Policy

Policy Follow Follow Tech is reshaping the world — and not always for the better. Whether it’s the rules for Apple’s App Store or Facebook’s plan for fighting misinformation, tech platform policies can have enormous ripple effects on the rest of society. They’re so powerful that, increasingly, companies aren’t setting them alone but sharing the fight with government regulators, civil society groups, and internal standards bodies like Meta’s Oversight Board. The result is an ongoing political struggle over harassment, free speech, copyright, and dozens of other issues, all mediated through some of the largest and most chaotic electronic spaces the world has ever seen. After spooking Hollywood, ByteDance will tweak safeguards on new AI model Disney and Paramount allege that Seedance 2.0 is distributing and reproducing their intellectual property. Jess Weatherbed Feb 16 Why are Epstein’s emails full of equals signs? It may seem like a secret code, but the answer might be an oddly specific technical error. Joshua Dzieza Feb 15 Latest In Policy J External Link Jay Peters Feb 16 Link The Department of Defense may designate Anthropic as a “supply chain risk.” Should Anthropic get the designation, “anyone who wants to do business with the U.S. military has to cut ties with the company,” Axios says . The two sides have apparently been negotiating for months over how the military can use Anthropic’s AI tools. Exclusive: Pentagon threatens Anthropic punishment [ Axios ] D Quote Dominic Preston Feb 16 Link The hottest new trend in tech. First came Jmail , then Jikipedia . The Epstein files have yielded a lot so far, but I didn’t expect a whole new tech ecosystem to be among them. alectrem : at this rate they’re going to make a whole platform of web services and IPO before all the files are even released Get the day’s best comment and more in my free newsletter, The Verge Daily . T Terrence O'Brien Feb 15 Link Pam Bondi claims the DOJ has released “all” the Epstein files now. In a letter sent to Congress Saturday, the Attorney General said that the DOJ had released “all ‘records, documents, communications and investigative materials in the possession of the Department’” in accordance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. She also included a list of over 300 people mentioned in the files. Jikipedia turns Epstein’s emails into an encyclopedia of his powerful friends Terrence O'Brien Feb 14 A powerful tool of resistance is already in your hands Lauren Feiner Feb 14 E External Link Emma Roth Feb 13 Link The DHS is reportedly pressing social media platforms for info about ICE critics. Google, Reddit, Discord, and Meta have received “hundreds” of subpoenas from the DHS in recent months, according to a report from The New York Times . The agency is reportedly asking the platforms for the names, email addresses, phone numbers, and other information associated with accounts that “track or criticize” ICE. Homeland Security Wants Social Media Sites to Expose Anti-ICE Accounts [ The New York Times ] Can Democrats post their way to midterm victories? Kamala Harris’ campaign account, @KamalaHQ, has rebranded as a digital rapid response operation. Mia Sato Feb 13 Ring’s adorable surveillance hellscape David Pierce Feb 13 The same day DHS announced the surge would end in Minnesota, ICE activity increased in small towns The less densely populated areas outside the Twin Cities make it harder for protesters and observers to organize. Gaby Del Valle Feb 13 G External Link Gaby Del Valle Feb 12 Link I honestly didn’t think they had it in them. Senate Democrats blocked a bill funding the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday, which could trigger a temporary shutdown of the department. The vote was 52 to 47, with just one Democrat — Sen. John Fetterman — voting in favor. “We will not support an extension of the status quo,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said before the vote. DHS shutdown all but certain after failed Senate vote [ Politico ] In one swoop, Trump kills US greenhouse gas regulations Justine Calma Feb 12 Top DOJ antitrust enforcer is out weeks before Live Nation trial Lauren Feiner Feb 12 El Paso airspace closure was reportedly triggered by the CBP’s use of an anti-drone laser Emma Roth Feb 12 T Quote Terrence O'Brien Feb 12 Link Elon Musk might be violating sanctions against Iran with X Premium accounts. The Tech Transparency Project identified several Iranian government agencies and officials enjoying the perks of X Premium accounts. Normally, Premium requires a paid subscription, which could violate US sanctions. Suspiciously, when Wired flagged some of those accounts to X, they were stripped of their blue checkmarks: X did not respond to a request for comment, but within hours of WIRED flagging several X accounts belonging to Iranian officials, their blue checkmarks were removed. The rest of the accounts identified by TTP but not shared with X continue to display a blue checkmark. Play The surprising case for AI judges Bridget McCormack of the American Arbitration Association on AI-powered courts and the future of law. Nilay Patel Feb 12 DHS announces the end of its ‘surge operation’ in Minneapolis, but not entirely Gaby Del Valle Feb 12 D Quote Dominic Preston Feb 12 Link Even a stopped clock… There are plenty of good reasons to have your doubts about Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, but he’s right — if understandably self-serving — in criticizing Russia’s “authoritarian” restrictions on both Telegram and WhatsApp . Cr4shMyCar : Heartbreaking: worst person you know makes a great point Get the day’s best comment and more in my free newsletter, The Verge Daily . ICE is pushing Minneapolis underground The triumphalist narrative of Minnesotans fighting back has taken hold nationally. But on the ground, the occupation is everywhere. Gaby Del Valle Feb 12 T Quote Thomas Ricker Feb 12 Link From dumb to dumber. The sudden closure of El Paso airspace yesterday came after US customs officials fired an anti-drone laser on loan from the Department of Defense without coordination with the FAA. And, according to The New York Times , it wasn’t triggered by “Mexican cartel drones breaching US airspace” as the administration claimed: Officials targeted what they thought was a drug cartel drone, but turned out to be a party balloon. L Twitter Lauren Feiner Feb 11 Link FTC says it’s ‘not the speech police’ in letter warning Apple News about its alleged promotion of left-leaning outlets. Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson warned Apple’s news product could violate a law against deceptive business practices if its alleged promotion of some ideological content violates its terms of service. Ferguson doesn’t cite specific terms it might have violated, but urges a “comprehensive review” to ensure they’re consistent. S External Link Stevie Bonifield Feb 11 Link The New York Times uses a custom AI tool to monitor “manosphere” podcasts. For the past year, the Times has been using LLMs to create what’s internally known as the “Manosphere Report,” according to Nieman Lab . The AI-generated reports include episode transcripts and summaries for around 80 primarily right-wing podcasts, including the Ben Shapiro Show , Red Scare , and The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show . How The New York Times uses a custom AI tool to track the “manosphere” [ Nieman Lab ] Instagram and X have an impossible deepfake detection deadline Jess Weatherbed Feb 11 S Twitter Stevie Bonifield Feb 11 Link Telegram CEO Pavel Durov calls Russia’s restrictions an ‘authoritarian move.’ Durov responded to slowdowns and other issues users in Russia are experiencing in a post on X , saying, “This authoritarian move won’t change our course. Telegram stands for freedom and privacy, no matter the pressure.” L External Link Lauren Feiner Feb 11 Link Advocacy group sues Trump officials for urging tech companies to remove ICE reporting tools. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is suing Attorney General Pam Bondi and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for their alleged roles urging Meta and Apple to remove a Facebook group and app documenting ICE agents . FIRE claims they unconstitutionally coerced companies to censor speech. In a statement, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin accused FIRE of spinning “this correct decision for Apple to remove these apps as them caving to pressure instead of helping prevent further harm to federal officers.” Update: Added DHS statement. FIRE sues Bondi, Noem for censoring Facebook group and app reporting ICE activity [ The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression ] El Paso flights resume after Mexican cartel drones reportedly trigger airspace closure Dominic Preston Feb 11 D Quote Dominic Preston Feb 11 Link The internet sometimes forgets. You should always assume that anything online about you might well stay there forever, but don’t worry: so long as you have the budget of Jeffrey Epstein, you can probably make it go away . Cav_man : The internet never forgets anything unless you’re wealthy enough in which case it devolopes a healthy sense of amnesia. Get the day’s best comment and more in my free newsletter, The Verge Daily . Bezos could have saved The Washington Post’s local news and sports reporters Plus: DC thinks Bezos is a bastard; Newsmax goes to war with Nexstar; and more in this week’s Regulator. Tina Nguyen Feb 10 Trump’s new ‘Buy American’ requirement for EV charging would dramatically curtail build-out Andrew J. Hawkins Feb 10 S TikTok Sean Hollister Feb 10 Link Free whistles to melt ICE. Friends and colleagues keep asking things like: “Can I pay you for some of those 3D-printed whistles to fight fascists so I can hand them out too?” But they are free! Request free whistles right here . Also, I’ve got an extra-long Bluesky thread with more inspiring quotes. S External Link Stevie Bonifield Feb 10 Link A new bill could force tech companies to report using copyrighted content for AI training. The bipartisan “ Copyright Labeling and Ethical AI Reporting Act ,” introduced by Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA) and John Curtis (R-UT), would require a written notice detailing the use of copyrighted works for training new and currently-available AI models, Deadline reports. The bill follows numerous lawsuits against AI companies for alleged copyright infringement. Adam Schiff And John Curtis Introduce Bill To Require Tech To Disclose Copyrighted Works Used In AI Training Models [ Deadline ] Telegram is reportedly being slowed down and restricted in Russia Stevie Bonifield Feb 10 Jeffrey Epstein’s digital cleanup crew According to recently released documents, the convicted sex offender had a vast network of people working to whitewash his digital presence. Mia Sato Feb 10 Autodesk is suing Google over the name of its Flow AI videomaker Emma Roth Feb 10 Could the Trump Phone be a good phone? David Pierce Feb 10 Discord’s age verification mandate is a leap toward a gated internet Emma Roth Feb 10 New Mexico goes to trial to accuse Meta of facilitating child predators Lauren Feiner Feb 10 FCC accused of withholding DOGE information ‘in bad faith’ Lauren Feiner Feb 9 Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month Stevie Bonifield Feb 9 Live Nation’s monopoly trial is reportedly fracturing Trump’s Justice Department Jess Weatherbed Feb 9 This whistle fights fascists I print whistles now. You can too. Sean Hollister Feb 9 Most Popular Most Popular Apple’s doing something on March 4th Why are Epstein’s emails full of equals signs? OpenClaw founder Peter Steinberger is joining OpenAI The Pocket Taco is the best way to turn your phone into a Game Boy Anker’s USB-C cable that lets you charge two gadgets at once is 20 percent off Advertiser Content From This is the title for the native ad