TX on Verge of Becoming 6th State to Enact Comprehensive Data Privacy Law, Existential Threat of AI & More

TX Legislature Passes Comprehensive Consumer Data Privacy Law

Texas was poised last week to become the sixth state to enact a comprehensive consumer data privacy bill, after state lawmakers approved the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (HB 4). If signed by Gov. Greg Abbott (R), the measure, which is similar to the one passed in Virginia in 2021 (HB 2307), would go into effect on July 1, 2024. (LEXOLOGY)

Tech Leaders Warn of Existential Threat Posed by AI

Over 350 tech leaders and artificial intelligence experts, including Sam Altman, the CEO of ChatGPT-developer OpenAI, signed an open letter warning of the serious risk that AI poses to humanity.

“Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war,” the brief letter stated. (REUTERS, CNBC)

Meta Threatens to Stop Posting News if CA Bill Passed

Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta said it would eliminate news posts on those social media platforms if California passes AB 886. That measure, known as the California Journalism Preservation Act, would require social media platforms to pay a monthly “journalism usage fee”—based on their monthly ad revenue—for the news content they use. The bill would also require news outlets to spend at least 70 percent of the usage fees they receive on journalists and support staff. (SACRAMENTO BEE)

CA Senate Passes Short-Term Rentals Tax to Fund Affordable Housing

The California Senate passed a bill (SB 584) that would impose a 15 percent tax on short-term rentals such as those booked through platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo. The estimated $150 million a year the surcharge would generate would go toward building and rehabilitating low-and middle-income housing. The fast-moving measure now moves to the Assembly. (CAL MATTERS, STATE NET)

MN Enacts Expansive Right to Repair Law

Last month Minnesota became the latest state to approve a so-called right to repair law, following the lead of Colorado earlier in the year and New York in 2022. Part of the state budget bill (SB 2744) signed by Gov. Tim Walz (D), the law requires makers of electronic devices and household appliances to provide independent repair shops and consumers parts, tools and instructions for how to fix those items.

Although the state’s lawmakers excluded vehicles, farm equipment, video game consoles, medical devices and cybersecurity tools from the measure before they approved it, right to repair advocates say the law is the broadest one enacted so far. (STATELINE, STATE NET)

Social Media Age Verification Measure Nearing Passage in LA

Louisiana’s House Commerce Committee approved a bill (SB 162) that would require social media platforms to verify the age of new users who indicate they are under 16 years old. The bill, which has already been passed by the Senate, is modeled after legislation (SB 152) enacted in Utah in March. (ADVOCATE [BATON ROUGE], STATE NET)

–Compiled by SNCJ Managed Editor KOREY CLARK

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