Author: cmackenzie

This week, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz made comments suggesting he’d be open to the inclusion of a delivery tax in the state’s transportation omnibus legislation, adding a fee to all grocery and retail deliveries in the state. The delivery tax proposal has faced widespread opposition from local business groups including the Minnesota Grocers Association, the… Continue reading MN Governor Open to Delivery Tax, Omnibus Nears Finish

On Thursday, the Supreme Court issued brief decisions in Gonzalez v. Google and Twitter v. Taamneh, sending the cases back to the lower courts without changing the interpretation of Section 230. Gonzalez, which had asked the Court to limit the scope of Section 230’s legal immunity shield for online platforms, suffered in oral arguments as… Continue reading In Internet cases, SCOTUS leaves Section 230 be

Bloomberg reported today that Ireland’s data protection commission will soon issue Facebook a record-breaking fine, surpassing €746 million, for its handling of consumer data during a lapse in EU-US agreements on the transatlantic transfer of data. In 2020, EU courts annulled an EU decision regulating transatlantic data flows due to privacy concerns, and today’s decision… Continue reading EU-Facebook Fine Isn’t About Protecting Consumers

On Monday, amici in the case of Olson v. California submitted briefs to the Ninth Circuit Court, arguing for the constitutionality of California’s AB 5, a law that singles out app-based drivers for reclassification as employees. AB 5, which was overwhelmingly rejected by voters in a ballot initiative in 2020, comes into conflict with the… Continue reading Olson v. California: CA Amici Weigh In

On Tuesday, Chamber of Progress released new polling that shows broad, bipartisan consumer concern about government regulations on Amazon’s shopping marketplace. The survey, which comes as the Federal Trade Commission explores a potential  antitrust suit against Amazon, reveals that a majority of voters believe that online marketplace regulations should focus on consumer well-being rather than… Continue reading New Survey Shows Consumer Concerns About Amazon Regulation

On Thursday, at a markup for the EARN IT Act in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democratic lawmakers from across the country raised concerns about the legislation’s impact on encrypted messaging services. Sens. Alex Padilla (D-CA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Jon Ossoff (D-GA) each used their committee remarks to urge changes to EARN IT to address… Continue reading Roundup: Senators Raise Encryption Concerns at EARN IT Markup

Today, Governor Kathy Hochul (D-NY) signed the Fiscal Year 2024 New York State Budget into law, scrapping plans to include a regressive online delivery tax. When budget negotiations began earlier this year, a new tax on products delivered to residents’ doorsteps was initially included in the Assembly’s proposed budget. Upon closer examination, Democrats rejected the… Continue reading New York Democrats Reject Regressive Delivery Tax

On Wednesday, a coalition of digital rights and free speech groups wrote to Texas lawmakers, urging them to reject H.B. 2690, an abortion censorship bill. The legislation would compel Internet providers to block certain abortion websites and would force platforms to proactively censor information about abortion access or mutual aid funds. Signers included Chamber of… Continue reading Tech, Speech Groups Oppose Abortion Censorship Bill