The Denver Post reports that Governor Jared Polis issued several of his first vetoes of the year, including two that deserve attention far beyond the usual Capitol food fight. One would have imposed a 5% fee on certain in-game video game purchases, while another would have expanded requirements around social media search warrants and reporting. In both cases, Polis said no. And in this case, credit where it is due: no is the correct answer.
The governor argued the video game fee could run afoul of TABOR and objected to charging consumers extra for what he described as digital storytelling and artistic expression. On the social media bill, he raised concerns about ambiguity, free speech protections, and the possibility of creating a chilling effect on online discussions. Those are not partisan arguments. They are constitutional ones.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Lawmakers wanted to slap a 5% fee on certain video game add-on purchases to fund mental health and education programs. Because apparently every budget challenge now requires finding a new pocket to pick.
- Polis vetoed the fee, arguing it faced legal vulnerabilities under TABOR and unfairly targeted digital content and artistic expression. Rare sighting: the governor locating the brake pedal.
- Another veto blocked a bill that would have imposed new social media warrant compliance requirements and reporting mandates on platforms.
- Polis warned the bill’s language could sweep protected speech into criminal investigations and create a chilling effect on online discussion. The First Amendment still matters, even when the internet is involved.
- The bigger story is not Polis. It is a legislature that increasingly treats every new technology, hobby, app, platform, and digital service as another opportunity for government expansion.
My Bottom Line
Every once in a while, Jared Polis surprises me. This is one of those moments. A good veto is still a good veto, even when it comes from a governor with whom I frequently disagree. Credit where it is due.
The proposed video game fee struck me as one of those classic Capitol ideas that sounds clever in a committee room and ridiculous everywhere else. Lawmakers needed money. Video games exist. Therefore, tax the gamers.
Problem solved.
Except it is never really about the gamers. It is about a political culture that increasingly sees citizens as collections of revenue opportunities. Every hobby becomes a funding source. Every transaction becomes a fee. Every purchase becomes a potential government piggy bank.
At some point, Coloradans get tired of being treated like wallets.
The social media bill raises an even more important question. Technology changes. Constitutional rights do not.
Now, I understand the motivation. The legislation reportedly emerged in part from concerns following the Evergreen High School shooting and frustrations over delayed responses to law enforcement requests. Those concerns are real. Public safety matters. Threats should be taken seriously.
But serious concerns do not eliminate constitutional constraints.
When government starts creating systems that encourage platforms to monitor speech, report users, or err on the side of censorship to avoid liability, we should all slow down and ask hard questions. The First Amendment and the Fourth Amendment do not suddenly become optional because lawmakers finally discovered social media exists.
And this is where the larger pattern emerges.
Too many legislators approach modern technology with the same mindset: there is a problem, therefore government needs more authority. More reporting requirements. More fees. More mandates. More oversight. More intervention.
Sometimes the answer really is no.
No, your hobby is not a revenue stream. No, digital content is not automatically fair game for creative taxation. No, private data does not lose constitutional protection because it sits on a server instead of in a filing cabinet. And no, every new technology does not require an old-fashioned government power grab.
Polis got this one right.
The more important question is why lawmakers keep bringing these ideas forward in the first place.
Source: The Denver Post
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