GoKawiilToday, I’m talking with New York Governor Kathy Hochul, and I’ll just warn you — this episode moves really fast. It’s an election year, after all, with a shocking amount of tech policy at stake, and Governor Hochul has taken strong positions on almost every major tech issue there is.
For example, Meta just reached a settlement with dozens of states, including New York, which will restrict how teens use platforms like Instagram in very specific ways. Governor Hochul is a strong supporter of those restrictions and more, as you’ll hear. But those come with a cost — widespread age verification means adults will also have to show ID to use the internet, which will essentially make it impossible to be anonymous online.
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So I asked about that, and if these new restrictions amount to Meta conceding in a lawsuit that these kinds of regulations on speech might not pass First Amendment scrutiny if the governor were to try and impose them in a law.
I had similar questions about New York’s restrictions on ghost guns, which prevent 3D printers from printing gun parts. That law is already being challenged — not in courts, but by activists like Cody Wilson, who runs the largest database of 3D-printable gun files and who has started altering those files in a process he calls “Hochulization” in order to show the ban is technically toothless. I asked the governor about this, and, well, you’ll hear her challenge Cody right back.
Oh, but there’s more: We also talked about surveillance and Flock cameras, and, of course, the politics of AI and data centers in an election year. Governor Hochul signed a one-year moratorium on data center construction in July, and I wanted to know what she’s looking for when that expires to make data centers a workable proposition.
We also talked a little about Mayor Zohran Mamdani in New York City and, of course, her org chart for the state government. This one is a lot, I think you’re going to like it.
Okay: New York Governor Kathy Hochul, here we go.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Governor Kathy Hochul, you are the governor of the state of New York! Welcome to Decoder.
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