[ale] OT-ish Political: Georgia HB509 Requires Blocking Technology in all Web-Capable Devices

[Scott Plante]

It would have had to pass the House by crossover day, which has already gone by. According to your link it basically was introduced and went nowhere. There are a lot of harebrained bills introduced that basically just get ignored like this. I wonder how many are by legislators who really think they're a good idea and will work, vs how many are just to pacify some big supporter with a pet cause. 

----- Original Message -----

From: "Scott M. Jones" <eff at dragoncon.org> 
To: "Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts" <ale at ale.org> 
Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2017 10:47:58 AM 
Subject: [ale] OT-ish Political: Georgia HB509 Requires Blocking Technology in all Web-Capable Devices 

I found out about this bill in the Georgia House on Sunday night and 
I've been feverishly researching it ever since. As you may know I've 
been trying to revive Electronic Frontiers Georgia. It's likely that 
EFGA would work vigorously to oppose this. 

http://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/en-US/Display/20172018/HB/509 

- Requires blocking technology in all web-enabled devices to block adult 
content and illegal content. 

- Circumvention information is illegal and is to be blocked. 

- An unblocking fee of $20 is required. This is to be collected to go 
to a state fund. 

- All companies must maintain a call center to adjust the blocking list 
based on reports. An impossible burden for startups. 

- The state AG will sue to suspend sales of non-compliant devices in the 
state. 

- The bill is named the "Human Trafficking Prevention Act" as if 
blocking will somehow prevent human trafficking. (Funds collected don't 
even go to this purpose.) 

- No privacy protections for those who willingly pay the fee. Could 
become a new Scarlett Letter with or without a data breach. 

- Seems like the CDA all over again. 

Articles: 

http://lawnewz.com/crazy/bill-would-require-automatic-blocking-of-child-pornography-and-legal-porn-too/ 

https://pjmedia.com/trending/2017/03/10/georgia-state-rep-files-bill-to-automatically-censor-internet-content/ 

I was in touch with the EFF about this yesterday and it seems there are 
similar bills in other states, so this is a coordinated effort somehow. 

-Scott 
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