A few
weeks ago, I called
the Republican
attorney general for
Utah, Derek Brown.
I
asked if he would
join me in leading a
bipartisan, AG-led
task force on A.I.
abuse.
He
was great. Agreed
fast.
Then
we sent out word to
other AGs, and
they’re joining fast,
too.
Here’s the idea:
A.I.
will be used for
good - and bad.
When
it comes to the bad
stuff, my prediction
is that Congress is
going to do very
little, as we saw
with social media
and internet privacy.
Almost nothing from
them, after all
these years.
Meanwhile, we’re
already seeing A.I.
used by criminals to
target kids, seniors,
and the rest of us.
Attorneys general
make sense as a
response group
because our core job
is keeping people
safe.
This
kind of effort could
easily get pulled in
a dozen directions,
so we’re staying
focused. The plan is
to set clear
priorities around
the most egregious
abuses and then band
together to do
something practical
and helpful.
That’s the rough
plan. I’ve got ideas
for where we should
start, and I’ll
report back soon.
The Robocall
Wars - Phase 1
Complete
Three
months ago, I told
you I was getting
more aggressive on
robocalls.
Specifically, I said
I was going after
the middleman
companies that pass
these calls along
even when they know
they’re illegal and
should be blocked.
So I
publicly posted the
names of 37 of these
telecom companies
and sent each of
them a letter.
I
gave them three
weeks to comply with
the law.
If
they chose not to,
they could end up
like one company -
Articul8 - which
ignored us when we
told them to stop
patching through
illegal robocalls.
We drove it out of
business and hit it
with a $5 million
fine.
Then
I posted this video directly
calling out those 37
companies, letting
them know what the
consequences would
be if they looked
the other way. It
got over a million
views - presumably
including the CEOs
of those companies.
Our
effort worked.
The
vast majority of
those companies are
now blocking
robocalls. Most of
the ones that
refused have been
removed from the
federal database,
which means all of
their traffic is now
being blocked.
That
brings us to the end
of Phase 1.
Phase
2 has just begun,
and it involves
going upstream to
some of the largest
telecom companies in
the country. We’ve
been laying the
groundwork for this
for months. I’ll be
able to share more
in a few weeks.
As I
have told these
companies, when it
comes to fighting
robocalls, voters
have given me more
than a mandate -
they’ve given me a commandment.
I did
a telephone town
hall with AARP last
week. When it was
time to take
questions, 90% of
them were about the
nonstop robocalls
hitting our seniors.
There is precisely
zero sympathy for
companies that are
part of the problem.
I am
not messing around
on this. These
robocall companies
can get right or
they can get
torched. Up to them.
Points for
Honesty
Owen,
our 10-year-old, is
a very normal kid in
that he uses his
iPad a lot to play
games with his
friends.
But
last week I decided
it was time to set
some daily limits. I
used the parental
controls, and he and
I even agreed
together on the
amount of time.
Two
days later, he came
to me, staring at
his feet.
“Uh,
Dad, you have to
change the password
for the parental
controls. I know it
and, um, I know that
I’ll totally use it
to give myself more
time… so you gotta
change it.”
I
thought that was
awesome. So I gave
him a hug, told him
I was really
impressed, added ten
minutes to his
allowed time - and
changed the
password.
Our
Lighthouse Fund
One
quick
behind-the-scenes
note.
Our
Lighthouse Fund
exists for one
purpose: to make
sure updates like
our robocall video
actually reach
independent voters.
Unless we pay to put
these updates in
front of people,
they could go years
without hearing from
me at all. As you
know, lots of folks
don’t follow
political accounts
or read newsletters
like this - but they
do scroll.
That’s how we stay
on their radar in a
steady, credible way
- not by showing up
out of nowhere
during campaign
season, but by
keeping people
posted as the work
happens. It’s not
expensive, but it’s
not free.
If
you believe in that
approach, I hope
you’ll consider
supporting our
Lighthouse Fund
either here (ActBlue)
or here (non-ActBlue).
Best,
Jeff
P.S.
- Avery
came to drill with
me for our annual
family day. She did
great, and yes, she
wore her own uniform.
She carried a
plastic knife on her
hip, but fortunately
it wasn’t needed. A
fun day for both of
us.
Jeff Jackson is
a member of the
NC Army National
Guard. Use of
his military
rank, job titles,
and photographs
in uniform does
not imply
endorsement by
the Department
of the Army or
the DoD.
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