Government & Policy

UK age check law seems to be hurting sites that comply, helping those that don’t

Government & Policy /

The United Kingdom recently started enforcing the Online Safety Act’s age-check rules, and The Washington Post reports that it’s already having a significant effect on web traffic. U.K. law now requires pornography websites to verify their users’ ages through means such as face scans and driver’s licenses; it also requires that online platforms prevent children […]

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FTC chair warns Google about Gmail’s ‘partisan’ spam filters

Government & Policy /

Andrew Ferguson, the Trump-appointed chair of the Federal Trade Commission, recently expressed concern that “Alphabet’s administration of Gmail is designed to have partisan effects.” In a letter addressed to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Ferguson pointed to a recent story in the New York Post describing complaints by Targeted Victory (a consulting and PR firm that’s

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Mastodon says it doesn’t ‘have the means’ to comply with age verification laws

Government & Policy /

Decentralized social network Mastodon says it can’t comply with Mississippi’s age verification law — the same law that saw rival Bluesky pull out of the state — because it doesn’t have the means to do so. The social non-profit explains that Mastodon doesn’t track its users, which makes it difficult to enforce such legislation. Nor

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US manufacturing investment stumbles as clean tech cancellations pile up

Government & Policy /

More clean tech manufacturing investments were canceled in the U.S. in the second quarter than were announced, according to a new study from the Rhodium Group and MIT. Companies canceled $5 billion worth of projects, while only $4 billion in new investments was announced.  Actual clean tech manufacturing investments, not just announcements, declined by 15%,

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Why the U.S. government is not the savior Intel needs

Government & Policy /

The Trump administration made an unprecedented, and confusing, move last week when it announced plans to convert money Intel was supposed to receive through Joe Biden-era government grant programs into a 10% equity stake. While it remains unclear if converting those government grants into equity is even possible — that’s up for debate — it’s

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DOGE uploaded live copy of Social Security database to ‘vulnerable’ cloud server, says whistleblower

Government & Policy /

A top Social Security Administration official turned whistleblower says members of the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) uploaded hundreds of millions of Social Security records to a vulnerable cloud server, putting the personal information of most Americans at risk of compromise. Charles Borges, the Social Security Administration’s chief data officer, said in a

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Tech founder throws hat in California governor’s race

Government & Policy /

Tech founder Ethan Agarwal, who has raised tens of millions of dollars from VCs across two startups, is running for the 2026 California gubernatorial seat, as reported by Axios. Axios described Agarwal as a “Democrat who believes in capitalism.” He told the outlet he’s mainly concerned about the increased cost of living and doing business

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The White House is on TikTok now, which is technically banned in the U.S.

Government & Policy /

The White House joined TikTok on Tuesday, where it’s sharing video clips of President Donald Trump and his staff that attempt to portray them as a quick-witted, rebellious American leaders. These clips, edited together like a sizzle reel, show Trump declining phone calls from Congressmen and threatening lawsuits during a press conference. Another video boasts

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Texas attorney general accuses Meta, Character.AI of misleading kids with mental health claims

Government & Policy /

Texas attorney general Ken Paxton has launched an investigation into both Meta AI Studio and Character.AI for “potentially engaging in deceptive trade practices and misleadingly marketing themselves as mental health tools,” according to a press release issued Monday. “In today’s digital age, we must continue to fight to protect Texas kids from deceptive and exploitative

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