technology-policy23 min read
Trump administration rebrands AI as 'super intelligence' while marginalizing safety advocates
4 days ago•Source: The Washington Post
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6.255 min•9 days ago
FCC Unlocks 1,000 MHz of Spectrum and Exempts Satellites from Environmental Reviews
The FCC has approved a major expansion of radio spectrum for satellite internet, unlocking 1,000 megahertz for services like Starlink. The move includes a 25% increase in downlink capacity and a controversial exemption from federal environmental reviews, aiming to accelerate broadband deployment in rural areas and boost competition against traditional ISPs.
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US Urges Meta to Open AI Models for Federal Safety Reviews
The New York Times•3 months ago
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Anthropic seeks White House resolution after export-control clash over Mythos 5
Anthropic is meeting with the Trump administration to resolve an export-control directive that forced the suspension of its AI models Fable 5 and Mythos 5 for all users by any foreign national, a move tied to national security concerns and a prior DoD supply-chain risk designation; the company describes the issue as a misunderstanding and is working to restore access while litigation continues.
White House Forces Anthropic to Pull Fable via Export Controls in 24-Hour Sprint
A frenetic 24-hour sequence of calls between Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and senior U.S. officials led the White House to impose export controls on Anthropic’s newly released AI model Fable (and Mythos 5) over concerns about guardrails and potential bypasses. Amazon raised safety concerns, discussions intensified at the highest levels, and officials ultimately pressured Anthropic to remove the model from public access to address vulnerabilities, signaling a swift regulatory response aimed at national security while balancing innovation.
OpenAI pushes states-first path as White House tightens AI rules
OpenAI released a policy paper urging a civilian-led, 'reverse federalism' approach to AI regulation—letting states pilot common frameworks before federal adoption—while the White House advances federal rules through executive orders; regulators would be guided by a proposed Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI) to coordinate with industry. The clash highlights ongoing disagreement on governance amid rapid AI deployment and signals how the balance of oversight could shape the technology’s future.
Executive Order Sets US AI Innovation and Security Path
The White House issues a sweeping executive order to accelerate U.S. AI innovation while tightening cyber defenses: it requires rapid cyber-defense upgrades for national security and civilian systems, creates an AI cybersecurity clearinghouse to coordinate vulnerability discovery and remediation, establishes a voluntary framework for developers to assess and share frontier AI models, expands AI-focused federal hiring, and strengthens enforcement against AI-enabled cybercrime, while explicitly avoiding mandatory licensing of AI models.
Robocall Crackdown Could End Anonymity, FCC Signals Privacy Tradeoffs
The FCC is weighing sweeping Know Your Customer rules that would require government ID, a physical address, full legal name, and an existing phone number to obtain or renew voice service, with fines of $2,500 per illegal call charged to providers. While officials say the goal is to stop scams, critics warn the regime could erode semi-anonymous communications (burner phones) and sweep in red flags like crypto payments or nonmatching addresses, potentially harming vulnerable users; the rules are not yet in force and the commission is seeking public comment on privacy concerns.
White House AI policy chaos spooks Silicon Valley
The White House’s mixed signals on AI policy have left tech lobbyists anxious about potential rules to vet new AI models, with rival factions within the administration debating whether an executive order is needed and whether oversight should be voluntary (via CAISI) or mandatory; there’s no final plan yet, and industry voices urge clarity and a measured approach as frontier AI like Anthropic’s Mythos raises urgency.
US to pre-test Google, Microsoft and xAI AI models before release
The Commerce Department’s national standards agency will prerelease-test AI models from Google, Microsoft and xAI, with NIST evaluating their capabilities and security as part of expanded federal oversight of Silicon Valley; this follows a Biden-era agreement to pre-release testing by OpenAI and Anthropic, though concrete standards have not been set.
CAISI Expands Frontier AI Security Testing With Google DeepMind, Microsoft and xAI
The Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI) announced new pre-deployment evaluations and post-deployment research agreements with Google DeepMind, Microsoft, and xAI to better assess frontier AI capabilities and security. The expanded collaborations, aligned with America’s AI Action Plan, position CAISI as the government liaison for AI testing and research, including testing in classified environments and ongoing interagency feedback through the TRAINS Taskforce. To date, CAISI has completed more than 40 evaluations to inform government understanding of AI capabilities and national security implications.
France tightens digital sovereignty with Linux-first government desktops
France’s DINUM ordered a Linux migration for its own desktops and mandated every ministry to draft autumn 2026 plans to cut dependence on non-European tech, expanding a sovereignty push that already includes replacing Teams/Zoom with a domestic platform (Visio) for 2.5 million civil servants by 2027. The move leverages La Suite Numérique and the Gendarmerie’s successful 103,000-seat Linux rollout as a governance model, while acknowledging open questions about software compatibility and the lingering dominance of non-European cloud infrastructure. The broader context is Europe’s bid for cloud and compute sovereignty amid strong US dominance.
California’s Age-Verification Push for OS Faces Feasibility and Privacy Hurdles
California’s AB 1043 would require OS providers to add an age-verification step and an API to relay the user’s age bracket to apps and stores by January 1, 2027, with penalties for non‑compliance. The piece flags questions about how practical and enforceable the measure is, potential privacy risks of collecting age data, and the impact on open-source projects and the broader app ecosystem, suggesting the law could be more nuisance than effective and may invite amendments or workarounds.