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Month: March 2024

Influenceurs en Europe : quel type de réglementation est nécessaire ?

L’Etat montre qu’il est à la traîne d’un modèle qui permet de plus en plus aux gens d’avoir des flux de revenus multiples et flexibles.

Sous la présidence belge de l’Union européenne, le Conseil européen cherche à clarifier les règles applicables aux influenceurs en ligne. Nous les avons tous vus : des personnes qui apparaissent sur notre fil d’actualité, nous racontant une histoire fantastique à propos d’un nouveau chargeur qu’ils utilisent, d’une magnifique destination de vacances qu’ils ont découverte ou d’un nouveau sac à dos résistant qu’ils ont essayé.

C’est pourquoi de nombreuses plateformes de médias sociaux ont non seulement créé des outils permettant de signaler les contenus publicitaires, mais ont également mis à jour leurs lignes directrices afin de restreindre la publicité qui n’est pas étiquetée comme telle.

En juin, la France a mis en place une réglementation plus stricte pour les influenceurs en ligne afin de réduire les risques pour le public, bien que des questions subsistent quant à son harmonisation avec la législation de l’UE suite à un avis de la Commission en août.

En décembre, l’autorité italienne de la concurrence (AGCM) a renforcé sa réglementation sur les influenceurs, tandis que l’Espagne et la Belgique envisagent d’adopter des lois nationales sur les influenceurs. Dans ce contexte, l’adoption de règles au niveau de l’UE permettrait d’éviter un patchwork fragmenté de réglementations nationales. D’où l’idée de la présidence belge d’harmoniser les règles européennes en la matière.

Mais quelles doivent être ces règles ? C’est là que les choses se compliquent…

Prenons l’exemple de Capucine Anav, une influenceuse française qui s’est fait épingler par le régulateur pour avoir fait la publicité pour des patchs « anti-ondes » à mettre sur les téléphones. Sur BFMTV, Anav s’explique assez mal, en prétendant qu’elle n’était pas au courant des règles spécifiques, ni du fait que ces patchs anti-ondes sont une farce non-scientifique.

Simon Castaldi, influenceur Instagram qui avait oublié de mettre ses hashtags « #sponsorisé » sous ses publications. Il a ensuite été contraint par la Répression des fraudes (DGCCRF) d’afficher qu’il avait enfreint les règles relatives aux influenceurs. A la télévision, il a insisté sur le fait que de nombreux influenceurs ignorent les règles, car leur popularité arrive souvent à leur porte plus vite qu’ils ne peuvent apprendre les lignes directrices éthiques de la publicité.

En définitive, deux choses peuvent être vraies à la fois.

Les influenceurs, s’ils sont capables de rédiger des factures et de réfléchir à des moyens astucieux de faire de la publicité pour des produits, peuvent aussi penser à comprendre les lois qui entourent leur profession et agir avec diligence lorsqu’ils font la promotion de produits qui s’adressent à un large public. Dans le même temps, il semble également sévère de traiter les personnalités d’Instagram avec la même sévérité que nous le faisons pour les agences de marketing, qui produisent du contenu pour les grandes chaînes de télévision et qui ont les ressources nécessaires pour employer des avocats qui veillent à ce que tout le contenu soit conforme.

Cela dit, le problème ne se limite pas à la conformité, mais à la nécessité d’une telle conformité. Depuis de nombreuses décennies, la publicité non divulguée est présente dans les films. Vous souvenez-vous de Daniel Craig buvant une bouteille de Heineken dans les films James Bond ? Le simple fait qu’il conduise une Aston Martin est également de la publicité. Personne n’en a fait un problème, parce que ces studios de cinéma rapportent des millions d’euros en impôts et font la promotion de villes et de pays à travers les films. En outre, nous n’avons jamais pris les consommateurs pour des imbéciles, au point de ne pas comprendre que Samuel L. Jackson et John Travolta n’ont parlé de McDonald’s dans Pulp Fiction que parce que les producteurs ont été payés pour cela.

Nous n’avons pas besoin d’avoir le hashtag « sponsorisé » sous les yeux au cinéma pour nous rendre compte qu’on nous fait de la publicité. Dans de nombreux cas, sur les médias sociaux, nous n’avons pas non plus besoin d’une clause de non-responsabilité détaillée. Les plateformes devraient pouvoir décider de la manière dont elles veulent gérer leurs influenceurs sur leur plateforme.

Il existe une responsabilité réglementaire, uniquement dans le but de prévenir les allégations de publicité mensongère – car si les influenceurs promettent une caractéristique d’un service ou d’un produit qui n’est pas seulement hyperbolique, mais factuellement incorrecte, l’entreprise et le porte-parole doivent pouvoir en être tenus pour responsables. Pour le reste, il n’y a aucune raison pour que l’autorité de régulation s’intéresse de près aux lignes directrices des géants des médias sociaux.

Le marché des influenceurs a également montré à quel point le gouvernement se contente de gérer des systèmes et des procédures du passé, et non ceux de l’ère numérique. En bureaucratisant à l’excès les procédures de comptabilité et d’enregistrement pour les influenceurs, au lieu d’offrir des rapports numériques faciles, l’Etat montre qu’il est à la traîne d’un modèle qui permet de plus en plus aux gens d’avoir des flux de revenus multiples et flexibles.

Pour certains d’entre nous, les influenceurs et la publicité peuvent être ennuyeux. Mais contrairement à la bureaucratie gouvernementale, nous pouvons simplement fermer les pop-ups des pubs…

Originally published here

Introducing a licensing system for selected shops selling vapes will make it difficult for consumers to access safer products

KUALA LUMPUR, 18th March 2024 – As the Malaysian government contemplates the implementation of a licensing system for selected shops selling vaping products, the Consumer Choice Center (CCC) voices concern over the potential consequences on consumer access to safer vaping alternatives. With a mission to promote consumer choice and empower individuals, CCC emphasizes the importance of preserving access to diverse and high-quality vaping products for informed consumer decision-making.

The proposed licensing system, while aiming to address concerns surrounding vaping, may inadvertently hinder access to safer vaping options for consumers. CCC underscores the necessity of balanced regulation that prioritizes both public health objectives and consumer choice. By restricting the availability of licensed vape shops, consumers may face limited options, potentially resorting to less regulated or unsafe alternatives.

Representative of the Malaysian Consumer Choice Center, Tarmizi Anuwar stated, “Introducing a licensing system for selected vape shops could inadvertently push consumers towards unregulated channels, undermining public health objectives. We advocate for policies that empower consumers with access to a variety of safer vaping products while ensuring appropriate regulatory oversight.”

“Accessibility to access alternative products is very important to help consumers quit smoking. The selective store licensing system only makes it difficult for consumers to access safer products and tends to return to smoking and the black market.”

The Consumer Choice Center stresses the importance of transparency and consumer involvement in the formulation of regulatory measures concerning vaping products. As such, CCC emphasizes the necessity for the Ministry of Health to publicly disclose the regulatory details of any proposed vape regulations.

“This transparency would enable consumers to provide feedback and express their concerns regarding the potential impact on accessibility and product diversity. By soliciting input from the individuals directly affected by these regulations, policymakers can ensure that any proposed measures align with consumer preferences and prioritize public health objectives effectively,” he said.

Commenting further on the proposed regulation of vape, the Tarmizi underscores the importance of embracing technological neutrality. By recognizing the diverse array of nicotine delivery products available on the market, including open, closed, or disposable vapes, heated tobacco, and oral nicotine, policymakers can foster an environment that promotes consumer choice and encourages innovation.


“Technological neutrality guarantees freedom of choice by not forcing consumers or companies to use any particular technology. The use of specific technologies will discriminate against other technologies to the point of increasing operating costs and the price of final goods. Furthermore, it makes it difficult for consumers to access and buy vapes or alternative products that are less harmful and cheaper” he concluded.

DOJ’s Apple “monopoly” lawsuit is an attack on consumer preference

Washington, D.C. – Today the DOJ unveiled its long-awaited antitrust lawsuit against Apple, alleging that Apple maintains an “illegal monopoly” over the smartphone industry.  

“This is a very extreme position being taken by Merrick Garland’s DOJ, said Stephen Kent, media director of the Consumer Choice Center, “The lawsuit claims that Apple throttles the use of third-party messaging apps despite ample evidence that millions of tech consumers have a wide range of choice for powerful messaging apps that rival the experience of iMessage.”

** Read Stephen Kent in The Hill on DOJ’s weak case against Apple **

The lawsuit also asserts that Apple limits the connectivity of certain competitor devices such as smartwatches, favoring Apple devices in their own ecosystem of technology. 

Kent continued, “DOJ is arguing that consumers are wrong to like Apple products and how they sync so nicely with one another. Apple is a fully integrated system of tech and lifestyle brand. For the government to say Apple must build technology to accommodate its competitors at the expense of their user experience, is a huge stretch for antitrust law. This reminds me of the FTC’s witch hunt against Microsoft & Activision/Blizzard, where the US government appeared to be working on behalf of Sony to stop a pro-consumer merger. Apple’s competitors should make products more consumers enjoy the way consumers enjoy Apple.” 

The Consumer Choice Center stands for consumers’ right to choose between products in a fair, competitive, and open market. It is unclear how the government’s case against Apple would unleash competition and innovation in the smartphone sector. 

** Read Yael Ossowski in The Hill on Apple’s “green bubble” text controversy **

If anything,” Stephen Kent concluded, “This case will simply lower the bar for smartphone tech and user experience in the US, rather than improving consumer access to technology. Let Apple be Apple.” 

The CCC represents consumers in over 100 countries across the globe. We closely monitor regulatory trends in Washington, D.C., Ottawa, Brussels, Geneva, and other hotspots of regulation and inform and activate consumers to fight for  Consumer Choice. Learn more at consumerchoicecenter.org

Limited State Registries Will Negatively Impact Consumers of Nicotine Products 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the first few months of 2024, more than a dozen bills have been introduced in US states calling for a state-based Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) registry for alternative nicotine products such as vaping devices, heaters, and nicotine pouches.

Although this type of legislation has already been passed in Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Alabama, it’s crucial that other states recognize the unintended consequences and course-correct before it is too late.

ELIZABETH HICKS, US Affairs Analyst at Consumer Choice Center, responded, “While the intention behind these bills is to manage consumer access to unregulated nicotine products on the illicit market, the reality is that the FDA is not approving enough new devices and products to create a competitive, regulated marketplace that meets consumer demand.”

While 26 million nicotine alternative products submitted PMTAs to the FDA, only 23 have been approved. Of those 23 approved products, 12 are simply tobacco-flavored e-liquid refills.

“The FDA is hiding the ball here on product approvals and how few new products are actually coming to market. If the goal is to improve public health across the country, then consumers deserve to choose from a variety of different nicotine alternatives,” added Hicks.

“The FDA’s flawed PMTA process needs reform. Instead of restricting consumer access to products that have been demonstrated to be 95 percent less harmful than combustible tobacco, state legislatures should refrain from adding to counterproductive federal policies and advance tobacco harm reduction through a competitive marketplace,” she concluded.

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The CCC represents consumers in over 100 countries across the globe. We closely monitor regulatory trends in Washington, D.C., Ottawa, Brussels, Geneva, and other hotspots of regulation and inform and activate consumers to fight for  Consumer Choice. Learn more at consumerchoicecenter.org

Forcing TikTok’s divestiture from the CCP is both reasonable and necessary

Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, a bipartisan group of US House legislators introduced a bill that would force ByteDance Ltd. to sell its US version of TikTok or face massive fines and federal investigations. This would have big ramifications for the video-sharing app, which is estimated to have over 150 million users in the US.

In practice, HR7521 designates the popular social media application TikTok as a “foreign adversary controlled application,” invoking the government’s ability to force the firm into new ownership by any private, legal entity in the United States —  a full forced divestiture.

Yaël Ossowski, deputy director of the consumer advocacy group, Consumer Choice Center, responded:

“In recent years, the default mode for the federal government has been to wage a regulatory war against American tech companies, all the while leaving the Chinese Communist Party-linked app TikTok to grow uninhibited,” said Ossowski. “While consumers generally do not want wholesale bans on popular tech, considering the unique privacy and security concerns implicit in TikTok’s ownership structure as well as its accountability and relationship to the CCP, the solution of a forced divestiture is both appropriate and necessary.”

Reports have already revealed that European TikTok users can, and have, had their data accessed by company officials in Beijing. The same goes for US users. Given the ownership structure of TikTok, there isn’t anything that can be done about this to shield American consumers from privacy violations. A forced divestiture would bring TikTok under the legal authority of the US and thus alleviate many of the concerns that consumers have about their security on the app. 

We praise Reps. Gallagher and Krishnamoorthi for spearheading this effort in a constitutionally nuanced and legal way that does not risk furthering the anti-tech attitudes of so many in Washington,” concluded Ossowski. “Upholding consumer choice is among our core principles, as is ensuring that the ethos of liberal democracies continues to guide the arc of technological progress.

READ: The best answer to TikTok is a forced divestiture 

The CCC represents consumers in over 100 countries across the globe. We closely monitor regulatory trends in Washington, D.C., Ottawa, Brussels, Geneva, and other hotspots of regulation and inform and activate consumers to fight for  Consumer Choice. Learn more at consumerchoicecenter.org

Biden’s ‘Junk’ Fees Rule Will Not Help Consumers With Credit Card Debt

A rule released today by the Biden Administration and federal regulators at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), to cap credit card late fees at $8 is of great concern to the Consumer Choice Center (CCC). Any intention to improve the consumer experience through well-informed and economically sound regulation is commendable, but this new rule is anything but. 

“The CFPB argues that the 55 million consumers who are charged late fees on credit cards each year stand to now save up to $220 per year. This talking point from the administration completely ignores how consumers will be more incentivized to spend beyond their means and increase their overall debt levels,” said Dr. Kimberlee Josephson, Professor of Business at Lebanon Valley College and a Research Fellow with the Consumer Choice Center. 

Unintended consequences will follow this new Biden Administration rule, such as higher credit card interest rates, less availability of credit, and higher annual fees. By specifically targeting large credit card issuers with more than 1 million accounts, where roughly 95% of the total outstanding credit card debt is held, the regulation will inadvertently harm the very consumers it claims to protect. 

As Dr. Kimberlee Josephson wrote at FEE.org [Foundation for Economic Education], similar financial regulations on fees in recent history resulted in, “90 percent of banks raising their costs for consumers and restricting rewards programs for patrons, to make up for the loss incurred by the interchange fee caps. Consumers who previously enjoyed accruing points or getting cashback on their purchases were now unable to do so. Many banks did away with free checking accounts, which hurt lower-income households the most.”

As advocates for consumer choice and market-driven solutions, the Consumer Choice Center supports a balanced regulatory approach that takes both economic reality and consumers’ financial well-being into account. Consumers deserve a competitive credit market with clear and transparent terms, as well as broad availability of credit with dynamic rewards programs and fair interest rates. 

“The more the government meddles in the financial sector, the less market-driven the system becomes for consumers. This may be good short-term politics for President Biden, but sound economics don’t change, and consumers will pay more in the long run,” concluded Dr. Josephson. 

Kisah Sukses Para Pelaku Usaha yang Memanfaatkan Hak Kekayaan Intelektual

Hak Kekayaan Intelektual (HAKI) merupakan hal yang tidak bisa dipisahkan dari kegiatan usaha, terlebih lagi industri kreatif. Melalui perlindungan hak kekayaan intelektual, maka para pelaku usaha bisa memanfaatkan hasil inovasi yang mereka miliki untuk mengembangkan usahanya sebesar-besarnya.

Adanya hak kekayaan intelektual memastikan setiap pelaku usaha memiliki hak eksklusif untuk memanfaatkan produk-produk yang mereka buat, dan mendapatkan perlindungan hukum bila terjadi pembajakan oleh pihak-pihak lain terhadap produk tersebut. Dengan demikian, setiap pelaku usaha bisa bersaing satu sama lain untuk menghasilkan produk terbaik yang bisa dibeli dan dinikmati oleh para konsumen.

Tanpa adanya perlindungan hak kekayaan intelektual, tentu akan sangat sulit bagi para pelaku usaha untuk menjalankan usahanya. Produk-produk yang mereka buat dengan kerja keras akan dapat dengan mudah dibajak oleh pihak-pihal lain, dan dimanfaatkan oleh mereka yang tidak bertanggung jawab.

Di Indonesia sendiri, terdapat berbagai permasalahan terkait dengan perlindungan hak kekayaan intelektual. Sudah menjadi rahasia umum bahwa misalnya, pembajakan merupakan sesuatu yang terjadi dan dilakukan secara sangat masif di Indonesia. Bila kita datang mengunjungi berbagai pusat perbelanjaan misalnya, kita bisa dengan mudah menemukan berbagai produk bajakan yang dijual secara bebas dengan harga yang jauh lebih murah dibandingkan dengan barang yang asli.

Tidak hanya di toko fisik, di dunia maya pula kita bisa dengan sangat mudah menemukan berbagai produk bajakan yang dijual dengan sangat bebas. Bila kita berselancar ke berbagai toko daring misalnya, kita bisa dengan sangat cepat menemukan berbagai produk bajakan yang dijual bebas. Hal ini tentu akan merugikan para pelaku usaha yang telah mengeluarkan banyak waktu & modal untuk berkarya dan berinovasi.

Fenomena masih masifnya berbagai praktik pembajakan dan persoalan terkait dengan perlindungan hak kekayaan intelektual yang tidak sedikit tentunya bisa dilihat dari berbagai sisi. Di satu sisi misalnya, aspek penegakan hukum dari lembaga terkait merupakan hal yang sangat penting agar perlindungan hak kekayaan intelektual bisa dilakukan secara komprehensif. Mereka yang melakukan tindakan pembajakan tentunya harus diproses sesuai dengan ketentuan hukum yang berlaku.

Di sisi lain, adanya keaktifan dari para pelaku usaha untuk mendaftarkan kekayaan intelektualnya kepada pemerintah merupakan sesuatu yang sangat krusial agar kekayaan intelektual mereka dapat terlindungi. Bila kekayaan intelektual dari inovasi yang dilakukan oleh para pelaku usaha tersebut tidak didaftarkan, tentu akan mustahil kekayaan intelektual seperti hak cipta dan paten tersebut dapat dilindungi oleh pemerintah dari praktik pembajakan oleh pihak-pihak yang tidak bertanggung jawab.

Pada aspek keaktifan pendaftaran dari kekayaan intelektual, harus kita akui tidak sedikit yang masih bisa kita perbaiki. Saat ini misalnya, menurut Dirjen Kekayaan Intelektual Kemenkumham, saaat ini baru ada sekitar 11% dari usaha mikro, kecil, dan menengah (UMKM) di Indonesia yang mendapat perlindungan kekayaan intelektual (sonora.id, 24/1/2024).

Padahal, terdapat potensi yang sangat besar dari sektor UMKM yang sangat banyak yang ada di negara kita. Dengan para pemilik usaha yang mendaftarkan kekayaan intelektual mereka, maka mereka bisa mendapat perlindungan atas karya yang mereka buat, dan bisa memanfaatkan karya tersebut untuk memperluas usaha yang mereka miliki.

Tidak sedikit berbagai kisah sukses dari pemilik usaha di Indonesia yang berhasil mengembangkan usaha mereka dengan memanfaatkan kekayaan intelektual yang mereka miliki. Salah satunya misalnya, usaha kreatif tahilalats yang bergerak di bidang industry animasi, merupakan salah satu usaha yang bisa berkembang pesat karena memanfaatkan kekayaan intelektual yang dimilikinya.

Karena mampu memanfaatkan kekayaan intelektual yang dimilikinya, tahilalats, atau yang dikenal juga dengan nama Mind Blowon, juga berhasil berkolaborasi dengan berbagai seniman internasional kelas dunia. Selain itu, tahilalats juga berhasil melebarkan sayap usaha mereka ke usaha F&B ketika ada investor yang bersedia menanamkan modal untuk membuat caf yang bertemakan animasi yang dibuat oleh usaha kreatif tersebut (goodnewsfromindonesia.id, 3/2/2023).

Tidak hanya dengan seniman, tahilalats, yang bermula dari industri kreatif animasi, juga berhasil membuat konten yang berkolaborasi dengan berbagai musisi kelas dunia, diantaranya adalah band Coldplay dari Inggris, dan grup BTS dari Korea Selatan. Usaha animasi tersebut juga berhasil berkolaborasi dengan tokoh kartun terkenal asal Jepang yakni Crayon Sinchan (kemenparekraf.go.id, 14/3/2023).

Adanya kisah sukses pelaku industri kreatif yang bisa berkembang pesat karena memanfaatkan kekayaan intelektual yang mereka tentu merupakan hal yang sangat patut kita apresiasi dan disebarluaskan. Dengan adanya kampanye kisah-kisah sukses berbagai usaha kreatif yang berhasil memanfaatkan kekayaan intelektual mereka untuk mengembangkan usahanya, maka hal ini tentu berpotensi besar dapat menginspirasi berbagai pemilik usaha kreatif lain untuk mendaftarkan dan memanfaatkan kekayaan intelektual yang mereka miliki.

Sebagai penutup, Indonesia memiliki potensi kekayaan intelektual yang sangat besar, dan bisa memberi sumbangan yang tidak sedikit bagi perekonomian di negara kita. Akan tetapi, potensi besar tersebut akan sulit dimanfaatkan secara maksimal bila tidak ada pencatatan dan perlindungan yang memadai.

Untuk itu, kampanye dalam bentuk memperkenalkan dan menyebarkan kisah-kisah sukses pelaku industri kreatif yang berhasil mengembangkan usaha mereka melalui pemanfaataaan kekayaan intelektual adalah hal yang sangat penting. Dengan demikian, para pelaku usaha lain bisa mencontoh dan mendapatkan inspirasi, dan memiliki insentif yang besar untuk mencatatakan dan memanfaatkan kekayaan intelektual dari karya mereka secara maksimal.

Originally published here

Political Polarization Finds Its Way to the Agricultural Sector

“Don’t let us become more like the United States.” This was the message from German agriculture minister, Cem Özdemir, regarding the farmer protests that have shaken Germany for months. Farmers spoke out and organized against planned tax hikes on agricultural vehicles and diesel fuel amid a cost-of-living crisis already stressing German life.   

“This is a dangerous rift that can lead to conditions like those in the USA,” Özdemir told German news. “People no longer talk to each other, they no longer believe each other and they accuse each other of all the evil in the world.” The goal must be to “keep the country together in the center.” 

It is a convenient cop-out for a German cabinet member to distract from the problems with its own government’s policies by pointing the finger at American political polarization. In truth, the two issues have nothing in common, and German farmers are right to be upset. 

For many years now, German and EU policy has reduced the toolbox of crop protection chemicals that farmers can use on their fields to protect yields. The government has been adamant about getting herbicide glyphosate banned across Europe, despite ample evidence of its safety, a fact acknowledged by local and EU-wide regulators. Now that farmers are treading water and only live comfortably in above-average harvest seasons, Germany thought it opportune to fill the coffers of the treasury with higher taxes on diesel and tractors. 

When the farmers started protesting on the streets of Berlin, the government and its apologists initially shifted blame. The farmers were either “entitled”, since they’d had a good harvest in 2023, or they were not participating enough in the environmental transition in the country. Environmental lobby group, Greenpeace, argued that farmers should switch out their diesel tractors for electric ones instead, forgetting to mention that those often come at double the acquisition price. Germany also has amongst the highest electricity prices in Europe.

Under political pressure from the protests, Berlin eventually gave in, dropped the tax hikes on tractors, and promised to phase out tax breaks on diesel over a longer period of time. However, farmers have promised to keep protesting, as the phase-outs will eventually overlap with bad harvest years and bankruptcy will follow for many farmers living on the financial edge. This has put an already tedious government coalition under strain 

80 percent of Germans who have no connection to the agricultural sector express support for the farmer protests.

In a way, minister Özdemir is correct. The political environment in Germany is badly polarized. But unlike the American boogeyman he is alluding to, the polarization is between his government coalition and everyone else. The same is currently happening in France, Poland, and Romania, where farmers are protesting the effects of EU regulation and dwindling margins on their products.

For over ten years, consecutive German and EU governments have pursued a devastating green agenda that has led to high fuel prices, high electricity prices, and high gas prices. Germany had made itself dependent on Russian gas, then phased out perfectly operational nuclear power plants, and then decided that all the taxpayers needed to pay even more for the privilege of having amongst the highest energy costs on the continent. As a result, social democrats and environmentalists have become unpopular, and risk defeat at the ballot box.

European leaders can approach this problem in one of two ways: either they recognize that the farming sector is overregulated and give it a path towards ending reliance on subsidies, understand that energy security and reduced global warming emissions require the use of nuclear power, and provide the baseline for a successful industrial nation, or will they just write-off everyone who disagrees with them as far-right extremists?

Which way will they choose?

Originally published here

The best smartphones for teens to stay connected and protected

When Republicans and Democrats come together on something in Washington, D.C., rest assured that it’s an expansion of their power at the expense of yours. The Kids Online Safety Act, sponsored by Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), now boasts 62 Senate cosponsors, making it very likely to pass in the coming weeks.

KOSA and similar age-verification laws sweeping the nation require platforms to collect personal information such as a driver’s license, Social Security number, or birth certificate to verify the user’s age. In the case of minors, parental consent involves sharing sensitive information for safekeeping by Big Tech companies.

Read the full text here

Because employment-based visas go unused, health care facilities continue to have worker shortages

Immigration is an issue that generates a variety of strong opinions. But what shouldn’t be controversial or subject to a lot of disagreement is an immigration-related issue involving a shortage of skilled health care workers in the U.S.

There’s no question that the U.S. could benefit from more health care workers. The next generation of students who will graduate with health care-related degrees and enter the workforce will help the situation, but that’s more of a long-term solution.

A more short-term possibility is to tap into the global pool of skilled workers from other countries.

The crux of the issue lies in the caps and quotas imposed on employment-based visas for international skilled workers. These visa quotas have seen minimal adjustments to accommodate the modern economy, which has more than tripled in size since the quotas were created in 1990.

But even if one believes the annual visa cap remains adequate at 140,000 per year, bureaucratic hurdles exacerbate the labor deficit.

Read the full text here

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