AG Alliance Roundup July 15th, 2021

Announcements, information and updates from the AG Alliance Members and Associates

July 15th, 2021

UPCOMING PROGRAMS

Date: Thursday, July 22nd

Updated Time: 3:30 - 4:30pm EST

*Speakers to be announced

Overview: This virtual program will focus on entrepreneurialism with an emphasis on access to markets for merchants who have been left out of e-commerce due to financial and logistical barriers. This will include merchants from both historically disadvantaged communities of color and women who have been denied access and have been “digitally redlined”. The current movement for social justice reform and the COVID-19 pandemic have laid bare the inequities which this class of business people face. Attorneys General can help usher in a sense of fair play for small businesses whether though access to credit, equal opportunities for digital ad placements, access to digital platforms, and education on the economic divers which small businesses generate in their local communities. These issues range from economic social justice, consumer protection for small businesses, anti-trust laws which protect small businesses from monopolies, and access to credit and digital markets for small and minority owned businesses.

Related Press

Comcast NBCUniversal recently joined leading changemakers on a panel focused on the Intersection of Entrepreneurship and Racial Equity at the 2021 Social Innovation Summit.

Two researchers at the London Business School will soon publish a report on the benefits of reducing tech barriers to small entrepreneurs, using the Shopify business model to present alternative paths to entrepreneurial growth.

Lowe's announced the next round of Making It…With Lowe's, a nationwide pitch program that gives diverse entrepreneurs a chance to take their business to the next level by selling on Lowes.com and in Lowe's stores nationwide.

Registration

ANNUAL MEETING PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Human Trafficking

FL AG Moody announced that registration for the 2021 Human Trafficking Summit is now open. The summit brings together local, state and national leaders working to eradicate all forms of human trafficking. The summit launches Oct. 5.

Cybersecurity Resilience //

Increasing Innovation and Competition in the Tech Marketplace

Facebook has been accused of multiple breaches of EU consumer protection law as a result of its attempts to force WhatsApp users to accept controversial changes to the messaging platforms’ terms of use. The consumer protection association umbrella group, the BEUC, has filed a complaint, and pointed out that WhatsApp’s policy updates remain under scrutiny by privacy regulations in Europe — which it argues is another factor that makes Facebook’s aggressive attempts to push the policy on users highly inappropriate.

The Attorney General Alliance 2021 Annual Meeting wrapped on Friday, June 18th and was a great success!

Please click the button below for access to any of our recorded panels.

For the next few weeks, visit this section of our weekly Roundup to stay up-to-date on your favorite panels and topics.

Do you have a relevant article or follow-up post? Please send all entries to AFriedman@AGAlliance.org.

Annual Meeting Panel Library

Final Agenda

ATTORNEY GENERAL ACTIONS

DATA PRIVACY

Colorado has become the third state to enact a comprehensive consumer data privacy statute. Passed by the Colorado General Assembly on June 8, 2021, and signed into law by Colorado Governor Jared Polis on July 7, 2021, the Colorado Privacy Act ("CPA") is slated to come into effect on July 1, 2023.

CONSUMER PROTECTION

D.C. AG Racine announced the introduction of legislation to strengthen protections for DC consumers against unfair and abusive debt collection practices. Emergency Legislation & Temporary Legislation

R.I. AG Neronha issued a warning regarding a sharp rise in the number of scam text messages reported recently, with most of the texts claiming to be from the Rhode Island Secretary of State or Rhode Island Department of State.

NY AG James successfully returned $427,000 to New Yorkers who had events cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

COMBATTING GANG VIOLENCE

GA AG Carr addressed a rise in violent crime across the state; according to the Office of the Attorney General, 157 counties in Georgia have reported a rise in gang activity.

ELDER PROTECTION

FL AG Moody’s Office of Statewide Prosecution secured a 25-year prison sentence as a habitual felony offender for a man convicted of exploiting the elderly.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Vermont AG Donovan will host a virtual expungement clinic on Friday, July 30th from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The free clinic will focus on expunging criminal charges and convictions from Rutland County and will be open to the public by telephone appointment.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FOR ONGOING SOCIAL JUSTICE & EQUITY INITIATIVES

Over the last year, communities across the country have assessed their treatment of minorities and other under-represented populations. In an effort to facilitate dialogue in the Attorney General community, Amazon and the Attorney General Alliance have partnered to create a series of conversations exploring issues around justice and social equity. We are excited to announce 2021 as the inaugural year of this forum and we look forward to providing focused programing aimed at facilitating exploration of these issues. We thank Amazon for their leadership and invite all of our public and private partners join us as we embark on these discussions.

VIRTUAL SEMINAR LIBRARY

Missed our live programs? No problem! Follow the button below to visit our Virtual Seminar Library for access to all recordings.

Do you have a webinar topic suggestion? We want to hear from you! Please email ideas to Andrea Friedman at AFriedman@AGAlliance.org.

Virtual Library

CWAG Executive Committee

- AG Wayne Stenehjem - AG Phil Weiser -

- AG Jason Ravnsborg - AG Hector Balderas -

AG Alliance Co-Chairs

- AG Lawrence Wasden - AG Sean Reyes - AG Karl Racine -

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