FISCHER: There oughta be a law!
By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com
There’s a new legislative session and our various senators and representatives are hard at working trying to figure out what is legal that shouldn’t be and what should be legal that isn’t.
And while I’ve definitely got feelings about a lot of what’s being proposed on both those fronts, this week I’m going to take this opportunity to throw my two cents in about an issue that I don’t think gets enough attention.

I want to propose a “No Means No” law for digital goods and services.
As a rule, I do not like repeating myself. So there are few things about today’s tech industry that aggravate me more than the practice of giving users only the options of “Yes” and “Maybe Later” when it comes to functions and features I have no desire to ever utilize.
I’m looking at you, Microsoft. I’m not going to update to Windows 11 no matter how many times you ask.
I don’t care if or when you stop support for Windows 10. We all know that every other version of Windows is a raging trash fire so I’m going to do what I’ve been doing for more than 20 years now and wait it out for the next iteration.
In fact, I’m almost looking forward to the day Windows 10 support ends because that will be the day I stop getting asked if I want to backup my files to OneDrive, subscribe to Office 365, or make Edge my default browser every time I install a system update.
I can assure you, Microsoft, that if I somehow decide I want my computer to run Windows 11, I am capable of doing so without you periodically forcing a full screen application to launch while I’m doing things. Until then, stop bothering me about it.
Same goes for you too, Google. I don’t want to turn my location history on. I didn’t want to do it last week. I’m not going to next week. You don’t need to bring it up every time I use your search engine as a spellchecker.
And on that note, I have never visited a website that has given me a compelling reason to turn on notifications and it is unlikely that I ever will.
Stop trying to annoy me into doing things I don’t want to do. It’s manipulative at best and borderline harassment at worst.
My mom taught me as a child that the more I asked for something after getting a “no” the less likely it was that she’d change her mind. Surely we can expect the same from our computer programs.
Tech companies should be legally required to take “No” for an answer. I want to see fines every time a pop-up window appears without a button that makes it go away forever.
Now, would such a law hold up in court? I doubt it.
Would big tech bury an attempt at such a bill under piles of money. Almost certainly.
Would it be technically unconstitutional and a likely a dangerous example of government overreach? Probably, but it’s 2025. Let’s not pretend that’s still a deal-breaker.
— Travis Fischer is a news writer for the Charles City Press and doesn’t want to have to ask twice!
Social Share