Policy

Some choice Donato quotes towards Epic’s lead attorney:

Judge Donato says he just doesn’t get it.

Judge Donato says that with three years to set up competing app stores on Android, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and more will surely pile on. “The problem we have now is the box has already been rigged terribly with anticompetitive conduct so that Google is way ahead.”

“By taking away one part of what I’ve proposed, the effectiveness of the other part declines,” says Bernheim, answering the judge’s question about why he didn’t bring all these proposals before.

“Why did you press so hard for catalog access if you’re willing to throw it out the window today?” asks Judge Donato.

That’s Judge James Donato, continuing to be skeptical, addressing Doug Bernheim, the Epic economist.

Bernheim says he “would love to have all” of the anti-Google monopoly recommendations he originally argued for, but that he’s just analyzing what’s in front of him, and that Judge Donato’s existing injunction simply doesn’t last long enough at just three years rather than six.

“You called catalog access THE critical remedy to counter the network effects and the pattern of dominance,” says Donato, suggesting that Bernheim is attempting to mislead by suggesting the settlement would be viable without forcing Google to offer up its catalog of apps to rival app stores.

He appears to have been commissioned by Epic to analyze the settlement’s modified injunction vs. Judge Donato’s original injunction. “There are some very important pluses, there are some very important minuses,” says Bernheim.

He’s just been sworn in, and he’s prepared slides; Unfortunately, the screen on my side of the room is dead, so I’ve migrated to the other side, apologizing to several people who graciously moved for me. Bernheim featured prominently during the trial portion of this case.

We’re about to hear the bitter foes-turned-BFFs explain why Judge James Donato should accept their settlement after five-plus years of legal battle. Judge Donato has just entered; Sweeney was on his phone but has put it away. Samat was waiting patiently; he’s got an eye-catching thin beaded bracelet on his wrist.

It’s been a long, confusing, and at times tiresome saga, but according to Semafor, the Chinese and U.S. governments have given the green light for ByteDance to sell TikTok’s American arm. The target closing date set back in December was today, January 22nd, 2026.

A federal judge barred government officials from reviewing Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s devices that were seized by investigators last week. The ruling came after the Post asked for the return of Natanson’s devices and not to review their contents, alleging a grave First Amendment violation.

The settlement is happening “ahead of a landmark trial in a case that claims the social media giants engineered products to hook an entire generation of young users,” The New York Times reports. Meta, TikTok, and YouTube, who are also part of the case, haven’t yet settled. Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify.

Billionaires attending the exclusive World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland are reportedly getting duped by scammers selling fake VIP packages to meet President Donald Trump during his visit. (And yes, according to USA House, the official Davos venue hosting members of the Trump administration, the scam is specifically targeting billionaires.)

Looks like the man himself has weighed in. The Jackpot’s here — just unevenly distributed. At least, for now.

The Federal Aviation Administration is barring drones from flying within 3,000 feet of “Department of Homeland Security facilities and mobile assets,” 404 Media reports. The notice is similar to those restricting drones near military bases, 404 says, but could apply to flying them near Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicles.

Polymarket — the same platform someone made thousands of dollars betting on Nicolás Maduro’s arrest — has 48 hours to cease operations in Portugal after users wagered more than 103 million euros (~$120 million) on the outcome of the country’s presidential election, according to a report from CoinDesk.

Mark Davis, an independent running for the District 16 House seat in Florida, picked up the domain and pointed it to the department, explaining on X that “the GOP went full fascist and the democrat establishment still won’t name it.” He’s hoping to capture some of the growing furor over ICE’s increasingly aggressive tactics after several high-profile shootings.

“The avalanche of reports detailing this material — at times depicting women and children engaged in sexual activity — is shocking and, as my office has determined, potentially illegal,” Attorney General Rob Bonta says. The state has also opened an investigation into xAI.

TikTok will roll out new age detection technology in Europe that uses profile information, posts, and “behavioral signals” to guess if a user is under 13, then flags suspected accounts for moderators to review, reports Reuters.

A group led by the first administrator of the US Digital Service, which was changed into the Department of Government Efficiency, is working on a plan to help a future Democratic administration restore what DOGE dismantled. The group, Tech Viaduct, is crafting executive actions to be enacted on day one.

Two individuals who were driving dump trucks to the construction site in Richland Parish, Louisiana, were arrested on Wednesday. Local law enforcement says ICE “did not enter the Meta site at any time,” but told Bloomberg that agents were sweeping for identification of workers en route to the site.