Brendan Carr says his broadcast license threat wasn’t really about Iran war coverage
Brendan Carr says his broadcast license threat wasn’t really about Iran war coverage

Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr never meant to threaten broadcast licenses over their coverage of the war in Iran, he told reporters after an event hosted by FGS and Semafor. “My comments weren’t actually on the Iran war,” Carr said in response to a question from The Verge about his statement regarding coverage of […]

Bernie Sanders and AOC propose a ban on data center construction

Senator Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced companion legislation to halt construction on new data centers until Congress passes comprehensive AI regulation.

Congress considers blowing up internet law
Congress considers blowing up internet law

Internet platforms’ liability shield Section 230 faced another round of attack at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Wednesday, this time with two distinct undercurrents complicating the conversation. One was an unprecedented wave of ongoing legal challenges to the law’s scope, and the second was a heightened bipartisan concern over government censorship. “Section 230 is […]

Prediction markets in the news are a dangerous gamble
Prediction markets in the news are a dangerous gamble

Today on Decoder, let’s talk about prediction markets, which continue to insert themselves into the news cycle and the news itself in increasingly weird, unsettling, and potentially illegal ways.  My guest today is Liz Lopatto, senior reporter at The Verge, who owns what we cheerfully call the chaos beat. Liz has been writing a lot […]

FTC declines to enforce a kids privacy law for data collected to verify users’ ages
FTC declines to enforce a kids privacy law for data collected to verify users’ ages

The Federal Trade Commission is encouraging companies to adopt age verification technologies by announcing it will not enforce a children’s online privacy law against certain websites that collect and use minors’ personal data in order to verify their ages. “Age verification technologies are some of the most child-protective technologies to emerge in decades,” Christopher Mufarrige, […]

Trump claims tech companies will sign deals next week to pay for their own power supply
Trump claims tech companies will sign deals next week to pay for their own power supply

President Donald Trump tried to quell Americans’ concerns about rising electricity costs during his State of the Union speech – and now we’re learning that the deals he promised could land next week. Trump claimed that he’s negotiated a “rate payer protection pledge” with major tech companies, which would see them build out or pay […]

Welcome to the post-hype crypto market

Crypto is creeping back into the startup conversation, but at ETHDenver last week, the buzz was as much about Washington as it was about tokens. Policy shifts are rippling through the market as Tether and stablecoins face scrutiny, players like Stripe …

Apple rolls out age verification tools worldwide to comply with growing web of child safety laws

Apple complies with new age assurance laws in the U.S. and abroad, including those that block users from downloading apps aimed at adults.

Inside Anthropic’s existential negotiations with the Pentagon
Inside Anthropic’s existential negotiations with the Pentagon

Anthropic’s weekslong battle with the Department of Defense has played out over social media posts, admonishing public statements, and direct quotes from unnamed Pentagon officials to the news media. But the future of the $380 billion AI startup comes down to just three words: “any lawful use.” The new terms, which OpenAI and xAI have […]

Trump is making coal plants even dirtier as AI demands more energy
Trump is making coal plants even dirtier as AI demands more energy

The Trump administration just tossed out Biden-era restrictions on mercury and other toxic pollutants from power plants. It’s repealing Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) just as electricity demand in the US ticks up with the buildout of new AI data centers. Those standards are particularly impactful when it comes to pollution from coal plants […]