In the last post of our three-part series, we discuss the final day of sessions at the 2025 Attorney General Alliance (AGA) Annual Meeting, which explored novel approaches for law enforcement collaboration, effective ways to respond to technology-facilitated harms, and regulatory considerations surrounding on-demand wages.
North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley kicked off the last day of sessions by moderating a panel that included an FBI Special Agent and industry participants who discussed how law enforcement and private-sector partners can move beyond reactive coordination toward proactive collaboration. Panelists described the ways their businesses have worked with law enforcement to build safety features into their products, develop internal safety and security standards, and to draft bills that address issues key to businesses and public safety personnel alike.
Brian Kane, Executive Director of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG), then highlighted this year’s NAAG Presidential Initiative, “Building on the Opioid Litigation Success: AGs Leading the Fight Against Substance Abuse and Drug Trafficking,” and explained that the initiative aims to leverage the success of past opioid efforts to address the ongoing threats posed by fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other illegal drugs. (These topics played a key part of this year’s Annual Meeting, as discussed in our prior posts in this series, with panels that included information on counterfeit prescriptions, fentanyl, and GLP-1 drugs.)
West Virginia Attorney General John McCuskey led the next session, which explored how attorneys general can effectively assess and respond to technology-facilitated harms, including online abuse, criminal activity such as scams and fraud, and algorithm-driven biases. AG McCuskey overviewed the work his office has done to protect child safety in the era of social media and big tech, explaining that publicly available marketing software (such as Brandwatch) may help AGs engage in “social listening” and identify how certain content and trends are spreading online. He explained that while such tools may be useful, they must be paired with research, policy, legislation, and analysis.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul concluded the conference with a discussion of earned wage access, a service that allows employees access to a portion of their earned but unpaid wages before their typical payday. Panelists included representatives from businesses offering earned wage access services and academics. The industry participants explained that they welcome the opportunity to work with state attorneys general on drafting legislation that would regulate this largely unregulated space and noted that such legislation has recently been passed or enacted in Arkansas, Indiana, Maryland, and Utah.
The breadth and depth of topics over these three days demonstrate the important dialogue that occurs through AGA meetings like this one. Attorneys general are actively engaged in enforcement actions and policy decisions in their states, and understanding their priorities while engaging in the conversation around those issues is critical. AGA and its director, Karen White, along with Tania Maestas, Jason Isaak, and the rest of the AGA staff, continue to present a forum that brings all stakeholders together to have such conversations.
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