Tag: nanny state

A Ham-Handed Bill Attacks the First Amendment in the Name of Protecting Minors From Online Harm

Late last month, a Senate committee considered a 50-page bill with a name that includes the word kids and approved it unanimously. Those two facts alone are enough to raise the suspicion that legislators are heading down a winding road toward a destination they only dimly perceive.

That suspicion is amply supported by the text of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which ham-handedly aims to shield children and teenagers from vaguely defined dangers lurking on the internet. The unintended but foreseeable results are apt to include invasions of privacy that compromise First Amendment rights and a chilling impact on constitutionally protected speech, both of which will harm adults as well as the “kids” whom the bill is supposed to protect.

KOSA imposes an amorphous “duty of care” on platforms, online games, messaging applications, and streaming services, demanding “reasonable measures” to “protect” against and “mitigate” various “harms” to users younger than 17. The targeted dangers include anxiety, depression, suicide, eating disorders, substance abuse, “addiction-like behaviors,” physical violence, online bullying, harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse, “financial harms,” and promotion of “narcotic drugs,” tobacco products, alcohol, or gambling.

That’s a tall order, and it is not at all clear what meeting this obligation would entail. Nor is it clear when the duty of care applies.

As amended by the Senate Commerce Committee, KOSA applies to any “covered platform” that “knows” its users include minors. But no one knows what “knows” means.

In addition to “actual knowledge,” that condition can be satisfied by “knowledge fairly implied on the basis of objective circumstances.” KOSA directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), within 18 months of the bill’s passage, to issue “guidance” about how to understand the latter phrase.

That guidance, however, would not bind the FTC, which is charged with investigating and penalizing platforms that it thinks have violated KOSA. Nor would it constrain state attorneys general, who would be authorized to independently enforce KOSA through “civil actions.”

An earlier version of KOSA provoked criticism from civil libertarians who warned that it would effectively require platforms to verify users’ ages, which would entail collecting personal information. That was a clear threat to internet users of all ages who want to engage in speech without revealing their identities, a well-established First Amendment right.

In response to that concern, the latest version of KOSA revises the duty-of-care test and explicitly says it does not require “age gating or age verification.” But given the burdens the bill imposes and the uncertainty about what counts as “knowledge fairly implied,” platforms still would have a strong incentive to exclude minors or minimize the number of users who are younger than 17.

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Cigarettes in Canada to be individually labeled with health warnings

Cigarettes will be individually labeled in Canada. The messages, in English and French, include warnings such as “poison in every puff” and “cigarettes cause cancer.”

By July 2024 manufacturers will have to ensure the warnings are on all king-size cigarettes sold, and by April 2025 all regular-size cigarettes and little cigars with tipping paper and tubes must include the warnings. …In May, Health Canada said the new regulations “will make it virtually impossible to avoid health warnings” on tobacco products. …The move is part of Canada’s effort to reduce tobacco use to less than 5% by 2035 and follows a 75-day public consultation period that was launched last year.

Though the prevalence of smoking is vastly reduced since the middle of the 20th Century, about 10% of teens regularly smoke cigarettes, according to the American Lung Association. Canadian cigarette packets already have spectacularly unpleasant warnings featuring photos of diseases caused by smoking.

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Sen. Chris Murphy Wants the Government To Help You Make Friends

Is there any social issue that elected officials don’t think they can solve? Loneliness is a highly complex phenomenon, produced by an interplay of cultural components and personal psychological attributes. One senator thinks he can fix it with bureaucracy and “public awareness.”

On Tuesday, Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy announced the introduction of his “National Strategy for Social Connection,” a bill that would create “a federal office to combat the growing epidemic of American loneliness, develops anti-loneliness strategies, and fosters best practices to promote social connection,” as Murphy put it.

The idea that the federal government can solve loneliness is naive and laughable. If there is an “epidemic of loneliness” in America—a big if—its causes are surely so diverse that no group of bureaucrats is going to dislodge it. And certainly not with the silly solutions Murphy proposes.

Murphy’s bill would create an “Office of Social Connection Policy to advise the president on loneliness and isolation,” order federal agencies to implement a “national strategy on social connection,” and start a public awareness campaign to educate people about fostering connections.

“Similar to existing national guidelines on nutrition, sleep, and physical activity, the Office would issue research-based best practices on how to better engage and connect with our local communicates,” Murphy’s summary of the bill states.

U.S. nutrition guidelines, of course, have a long history of being ridiculously unscientific and plagued by cronyism. And whatever one thinks about nutrition and physical activity guidelines today, there’s no denying that Americans are massively overweight and way too sedentary. So, I’d hardly call these things models of efficacy.

In fact, national guidelines on how to be less lonely are bound to work about as well as nutrition and physical fitness guidelines have: not at all.

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Meal deals: Unhealthy options will be restricted in Wales

Meal deals with a high fat, sugar or salt content will be restricted in Wales under plans to tackle obesity and diabetes.

Temporary price drops and multi-buy offers on the unhealthiest foods will also be banned in the proposals put forward by the Welsh government.

But retailers have raised concerns about the timing of the announcement as food prices remain high.

The legislation will be introduced next year and rolled out by 2025.

A number of retailers offer lunch deals which combine a sandwich, drink and a snack for a set price.

Restrictions will be placed on certain combinations that have a high fat, sugar or salt content above the recommended daily amount.

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Oregon Partially Repeals Ban on Adults Fueling Their Own Cars

After years of marginal reforms, a dire labor shortage, and dislocations from natural disasters and the pandemic, Oregon politicians have finally agreed to open up the entire state to self-service gas pumps.

This past week, the Oregon Senate passed H.B. 2426, which allows all gas stations to designate at least half their gas pumps as self-service, meaning motorists can opt into fueling their vehicles if they feel up to the challenge. It also ends the requirement that a gas station attendant physically hand motorcyclists the nozzle before they pump their gas.

The bill, approved by the Oregon House in March, now goes to Gov. Tina Kotek, a Democrat, for approval.

For years, Oregon was one of two states in the union (New Jersey being the other) that mandated full-service gas stations—meaning an attendant was required to fuel most drivers’ vehicles.

Supporters of the full-service mandate claim it’s a productive job creation measure, a form of consumer protection, a necessary health and safety measure, and a valuable cultural quirk all rolled into one.

Reformers have therefore had to tread carefully when arguing that drivers and gas station owners deserve more freedom in their fueling relationship.

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House Democrats want taxpayers to cover costs of abortion travel, lodging, ‘escorts’

House Democrats want taxpayers to pick up the tab for a host of abortion-related services, including travel, hotels, childcare, “escorts” and “doula care,” as part of a bill timed to the one-year anniversary of Dobbs v. Jackson.

The Abortion Justice Act, sponsored by Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Massachusetts Democrat, would circumvent the Hyde Amendment’s ban on federal funds for abortion by earmarking $350 million annually for grants to “increase abortion access or support individuals who need abortion access.”

That includes covering “both the direct costs of the care and associated costs of travel, lodging, and childcare,” as well as “patient navigators,” “linguistically appropriate and culturally competent legal assistance,” “the full spectrum of doula care,” and “escorts to support abortion seekers as they access care.”

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FDA warns stores to stop selling Elf Bar, the top disposable e-cigarette in the US

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said it has sent warning letters to dozens of retailers selling fruit- and candy-flavored disposable e-cigarettes, including the current best-selling brand, Elf Bar.

It’s the latest attempt by regulators to crack down on illegal disposable vapes that have poured into U.S. stores in recent years.

Last month, the FDA issued orders allowing customs officials to seize shipments of Elf Bar, Esco Bar and two other brands at U.S. ports. None of the products have received FDA authorization and they come in flavors like cotton candy, which regulators say can appeal to teenagers.

In the latest action, the FDA said it issued warnings to 189 convenience stores, vape shops and other retailers.

“We’re not going to stand by as bad actors are profiting off the sale of illegal products that are addicting our nation’s youth,” Brian King, the FDA’s tobacco center director, said in an interview. “Today’s action is just part of our long-standing efforts to address those products, particularly flavored disposable products.”

The FDA has tried for years to regulate the multibillion-dollar vaping industry, but separate data released by government researchers Thursday shows unauthorized e-cigarettes continue to launch.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis showed the number of e-cigarette brands in the U.S. grew from 184 in early 2020 to 269 by late 2022.

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S.F. Mayor Breed defends controversial move to arrest drug users: ‘You’ve never lived in it’

Mayor London Breed fiercely defended her controversial policy to arrest and detain drug users to get them into treatment against criticism from Supervisor Dean Preston on Tuesday, calling him a “white man who’s talking about Black and brown people as if you’re the savior.” 

Breed has directed the Police Department to use public intoxication laws to arrest people who are high on drugs, detain them to sober up in jail and then offer them services. So far, officers have cited or arrested 38 people under the so-called “Intoxication Detention Program,” 12 of whom already had arrest warrants issued against them, she said during the Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday. Breed said none accepted drug treatment upon release. 

Preston pushed back on the approach Tuesday. He pointed out that Breed approved her health department’s overdose prevention plan in September that said Black, brown and Indigenous people continue to be impacted by “the racism and criminalization that have been the hallmark of federal U.S. drug policy for the past several decades.” 

The plan says “punitive policies have not been shown to be effective at reducing overdose deaths, while incarceration is known to significantly increase risk of dying of drug overdose” and cites a study demonstrating an increased risk of fatal overdose after incarceration. 

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