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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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Arkansas House targets crypto miners
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Crypto miners, be warned: The Arkansas House has given final passage to a pair of bills aimed at giving the state and local governments more control over crypto mining operations, a burgeoning and energy-intensive industry.
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The two bills would require digital asset mining operations to implement noise mitigation strategies and repeal a prohibition on local governments adopting crypto mining-specific noise ordinances.
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The legislation would also mandate that crypto mining operations get state permits and prohibit foreign ownership of crypto mines from adversarial countries such as China.
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Legislatures are taking an increased interest in cracking down on crypto mines that are proliferating in America’s suburbs. High-profile Virginia Sen. Danica Roem (D) introduced several bills this year, and others are in the works.
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Bipartisan bill would bar kids from social media
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Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) have introduced legislation that would set a minimum age for online social media users at 13. Users under 18 would be required to obtain parental permission before using social media apps. Read more at The Hill.
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Senators aim to add kids privacy bills to FAA reauthorization
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Two bills aimed at increasing safety of minors online through data privacy updates and rules to limit potentially harmful features are being put forward as amendments to be added to the FAA reauthorization that must pass ahead of a May 10 deadline. Read more at The Hill.
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Closing arguments in Google antitrust case
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The Justice Department and Google presented closing arguments Thursday and Friday in the government’s case alleging the company maintains and operates an illegal monopoly in online search. Read more at The Hill.
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Treasury wants to expand free tax filing
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Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told lawmakers Wednesday her department is investigating ways to expand the direct file pilot program. The program was open to simple tax filers in a handful of states for the first time this year. Read more at The Hill.
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Microsoft bans police from AI tool
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Microsoft will ban U.S. police departments from using generative AI through its Azure tool, according to terms of service changes rolled out Wednesday. The changes explicitly bar agencies from using “real-time facial recognition technology” on mobile cameras. Read more at TechCrunch.
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Magnificent Seven performance this week
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GOOG -1.7%, AMZN +2.2%, AAPL +6.1%, META +2.7%, MSFT -0.7%, NVDA +1%, TSLA -2.3%. NASDAQ-100 Tech Sector: -0.6%.
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Hawaii cracks down on short-term rentals
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Hawaii’s Democratic-controlled legislature on Wednesday overwhelmingly voted to let counties phase out short-term vacation rentals in a bid to ease the state’s dire housing shortage. Read more at Pluribus News.
Crazy stat: 5% of all Hawaii housing units operate as short-term rentals.
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Retailers object to digital privacy bills
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Major retailers in Vermont and Maine, including L.L. Bean and Orvis, objected to comprehensive consumer data privacy bills this year, raising new obstacles to bills that Amazon and other tech giants typically oppose. The retailers say they have trouble dealing with patchwork laws in other states. Read more at Pluribus News.
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Supreme Court won’t block Texas anti-porn law
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The Supreme Court refused to block a Texas law that required pornographic websites to verify a user’s age. The high court denied an emergency appeal filed by the Free Speech Coalition, a trade association for the adult entertainment industry. Read more at The Hill.
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May 7: Match Group, Electronic Arts and Lyft report first quarter earnings.
Also May 7: Apple will hold a special virtual event, where new iPads are expected. Read more at The Verge.
May 9: Bloomberg Technology Summit, San Francisco. Read more here
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Snapchat will add new features including the ability to edit unread messages a user has already sent. The change will allow users to edit posts within five minutes of sending, similar to X’s Premium offerings. Read more at The Verge.
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Investing in the space insurance business is a risky bet: Space insurers paid out $995 million in claims in 2023, as low earth orbit becomes more crowded. The average separation between satellites decreased 33% last year alone. Read more at The Register.
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You’re all caught up!
See you next week.
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