Law

Even before the pandemic struck in 2020, technology was blurring the boundary between home and work. Pressure to be contactable 24/7 led to calls for "right to disconnect" laws protecting employees – calls that have been increasingly heeded in the COVID era.

The UK's Department of Transport has announced that it's moving to conditionally legalize self-driving cars in which the driver doesn't have to pay attention to the road or keep their hands on the wheel, in a move that it expects will save lives.

Several effective COVID-19 vaccines have been developed in rapid time but was that the easy part of the process? Are intellectual property protections and for-profit pharmaceutical companies now getting in the way of vaccinating the world's population?

A broad reform bill has been proposed in California that would see the possession and use of a number of psychedelic drugs decriminalized. The bill proposes to expunge all psychedelic-related criminal convictions and allow “social sharing” of the drugs.

A progressive wave of drug reforms have been passed by US voters, including four states legalizing recreational marijuana, one state decriminalizing natural psychedelics, and Oregon decriminalizing all drugs and legalizing psilocybin psychotherapy.

With space exploration becoming more accessible to more countries, cooperation will be key. NASA has outlined the principles for that peaceful future in the Artemis Accords, and now eight nations have signed on as founding members.

The state of Oregon will officially vote on legalizing psilocybin psychotherapy in the upcoming November election. The initiative focuses solely on licensed and regulated psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy in clinical environments.

With legal recreational cannabis use spreading across North America there is a debate over what the minimum age for consumption should be. A new study from Canadian researchers suggests 19 is the optimal age to set for recreational use of the drug.

A report that surveyed over 200 participants from a prematurely cancelled Canadian basic income experiment found participants saw improvements in mental health and social relationships, plus a reduction in the use of general health services.

Digital rights advocacy group Access Now has released its annual report revealing that governments around world are increasingly shutting down the internet, often to stifle dissent particularly during times of protest or elections.

A report tracking internet freedom across the world has found global declines for the ninth consecutive year. Underpinned by social media surveillance, the report identified internet freedom deterioration in more than half of 65 countries assessed.

The scientist responsible for creating the world’s first gene-edited babies has been sentenced to three years in prison alongside shorter sentences for two of his colleagues. Chinese state news also revealed a third gene-edited baby has been born.