California Governor Talks Blockchain and Data Privacy in State of the State Speech

Published at: Feb. 13, 2019

The governor of California Gavin Newsom supported the development of blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI)-based products in his “State of the State” speech, local news outlet CALmatters reported on Feb. 12.

In his speech delivered on Tuesday, Feb. 12, Newsom said that “California needs a comprehensive statewide strategy to uplift and upskill our workers, to ensure technological advancements in AI, blockchain, big data, are creating jobs, not destroying them, and to reform our institutions so that more workers have an ownership stake in their sweat equity.”

Newsom further revealed that he appointed a new Commission on California’s Workforce & Future of Work — which includes players from both the labor and business sectors — to develop innovative technologies and ensure opportunities for workers. Newsom said that “California is proud to be home to technology companies determined to change the world.”

Newsom also pointed out that the state’s citizens should be able to benefit from sharing their personal information on online sites and services. Newsom purportedly asked his team to develop a proposal for a “Data Dividend” for Californians, stressing that “ we recognize that your data has value and it belongs to you.”

Newsom is known for his proactive approach to developing technologies and digital currency. He reportedly brought crypto onto the party political scene as early as 2014, when he became one of the first high-profile politicians to accept campaign donations in Bitcoin (BTC). In November 2018, Newsom sealed 59 percent of the electorate’s support to defeat the Republican Party’s John Cox in the midterm gubernatorial elections.

As Cointelegraph recently reported, 89 percent of consumers purportedly believe that corporations do not do enough to protect their data; over half of all CEOs and C-suite executives admit that most consumers are right to doubt them on this. Blockchain, however, ostensibly ensures that the data related to digital ID is manageable.

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