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Policy Archive

Archives for June 2026

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Mayor vs. the Monorail.

The mayor of Shelbyville, Indiana, potential home of a proposed $2 billion data center, says he only sees signs opposed to the project “in shitty houses.” As ever, there’s a Simpsons quote for that.

SteveBigAndTall:

It’s more of a Springfield idea I guess.

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TC Sottek
TC Sottek
Update: Brendan Carr is still a dummy.

And honestly, at this point, a huge loser. (Before I even tell you what this is about, just buy our tee, it’ll look great on you.) The guy’s latest comments on Scott Pelley’s firing would be contemptible even if he were just a random online troll. So it definitely sucks that he’s the FCC chairman.

TC Sottek
TC Sottek
What are we doing, America?

First reported by Medpage Today, police in New Orleans pushed out medical experts at an American Diabetes Association meeting for the grave crime of… distributing an editorial that was critical of the Trump administration’s war on science. I’ve stopped being able to keep score on the actual censorship happening in this country.

Lauren Feiner
Lauren Feiner
Sam Altman reportedly talked to the Trump administration about taking a stake in OpenAI.

The CEO pitched the idea as a way to bring economic benefits from AI to the public, according to NOTUS, which added that Altman first pitched the idea to President Donald Trump early last year.

Lauren Feiner
Lauren Feiner
New York passes a bill that would bar AI chatbots from acting like companions to kids.

State lawmakers passed a bill that, if signed by Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, would restrict AI companies from letting teens use chatbots that suggest they’re human. It comes after some AI companies have faced lawsuits (some of which have settled) over allegations their chatbots coaxed teen users toward suicide or self-harm.

If you or anyone you know is considering self-harm or needs to talk, contact the following people who want to help: In the US, text or call 988. Outside the US, contact https://www.iasp.info/.

Mia Sato
Mia Sato
Polymarket’s CMO sent thousands to influencers like Nick Shirley and Riley Gaines.

Polymarket’s chief marketing officer Matthew Modabber used his personal PayPal account to send at least $350,000 to content creators who hyped the prediction market platform, Politico reports. Shirley and others who were paid promoted Polymarket on X with no paid content disclosures. Influencer content is a huge part of prediction markets’ media strategy — often hiding in plain sight.

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
NYT report reveals how Meta, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube grabbed kids’ attention in school.

Internal documents, which were disclosed as part of a wave of child safety lawsuits filed by school districts across the US, showed:

Snapchat sent phone alerts to adolescents during school hours, urging them to share what was going on in their classrooms.

Meta paid “teen ambassadors” to promote Instagram and hand out swag to their friends at school.

TikTok gave the National PTA millions of dollars, in part to throw school events about online safety and provide favorable comments to journalists.

Lauren Feiner
Lauren Feiner
Republicans want the FBI to probe whether foreign adversaries are stoking US data center backlash.

Following a report from a bitcoin policy think tank and claims from Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary, three Republican lawmakers asked the Trump administration to brief them about investigations into alleged foreign influence campaigns. The lawmakers are concerned that adversaries are pushing anti-AI sentiment to slow US infrastructure development.