MIT Technology Review – You may not notice it, but your experience on any US government website is a carefully crafted experience. “The United States has an official web design system and a custom typeface. This public design system aims to make government websites not only good-looking but accessible and functional for all. Before the… Continue Reading
Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002
Category Archives: Legislation
Project 2025, Election 2024, and America’s Future
TIME: “…Project 2025 led by the right-wing think tank the Heritage Foundation, Project 2025 is a presidential transition operation—basically a government-in-waiting if former President Donald Trump returns to office on Jan. 20, 2025. The $22 million effort does not say it is specifically intended for Trump, but that it wants a conservative as the next… Continue Reading
South Carolina poised to impose draconian censorship regime on school libraries
Popular Information: “On Tuesday, the South Carolina State Board of Education will impose a centralized and expansive censorship regime on every K-12 school library in the state. The new regulations could result in the banning of most classic works of literature from South Carolina schools — from The Canterbury Tales to Romeo and Juliet to… Continue Reading
What policy makers need to know about AI (and what goes wrong if they don’t)
Answer.AI: “Many policy makers in the US are being lobbied to introduce “AI safety” legislation by various well-funded groups. As a result, a number of pieces of legislation are now being drafted and voted on. For instance, SB 1047 is a bill currently working it’s way through the process in California, and introduces a number… Continue Reading
A Detailed Analysis of Article 50 of the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act
Gils, Thomas, A Detailed Analysis of Article 50 of the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act (June 14, 2024). Chapter to appear in an upcoming commentary on the EU AI Act (Q3-4 2024)., https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4865427 – “Article 50 of the EU’s AI Act contains transparency requirements for (i) interactive AI systems; (ii) synthetic content (including synthetic audio, image,… Continue Reading
There’s a Trump Presidential Library at the National Archives and It’s Hiring
No words for this via Washingtonian – “Now here’s a fun job listing: This position is part of the National Archives and Records Administration. Incumbent serves as the Deputy Director of the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library within the National Archives and Records Administration. Serves as a principal advisor to the Library Director. At the… Continue Reading
New Dataset of State Interest Group Policy Positions in the United States
“Research on the activities and influence of interest groups in state legislatures faces a data problem: we are missing a comprehensive, systematic dataset of interest groups’ policy preferences on state legislation. We address this gap by introducing the Dataset on Policy Choice and Organizational Representation in the United States (CHORUS). This dataset compiles over 13… Continue Reading
States are already collecting more abortion data. And HIPAA won’t always keep it private.
Nebraska Examiner: “Years before the Dobbs decision, providers like Dr. Kylie Cooper were already uncomfortable with some of the reporting requirements for abortion procedures in states where they practiced. Cooper was a maternal-fetal medicine specialist for several years in Idaho before she reluctantly left the state in 2023 because of the near-total abortion ban that… Continue Reading
IRS opening free online tax filing program to all states
“Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that Direct File will be a permanent, free tax filing option and invited all 50 states and the District of Columbia to join in Filing Season 2025. This announcement follows a successful Pilot Program that saw 140,000 taxpayers claim more than $90… Continue Reading
UK first country to outlaw easily guessable default passwords
TechSpot: “Why it matters: No matter how many hacks we see that are perpetrated via unchanged, weak default passwords on devices, manufacturers continue to use the likes of “password” and “admin” for login credentials. That’s no longer going to be the case in the UK, which has become the first country in the world to… Continue Reading
Wyden, Markey Reveal Automakers Provide Detailed Location Information to Law Enforcement Without a Warrant
Washington, D.C. – “Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., requested the Federal Trade Commission investigate major automakers for breaking a pledge to protect their customers’ location data, in a letter to Chair Lina Khan sent today. The automakers had deceptively pledged that they would insist on warrants or other court orders before… Continue Reading
Whistleblower Laws That Protect Lawbreakers
American Prospect: “The late whistleblower John Barnett described Boeing as a psychological torture chamber for anyone who cared about safety. A 2000 law makes fighting back nearly impossible.” Continue Reading
