Digital Content

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 Trump has tasked Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk with eliminating federal government waste through the Department of Government Efficiency. We believe there’s a huge opportunity to reduce government spending while improving service—by relocating more federal services online, supported by robust internet connections.

This year, Congress passed a law forcing ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to sell the app within a year or face a potential shutdown. However, there is speculation that the incoming Trump administration could reverse the ban, even though the first Trump administration originally raised the idea of a ban, and his potential cabinet picks remain 

The Federal Communications Commission's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau reminds broadband Internet service providers (ISPs or providers) that they must display accurate broadband labels, for both wireless and wired retail standalone broadband services, at all points of sale.  The FCC is emphasizing key aspects of the label requirements to assist provider compliance and to ensure consumers receive the benefits of the labels. Providers must display the label at all “points of sale.”  Points of sale are ISP websites and any alternate channels through which the service in question is s

The internet feels like it’s falling apart. To start, nothing seems to work anymore. Google’s search engine once provided directory-level assistance to the denizens of the internet. Now it’s chock full of ads, sidebars, SEO-optimized clickbait, and artificial intelligence-powered guesstimations of possible answers to peoples’ questions. On Amazon, the digital shelves are littered with sponsored products and cheap replicas of popular items. On social media, the situation is even more dire.

This week, Congress passed the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025, this year's version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The law authorizes $895.2 billion for Department of Defense programs, defense-related activities, and national security programs in the Department of Energy and the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.

Federal agencies have already begun leveraging AI to empower existing agency missions and streamline programs. While use cases vary in application and maturity, the benefits of responsible government use of AI are potentially transformative. However, irresponsible or improper use fosters risks to individual privacy, security, and the fair and equal treatment of all citizens by their government. Key findings include:

Journalism is facing a trust crisis. Audiences are increasingly skeptical that mainstream media serves their interests and are turning their attention away from traditional news outlets. Meanwhile, online content creators who engage in journalist-style work are building huge, loyal audiences that eclipse those of traditional media. This shift in attention can be attributed, in part, to the different types of relationships that journalists and creators have with their audiences. This paper examines these relationships through the lens of trustworthiness.

Representative John James (R-MI-10) introduced the App Store Accountability Act, a landmark bill designed to increase safeguards within app stores to empower parents and protect children. The bill ensures that children are not accessing age restricted material through digital app stores and provides parents with more control over what their children are able to access. Specifically, the App Store Accountability Act would:

With two key staffing picks—Federal Trade Commissioner Andrew Ferguson as the new chair of that agency, and U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commissioner (and Palantir senior adviser) Jacob Helberg as undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment—President-elect Donald Trump is giving some early hints as to how his second administration will try to forge a new Republican consensus on tech. The two men will be responsible, in part, for enacting a sea change from the Biden administration in how government relates to tech — and turning the diverse, heter