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Jeremy B. White and Lara Korte’s must-read briefing on politics and government in the Golden State | | | | |  | | By Jeremy B. White , Lara Korte , Sakura Cannestra and Owen Tucker-Smith | THE BUZZ: Twitter isn’t the only California-born tech giant coming under scrutiny. A major government case against Meta-née-Facebook kicked off in a California courtroom yesterday. At issue is the platform’s proposed acquisition of a virtual reality fitness app. It’s the Federal Trade Commission’s first challenge to a consumer tech deal under antitrust-crusading chair Lina Khan, and it marks an important development in the Biden administration’s overarching goal of breaking up tech hegemony. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify. The trial started the same day as the FTC sued to block a Microsoft deal. California is pursuing a similar case against another West Coast tech titan. California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s lawsuit against Amazon’s allegedly anti-competitive third-party contracting practices differs in important respects from the Biden administration’s Meta suit, but both reflect a growing consensus that too much market power has become concentrated in the small cluster of companies dominating the American economy. We’ve tracked growing Sacramento skepticism about tech companies’ sway over consumers. A resolution last year directing the state to study its antitrust powers indicated bipartisan interest in enacting some safeguards. A bill allowing lawsuits against social media companies whose products harm kids made it out of the Assembly before disappearing into the black hole of Senate Appropriations, although a companion design measure became law. The sway of social media has been often in the news lately as policymakers digest Elon Musk’s new stewardship of Twitter. As POLITICO’s Ben Shreckinger writes , Musk’s lofty claims that his acquisition bears directly on the “future of civilization” has some grounding if you consider the company’s outsize impact on public discourse and then political developments. | 
Former janitors at Twitter hold signs during a news conference outside of a federal courthouse in San Francisco, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022. | Jeff Chiu/AP Photo |
LAYOFF LITIGATION — Speaking of Musk: A group of former Twitter employees filed a federal lawsuit this week alleging his mass layoffs last month discriminated against women. In a press conference in downtown San Francisco Thursday, attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan said a disproportionate number of women lost their jobs. Liss-Riordan has filed three other class action suits alleging Musk has violated state and federal labor laws. The company is also facing San Francisco scrutiny over snoozing workers .
And on the topic of tech companies facing legal headwinds in California, a critical gig economy case is about to enter a new phase. Next week we get oral arguments in the industry’s appeal of a ruling nullifying Proposition 22, which Uber et al passed back in 2020 to exempt themselves from being compelled to re-classify independent contractors as employees. Unlike in the Amazon suit, in this one Bonta is on the companies’ side and defending Prop 22. BUENOS DÍAS, good Friday morning. A half dozen state lawmakers will be in Montreal this weekend for the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. Back in California, we got closer to knowing the Assembly’s final form as Republican Greg Wallis declared victory in AD-47 on the strength of an 85-vote lead; Democrat Christy Holstege has not conceded. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Her freedom is a gift to the world, to all of us. Our gift to her is this legislation — that her marriage is protected wherever she may live.” Speaker Nancy Pelosi on passing same-sex legislation the same day LGBTQ basketball star Brittney Griner was freed from Russia . TWEET OF THE DAY |  Today's Tweet of the Day. | Twitter |
WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.
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UPDATE iOS APP – UPDATE ANDROID APP . | | | | | |  | TOP TALKERS | | SINKING SUPPORT SYSTEMS — “ A world gone mad: Schizophrenia and a journey through California’s failed mental health system ,” by the Los Angeles Times’s Thomas Curwen: “A popular adage in psychiatry goes like this: If the human brain were so simple that we could understand it, then we would be too simple to understand it.” — “ ‘He used his authority to sexually prey’: Ex-Dublin federal prison warden guilty in sex abuse case ,” by the Mercury News’ Nate Gartrell: “[Ray J.] Garcia took the stand in his own defense during his weeklong trial, insisting that he accidentally snapped a nude photo of an incarcerated woman in a sexual pose during the course of his daily duties. Jurors apparently didn’t buy it.” SWEARING ON A SWEEP — “ With L.A. swearing in a new mayor, crews work to move homeless encampments near City Hall ,” by the Los Angeles Times’ David Zahniser and Julia Wick: “Unhoused residents who have been living at 1st and Spring streets, some for several months, were loaded into vans Thursday and whisked to the L.A. Grand Hotel, a temporary homeless facility on Figueroa Street that is scheduled to shut down Jan. 31.” | | CAMPAIGN MODE | | RESIDENCY RUMBLE: Assemblywoman Sabrina Cervantes has introduced a bill allowing the disqualification of certified candidates who register to vote outside the district they seek to represent. The circumstance addressed by AB 63 arose this year in AD-63, where it emerged now-Republican Assembly member Bill Essayli was registered in Orange County and not Riverside County. Cervantes’ sister and now-Riverside Council member Clarissa Cervantes worked for Essayli’s opponent Fauzia Rizvi. EYES TO 2024: State Sen. Josh Newman filed for re-election in the 37th Senate district yesterday. Redistricting has put Newman on a collision course with fellow Orange County Democratic state Sen. Dave Min, although an area House seat could become available . — “ Column: A signal from Biden and boost for Kamala Harris as Democrats remake 2024 primary calendar ,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Mark Z. Barabak: “Biden, who will be 82 years old by the time he would take the oath for a second term, has not committed to seeking reelection. But his move to reshape the political calendar to his liking is not the action of a man looking to spend his golden years puttering with the grandkids in Rehoboth Beach.” | | CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR | | — “ Eric Garcetti’s Broken Sidewalks ,” by Curbed’s Alissa Walker: “Flash-forward five and a half years, as Garcetti prepares to leave office after nearly a decade as mayor, and the city’s sidewalks are still a mess.” FINALS WEEK FEARS — “ UC faces tumultuous finals week as strike reaches pivotal moment ,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Debbie Truong, Hannah Fry, Alejandra Reyes-Velarde: “A tally from the Council of UC Faculty Assns. estimates faculty will withhold at least 34,000 grades across the system. Faculty have pared down final assessments, shortened length requirements for essays or are omitting material from exams that was not covered because of the strike.” PASS THE CONTROLLER — “ Activision Sues California Agency, Seeking Media Message Traffic ,” by Bloomberg Law’s Joyce E. Cutler: “The California Civil Rights Department ‘unlawfully’ sued Activision in July 2021 and ‘deliberately unleashed a hurricane of hostile media coverage against the Company based on malicious and knowingly false assertions,’ the company alleged in its complaint filed under the state’s Public Records Act.” WE NEED A MEDIC — “ More street medicine teams tackle the homeless health care crisis ,” by CalMatters’ Kristen Hwang: “Homeless people often have sporadic or no access to health care, resulting in costly, chronic conditions. A new statewide effort encourages Medi-Cal insurers to partner with street teams to improve care.” — “ Narcan could be required at California schools after youth fentanyl overdoses ,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Mackenzie Mays: “The Los Angeles Police Department reported that at least seven teenagers overdosed from pills possibly containing fentanyl this year, including a 15-year-old girl who died in September.” KEEPING AFLOAT — “ Bay Area ‘floating home’ dwellers got rent control passed. Their landlord says many don’t need it ,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Rachel Swan: “The ongoing fight between an immigrant family business and the residents of Barnhill — a quirky mix of retirees, elder bohemians, people on fixed incomes and rich folks using their abodes as vacation homes or Airbnbs— puts an unusual spin on a rent control war erupting throughout California, where a hot real estate market has spilled offshore.” | | | | POLITICO AT CES 2023 : We are bringing a special edition of our Digital Future Daily newsletter to Las Vegas to cover CES 2023. The newsletter will take you inside the largest and most influential technology event on the planet, featuring every major and emerging industry in the technology ecosystem gathered in one place. The newsletter runs from Jan. 5-7 and will focus on the public policy related aspects of the event. Sign up today to receive exclusive coverage of CES 2023. | | | | | | | BIDEN, HARRIS AND THE HILL | | SAME-SEX SELECTION: California Republican Reps. Michelle Steel and Young Kim were among those voting against same-sex marriage legislation yesterday, even as other frontline California Republicans voted in favor. That may surface in a future campaign. | | SILICON VALLEYLAND | | — Elon Musk’s release of Twitter documents on Hunter Biden has slowed. Here’s why. By POLITICO’sBen Schreckinger: The delay offers a window into some of the challenges Musk is facing as he attempts a radical overhaul of the platform he just bought — changing not just the company’s staffing and strategy, but its politics, shifting a largely progressive-leaning platform to one committed to a more libertarian vision of free speech. | | CANNABIS COUNTRY | | WEED WACKING — How the plan to pass a weed package went awry , by POLITICO’s Natalie Fertig: The bargain they ultimately reached represents the broad spectrum of cannabis issues: banking, guns and criminal record expungements. — “ California company hit with $128 million fine over pot gummies ,” by SFGate’s Lester Black: “On Monday, a Los Angeles judge ruled that the makers of the popular Kushy Punch gummies were guilty of illegally producing cannabis products at an unlicensed Los Angeles facility.” | | MEDIA MATTERS | | STAY BOLD — “ This San Francisco political group is taking over the Bold Italic ,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Annie Vainshtein: “The blog — at one time known for its lighthearted and snarky accounts of San Francisco culture — has flatlined more than once since it was founded in 2009 by IDEO and Gannett, a major newspaper publisher.” | | MIXTAPE | | — “ Is Bay Area ‘tripledemic’ bad enough to rethink indoor dining? Here's what experts say ,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Kellie Hwang. OPENING HOURS — “ These downtown San Francisco gems are closed — but aren't supposed to be ,” by SFGate’s Alex Shultz. — “ Chico State professor disciplined for student affair allegedly threatened colleagues who complained ,” by EdSource’s Thomas Peele. — “ Laguna Niguel City Council Approves Controversial Condo Project Below Former Landslide ,” by Voice of OC’s Noah Biesiada. HATE HAVOC — “ Man faces hate crime charges for alleged Sunnyvale attack ,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Jessica Flores. | | IN MEMORIAM | | — Longtime labor leader Mike Hardeman — the father of Nick Hardeman, chief of staff to Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins — has died. | | BIRTHDAYS | | Wendell Primus of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office … Samantha Tubman of the Los Angeles Lakers … Google’s Cris Turner CALIFORNIA POLICY IS ALWAYS CHANGING: Know your next move. From Sacramento to Silicon Valley, POLITICO California Pro provides policy professionals with the in-depth reporting and tools they need to get ahead of policy trends and political developments shaping the Golden State. To learn more about the exclusive insight and analysis this -only service offers, click here . Want to make an impact? POLITICO California has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Golden State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness amongst this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com.
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