Law

California Bill AB5 Turns Contract Workers into Employees

California’s Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) will reclassify many contract workers in California into full employees with benefits. It doesn’t cover all types of contract workers, and is anticipated to affect companies like Uber and Lyft the most. The New York…

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JenThorpe
Law

U.S. Department of Justice Announced Antitrust Review of Big Tech

The United States Department of Justice announced that the Department’s Antitrust Division is reviewing whether and how market-leading platforms have achieved market power and are engaging in practices that have reduced competition, stifled innovation, or otherwise harmed consumers. The Department’s…

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JenThorpe
Law
California Law Bans Bots from Pretending to be Real People

California Law Bans Bots from Pretending to be Real People

California has passed a law that went into effect on July 1, 2019. It amends part of the state’s existing Business and Professions Code. The purpose of the amendment is to require bots to make it clear that they are…

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JenThorpe
Law

Two Senators Introduced Bill to Ban “Dark Patterns”

Two U.S. Senators, Mark Warner (Democrat – Virginia) and Deb Fischer (Republican – Nevada), have introduced a bill that, if passed into law, would prohibit large online platforms from using deceptive user interfaces, known as “dark patterns” to trick consumers…

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JenThorpe
Law

UK Online Harms White Paper Could Fine Senior Tech Managers

The BBC reported that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has proposed an independent watchdog and a code of practice that tech companies would have to follow. Senior managers of social media platforms and other websites would be held…

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JenThorpe
Law

Elizabeth Warren Wants to Break Up Tech Industry Giants

Senator Elizabeth Warren said that if she is elected president in 2020, her administration will break up the giants of the tech industry. This was announced at SXSW in Austin, and in a detailed post on Medium. In that post,…

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JenThorpe