Politics

President Donald Trump has repeatedly ignored the bipartisan law banning TikTok from operating in the US unless it’s separated from Chinese parent company ByteDance. Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) is calling for a new way to avoid a ban without breaking the law. In a draft bill, Markey proposes letting TikTok operate in the US as long as it provides transparency into its content moderation and keeps US user data out of countries like China.

Ofcom is now investigating whether four companies that collectively run 34 pornography sites are complying with new Online Safety Act (OSA) rules that require them to have “highly effective age checks” in place — the same rules that are widely restricting parts of the internet across the UK. Other OSA investigations were already underway, but these are the first to fall under the age verification requirements.

In a letter to Comcast, Carr says he wants to make sure that the company’s “ability to exert influence” over local NBC affiliates doesn’t “undermine” their goal of serving the public interest.

The search giant has followed OpenAI in signing the EU’s voluntary AI code of practice, after Meta snubbed the agreement over “legal uncertainties.” Google also has its complaints despite signing, saying in a statement:

“Luke’s résumé didn’t pass muster,” says one former government official, but obviously that doesn’t matter to DOGE. Farritor is “designated a GS-15, the highest salary rank for civilians, earning $167,603,” Bloomberg reports. He’s chauffeured around in a black SUV. And he’s betting that even if DOGE is a failure, he’s written his ticket for life: “To gamble like that shows you understand the theater of Silicon Valley.”

Reuters tracked a sampling of Shein prices from April to July and — surprise! — items are now more expensive. Prices spiked in April following Shein’s pre-announced price increase and then dipped slightly, Reuters found. Now they’re creeping back up: a $31 order in April would have cost $69 last week.

I appeared on On the Media to discuss our story about the Anime Nazi who allegedly hacks universities. I explain why the identity of the alleged hacker is important, why the Times’ obfuscation of its sources is troubling, and what’s at stake in the Republican war on higher education: upward mobility.

The left-leaning nonprofit watchdog has been a frequent target of Elon Musk and other Republicans for its reporting on the right wing media ecosystem. Its legal battles have left the group with mounting bills, concerns for staff safety, and hesitant donors, The New York Times reports.

Online Safety Act rules are now in effect that require online platforms to have “strong age checks” in place to prevent children from accessing pornographic materials and other “harmful content.” Bluesky, Reddit, and Discord, for example, have all introduced age verification tools that require users to upload a selfie or a picture of their government ID.

A federal appeals court granted the Trump administration an emergency stay blocking Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter from returning to work. The lower court had called President Donald Trump’s decision to fire her “unlawful,” and reinstated her. Slaughter says the public will remain in the dark on FTC decisions in her absence. “Right now, the FTC isn’t doing the job it should be to protect consumers and competition, and Americans deserve to know why.”

My longstanding personal obsession, Rupert Murdoch, is getting sued by Donald Trump for the story The Wall Street Journal ran yesterday about a letter to noted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

We’ve talked before about the funhouse-mirror-alternative-reality that Trump (and Musk) have built. JP Brammer, who watches much more YouTube than I do, notes something weird is going on in content land — it seems Donald Trump has lost control of the plot. NBC’s Brandy Zadrozny, writing from a more anxious angle, seems to agree. Content has now outpaced reality. I guess we’re going to find out by how much.

The order, which is planned to be released sometime next week, would “dictate that AI companies getting federal contracts be politically neutral and unbiased in their AI models,” according to The Wall Street Journal.

The House voted against a procedural step to advance a slate of three President Donald Trump-endorsed crypto bills that would regulate stablecoins, determine who can regulate cryptocurrency, and prevent the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency. Thirteen Republicans defied Trump’s encouragement to advance the legislation amid disputes about whether the bills should be combined in a vote. It’s not clear what happens next, but Crypto Week might not be done just yet.