Good morning, it’s Thursday, June 4, 2026. In today’s edition, states sue Roblox over child safety; Illinois, Pennsylvania advance social media bills; new polls in Ohio, South Carolina and Massachusetts:
Top Stories
PUBLIC SAFETY: More than a dozen states have sued or launched investigations into Roblox, the online gaming platform, over alleged risks to minors. Connecticut and Texas are investigating player-created games on the platform that take place at Sandy Hook Elementary and Robb Elementary in Uvalde, the sites of horrific mass shootings. Roblox has settled with Alabama, Nevada and West Virginia so far. (Pluribus News)
LABOR: The Illinois legislature has approved a bill paving the way for gig drivers to form a union to negotiate pay, benefits and working conditions while remaining independent contractors. The bill, which Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) is likely to sign, will add Illinois to California and Massachusetts, which previously allowed gig drivers to unionize. (Pluribus News)
SOCIAL MEDIA: Illinois lawmakers approved legislation requiring social media companies to confirm a user’s age through a device’s operating system. The bill would allow parents to set a child’s age at set-up, which would adjust algorithmic feeds, the visibility of a child’s profile and what media they can be shown. The measure passed both chambers unanimously. (Capitol News Illinois)
MORE: The Pennsylvania House Finance Committee has approved legislation levying taxes on digital advertising. The bill imposes a 5% state tax on gross revenue from digital ads on internet sites, search engines and pop-up ads. The state expects to earn $500 million if the measure is adopted. (State Affairs)
ENERGY: The New York legislature is fast-tracking bills to set a moratorium on the construction of data centers. The one-year moratorium would require the state to conduct environmental impact studies, and it sets labor standards for when data centers are actually built. The first votes could come as early as today. (State of Politics)
Voters in Monterey Park, Calif., approved a ban on data centers, a first-of-its-kind vote. Early returns show the measure winning with more than 86% of the vote. (New York Times)
PRIVACY: The Massachusetts House is preparing to debate a consumer privacy bill that would give consumers the right to confirm whether their data is collected, processed or accessed, and the right to opt out of the collection of data for the purposes of targeted advertising. The Senate approved the bill eight months ago. (State Affairs)
IMMIGRATION: Indiana Gov. Mike Braun (R) has signed legislation requiring law enforcement agencies to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. The bill bars local sanctuary policies and gives new powers to the attorney general to investigate employers suspected of knowingly hiring workers who are not authorized to work in the country. (State Affairs)
SNAP: Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) has ordered the state to use surplus funds to issue a $300 grocery store gift card to the estimated 25,000 state residents who have lost federal food assistance funding. Illinois ordered a one-time $400 benefit for those who have lost food aid. (CT Mirror)
In Politics & Business
OHIO: A new Fox News poll shows former state health director Amy Acton (D) statistically tied with entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy (R), 50% to 49%. Both Acton and Ramaswamy are seen more favorably (46% and 45%, respectively) than unfavorably (37% and 44%, respectively). (Fox News)
Fascinating question in the poll: “Would you favor or oppose building a data center in your area to support artificial intelligence technology?” Just 32% are in favor, while 65% would be opposed — 41% of whom are strongly opposed.
SOUTH CAROLINA: A Citadel poll finds a tie among many of the top contenders for the Republican nomination for governor: Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette (R) takes 17%, with U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R) and Attorney General Alan Wilson (R) at 16%, businessman Rom Reddy (R) at 14% and U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman (R) at 13%. (Citadel)
Important caveat: The poll was conducted mostly before President Trump endorsed Evette last week.
MASSACHUSETTS: A Suffolk University poll for the Boston Globe shows tech executive Michael Minogue (R) leading venture capitalist Brian Shortsleeve (R) 45% to 13% in the GOP gubernatorial primary. Fully 40% of Bay State Republicans are undecided. (Suffolk)
MAINE: Former Maine Republican Party chairman Rick Bennett has qualified to run for governor as an independent, ensuring a three-way contest this November. (Portland Press Herald)
By The Numbers
$384.8 million: The amount lobbyists and their clients spent trying to influence New York lawmakers in 2025, the fourth consecutive year of record spending. (Albany Times Union)
12: The number of bills Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) has vetoed this year, eclipsing his personal record set in 2025. (Colorado Sun)
34.55%: The voter turnout in Tuesday’s South Dakota primary elections, the highest level since 2008. Turnout among Republicans was 43%, as voters weighed in on competitive primaries for governor and the state’s lone U.S. House seat. (South Dakota Searchlight) Sixteen lawmakers lost their seats in primary elections, two years after voters ousted 14 incumbents. (South Dakota Searchlight)
Off The Wall
Rhode Island lawmakers unanimously approved a joint resolution on Wednesday repealing the Corwin Amendment, an 1861 measure that would have defined slavery as a states-rights issue. The measure, ratified by just five states, was an attempt to head off the Civil War. Ohio, Maryland and Illinois have already repealed their legislature’s approval of the amendment. Only Kentucky has yet to rescind the prior approval. (Rhode Island Current)
Construction crews working on North Dakota’s governor’s mansion paused their work after finding human remains and coffin fragments. Ground-penetrating radar found evidence of nine additional grave sites in an area that was once part of Bismarck’s first cemetery. (Fargo Forum)
Quote of the Day
“The challenge, of course, is that the people that have to make the change are now elected officials. And they’re a product of that system, and it’s not always easy to get them to change something that they’re comfortable with.”
— Former Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party chairman Mike Erlandson, calling on the legislature to end party conventions that narrow the field of candidates ahead of primary elections. (MPR News)