Massachusetts
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Massachusetts weighs outright ban on selling user location data
The Massachusetts state legislature is considering a bill that would ban the sale of users’ phone location data. If passed, the Location Shield Act would be the first such law in the nation as Congress stalls on comprehensive user privacy solutions on a national scale. The state’s proposed legislation would also require a warrant for law enforcement to access user location data from data brokers.
Massachusetts bills would set a minimum wage for rideshare drivers
New Massachussetts bills would give rideshare drivers a minimum wage and other benefits.
Massachusetts court rejects proposed gig worker ballot measure
A Massachusetts court has tossed a ballot measure that would have treated gig workers as contractors, protecting the Uber and Lyft business models.
Lyft is spending millions to stop Massachusetts drivers from becoming employees
Two years after kneecapping efforts to classify drivers in California as employees rather than contractors, Lyft is returning to the same, expensive playbook on the East Coast.
Massachusetts plans to ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035
As part of the state’s 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap, Governor Charlie Baker said Massachusetts will mandate that all new cars sold in the Commonwealth be electric by 2035.
Massachusetts lawmakers pass state-wide police ban on facial recognition
Massachusetts could make history as the first state to issue a ban on the use of facial recognition by law enforcement.
Massachusetts voters pass right-to-repair expansion opening up car data
One election night issue that has appears to have an answer already is the passage of Question 1 in Massachusetts, which asked voters to strengthen laws guaranteeing people are able to repair things they own. In this case, it focused on cars, preventing manufactures from locking third party repair shops and car owners out of advanced telematics data that’s increasingly being collected by vehicles via driver assistance tools.
Massachusetts sues Uber and Lyft for identifying drivers as contractors
It follows a similar lawsuit in California.
Six former eBay employees charged in a bizarre cyberstalking scheme
The Department of Justice has charged six former eBay employees with conspiracy to commit cyberstalking.
Congress is asking vape manufacturers if they used social media bots
Congress wants to know if the largest vaping companies used bot-generated social-media messages to market their products. The House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Massachusetts attorney general have asked each of the five largest manufacturers if they've relied on automated, bot-posted campaigns, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Massachusetts temporarily bans vaping products amid health crisis
Following a spate of vaping illnesses and deaths, Massachusetts has become the first state to do a full ban on vaping products. Governor Charlie Baker declared a public health emergency and said that both flavored and non-flavored vaping products -- made with nicotine and marijuana -- would be temporarily prohibited from sale for a period of four months. "[We] need to pause sales in order for our medical experts to collect more information about what is driving these life threatening vaping-related illnesses," he said at a press conference.
Uber will pay $20 million to settle drivers' lawsuit
Uber's ongoing driver lawsuit issue could be winding down. The ride-hailing company has agreed to pay $20 million to settle a legal battle instigated by drivers nearly six years ago, according to court filings. Drivers for the company argued that they are Uber employees, not independent contractors as Uber states, and are therefore entitled to expenses and wage protections. Uber's proposed settlement sees drivers receive a payout for expenses, but will not change their status as independent contractors.
Massachusetts halts five ICOs for defying financial rules
It's not just the feds concerned about sketchy cryptocurrency fundraising. Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin has ordered a halt to the sale of five initial coin offerings (18 Moons, Across Platforms, Mattervest, Pink Ribbon and Sparkco) for offering "unregistered securities." All five listed the state as their place of business, but hadn't registered with the state to sell their wares. That should be a "red flag" to any potential investors, Galvin said.
New York joins Massachusetts investigation of Facebook's data use
All eyes are on Facebook as more and more information rolls out regarding Cambridge Analytica, its involvement in recent elections and forums and how it came to obtain 50 million Facebook users' profile information. Now, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is joining those demanding more information from the social network giant. "Consumers have a right to know how their information is used -- and companies like Facebook have a fundamental responsibility to protect their users' personal information," Schneiderman said in a statement. "Today, along with Massachusetts Attorney General Healey, we sent a demand letter to Facebook -- the first step in our joint investigation to get to the bottom of what happened."
Death by text: How the Michelle Carter case will impact free speech
Words can kill, a Massachusetts Juvenile Court judge decided last Friday, when he found 20-year old Michelle Carter guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the 2014 suicide of her then-boyfriend, Conrad Roy III. This decision, with its broad interpretation of the manslaughter statute, could potentially pose long-lasting consequences for how we speak to each other online and how cyberbullying is addressed by social media platforms.
Over 8,000 Uber, Lyft drivers fail new Massachusetts background check
More than 8,000 Uber and Lyft drivers have been denied licenses to operate in Massachusetts under a new, stricter state background check law, according to the Boston Globe. The most common reason? Issues with the driver's license status, including suspensions.
Exxon must turn over decades of climate change research
A court in Massachusetts has ruled that Exxon Mobil must reveal how much it knew about our looming environmental apocalypse. The oil giant is under investigation by the state's attorney general, Maura Healey, who is looking at claims that the company mislead investors about climate change. The court has compelled the company to hand over decades' worth of paperwork relating to what Exxon chiefs knew, and when.
Boston is the latest city to allow self-driving car tests
You can add Boston to the list of places where autonomous vehicles are being tested legally. Rather than trials on the city's, ahem, interesting street layout, company NuTonomy will start small, beginning at the Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park on January 3rd, according to The Boston Herald.
Google Express delivery expands along the East Coast
East coast residents now have a new way to shop online. Google announced on Wednesday that it is expanding its Google Express online delivery service to a dozen states throughout the Northeast. Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont are all now within Google Express' delivery range.
UPS testing drones to deliver emergency medical supplies
Remember when Amazon announced Prime Air drone delivery back in 2013? Following the excited hubbub, other services including UPS scrambled to try out competitive airbone services. But then everyone ran into a slew of logistics and regulations issues, which have taken years to untangle. In the past few months, Google was given FAA approval for drone deliveries and Amazon might bypass regulation entirely for its air shipping. But UPS is going in a different direction: Testing UAVs to ferry emergency medical supplies.
