The past week has been a very hectic one for Americans. The nail-biter of an election dominated news cycles, and rightfully so. This was one of the most divisive Presidential races in recent history. However, just because it felt like the whole world stopped to watch as the ballots rolled in, that does not mean that it did. Here we have some of the big news stories that flew under the radar during what ended up being Election Week.
California’s New Data Privacy Laws
On the ballot for this year’s election in California was a data privacy law known as Proposition 24, or the California Privacy Rights and Enforcement Act. Prop 24 was passed into law on November 3rd, enacting a rule that would require companies to allow users to opt-out of sharing their data through digital advertising. It would also prohibit companies from sharing personal data with each other, via sale or not.
This law is takes the California Privacy Act—which went into effect this year—a step further, applying to data collected starting January 1st 2022. The new iteration if the data privacy law eliminates all ambiguity surrounding targeted ads, a practice that evaded regulation due to the wording of the law.
This law technically only applies to the state of California, but due to the state being the home of Silicon Valley and all the major tech companies, it will protect all Americans. This law could become the basis for a law at the federal level.
United Arab Emirates Relaxes Laws for Personal Freedoms
Saturday, November 7th, the United Arab Emirates announced that they would be relaxing laws that interfered with personal freedom. This is a development that seemingly indicates the whole world is trending towards more progressive sensibilities.
The UAE will now allow unmarried couples to live together, loosen restrictions on alcohol sales and consumption as well as criminalizing honor-killings. The moral laws in the country have been the subject of protests from the international community as well as UAE citizens.
The changes are aimed to increase the UAE’s economic standing as well as its international relations. The state-run news station, WAM news agency, said that the reforms were designed to “consolidate the UAE’s principles of tolerance.” These reforms should increase tourism to the already popular destination city of Dubai, as well as increase international relations for the UAE.
Return of the Boeing 737 Max
American Airlines announced that they would be putting the Boeing 737 Max back into use. This is following two incidents in which the Max’s software created problems that lead to two fatal crashes that resulted in 346 deaths. The Max was promptly pulled out of circulation following those incidents.
American Airlines took advantage of the election to quietly release the news that they would be using the 737 Max once again. This may have some passengers nervous, a sentiment that American Airlines understands, but Boeing has rectified the issues that lead to the accidents. The 737 Max has already been approved for use by European regulators and has passed its required certification test flights stateside.
Pilots still have some concerns, with Southwest and American Airlines pilots stating their worries regarding the FAA’s manual for handling the new software. There is some back-and-forth between pilots and the FAA regarding the required training to fly the 737 Max, but the plane itself is ready to go.
