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Lucas Ropek

Staff Writer

Lucas Ropek is a former staff writer for Government Technology.

Policy

Handful of States Begin Legislating "Deepfake" Videos

According to some, the new AI-powered videos have the power to confuse and mislead voters, potentially compromising election integrity. But there isn't much in the way of legislation at the state level to address them.

April 30, 2019
· Lucas Ropek
Policy

California Bill Would Stop Data Throttling During Emergencies

The new legislation stemmed from an outcry last year over Verizon's cutback in Internet service to firefighters battling one of the state's largest wildfires. The company apologized, but opposes the bill.

April 26, 2019
· Lucas Ropek
Policy

Self-Driving Cars Get the Greenlight Under New Utah Law

The new legislation allows computer systems in autonomous vehicles to be considered drivers and opens up the opportunity for AVs to take to public roads.

April 24, 2019
· Lucas Ropek
Workforce & People

Microsoft Exec John Paul Farmer Named as NYC CTO

Mayor Bill de Blasio has selected the former Microsoft technology and civic innovation director as the city's next chief technology officer, the city announced April 23.

April 23, 2019
· Lucas Ropek
Policy

Why Did Washington State's Privacy Legislation Collapse?

The bill would have been the second of its kind in the nation, but the gap between the version supported by the tech industry, and the more stringent version favored by privacy groups, proved too big to close.

April 18, 2019
· Lucas Ropek
Policy

Will San Francisco Ban Facial Recognition Technology?

A proposed ordinance would prohibit any municipal use of the software, a move that civil rights groups support, but is opposed by law enforcement organizations and some industry groups.

April 17, 2019
· Lucas Ropek
Health & Human Services

Los Angeles County Locates Missing Seniors With Technology

The county hopes to reduce the number of lost or missing seniors with the aid of special bracelets worn by individuals that can be tracked by radio technology. Initial results look promising.

April 15, 2019
· Lucas Ropek
Cybersecurity

North Dakota Adopts Statewide Cybersecurity Approach

A newly signed law gives the Information Technology Department the authority to define cybersecurity for all public entities within the state.

April 12, 2019
· Lucas Ropek
Broadband & Network

Avoidable Outage Continues to Plague NYC Wireless Network

A planned reset of the global GPS system last weekend disrupted some city services. But officials say no critical systems were impacted and that the NYCWiN network will be fully restored within a few days.

April 11, 2019
· Lucas Ropek
People and Careers

Florida’s First GIO Returns to the Private Sector

Ekaterina Fitos, who was named as the state’s first geographic information officer in December 2017 before transferring to another agency, has left state service to join a civil engineering firm.

April 10, 2019
· Lucas Ropek