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House Passes Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, Blocks Digital Dollar Rollout
The House of Representatives has officially passed the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, a sweeping bill designed to block the Federal Reserve from issuing or testing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) without explicit congressional approval. The move signals strong Republican resistance to what they view as a potential tool for state surveillance.
A CBDC is a digital form of a country’s national currency, issued and backed directly by its central bank. Unlike cryptocurrencies, CBDCs are centralized and controlled by the government. They are designed to function like cash but in digital form — with potential for programmability, surveillance, and tighter monetary control.
The House of Representatives passed the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act by a narrow vote of 219–217, making it the third major crypto bill to clear the chamber during what’s being called Crypto Week in Washington. Notably, the act also prohibits the use of a CBDC as a monetary policy tool. It states: “The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Open Market Committee shall not use any central bank digital currency… to implement monetary policy.”
This restriction reflects broader fears that a programmable digital dollar could grant the government intrusive control over individual financial activity.
Mayo Clinic Faces Another Lawsuit Over 2021 COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement
A former Mayo Clinic Health System employee is suing the health care provider on the grounds of religious discrimination. The lawsuit, filed in Minnesota District Court on Tuesday, July 15, alleges that Jennifer Lowe, who worked for Mayo Clinic Health System-Southwest Region for more than eight years as a registered nurse, was discriminated against when she sought a religious exemption to Mayo Clinic’s COVID-19 vaccination requirement at the time.
According to documents filed with the lawsuit, Lowe received a COVID-19 vaccination exemption, on religious grounds, from Mayo Clinic through her status as a nursing student with Minnesota State University, Mankato. But, the lawsuit alleges, “On Nov. 21, 2021, only a little more than two months after approving (Lowe’s) Religious Accommodation Request as a nursing student, Defendant Mayo issued a denial of Plaintiff’s Request for a Religious Accommodation as an employee.”
Lowe requested that Mayo Clinic reconsider her religious accommodation request, but it was not approved, per the lawsuit’s documents. She was fired on Jan. 3, 2022, one month after receiving a final written warning from her employer.
Smartphone Data Reveal Patterns of Psychopathology
Information on mobility, phone usage, sleep-wake patterns, and other passive data collected by smartphones is associated with behavioral markers linked to multiple forms of psychopathology, including general mental health burden, new research showed. In a large observational study of community-based adults, researchers found that smartphone sensors that measure daily activities captured distinct behavioral signatures that may help identify when mental health symptoms are worsening.
The findings add to a growing body of work on digital phenotyping, which analyzes passive data collected by smartphones and wearables to identify behavioral patterns in real time. Although not ready for the clinic, researchers said the new analysis suggests a number of potential applications for smartphone sensing, which could be used alongside clinician-rated and self-reported measures, offering moment-by-moment insight into patients’ lived experience and an opportunity for timely intervention.
“This study helps us understand the breadth of psychopathology that smartphone sensors can detect and how specific those markers are to different forms of mental illness,” lead author Whitney R. Ringwald, PhD, assistant professor and Starke Hathaway Endowed Chair in Clinical Psychology at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, told Medscape Medical News.
On Second Day of Trial, Meta Shareholders and Mark Zuckerberg Settle $8B Facebook Privacy Case
Shareholders of Meta have agreed to settle an $8 billion lawsuit after accusing Mark Zuckerberg and other company leaders of financial breaches for failing to protect users’ personal data ahead of the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018. As Day two of trial testimony was set to begin on the morning of July 17 in Wilmington, a lawyer representing Meta shareholders told the presiding judge that the parties in the case had reached a settlement.
The parties did not disclose the settlement amount, though it will likely be included in court filings in the coming months. The settlement forecloses on a proceeding that was scheduled to see testimony from Zuckerberg and former Meta Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg. The roster of potential witnesses also included current and former board members Peter Thiel of Palantir Technologies; billionaire venture capitalist Marc Andreessen; and Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix.
The lawsuit, which was initially filed by Meta shareholders in 2018, claimed that the company failed to follow a 2012 settlement with the Federal Trade Commission to protect Facebook user privacy.
Gavin Newsom Answers Questions From Joe Rogan on California’s COVID Vaccination Policies
California Gov. Gavin Newsom answered questions from podcast host Joe Rogan about the state’s COVID-19 pandemic decisions in another show released Monday. The governor appeared on the Shawn Ryan Show, hosted by a former Navy SEAL, and responded to questions that were from Rogan and relayed by Ryan on California’s vaccination policies.
Rogan asked, through the Shawn Ryan Show, who is responsible for requiring California students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and who will take responsibility for an increase in cases of cancer and myocarditis in vaccinated kids, a claim The National News Desk could not confirm.
Rogan’s third question was whether Gov. Newsom feels remorse for requiring students to be vaccinated, which Rogan called a “draconian” decision heavily influenced by pharmaceutical companies’ desire for maximum profit. The governor, noting that he has signed some of the most progressive laws against “big pharma” in the country, replied that nobody should suggest his vaccination policies were for the purpose of doing the companies’ bidding.
“California was more restrictive, and we were certainly aggressive at scale. As it relates to the vaccines, vaccines save lives,” Gov. Newsom said. “But Joe asked a very different question about children, and I respect that. And that was where there was a lot of feedback with a lot of experts that I had as advisers.” The state is working with others in the western U.S. to review COVID-19 policies from the federal government for a report set to be finished next month, the governor added. He explained that state officials will evaluate the policies with input from international experts and people who opposed California’s decisions.
EU Clears Path for National Social Media Bans
The European Commission (EU) on Monday said countries can implement their own national bans for minors on social media, in new guidelines under its powerful Digital Services Act. The EU executive has been under pressure in recent months to roll out measures to protect minors online. National governments in France, Denmark, Spain and elsewhere have called for social media restrictions, with some criticizing the EU for not acting quickly enough.
France and the Netherlands have supported an outright ban of social media for minors under 15. Greece has said it thinks parental consent should be required for children under a certain age. Denmark, which currently helms work in the Council of the EU, is pushing for stronger EU-level actions.
Tech giant Meta has also come out suggesting legal restrictions that would require parents to consent for their kids being on social media below a certain age. “Age verification is not a nice to have. It’s absolutely essential,” said Denmark’s digital minister Caroline Stage Olsen, who presented the guidelines alongside the Commission’s tech chief Henna Virkkunen.
