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Politics Archive

Archives for September 2026

Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
The White House wants you to know it was the #1 News app in the App Store.

That revamped Trump admin app (now offering access to Trump TV) apparently bounced up to the top of the News list this week.

You might think that securing access to the Strait of Hormuz or really anything else would be the federal government’s focus, but hey, it had the number one app in a category, and as David Pierce wrote in February, the very best thing about that is “being able to tell people you were number one.” The app has since slipped to #2 in news behind X, and to #96 overall.

White House App Hits No. 1 in News and Cracks App Store Top 20 as Americans Tune Out Fake News
Screenshot: The White House
Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
Bill Gates says regulate AI, because it’s powerful enough to cause a billion deaths.

NBC News released this clip from a Meet the Press interview with Gates that will air on Sunday, where he said, “No one thinks self-regulation is enough” around AI.

Saying that AI is “certainly powerful enough to drive events that, you know, cause a billion deaths,” he suggested, “You need law enforcement and the politicians to get into the discussion about what safeguards and monitoring look like… And that has to be a required thing. And it will be a little bit of overhead for the industry, but not a dramatic slowing of what they’re doing.” Everyone agrees someone should do it, but who, and how?

Thomas Ricker
Thomas Ricker
Silicon Valley’s power ranking.

If you want to know where the power in tech currently lies, you only need to look at this photo of the head table at Donald Trump’s state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping. I see Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, AMD’s Lisa Su, Apple’s Tim Cook, and SpaceXaiTesla’s Elon Musk seated by the leaders of the world’s two superpowers. The CEOs and / or founders of Alphabet (Google), OpenAI, Microsoft, Amazon, Qualcomm, Micron, Dell, and… Zoom, were also in attendance.

Xi Jinping, China’s president, speaks during the state dinner.
Xi Jinping, China’s president, speaks during the state dinner.
Bloomberg via Getty Images
Thomas Ricker
Thomas Ricker
The US backs Elon Musk in fight to overturn €120M EU fine.

Trump officials filed a motion to support X’s appeal, arguing the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) enforcement overreached when levying the fine last December, and unfairly targets American tech platforms while threatening digital free speech and global market operations.

“The European Commission inappropriately attempted to expand its regulatory authority to reach American companies not present or operating within its jurisdiction.”

Meredith Haggerty
Meredith Haggerty
What’s going on with this Trump picture?

On Thursday, Trump posted a picture to Truth Social of himself with Chinese President Xi Jinping that doesn’t comport with Getty Images of the event. Why does Trump only have one glove? Why did the face of the woman in the background change? The answer could include anything from uprezzing to “zooming out” the camera to deliberately replacing faces with AI.

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@realDonaldTrump / Truth Social
Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Judge orders Trump to let CNN, MS Now, and Politico back into the White House (for now).

Judge Timothy Kelly issued a temporary restraining order as part of the publications’ lawsuit against the Trump administration, filed after their press credentials were revoked. It orders the admin to restore the credentials, but only lasts for 14 days while the lawsuit rumbles on.

Lauren Feiner
Lauren Feiner
Flock’s CEO isn’t testifying at today’s Senate hearing, but the room is still packed.

There’s still a standby line to get into the Senate Judiciary crime and counterterrorism subcommittee’s hearing about “Flock’s Nationwide AI Surveillance Network.” Chair Josh Hawley (R-MO) invited the CEOs of Flock and its peers, Axon, Motorola Solutions, and Verkada, but said they declined.

Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Pornhub’s age checks are being investigated in the UK.

Ofcom is taking a deeper look at Pornhub provider Aylo’s compliance with online safety rules. The media watchdog’s enforcement director George Lusty says, “We expect tech firms to ensure age checks are highly effective before introducing them.” Aylo relies on Apple’s age verification system, which is not being scrutinized under the investigation.

“We are concerned that Aylo may not have conducted sufficient due diligence and testing before implementing its new age assurance process. As a result, we are concerned that Aylo’s process may not be highly effective at preventing children from seeing pornography.”

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
California will fine creators for sneaky political ads.

Over the weekend, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill that will penalize creators for failing to disclose paid political content, with fines reaching up to $5,000 per violation, The New York Times reports.

Though the FTC requires influencers to disclose product advertisements, it doesn’t have the same rules for paid political content, which has become widespread in recent campaigns.

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Texas puts data center permits on hold.

Governor Greg Abbott ordered the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to stop granting permits to data centers while the state finishes an audit of the facilities that want to connect to its electric grid. Last week, Abbott also told state regulators to “impose legal consequences” on data centers that don’t disclose information about water usage.

Robert Hart
Robert Hart
World leaders are backing frontier AI controls — but the US and China are nowhere to be seen.

20 countries — including Canada, Germany, UAE and Singapore — endorsed stronger checks on advanced models. The European Commission also signed.

The UN, whose leader backs the push, is maneuvering for a bigger role in global AI governance, but without Washington or Beijing, its influence will be limited. The two nations are expected to meet this week.