Promise this will be nothing good for Montana or it’s citizens.
Its Orwellian double-speak. It implements restrictions on how people in Montana are allowed to use their personal property (computers) where no restrictions existed before.
Figured it was something like this.
Don’t listen to them; they’re full of shit. The bill restricts the government from restricting use of private compute resources unless they can prove they don’t have a less restrictive way of addressing a legitimate problem.
But you don’t understand, we all hate AI so much that this must be evil somehow.
I just read the bill. Where are you seeing restrictions? I’m reading it as restrictions are banned unless there is compelling reason for the government to enact such restrictions. That’s all well enough defined.
EDIT: I was wrong on the DCs. Restricting them is specifically called out in the bill. Good deal!
Only negative thing I’m seeing is this seems to make banning new DCs a lot tougher.
Tell me you haven’t read the bill without telling me you haven’t read the bill.
It absolutely does not place restrictions on the use of personal property. It does the exact opposite.
It’s a whopping 6 pages and mostly double-spaced and more white space. And lemmy upvotes these cynical comments without a shred of investigation.
I’m reading it as making data centers harder to block, now I’m not so sure. Your take?
The bill explicitly states that data centers being a public nuisance is a “Compelling government interest,” so I don’t think it’s geared towards protecting data centers.
taking actions that prevent or abate common law nuisances created by physical datacenter infrastructure.
Edit: there is one major issue with the bill; it still keeps the door open for age verification.
Missed that line! Thanks!
The bill text of SB-212 seems pretty reasonable. Basically just says the government needs a good reason to create regulations on computation.
It even explicitly mentions good reasons may include things like fraud, deepfakes, and public nuisances of datacenters.
As a Montanan, I’m cool with it. Guess we’ll see how it’s used.
I wonder if this would make it illegal to cut off someone’s internet if they are accused of piracy. Probably that sort of thing still goes.
It might provide a protection against anti-circumvention laws and such; laws that make it criminal to mess with hardware DRM on your devices.
I don’t think it says that a company can’t put restrictions on you. It says The government can’t restrict how it’s used —notably supported by AI groups so they can’t regulate that. A company can still prevent you from doing whatever the hell they want if they have the power to.
It’s too bad it leaves the door open for age verification requirements, but the language is overall pretty decent.
Montana’s new slogan. No restriction on AI. Come here and ruin our state with data centers.
A shame because even after years of environmental abuse, the Montana we have now is still beautiful and could still be preserved.
Swap our rivers for cracked mud and pools of battery acid. Burn the earth for a crack-addled chatbot… or turn off your phone and go for a beautiful hike outside of Bozeman, MT? I know which one I would pick.
Of all the states it’s a great pick. Cold weather much of the year to help cool systems naturally.
While the law allows state regulation of computation in the interest of public health and safety, it sets a high bar: any restrictions must be demonstrably necessary and narrowly tailored to serve a compelling interest. Legal experts note that this is one of the most protective standards available under Montana law.
The act also includes provisions for AI-controlled critical infrastructure, requiring both a “shutdown mechanism” to allow human control and annual safety reviews — a move aimed at balancing innovation with public safety concerns.
And this will be the last time we’ll hear of Montana for a while after this.
Yes. I think the last time I heard of Montana was in The Hunt for Red October.
the only good thing about montana is zooey zephyr
The internet is getting so shitty, either another web needs to start or we are just going to stop using it.
The internet is getting so shitty, either another web needs to start or we are just going to stop using it.
Montana’s new slogan. No restriction on AI. Come here and ruin our state with data centers.
The bill text of SB-212 seems pretty reasonable. Basically just says the government needs a good reason to create regulations on computation.
It even explicitly mentions good reasons may include things like fraud, deepfakes, and public nuisances of datacenters.
As a Montanan, I’m cool with it. Guess we’ll see how it’s used.
