Hochul Targets Big Tech’s Influence on Children: New York Brief

The governor takes on Discord, congestion pricing’s back in court, and new DoorDash tipping rules take effect (over the company’s objections), below:

Gov. Kathy Hochul is pushing for new rules on large tech companies in her election year, putting age verification measures at the top of her priority list for the 2026 session, my colleague Raga Justin reports.

The governor’s $260 billion budget proposal includes language requiring popular platforms like Roblox and Discord to implement strict methods for checking users’ ages. (It’s a long-held practice in Albany that governors tie pet policies to the budget — due April 1 — in ...