental consent before minors create new accounts.
Utah recently passed similar measures, which also impose strict rules on how social media platforms handle the accounts of their youngest users, including an age verification requirement. The laws are part of a growing movement to enforce age verification measures and other age-based restrictions for social media companies. At least three other states are currently considering similar legislation.
The laws are also controversial. While lawmakers have for years called for more protections for teens on social media, privacy advocates and civil rights groups have opposed age verification mandates. Likewise, some child safety groups have argued that comprehensive privacy legislation would be a more effective way to protect children.
Under the Arkansas law, slated to take effect in September, companies are required to check the ages of their users via government-issued IDs like a driver’s license or “any commercially reasonable age verification method.” But, as CNNnotes, it’s not entirely clear which companies will be forced to comply with the law. The legislation includes a number of exemptions that would seem to excuse some prominent platforms.
For example, it states that platforms focused on “professional networking” and “career development” are exempt, which would seem to be a direct reference to LinkedIn. It also has exceptions for gaming-focused companies, as well as companies that allow “a user to generate short video clips of dancing, voice overs, or other acts of entertainment in which the primary purpose is not educational or informative,” which could be interpreted as excluding TikTok.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/arkansas-passes-social-media-law-requiring-age-verification-230716388.html?src=rss
Fifth victim dies in Louisville bank shooting: Woman, 57, passes away in hospital
Pokémon Go Is Raising Prices of Remote Raid Passes, and Fans Aren’t Happy
Pokémon GO will raise the price of remote raid passes
Pokémon GO is raising the price of remote raid passes, the mobile game announced today. Players used to be able to buy one pass for 100 coins (about $1) or three passes for 250 coins (about $2.50), but the cost of these items will nearly double to 195 coins for one pass, or 525 coins […]
Pokémon GO will raise the price of remote raid passes by Amanda Silberling originally published on TechCrunch
Pokémon Go is changing how Remote Raid Passes work — and raising prices
Niantic explains why it’s further restricting Remote Raids
Utah passes laws requiring parental permission for teens to use social media
Utah’s governor has signed two bills that could upend how teens in the state are able to use social media apps. Under the newlaws, companies like Meta, Snap and TikTok would be required to get parents permission before teens could create accounts on their platforms. The laws also require curfew, parental controls and age verification features.
The laws could dramatically change how social platforms handle the accounts of their youngest users. In addition to the parental consent and age verification features, the laws also bar companies “from using a design or feature that causes a minor to have an addiction to the company’s social media platform.”
For now, it’s not clear how Utah officials intend to enforce the laws or how they will apply to teenagers’ existing social media accounts. Both laws are scheduled to take effect next March.
The effect that social media can have on teens, particularly younger ones, has been in the spotlight for some time. Earlier this year, the Surgeon General said that “13 is too early,” referring to the minimum age when most platforms allow teens to join. Lawmakers in Congress and in other states have also proposed laws that would limit teens’ ability to use social media apps.
Not everyone agrees that laws restricting teenagers from using social media is the right approach, though. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, an organization that promotes digital rights, has opposed the law, saying it would violate the First Amendment rights of young people. Other groups have voiced similar concerns.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/utah-passes-laws-requiring-parental-permission-for-teens-to-use-social-media-223302739.html?src=rss