Gov. Brian Sandoval tests a self-driving car July 2011

Nevada becomes first state to legally approve self-driving vehicles

Nevada has successfully worked out the details for regulations that will allow autonomous vehicles or self-driving cars in the state through the cooperation of its DMV, Google, car manufacturers, insurance companies and law enforcement authorities.

Approved last Wednesday, it’s now the first state in the country to legally operate cars that can drive themselves. Google’s self-driving cars were already tested last July, with Governor Brian Sandoval even riding on one, and only the safety regulations were left to be discussed. These regulations control the standards that manufacturers must pass to test their cars on public streets, as well as determine how residents can apply for a license to operate one.

Now that those have been approved, look forward to seeing these vehicles soon on Nevada roads. Test vehicles will have a red license plate for now but when they’re ready for consumer use, Nevada will issue green license plates to identify these state of the art technological marvels.

Autonomous transportation has long been a debated topic that has only gained wide acceptance after several advances in tech along with Google’s push using demo cars. Nevada makes a brave step forward that will soon be followed by other states which already have similar bills waiting to be passed.

Louisiana judge throws out social networking ban for sex offenders

A federal judge from Baton Rouge, Louisiana has recently tossed a new law that’s meant to keep registered sex offenders from participating in social networking sites that have minors. US District Judge Brian Jackson deemed that the law was too restrictive, with too many types of Web sites included, and that it was unreasonable and unconstitutional, as reported by the AP.

This law took in effect last August, banning those convicted of a sexual offense against a minor or of video voyeurism from joining or using social networking sites, chat rooms and peer-to-peer sites. This was the result of recent years of discussion to protect kids on sites like Facebook and MySpace from being victimized by sex offenders.

The judge saw that the scope of the law according to its definition of networking would include hundreds of sites, including the court’s Web site. According to the AP, he said the law puts “a sweeping ban on many commonly read news and information Web sites.”

Now supporters of the law which includes Governor Bobby Jindal are moving to oppose the decision and submit an appeal, saying that law was implemented so that the Internet can be safe for children from preying sex offenders. Jindal said, “The Internet is the virtual playground where sex offenders are trying to strike and prey on our kids. We must have the tools to crack down on monsters that are preying on our kids.”

A representative from Facebook made this statement to The Wall Street Journal: “We have consistently supported bills that criminalize usage of social-networking sites by registered sex offenders. Our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities already bars these individuals from using Facebook, and we would welcome the potential of criminal penalties to strengthen these provisions.”

Banning sex offenders from social networking sites have been done in other states: In North Carolina and Connecticut, 5,585 registered sex offenders were removed from Facebook while in New York, 2,782 were also banned.

While Judge Jackson struck that particular law down, he hints that a more specifically defined version could probably be approved in the future.