Tennessee AG on Crypto, Consumer Protection and Opioid Crisis

As a young prosecutor, Jonathan Skrmetti (Tennessee Attorney General) worked on cases that had similar plots to the movie, Training Day. His early cases ranged from law enforcement corruption, human trafficking and presidential assassination attempts.

In this episode, Ian Andrews (CMO, Chainalysis) got to talk to John about his thrilling entry to prosecutions and the cases he works on as the Tennessee Attorney general, including fighting the opioid crisis, minimizing big tech’s influence on children using social media and consumer protection in the crypto space. 

John emphasizes the need for technical literacy in the judicial system and the evolving nature of technology and emphasizes the importance of collaboration between law enforcement agencies and the need for technological countermeasures to combat online scams and crimes.

Minute-by-minute episode breakdown

• (2:10) - Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmett’s responsibilities and daily tasks
• (4:08) - Jonathan’s early DOJ Portfolio of Official Misconduct, Human Trafficking and Hate Crimes 
• (6:20) - Shift in criminal activity towards financial crimes and technology-based scams
• (8:45) - Importance of technical and blockchain literacy in the judicial system
• (10:50) - Lawsuit against Meta and the exploitative nature of social media on children
• (14:35) - Importance of collaboration and education in combating sophisticated crimes
• (20:52) - Complexity of the fentanyl crisis and the role of cryptocurrency
• (24:13) - Tennessee's conservative approach to crypto and NFT investment
• (27:45) - Need for policy environment that supports crypto innovation and protects citizens

Related resources

Check out more resources provided by Chainalysis that perfectly complement this episode of the Public Key.

• Website:  Jonathan Skrmetti Attorney General & Reporter
• Coindesk Article: Bipartisan Bill Would Allow Tennessee to Invest in Crypto and NFTs
• Announcements: Tennessee AG Opioid Settlements
• Article: TN AG Skrmetti Leads Coalition in Filing Lawsuits against Big Tech Giant Meta and its Social Media Platform
• Video: Attorney General Press Conference - use passcode: #8&di5!+ 
• Advisory Report: U.S. Surgeon General Advisory - Social Media and Youth Mental Health
• Video: The Chainalysis 2023 Geography of Cryptocurrency Report (Available Now)
• Blog: KPMG in Canada and Chainalysis team up to help organizations combat illicit crypto transactions
• YouTube: Chainalysis YouTube page
• Twitter: Chainalysis Twitter: BuildCareers at Chainalysising trust in blockchain
• Tik Tok: Building trust in #blockchains among people, businesses, and governments.
• Telegram: Chainalysis on Telegram 

Speakers on today’s episode

• Ian Andrews * Host * (Chief Marketing Officer, Chainalysis) 
• Jonathan Skrmetti (Tennessee Attorney General)

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