Cecilia Kang

The Trump administration will overhaul a $42 billion federal grant program aimed at expanding high-speed internet to the nation, including easing some rules that could benefit Elon Musk’s satellite internet service, Starlink. The program will be revamped to “take a tech-neutral approach” in its distribution of funds to states, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said.

President-elect Donald J. Trump and his allies have vowed to squash an online “censorship cartel” of social media firms that they say targets conservatives. Already, the president-elect’s newly chosen regulators at the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission have outlined plans to stop social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube from removing content the companies deem offensive — and punish advertisers that leave less restrictive platforms like X in protest of the lack of moderation. In Europe, social media companies face the opposite problem.

President-elect Donald Trump on November 17 chose Brendan Carr to be chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, naming a veteran Republican regulator who has publicly agreed with the incoming administration’s promises to slash regulation, go after Big Tech and punish TV networks for political bias.

More than a week after the remnants of Hurricane Helene unleashed catastrophic flooding in much of western North Carolina, cell service remains spotty—or, in many cases, nonexistent. Not being able to text or call has complicated relief efforts, made previously straightforward daily tasks difficult and even kept people in the dark about whether or not their loved ones perished in the storm. Relief workers said the lack of cell service is making them less efficient.

Ahead of a recent vote in Congress on a child safety bill, a powerful tech lobby representing Google, Meta and other major tech firms sent a forceful warning to lawmakers. The Kids Online Safety Act was “bad on policy and bad on the law,” the lobby, NetChoice, said in a statement, adding, “Courts across the country repeatedly halted these types of provisions.” The child safety bill, which would require social media platforms and other sites to limit features that can promote cyberbullying, har

For years, internet company executives rarely faced personal liability in Western democracies for what took place on their platforms. But as law enforcement agencies, regulators and policymakers ramp up scrutiny of online platforms and exchanges, they are increasingly considering when to hold company leaders directly responsible. That shift was punctuated by recent charges against Telegram founder Pavel Durov. For now, tech executives have little to fear, with cases like Mr. Durov’s likely to be outliers, experts said.

Lina Khan, the chair of the Federal Trade Commission, faced more than three hours of criticism and ridicule from Republicans in a House hearing, as emboldened critics increasingly put pressure on the agency for its crackdown on the growing power of tech giants. During the highly partisan hearing, Republicans accused Chair Khan, who has carried out an aggressive agenda of lawsuits and investigations against tech companies, of “harassing” businesses.

As the US and China battle for geopolitical and technological primacy, the fallout has reached small wireless carriers in dozens of states. They are on the receiving end of the Biden administration’s sweeping policies to suppress China’s rise. What the wireless carriers must do, under a program known as “rip and replace,” has become the starkest physical manifestation of the tech Cold War between the two superpowers.

Google agreed to a record $391.5 million privacy settlement with a 40-state coalition of attorneys general for charges that it misled users into thinking they had turned off location tracking in their account settings even as the company continued collecting that information. Under the settlement, Google will also make its location tracking disclosures clearer starting in 2023. The attorneys general said that the agreement was the biggest internet privacy settlement by US states.

In just the last few years, Europe has seen a landmark law for online privacy take effect, approved sweeping regulations to curb the dominance of the tech giants and is nearing a deal on new legislation to protect its citizens from harmful online content. For those keeping score, that’s Europe: three.