In mid-February, the Justice Department lost its top antitrust enforcer — just weeks before it was scheduled to go to trial in one of the biggest antitrust cases of the year. Antitrust chief Gail Slater announced her departure suddenly via a post on her personal X account. But it was far from surprising to those … Read more
Donald Trump has threatened to have “consequences” for Netflix if he doesn’t fire board member Susan Rice. Rice served in both the Obama and Biden administrations and recently appeared on Preet Bharara’s podcast, where she said that corporations that “kneel over Trump” will be “caught in more than the pants off. Right-wing influencer and conspiracy … Read more
This is it Stepbacka weekly newsletter discussing one major story from the world of technology. For more on the dire state of technical regulations, follow Adi Robertson. Stepback will arrive in our subscribers’ mailboxes at 8:00 a.m. ET. Sign up for a subscription Stepback here. In 1973, long before the modern digital era, the US … Read more
For all his furore over voter fraud, Elon Musk has been one of the most vocal promoters of the US election law. Now his America PAC has been reprimanded by the Georgia State Board of Elections for sending out pre-filled absentee ballot applications. State law prohibits anyone, except an authorized relative, from mailing in an … Read more
Trump’s deregulatory order aims to facilitate rapid construction of new data centers and the fossil fuel infrastructure to power them “The Trump administration is gutting health protections that are important to protecting children from toxins like mercury just to save the coal industry some money,” Nicholas Morales, a lawyer for the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, said … Read more
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr is urging broadcasters to air “patriotic, pro-American content” to celebrate the US’s 250th anniversary. Called the “Pledge America Campaign,” the initiative encourages broadcasters to run public announcements, short segments or specials to promote “civic education, inspiring local stories and American history.” Carr says broadcasters can “voluntarily choose to show … Read more
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) dropped her proposal to allow robotaxi companies to roll out commercially in cities other than New York City, citing a lack of support among state lawmakers, Bloomberg reports today. The move is a blow to Waymo and other robotics companies that have seen New York, and New York City … Read more
Late show Host Stephen Colbert says CBS blocked him from airing an interview with James Talarico, a Democratic representative from Texas. During his opening monologue Monday night, Colbert says the network’s lawyers told him “in no uncertain terms” that he couldn’t have Talarico on the show and forced him to post the interview on YouTube … Read more
The folks behind Gmail are at it again with a Wikipedia clone that turns the treasure trove of data in Epstein’s emails into detailed files about his associates. The records include known visits to Epstein properties, possible knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and laws they may have broken. The messages are dense, detailing how many emails … Read more
The Trump administration has just removed a landmark finding that has underpinned federal regulations on planetary heating pollution since 2009. For nearly two decades, “endangerment findings” have empowered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create rules limiting greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. Rather than rolling back these rules individually, the Trump administration … Read more