| | | | |  | | By Ruth Reader, Daniel Payne, Erin Schumaker and Toni Odejimi | | | | | 
A Senate bill would restrict social media features some kids find addictive. | AFP via Getty Images | Dismayed by the mental health effects of social media on kids, the Senate plans to vote tomorrow on the Kids Online Safety Act, legislation that would limit the data that sites can collect and make it easier for users to opt out of various design features like content recommendations. It’s likely to pass overwhelmingly: Last week, 86 senators supported a procedural vote to move the bill, by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), forward, with only Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) opposed. “I have met with the parents over and over again who have lost children in the flower of their lives because they were manipulated nefariously, maliciously by social media,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in remarks on the Senate floor last week. Why it matters: It will be the closest Congress has come to ending the laissez-faire governance of the internet that’s prevailed since the web’s infancy three decades ago. House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he’s interested, raising the possibility the bill could become law before the end of the year. Even so: Some civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, have raised concerns the bill could cut off LGBTQ+ kids from valuable online content and communities. Conservative group Patriot Voices, founded by former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), has run ads opposing the bill, arguing it would lead to censorship of religious content. What’s next? House Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) plans a committee vote on the House version of the legislation.
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New York, N.Y. | Erin Schumaker/POLITICO | This is where we explore the ideas and innovators shaping health care. New York City Mayor Eric Adams is calling on New Yorkers to join his rat pack initiative, described as an "elite squad of dedicated anti-rat activists." Those who complete a rat academy course, go on an instructional “rat walk,” and participate in a rat-mitigation service project are eligible for official rat pack merch. Share any thoughts, news, tips and feedback with Carmen Paun at cpaun@politico.com, Daniel Payne at dpayne@politico.com, Ruth Reader at rreader@politico.com, Erin Schumaker at eschumaker@politico.com, or Toni Odejimi at aodejimi@politico.com. Send tips securely through SecureDrop, Signal, Telegram or WhatsApp.
| | |  A British agency says it could enter tech companies' offices to gather information if they don't share it voluntarily. | Getty Images | Meanwhile, across the pond, the British government plans to impose new transparency requirements for social media firms in a bid to protect kids, our Laurie Clarke reports from London. How’s that? The plan, stemming from 2023 legislation and set to take effect next year, is expected to require the sites to report on the effectiveness of child-safety features, while the U.K. government’s Office of Communications conducts audits of those features, inspects how algorithms work and investigates children’s deaths. The regulator warns that in exceptional cases it will have the power to enter tech companies’ U.K. facilities to gather information and examine equipment. Failure to comply with transparency or information requests could result in fines of up to $23 million or 10 percent of a company’s worldwide revenue, whichever is higher. In the most serious cases, firms could face criminal liability for not complying. This week, the regulator fined TikTok $2.4 million for failing to respond to an information request accurately and promptly. Takeaway: “Our comprehensive transparency powers under the Act will be transformational in shining a light on the best and worst safety practices across the industry — encouraging safety by design — and empowering users,” said Gill Whitehead, group director of online safety at the Office of Communications.
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Identifying new illicit drugs quickly could save lives. | Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images | If researchers can identify newly emerging illicit drugs more quickly, public health officials and law enforcement could react faster — and save lives. The government is funding a vast surveillance enterprise to that end, reports our Gregory Svirnovskiy. The backstory: The government has enlisted a lab north of Philadelphia and university researchers in Florida and New York, who are getting close to near real-time intelligence on the latest compounds in the country’s black markets, be it the synthetic opioid fentanyl that’s causing tens of thousands of fatal overdoses each year or entirely new drugs. “We have technology on our side,” said Joseph Palamar, a professor at New York University Langone Health who is a leader in the effort. With money from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, researchers are trawling Reddit for discussions about emerging drugs and surveying people at skate parks, bus stops and sporting events. Staff at Florida Atlantic University and New York University are part of the University of Florida’s National Drug Early Warning System. At a Pennsylvania lab called NPS Discovery, short for “novel psychoactive substances,” toxicologists test thousands of samples — pills, powders and sometimes blood, urine and plasma — for new chemical culprits. It’s part of the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education and receives funding from the National Institute of Justice, an arm of the Department of Justice. Why it matters: Collaboration between those surveying drug users and those analyzing the drugs they’re taking has sped the detection process. Some hope to eventually use artificial intelligence to speed it up further. But the researchers also play a constant game of Whac-A-Mole — a game they can get faster at, but one that will never end. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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