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Michigan Votes to Require Warrants for Police to Seize and Search Digital Devices
Michigan votes to require warrants for police to seize and search digital devices:
Voters in the US state of Michigan have decided that searches of laptop, phones, and associated electronic data will require a search warrant going forward.
Michigan Proposal 20-2 to require a search warrant to access a person's electronic data and electronic communications passed overwhelmingly, with 88.7 percent (nearly four million people) voting "yes," and only 11.3 percent voting "no."
At the same time, the proposal amends the Michigan Constitution to bring the existing protections from unlawful and unreasonable searches of homes, documents, and other personal possessions up to date, and include electronic data and communications on people's devices.
The goal of Proposal 2 was to make sure the new rules explicitly state a private citizen's electronic data is equally protected, thus removing any vagueness and various interpretations. Currently, law enforcement must have a warrant before searching a home and somebody's personal belongings, including papers and other items, but electronic versions of these stored on devices like phones and laptops are not mentioned in the language of the legal solutions that far predate the technological transformation of society.
Massachusetts Voters Approve Ballot Expanding Open Repair Data in Blow to Auto Industry
Massachusetts voters approve ballot expanding open repair data in blow to auto industry:
(Reuters) - Voters in Massachusetts on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed a ballot measure forcing automakers to provide expanded access to mechanical and electronic repair data and allow independent shops to repair increasingly sophisticated technology.
The decision delivers the first significant win in a fight over who will control the $390 billion U.S. auto data aftermarket in the digital age.
[...] "This referendum...means that despite advances in technology, owners will be able to have their repair data shared directly with their trusted independent shops," Bill Hanvey, president and CEO of the Auto Care Association said in a statement, adding the group worked with cybersecurity experts to ensure privacy during data transfers.
Under the state's ballot measure, approved by 75% of voters, on-board diagnostic and mechanical data will have to be made available via an open-platform app for 2022 vehicle models and beyond.
Four states vote to legalize marijuana.
Arizona, New Jersey, South Dakota and Montana all passed legislation Tuesday permitting the possession of weed by adults, which means 15 states have legalized recreational weed or voted to legalize it.
See more on the story here.
As a life long resident of the red state of South Dakota, I'm glad to see people who need this for medical purposes can have access and the police can spend their time on serious crimes instead of wasting it on recreational marijuana users.
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(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 07 2020, @03:41PM (1 child)
Sanders would have got the votes from people on the left who abstained from voting for Biden aka Trump lite. Biden is a solidly right-wing candidate not even center-right. He ticks all the boxes for a Republican candidate pre-Trump era, like catering to racists by voting against desegregation, catering to the rich by voting against workers rights, attacking Roe v. Wade because of his religious "values", openly against providing a civilized social safety net including being against state healthcare that every modern economy offers its citizens, and don't forget, being a war monger who was instrumental in his party's support of the illegal war of aggression against Iraq that ended / destroyed millions of lives and destabilized the entire region. It looks like he may even have a corruption scandal with the Ukraine thing, which is also a very Republican sort of thing (just look at the current Republican president-- I've lost count of the corruption scandals he has been involved in).
Bernie was problematic in several ways, but he was a million times better than Biden. He would have been the first presidential candidate, on a major party ticket, in my lifetime (I'm old), where the good outweighs the evil for a net good.
Personally, I couldn't force myself to vote for Biden even as the lesser of evils when compared to his fascist authoritarian opponent-- Biden though a lesser evil was still so very evil.
My hope, but not counting on it, is that the right-wing Democratic party leadership realize that courting the right when there is a batshit crazy far-right/fascist party competing for and winning those votes, and doing everything they can to alienate the left, is a losing proposition. And, even if only for the sake of self-preservation, they change their ways and allow the party to move left as their constituency obviously wants it to do.
I can't prove a counter factual, but I think Sanders would have trounced Trump in either of the elections.
And, any moron who thinks Biden is a socialist isn't going to vote for any Democrat even if the Democrats ran a full on fascist like the Republicans. There are no votes to lose here.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 07 2020, @05:45PM
I argued with my brothers about this. Biden is terrible. But his election makes a difference for LGBTQ+ people - even if only by appointing more judges that view them as human beings - and abortion rights, and maybe most of all he hasn't openly attacked the integrity of the election process. Sanders' successor won't matter in 2024 or 2028 if votes completely stop mattering.
My metaphor for the situation is that the ship is sinking, and none of your choices will keep it afloat. But you still have an obligation to get people onto the life boats.