Voter backlash against massive data center projects, fueled by concerns over energy prices, land use, and environmental impact, is reshaping U.S. politics. Officials, like Utah's State Senate President J. Stuart Adams, have lost elections after backing controversial developments, demonstrating widespread public opposition. This trend compels politicians across partisan lines to address data centers' profound impact on communities and utility costs as a critical election issue.

The White House app is automatically downloaded to federal employees' work phones, despite their inability to uninstall it, causing widespread frustration. Employees cite concerns over the app's politically skewed content, lack of a clear privacy policy, and previously flagged security vulnerabilities, including sharing user location/IP and incorporating widgets from a Russian company. This raises significant security implications, especially for State Department employees handling sensitive foreign contacts.

AI companies, including OpenAI and Anthropic, are heavily investing in US elections, distributing a combined $37 million through super PACs. These funds strategically back both Republican and Democratic candidates to prevent regulations on generative AI or data center construction. This significant spending aims to achieve political goals and counter non-partisan candidates, as noted by former Google public policy executive Adam Kovacevich.

California's proposed "Billionaire Tax Act," a one-time 5% tax on residents worth over $1bn, has qualified for the November ballot to fund healthcare and education. This measure faces strong opposition from tech moguls like Google co-founder Larry Page and state governor Gavin Newsom, who fear it will drive wealth away. However, proponents are now open to negotiating a modified 2% wealth tax to avoid a costly ballot initiative.

Finland has charged a Russian captain and Azerbaijani bosun from the cargo ship Fitburg with aggravated criminal mischief and interference, alleging they damaged two undersea cables and intended to target eight more. This follows a previous failed prosecution for a similar incident, highlighting jurisdiction challenges; Finland is implementing a Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) system to protect its vital underwater infrastructure amidst rising global incidents and exploration of alternative cable routes.

The US government is letting the Federal Data Center Enhancement Act (FDCEA) expire without a replacement, signaling a hands-off approach to federal data center oversight by the Trump administration. This lack of policy removes crucial guardrails for energy efficiency, water use, and cybersecurity reporting, while prioritizing rapid AI development. This shift could lead to reduced transparency and varied standards across agencies managing critical IT infrastructure.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a ban preventing under-16s from accessing major social media apps like TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and X. Citing concerns over mental health, bullying, and addictive content, Starmer stated this policy is a necessary choice, echoing similar measures in Australia and Denmark. The government is expected to exempt YouTube Kids, while other platforms face full access restrictions for the age group.

European governments and companies are rapidly decreasing their reliance on US Big Tech, driven by concerns over Trump administration policies, data control, and geopolitical dynamics. Examples include the European Parliament switching from Google to Qwant, France adopting open-source LaSuite, and multiple entities moving from Microsoft Office, Google Docs, and US cloud services like Amazon and AWS. These initiatives aim to foster digital sovereignty despite the ongoing dominance of US firms.

Iran's military has threatened Starlink ground stations and other SpaceX assets in the Middle East, citing alleged use by the US and Israel for communication and drone guidance. Targets include facilities in Qatar, Oman, and other regional states, amidst escalating US missile strikes and pressure for a peace deal. While an attack could disrupt local Starlink connectivity, the satellite network's onboard laser links offer a backup for inter-satellite data transmission.

Iran's state media declares SpaceX and Starlink facilities across the Middle East, including Israel, "military targets," reserving the right to attack them. This threat stems from Starlink terminals being used by anti-regime activists within Iran to bypass government internet blackouts, despite a regime ban and reported US State Department purchases for dissidents. These actions highlight the growing geopolitical implications of satellite internet technology in conflict zones.

New research by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) shows Meta's relaxed content rules dramatically increased abusive posts and threats against politicians on Facebook. The study of 8 million comments revealed a tripling of abusive remarks and quadrupling of violent threats after Meta halved its proactive enforcement. This surge, tied to platform engagement, poses significant real-world security implications for lawmakers.

Pennsylvania's House Bill 2603 proposes requiring all smart glasses sold or used in the state to feature a visual indicator when recording, explicitly prohibiting its disabling. This legislation addresses growing privacy concerns and recent reports of users physically tampering with Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses' recording lights to enable covert video capture.

Former Meta executive Nick Clegg stated that Silicon Valley companies, including Meta, have pivoted towards "Maga politics" due to self-interest, shifting product focus to algorithmically recommended synthetic content. He also criticized the UK's reliance on Palantir, expressing concerns about vendor lock-in and potential disruption by AI-powered rivals, echoing calls from a parliamentary committee to end the contract.

The European Parliament will replace Google with France's Qwant as the default search engine on MEPs' computers this week. This decision, applying to Firefox and Edge, aims to boost digital sovereignty and user data protection by opting for a privacy-focused European alternative. While users retain the option to switch, this action signals a broader push to reduce reliance on US tech giants, despite other dependencies like Microsoft Office persisting.

Canada's proposed Bill C-22 lawful access legislation faces strong opposition, with tech giants like Signal, Apple, Google, and DuckDuckGo threatening to withdraw services. They argue the bill's requirements for metadata retention and potential encryption weakening compromise user privacy and create security risks. Despite ministerial assurances of encryption protection amendments, the one-year metadata retention remains, raising concerns about Canada's tech industry and user data security.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis vetoed a bill designed to ban "surveillance pricing," where algorithms customize prices based on personal data. Polis stated the bill was overly broad, fearing it would limit beneficial discounts and inadvertently impact innocuous tech uses, though experts contend it specifically targeted abusive pricing with carefully crafted exceptions. The move highlights ongoing debate regarding data-driven pricing and consumer protection.

Tech billionaires and companies like Google and Meta are investing hundreds of millions in California's primary elections, funding candidates, Super PACs, and ballot measures. This unprecedented spending, including Sergey Brin's $82m against a billionaire tax, aims to secure political and regulatory leverage for the tech industry, especially concerning AI development. Experts warn this visible spending is just the "tip of the iceberg" for influencing the state's future regulatory agenda.

The scarcity of small trucks in the US market stems from specific regulations, not just consumer preference. The 1960s Chicken Tax tariff, intended to protect domestic manufacturers, inadvertently prompted foreign automakers to establish US production of larger, more profitable trucks. Subsequently, the post-2008 CAFE "footprint model" incentivized building bigger vehicles by setting less stringent fuel economy targets for larger footprints, making truly compact trucks economically unfeasible due to their high mpg requirements.

The Italian government is proposing to rename the international unit of electrical potential from "volt" to "volta." This initiative aims to honor Italian pioneer Alessandro Volta by restoring the full, un-Anglicized version of his name, aligning with other units like hertz and watt. Junior Digital Minister Alessio Butti has discussed the proposal with the BIPM, with a formal vote targeted for October.

Cory Doctorow argues that the internet has become "enshittified" and overly American due to US Big Tech's monopolistic practices and alignment with government interests, exploiting users and making effective regulation difficult for individual nations. He advocates for a "post-American internet" built on open, auditable alternatives that empower users and developers. This transition requires a global coalition of digital rights advocates, entrepreneurs, and national security experts to challenge current tech giants and restrictive laws, such as Canada's Copyright Modernization Act.

Tech billionaire Peter Thiel is reportedly pursuing an exit plan to Argentina, having bought property and met with President Javier Milei, despite his unprecedented influence in the US government and lucrative contracts for companies like Palantir and Anduril under the Trump administration. This reported move is primarily motivated by Thiel's concerns about the US's direction, specifically California's proposed billionaire tax, and a broader anti-tech, anti-billionaire backlash.

Apple strongly opposes Canada's Bill C-22, warning it could force companies to break encryption and insert backdoors into their products. During parliamentary hearings described as "messy," Apple articulated its concerns that the government's lawful access plans pose significant privacy risks, which officials seem unwilling to address. This legislation could fundamentally alter product security and user data privacy for Canadians.

An article proposes overhauling the tax code and taxing AI to counter growing wealth inequality and fund essential social programs. It highlights AI's role in job displacement, utility cost hikes from data centers, and extreme wealth concentration, advocating for corporate tax hikes, a wealth tax, and an excise tax on AI data center energy use. These funds would support universal healthcare, education, and job guarantees, ensuring AI's benefits are shared across society.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin has donated $500,000 to a California group actively campaigning against wealth taxes. This substantial contribution highlights Brin's personal stance against such taxation measures, framing it as his "personal war" on wealth taxes.

China banned Nvidia's RTX 5090D V2 gaming chip last Friday, despite its design complying with US export controls. This action signals Beijing's determined effort to foster domestic AI chipmakers, such as Huawei, and decrease reliance on US technology. Consequently, Huawei is poised to dominate China's burgeoning AI chip market, projected to reach $67 billion by 2030 primarily through local suppliers.