In a quiet administrative move, the Treasury Department has delisted three executives tied to the controversial Intellexa spyware consortium. The action reverses part of the sanctions imposed by the Biden administration in March 2024.
Congress is pushing the SPEED Act to fast-track permits for AI infrastructure, citing competition with China. But an amendment from Rep. Jared Golden is causing a rift with ultra-conservative Republicans, threatening the bill’s passage.
A major technology trade agreement between the US and UK has been suspended. Announced last September, the deal was meant to foster joint work on cutting-edge fields like artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
Reddit has filed a constitutional challenge against Australia’s new social media ban for children under 16. The company argues the law violates free speech and creates an “illogical patchwork” of restrictions. The High Court will hold preliminary hearings in late February.
President Trump has signed an executive order aiming to create a national AI framework, effectively blocking state-level regulation. The order, crafted with VC David Sacks, could punish states by withholding federal broadband funds.
According to The Verge, a new bipartisan group is finding that voters and state lawmakers are fiercely protective of their own AI regulations. This is creating a surprising political alliance that could derail federal efforts for a moratorium, especially in conservative states.
The Indian government is considering a telecom industry proposal to force smartphone makers to keep satellite location tracking active at all times. Tech giants like Apple and Google are fiercely opposing the plan, calling it an unprecedented privacy risk.
The eSIM revolution is being powered by your wanderlust. While global adoption is still low, travel-focused startups are seeing massive growth, and phone makers are pushing the tech hard, especially in China. But big roadblocks like clunky activation remain.
European regulators have hit Elon Musk’s X with a massive $140 million fine for violating the Digital Services Act. This landmark penalty focuses on transparency failures around ads and data access. It marks the opening salvo in a new era of aggressive EU tech enforcement.
Russia’s communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, has blocked access to Apple’s FaceTime video-calling service. The agency claims the app is being used to organize terrorist attacks and commit fraud, though it provided no evidence.
