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  • Taggart :ifin:mttaggart@infosec.exchange
    Apr 15, 2026, 2:53 PM

    @snow @cwebber I do in fact. Go check my blog for links to the legislation at all stages. Official groups in opposition were almost exclusively TechNet, which is a lobbying firm funded by the biggest tech corporations. A second group in opposition was led by a former Google lobbyist.

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  • Snowsnow@teardrop.net
    Apr 15, 2026, 2:58 PM

    @mttaggart @cwebber Thanks. I'm very confused then, because even Wicks office was touting the support of tech companies when the bill passed. Maybe it's a case of left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. I suppose it doesn't matter since these bills are dumpster fires regardless of who is supporting them.

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  • Taggart :ifin:mttaggart@infosec.exchange
    Apr 15, 2026, 3:04 PM

    @snow @cwebber Money talks. It's one thing to put out a press release; it's another to pay a lobbying firm to go to work in Sacramento on your behalf. I really think what we have here is a fundamental misunderstanding of motivation between legislators, the general public, and this community.

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  • Jonjdp23@neuromatch.social
    Apr 17, 2026, 5:03 PM

    Belated response here ...

    "I really think what we have here is a fundamental misunderstanding of motivation between legislators, the general public, and this community."

    Totally agree. I've talked to quite a few state legislators here in Washington about it, including what they're hearing from the public -- some of those thoughts in neuromatch.social/@jdp23/11640

    Specifically on Google and AB 1043 they testified against AB 1043 in April but then actively supported it in September. It's possible they were just bowing to the inevitable ... r maybe there were changes that made it more palatable to them?

    In Washington in early 2026, TechNet, NetChoice, and Chamber of Progress all opposed the age verification bills (with the caveat that these bills weren't at the OS level so the incentives are somewhat different). It was very much a strange bedfellows situation; I heard that supporters of the age verification bill were saying that I and others who opposed it were in big tech's pocket (which is pretty hilarious).

    But, big tech isn't monolithic. Meta and MIcrosoft basically do their own thing, and I've heard for a while that Meta has been supporting OS and AppStore-level age verification bills. Oracle is a data broker as much as a big tech company (and data brokers support age verification bills). The Age Verification Providers association has a lot of lobbying muscle of their own. etc etc etc.

    @mttaggart @snow @cwebber

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