BrianKrebs on Nostr: The threat of Congress passing new laws -- just the act of lawmakers holding hearings ...
The threat of Congress passing new laws -- just the act of lawmakers holding hearings on important subjects and introducing bills to address the issue -- is often enough to push industries to take steps that improve things (however marginally) for their users/customers/consumers.
But this past Congress has very much abdicated its responsibility in examining some super pressing issues that are long overdue for serious consideration. I'm not saying we need new regulations and laws on all or any of these, but at this point I'd settle for just a little saber rattling. I realize few if any of these issues are likely to receive much attention from the next Congress, but here's my short list, in no particular order:
-Data privacy and protection (more stick, less carrot).
-Software liability (hardware security vendors are front of mind)
-Artificial intelligence (whether it's worth the environmental cost, for starters)
-Cryptocurrency (why is it still okay to send crypto to Russia??)
-Real shield laws for journalists (most state shield laws are a joke)
Sen. Wyden introduced The Press Act (S. 2074), which was passed in the House in January but is being held up in the Senate. It's not really an answer to the problem of journalists and news orgs getting sued into poverty or silence; but importantly, it would "protect from disclosure any information identifying a source, as well as any records, contents of a communication, documents, or information obtained or created by journalists in the course of their work." Now would be a really good time to push this one through, or attach it to something that is must-pass: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/2074/all-actions
Another area we probably missed the boat on is getting lawmakers to pass laws to prevent themselves from investing directly in specific companies that stand to gain financially from their legislative efforts.
For now, though, there's a popular app that lets people trade stocks based on what companies lawmakers are investing in, with the reasoning that people in Congress often have inside news on which way the markets are moving.
https://www.ballardspahr.com/insights/alerts-and-articles/2024/10/politician-trading-if-you-cant-stop-them-join-them
But this past Congress has very much abdicated its responsibility in examining some super pressing issues that are long overdue for serious consideration. I'm not saying we need new regulations and laws on all or any of these, but at this point I'd settle for just a little saber rattling. I realize few if any of these issues are likely to receive much attention from the next Congress, but here's my short list, in no particular order:
-Data privacy and protection (more stick, less carrot).
-Software liability (hardware security vendors are front of mind)
-Artificial intelligence (whether it's worth the environmental cost, for starters)
-Cryptocurrency (why is it still okay to send crypto to Russia??)
-Real shield laws for journalists (most state shield laws are a joke)
Sen. Wyden introduced The Press Act (S. 2074), which was passed in the House in January but is being held up in the Senate. It's not really an answer to the problem of journalists and news orgs getting sued into poverty or silence; but importantly, it would "protect from disclosure any information identifying a source, as well as any records, contents of a communication, documents, or information obtained or created by journalists in the course of their work." Now would be a really good time to push this one through, or attach it to something that is must-pass: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/2074/all-actions
Another area we probably missed the boat on is getting lawmakers to pass laws to prevent themselves from investing directly in specific companies that stand to gain financially from their legislative efforts.
For now, though, there's a popular app that lets people trade stocks based on what companies lawmakers are investing in, with the reasoning that people in Congress often have inside news on which way the markets are moving.
https://www.ballardspahr.com/insights/alerts-and-articles/2024/10/politician-trading-if-you-cant-stop-them-join-them