AB 1856 redefines an “operating system provider” to exclude open-source software from the state’s age-gating law, set to go into effect on January 1st, Tom’s Hardware reports. It follows a similar exemption added to Colorado’s age verification bill earlier this year.
Policy Archive
Archives for August 2026


He probably thinks he’s invincible at this point, but Trump is actually now wading into a place that may even (sadly) be more dangerous for him than living in the Epstein files. Data centers, like Flock cameras, are remarkably unpopular among Americans of all stripes. He always manages to wiggle out of consequences, but this will be a compelling new test of how far people will go to drink his Kool-Aid.
The San Antonio Express-News reports that a request from Pflugerville, TX, resident Sam Aly found that hundreds of unauthorized agencies were searching the city’s Flock data, even though the company claims only two agencies were improperly included. The City Council canceled Flock’s contract last week and covered its cameras.
Aly:
Between February 16 and August 15, 2026, outside agencies searched Pflugerville’s camera data 1,597,918 times. 1.6 million searches in six months. 459 different agencies searched us. That works out to roughly 8,900 outside searches per day, every day. Our own police department ran 5,078 searches in the same period. So for every 1 search by Pflugerville PD, outside agencies ran 315.
It’s the top navigation app on Apple’s and Google’s app stores after it took a stance against renaming Lake Ontario to “Lake America.” Google Maps changed the name of the Great Lake over the weekend, while Apple Maps may make the switch following the company’s chat with President Trump, according to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
Kalshi says that in February, the former Republican congressman “placed a series of large trades in a market where the underlying contracts depended upon his own attendance” at the State of the Union. He’s now permanently banned and penalized $71,356.
In other news about everything being gambling now:

The governor on 3D-printed guns, AI and data center backlash, and who protects kids online.
In a lawsuit filed on Friday, AT&T claims Charter misuses the word “fiber” in its “Spectrum Fiber Broadband Network” service to “hide the fact that its network mainly connects to customers’ homes using copper wire:”
Charter’s 100% fiber service is available only to “select residential consumers,” according to Charter’s website. It represents a small percentage of Charter’s network… The campaign deceives consumers, distorts competition, and appropriates the goodwill that AT&T’s 100% fiber network has earned.
Reddit and Roblox have been designated “Very Large Online Platforms” under the Digital Services Act (DSA), while ChatGPT has been named a “Very Large Online Search Engine.” Those designations bring strict obligations to protect user safety, ensure transparency, and curb illegal content in the bloc. The companies now have four months to get their houses in order.
[European Commission]
Google can have its “long-standing policy,” but MapQuest is having a laugh.
In a tirade on Truth Social, the president said that NBC News’ Kristen Welker should be “reported to the FCC for rebuke or punishment,” because she pointed out that the his prefered candidates had “mixed results” in their respective primaries.


Amidst his trade tiff with Canada, President Trump issued an executive order renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America. As it did when the president tried to rename the Gulf of Mexico, Google has caved to his whims, swapping in Lake America on Maps. Users in Canada will continue to see Lake Ontario. In a blog post, Google said, “These updates follow our long-standing policy for bodies of water with names that vary from country to country.”
Update August 30th: Added link to Google’s blog post about the change.






