The Buzz 03.07.24

FREE SPEECH

What’s the line between allowing robust speech and reining in hateful, extreme speech? In 2022, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 587 into law, requiring social media companies to publicly post their policies regarding hate speech, disinformation, harassment and extremism on their platforms, and report data on their enforcement of the policies. In the same year, Newsom also signed AB 2273, known as the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, into law, requiring entities whose content is likely to be viewed by people under age 18 to default to stringent privacy and safety settings. X Corp. sued over the first law, claiming it is unconstitutional; X lost in court, and has appealed. Regarding AB 2273, the tech industry group NetChoice sued and won in federal court – the State of California has appealed. Both cases are now pending before the Ninth Circuit, and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press is weighing in on both, arguing that both laws are an overreach in amicus briefs filed in February. “The First Amendment’s protection for the exercise of editorial judgment is virtually absolute,” RCFP wrote.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Before we even opened, we had voters outside ready to come in.” - Monterey County Registrar of Voters Gina Martinez, speaking about early voting on the morning before Election Day (see story, mcweekly.com)

GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK

GOOD:

The local crab fishery has for years been delayed from a traditional mid-November opening date to… whenever conditions improve. In recent years, it’s been the presence of humpback whales in Central Coast waters that can become entangled in traditional crab fishing gear, which involves dropping a trap to the seafloor with a buoyed rope attached to it. A new innovation involving ropeless crab gear – a weighted buoy is released to the surface through wireless technology – is getting more attention as a result, and it took a step forward with the California Ocean Protection Council’s approval Feb. 29 to purchase enough ropeless gear to equip 20 crab fishermen with experimental permits they can use once the traditional season closes this spring. If successful, it could be a precursor to permanent approval of the gear, which could mean a regular return of crab feasts during the holidays.

GREAT:

Interim Inc. has long played an important role in serving adults with serious mental illness in Monterey County, providing a range of resources including housing through its MCHOME program. Great news comes thanks to the nonprofit’s move to open in South County, with a new location in Soledad (located in a shopping center just off Highway 101 at 2149 H Dela Rosa St., Suite #203), which hosted a community open house on Feb. 28. Staff for three of Interim’s programs will now be permanently based in this new office, better positioned to serve the South County community. Those programs are MCHOME; Keep It Real, which offers harm reduction support services to people with substance use disorders who are in recovery; and Assertive Community Treatment, which aims to reach individuals in need of mental health treatment where they are at and who are not easily engaged in available service.