• Social Media Giants Say - Hey, ABout CA...
  • US Post-Election Impacts on AI
  • Bluetooth 7.0 is Coming

Social Media Giants Say - Hey, ABout CA...
California Assembly Bill 1709 (AB 1709) was signed into law on September 10, 2026 and is set to take effect on January 1, 2027. The law is designed to protect children from the harmful and predatory practices of social media companies. There are six components of the law:

  • Ban addictive features for users under 16
  • Conditional account access
  • Age verification
  • Account remediation
  • Creation of an e-Safety Advisory Commission
  • Civil Penalties

What does all that mean? Addictive features are defined as algorithmic features and auto-playing content. Conditional access is allowing accounts for children as long as they do not have the addictive features enabled. Social media companies must implement age verification in their apps and on their sites before any addictive features can be deployed for any user. Account remediation dictates that any accounts for children who do not consent to the removal of addictive features must be deleted and their data wiped. And finally, civil penalties include fines up to $25,000 per minor for negligence and up to $50,000 per minor for willful violation.

Now, there are already other states in the US that have social media laws intended to protect children - FL, NY, and UT. CA's law is different in a few ways:

  • NY's bill goes up to age 18 and allows for parental consent for algorithmic features
  • UT's bill also goes up to age 18 and includes restrictions on direct messaging and data harvesting (it was modified from a parental supervision model based on pushback)
  • FL's bill prohibits children under 14 from having an account at all and requires parental consent for children over 14

Only CA has a provision for an advisory commission within the CA Department of Justice (DOJ) that is designed to monitor engagement patterns and provide continuous input on rulemaking as platforms evolve. But it also lacks any parental consent features.

You may not be surprised to learn that the big social media companies are not taking this passively. As they do, they have lawyered up and are suing the state for First Amendment violations. They view algorithmic approaches as an editorial decision that is protected under the constitution. They also maintain that the rights of users do not depend on their ages and these laws impact their ability to access protected speech. And finally, they maintain that implementing age verification features impacts all users by creating barriers to that same protected speech. Google, Meta, and TikTok have all filed separate lawsuits against CA for AB 1709. They maintain that the law exchanges parental judgment for state judgment. In addition to First Amendment violations, they also maintain that the law is a violation of Section 230, which shields online platforms from liability due to user content.

As there is no federal law regulating social media in the United States and there has been no real will so far to establish any law, unlike many other countries around the world, companies have had to fight these battles from state to state. It is an expensive and confusing undertaking for everyone. But with current CA governor Gavin Newsom exiting his role at the end of this term and the shifts in government for next year, we will have to see where all of this goes and if there are any efforts to address this at the federal level and settle the issue once and for all (or at least until the lawsuit against whatever law that would be and the resulting Supreme Court case).

Yeah, this is going to continue to be a problem for a long time.

US Post-Election Impacts on AI
OpenAI has pledged via its Compute Campus Policy Blueprint and National Community Compact to cover the full costs of supplying power to data centers. It will also eliminate non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with public officials, appeal to communities for feedback on new projects, and publish new construction plans. From OpenAI's November 5th public announcement:

Each compact will reflect local priorities and include a common set of commitments:Pay our own way on energy and infrastructure. We’ll pay the full cost of the electricity we use and the infrastructure needed to serve us. Before major spending begins, we’ll provide financial assurances so other customers are protected if a project is delayed, reduced, or canceled.
Protect local resources and report on our impact. We’ll develop a water plan for each campus, prioritize closed-loop or low-water cooling, and publish site-level water and electricity use. We’ll publish construction plans and independent noise studies before operations begin and annually afterward. And we will not use non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with public officials, allowing only narrow protections covering legitimate security information, trade secrets, or proprietary or competitively sensitive information.
Create opportunities for local workers and businesses. We’ll publish the jobs we expect to create, work with unions and training providers to help residents prepare for them, and report annually on hiring and apprenticeships. We’ll also make sustained investments in priorities residents help select.

To address electricity costs, OpenAI says utilities should require data center customers to cover the costs they add to the grid and establish ways to reduce their power usage during times of peak demand. They also suggest that the US government should help by fast-tracking transmission upgrades and offering tax incentives for clean electricity. OpenAI says the terms of any agreements with governments should be public and there should be a requirement for public reporting on water and energy use along with any increases to noise pollution. And since AI has become infamous for its negative impacts on workers, OpenAI also suggests that developers of new data center projects should share purchasing plans so local businesses can compete for contracts and local educational centers and employers should use their hiring plans to tailor educational and training programs.

The blueprint itself is an 18-page PDF that is available for download on OpenAI's website (https://cdn.openai.com/pdf/compute-campus-policy-blueprint.pdf). Additional suggestions include modernizing the electric grid, expanding domestic energy production, generating economic opportunities in depressed regions, and improving permitting processes. Ultimately, it is exactly the kind of paper you publish when you want to assure angry American voters that you've heard their concerns and you want to show that you have considered ways to address them and mitigate any potential harms from future data center projects (and the potential harm to your bottom line). OpenAI itself can make some concrete changes that are likely to improve communication and awareness, especially by ceasing the practice of requiring NDAs and completing environmental impact studies and reporting on those results. They can do much to help improve their public position. But many of the ideas in the blueprint require commitments and changes from outside entities such as governments and utilities, and we haven't seen much yet in terms of how far these groups are willing to go to help assuage fears Americans have concerning out-of-control utility bills and detrimental impacts to their communities both environmentally and economically. We still need governmental action for long-term positive effect. This week's US mid-term elections have provided some opportunities for local and state governments to enforce some change, but we will have to wait and see what the impacts will be and whether the federal government will be at all effective and taking up the mantle the electorate has handed them.

Well, that was a lot. Here's a more feel-good story to round out the week.

Bluetooth 7.0 is Coming
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has adopted Bluetooth High Data Throughput (HDT) as an optional feature for BT 7.0's core specification. This will raise the theoretical maximum supported bit rate to 7.5Mbps from 2Mbps for a nearly 4x increase. This extra headroom will allow for true lossless high-resolution audio streaming, spatial audio, and multi-channel surround sound without requiring proprietary codecs. It will benefit future audio gear but will also be helpful in data transmissions for health devices, XR headgear, and spatial computing devices. It should also allow for mundane things like firmware updates for Bluetooth devices to be completed much faster. The new spec is also more secure, building upon recent additions from BT 6.0, offering random dynamic addressing to make it harder for hackers to target your transmissions. It will also allows for centimeter-level tracking between devices, helping to improve the effectiveness of live tracking devices. The first devices sporting this spec are expected in 2027, but be cautiously optimistic about your favorite manufacturer immediately ditching their tried-and-true approaches for this new one right away. It's an optional feature and no announcements have been made about any products that will support it. Nevertheless, someday, this should show up in products we can touch, feel, and hear and enjoy even more.