Big tech companies tend to make a lot of enemies — but there are none more powerful than the US government. Apple, Google, Amazon, and Meta are regularly called in front of Congress to fend off monopoly accusations — and lawmakers bring up bills to rein in the companies just as often. The Federal Trade Commission has taken a particularly central role, leading a lawsuit to sever Facebook and Instagram while blocking new acquisitions for Oculus and the company’s virtual reality wing. Like it or not, these regulatory fights will play a huge role in deciding the future of tech — and neither side is playing nice.
Kimmel said he couldn’t air his interview with the Democratic Texas Senate candidate on TV after the FCC “threatened” him. Instead, you can watch it on the the Jimmy Kimmel Live YouTube channel:
Under AB1709, social platforms can’t provide algorithmic recommendations, infinite scroll, or autoplay features to users under 16 unless they receive parental consent.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed a package of other online safety-focused bills into law as well, including new rules requiring chatbot makers to notify young users that they’re not talking to a human.
[The New York Times]
Answering your Decoder questions about surveillance, AI coverage, and the Nilay rant.
The New York Times delves into Trump’s mental health through the lens of his increasingly unhinged postings on his also-ran Truth Social platform. Here’s how the White House responded to criticisms:
“Truth Social is the most powerful and popular social media platform in the world because it serves as President Trump’s authentic voice, where he communicates directly with the American people and the world without the biased media taking him out of context.”
[The New York Times]
AI data center projects are continuing to pop up across the US, with frequent opposition from locals concerned about their impact. Here are a few recent articles about the projects:
As reported by CoinDesk, the memecoin peaked at $190.81 two minutes after it debuted on Wednesday. Its value tumbled quickly after that, with LAPTOP now sitting at around $2.16 — a more than 98 percent drop.
President Donald Trump’s memecoin has similarly dipped in value, resulting in more than $3.8 billion in losses.
Crooked Ideas, the nonprofit arm of Crooked Media, is tapping Chaotic Era author Kyle Tharp to head up the iniative, which will support existing political influencers and focus on creating content related to issues like AI safety, climate change, healthcare, and “enshittification,” according to a report from Semafor.
Searches related to hotels and flights will now more prominently display results linking to price comparison sites, after the EU found Google was breaking antitrust rules by prioritizing its own Shopping, Flights, and Hotels tools, fining it €460 million. Google told Reuters it’s the largest reduction in search quality for 29 years.
$LAPTOP plays on the infamous device that dragged him into the political spotlight. It also takes aim at Donald Trump’s similar crypto currency by distributing tokens to wallets that have lost money on $TRUMP, and pledging more if the Democrats win in 2028 or Biden’s crypto market cap overtakes the Trump coin’s.
[Wall Street Journal]
The president posted an image that purports to show the next generation of United States Space Force dress uniforms and, well… they sure look a lot like Imperial officer garb. (Which itself is inspired in part by German SS uniforms.)
It’s a customized Cisco and you can’t have it. Nobody tell Dom.
The San Antonio Express-News reports that a request from Pflugerville, TX, resident Sam Aly found that hundreds of unauthorized agencies were searching the city’s Flock data, even though the company claims only two agencies were improperly included. The City Council canceled Flock’s contract last week and covered its cameras.
Aly:
Between February 16 and August 15, 2026, outside agencies searched Pflugerville’s camera data 1,597,918 times. 1.6 million searches in six months. 459 different agencies searched us. That works out to roughly 8,900 outside searches per day, every day. Our own police department ran 5,078 searches in the same period. So for every 1 search by Pflugerville PD, outside agencies ran 315.
It’s the top navigation app on Apple’s and Google’s app stores after it took a stance against renaming Lake Ontario to “Lake America.” Google Maps changed the name of the Great Lake over the weekend, while Apple Maps may make the switch following the company’s chat with President Trump, according to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
Kalshi says that in February, the former Republican congressman “placed a series of large trades in a market where the underlying contracts depended upon his own attendance” at the State of the Union. He’s now permanently banned and penalized $71,356.
In other news about everything being gambling now:
The governor on 3D-printed guns, AI and data center backlash, and who protects kids online.
Reddit and Roblox have been designated “Very Large Online Platforms” under the Digital Services Act (DSA), while ChatGPT has been named a “Very Large Online Search Engine.” Those designations bring strict obligations to protect user safety, ensure transparency, and curb illegal content in the bloc. The companies now have four months to get their houses in order.
[European Commission]
Google can have its “long-standing policy,” but MapQuest is having a laugh.
In a tirade on Truth Social, the president said that NBC News’ Kristen Welker should be “reported to the FCC for rebuke or punishment,” because she pointed out that the his prefered candidates had “mixed results” in their respective primaries.
Amidst his trade tiff with Canada, President Trump issued an executive order renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America. As it did when the president tried to rename the Gulf of Mexico, Google has caved to his whims, swapping in Lake America on Maps. Users in Canada will continue to see Lake Ontario. In a blog post, Google said, “These updates follow our long-standing policy for bodies of water with names that vary from country to country.”
Update August 30th: Added link to Google’s blog post about the change.
In July, Gabriel Perez was accused of insider trading on Kalshi and became the target of a federal investigation for placing bets on what words would be mentioned in the president’s speeches. Now the invesitgation has come to a close. The CFTC issued a release on Friday saying:
Perez must disgorge the profits he made from his unlawful trading totaling $107,539.02 and pay a civil monetary penalty of $65,000 … Under the order, a three-year trading ban is imposed on Perez.
TMZ first reported that the UK-born longtime right-wing internet personality was apprehended in Louisiana, and Mother Jones’ Anna Merlan (and The Verge) confirmed he’s listed in ICE custody records. In recent years, Yiannopoulos has fallen out of favor with MAGA world, and Trump ally Laura Loomer, for one, is gloating.
A notice published on the Department of Homeland Security’s website says the agency plans to spend up to $2 million on Boston Dynamics’ robot dog, as reported earlier by 404 Media. This comes just weeks after the Associated Press reported that ICE aims to spend up to $20 million on gloves that deliver electric shocks.
The executive order, which comes days after Canada announced retaliatory tariffs against the US, says Trump is changing the name to honor Lake Ontario’s “flourishing economic resource and its critical importance to our Nation’s economy.”
We have reached out to Google and Apple to see if they’re going to swap Lake Ontario to Lake America in their Maps apps — as they did with the Gulf of America last year.
AI data center projects are continuing to pop up across the US, with frequent opposition from locals concerned about their impact. Here are a few recent articles about the projects:
The Wall Street Journal has a rundown on the behind-the-scenes wrangling that led to the baffling settlement agreement earlier this year, and left state AGs to pursue their own case. In an unusual twist, the settlement talks happened at the White House, with the AG and the White House lawyer, before giving the states a day to decide whether to join the deal. None did.
And at the end:
The following month, Trump nominated McDonald—the Sullivan & Cromwell lawyer who had represented Live Nation in the settlement—to be Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor.
