After years of moving fast and breaking things, governments around the world are waking up to the dangers of uncontrolled tech platforms and starting to think of ways to rein in those platforms. Sometimes, that means data privacy measures like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or more recent measures passed in the wake of Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal. On the smaller side, it takes the form of specific ad restrictions, transparency measures, or anti-tracking protocols. With such a broad problem, nearly any solution is on the table. It’s still too early to say whether those measures will be focused on Facebook, Google, or the tech industry at large. At the same time, conservative lawmakers are eager to use accusations of bias as a way to influence moderation policy, making the specter of strong regulation all the more controversial. Whatever next steps Congress and the courts decide to take, you can track the latest updates here.
The Environmental Protection Agency wants to stop collecting data on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and other polluting sites. The proposed rule change comes as the Trump administration attempts to get rid of the agency’s ability to regulate planet-heating pollution at all.
[The New York Times]
“They’re doing away with science,” Christine Todd Whitman, former Environmental Protection Agency administrator and former Republican governor of New Jersey, tells Bloomberg. That only makes it harder to prepare for the consequences of a warming world, from eroding coastlines to more devastating wildfires across the US.
“If they overturn this, it would leave the public responsible for cleaning up, not the companies that knowingly polluted the land,” University of California, San Francisco professor Tracey Woodruff tells The New York Times, which first reported on the proposal.
In a split decision, the DC Circuit Court lifted a preliminary injunction preventing the administration from continuing mass layoffs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The union suing the administration still has seven days to file a petition for the case to be reheard before the injunction is lifted.
Ofcom is now investigating whether four companies that collectively run 34 pornography sites are complying with new Online Safety Act (OSA) rules that require them to have “highly effective age checks” in place — the same rules that are widely restricting parts of the internet across the UK. Other OSA investigations were already underway, but these are the first to fall under the age verification requirements.
The search giant has followed OpenAI in signing the EU’s voluntary AI code of practice, after Meta snubbed the agreement over “legal uncertainties.” Google also has its complaints despite signing, saying in a statement:
“We remain concerned that the AI Act and Code risk slowing Europe’s development and deployment of AI. In particular, departures from EU copyright law, steps that slow approvals, or requirements that expose trade secrets could chill European model development and deployment.”
[blog.google]
The Trump administration wants to build data center projects on Superfund sites, and with as little oversight as possible.
Trump wants everyone using AI — as long as he agrees with what it says.
Online Safety Act rules are now in effect that require online platforms to have “strong age checks” in place to prevent children from accessing pornographic materials and other “harmful content.” Bluesky, Reddit, and Discord, for example, have all introduced age verification tools that require users to upload a selfie or a picture of their government ID.
A federal appeals court granted the Trump administration an emergency stay blocking Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter from returning to work. The lower court had called President Donald Trump’s decision to fire her “unlawful,” and reinstated her. Slaughter says the public will remain in the dark on FTC decisions in her absence. “Right now, the FTC isn’t doing the job it should be to protect consumers and competition, and Americans deserve to know why.”
The House voted against a procedural step to advance a slate of three President Donald Trump-endorsed crypto bills that would regulate stablecoins, determine who can regulate cryptocurrency, and prevent the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency. Thirteen Republicans defied Trump’s encouragement to advance the legislation amid disputes about whether the bills should be combined in a vote. It’s not clear what happens next, but Crypto Week might not be done just yet.
As part of an initiative to purge its own regulations, the FCC says it’s removed rules (that hadn’t taken effect) to reclassify broadband providers as common carriers. They were already struck down by a federal appeals court, but advocates can still appeal to the Supreme Court. Free Press General Counsel Matt Wood says the deletion, which came without advanced notice, is “a premature housekeeping step,” that helps “score points with broadband monopolies and their lobbyists.”
