“Anatomy of an AI Coup” was the most read story in @techpolicypress.bsky.social this year, and I’m excited to have three in the top thirty, among such great writing and coverage. Was a real delight to be a 2025 writing fellow. www.techpolicy.press/top-30-most-...

Marked by systematic attempts to compromise data integrity and privacy across the federal government, the Trump administration is leveraging personal data to advance political enmity toward the transgender and gender diverse community, argue Katelyn Ringrose, CJ Larkin, Os Keyes, and Jay T. Conrad.

Evidence is mounting that platform architecture can intensify phenomena such as polarization. But policy debates continue to miss the mark, writes Matthias J. Becker, a researcher at NYU’s Center for the Study of Antisemitism and lead of the “Decoding Antisemitism” project.

23andMe’s bankruptcy is more than a failed biotech story, write Zeena Nisar, Gregory Shelby, and Amr Yakout. It reveals deep cracks in how the United States governs genomic data — exposing the the nation to serious privacy and national security risks.

Free trade agreements have the potential to become active sites of experimentation wherein countries can pilot enforceable AI norms, write Shweta Kushe and Shivangi Mugdha. If negotiated with clarity and actionable intent, these agreements can lay the groundwork for a future multilateral framework.

In a new paper in the journal Violence Against Women, researcher Kaylee Williams examines a set of “nudify” apps through the lens of tech-facilitated gender-based violence, evaluating their affordances, marketing material, and policies. Tim Bernard unpacks the findings:

A really lovely list here from @justinhendrix.bsky.social and @techpolicypress.bsky.social, and I'm not just saying that because my new book is on it. Read these books!

What’s augmentation-washing? In a new piece out at @techpolicypress.bsky.social, we argue that “augmentation” language reframes automation as empowerment—masking real shifts in control, workload, and labor relations.

For many, the end of the year is an opportunity to catch up on reading or to purchase books as gifts. In 2025, a number of authors joined the Tech Policy Press podcast, providing fresh insights into how technology interacts with people, politics, and power. Check out the list:

“Cobots” are framed as collaborators—but in practice, automation reorganizes workers around machines. This is augmentation-washing: empowerment language concealing less agency and more labor. Sarah Fox and Samantha Shorey for @techpolicypress.bsky.social www.techpolicy.press/how-augmenta...

The risk of adopting overly simplified solutions to address child online safety may have a significant impact on the fundamental rights of both children and adults, Joan Barata writes.

“Cobots” are framed as collaborators, not replacements—but in practice, automation and AI will reorganize workers around machines, argue professors Sarah E. Fox and Samantha Shorey. This is augmentation-washing: empowerment language that conceals less agency and intensified demands for labor.

Europe’s Digital Markets Act aims to open ecosystems: alternatives to app stores, fair access to OS features, real interoperability. But for many free and open source developers, those promises remain fragile without robust enforcement, write Lucas Lasota, Dario Presutti and Jithendra Palepu.

Tech sovereignty isn’t about swapping US hyperscalers for local monopolies, writes David Eaves. That just recreates dependency. Real agency comes from interoperability, de facto standards, and procurement that makes switching cloud providers simple, says Eaves.

Big Tech firms have been complaining about the “patchwork” of state laws ever since Californians adopted their landmark privacy law in 2020, EPIC's Alan Butler writes. Trump's AI executive order is thus an escalation of a fight that has been brewing for years.

Daphne Keller examines the legal scope of available tech platform data under the Digital Services Act's Article 40(12). The examination begins with a legal analysis, continues with a comparison to other relevant laws, and concludes with a review of specific data categories for research.

Queen Elizabeth stopped by police. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shoplifting. 'Leaked conversations’ from elections. A wave of deceptive media circulating during conflicts. 2025 saw AI-generated media cross a threshold, write Zuzanna Wojciak and shirin anlen from WITNESS. What lessons can we learn?

As the EU moves toward its first DSA fine against X, major platforms have published their 2025 systemic risk reports. Tim Bernard explores what’s changed since 2024, and what the shifting US–EU political climate reveals about how platforms now frame hate speech, information integrity, and DEI.

Under the EU’s Digital Services Act, major platforms must assess and mitigate risks like gender-based violence. CDT Europe's Marie Seck and David Klotsonis take a first look at how Aylo, Stripchat, and XVideos approach GBV in their risk assessment reports.

AI agents built on LLMs can now develop coordination strategies. This challenges existing oversight models, write Nikhil Jain and Meghana Kiran, who conducted an experiment to explore the issue. If language drives behavior, then AI governance must treat prompts as a regulatory surface, they say.

If US investors maintain a client base with the infamous NSO Group, the country becomes complicit in its abuses, turning a blind eye to authoritarian surveillance while losing moral authority to condemn it, David Hatami argues:

Amid the AI investment boom, cities and counties across the US are pulling the emergency brake on data centers, writes Jenna Ruddock. From Maryland to Missouri, at least fourteen states are home to towns or counties that have implemented moratoriums: a complete pause on data center development.

Behind the gig economy’s promise of flexibility is a game designed to keep workers hooked, argues George Augustus Bachmann. Algorithms, opaque pay rules, and gamified incentives push drivers and freelancers to work more without benefits or stability.

Ireland has one of the world's highest concentrations of data centers. The expansion has reshaped the grid & deepened fossil fuel use. As the EU pushes to triple data center capacity, Ireland offers a warning, writes Louis Boyd-Madsen. Read our investigation with AlgorithmWatch:

A broad interpretation of India's new data privacy regime reveals a troubling reality: it would dramatically enlarge the volume, granularity and sensitivity of retained metadata, heightening risks of pervasive monitoring, Rudraksh Lakra writes

Tech Policy Press fellow Megan Kirkwood considers the antitrust scrutiny Nvidia has recently attracted, and how those efforts, which have largely stalled, are now potentially jeopardized by the ambitions of various countries to build out AI infrastructure and get ahead in the so-called “AI race.”

X has spent years fighting scrutiny and suing researchers, writes CCDH's Imran Ahmed, arguing the EU’s fine isn’t censorship but enforcement of the public’s right to understand how platforms shape the online world.

This month, OpenAI announced "up to $2 million" in funding for research on AI safety and well-being. This may seem generous, write J. Nathan Matias and Avriel Epps, but following in the footsteps of other tech giants facing scrutiny over mental health impacts, it's nothing more than grantwashing.

Tech Policy Press Fellow Ariana Aboulafia highlights the perspectives of four professors teaching at the intersection of disability rights and technology on their experiences under the Trump Administration’s policies targeting higher education, including lost research support and chilled classrooms.

Trump's attack on civil rights protections seems to be more of a vehicle for the president to expand his assault on disparate impact liability than it is about AI regulation, argues Leah Frazier, director of the Digital Justice Initiative at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

tired: a federal moratorium blocking states from regulating AI wired: local moratoriums blocking tech companies' AI-fueled resource grabs me for @techpolicypress.bsky.social with a big thanks to the folks I talked to and everyone in these fights across the US www.techpolicy.press/the-real-rac...

My newest piece in @techpolicypress.bsky.social is live: Why Platforms Don’t Catch Climate Misinformation — and How to Change That! This piece builds on a recent convening by the Harvard Radcliffe Institute. Check it out here: www.techpolicy.press/why-platform...

On Tuesday, a US House hearing framed the DMA as protectionist. Brazil shows how EU digital rules have real power but exporting them without local fit risks eroding democratic rights and legitimacy, writes Kati Cseres.

For Tech Policy Press, Chris-Stokel Walker looks at Europe’s push for digital sovereignty over the past year and whether the EU can curb US tech dominance without minting its own giants.

Tech Policy Press fellow Jasmine Mithani reached out to a variety of legal and policy experts for their reactions to how the newest Trump executive order on AI will impact the movement against digital sexual violence.

Experts working on policy regulating nonconsensual intimate images — AI-generated and otherwise — say they will now have to fight this new executive order on top of everything else. @techpolicypress.bsky.social www.techpolicy.press/how-might-tr...

🆕 Governments need to build the capacity to become digital market shapers In his latest @techpolicypress.bsky.social article, IIPP Co-Deputy Director @eaves.ca outlines how governments can shape the digital cloud market, drawing on historical examples. 🔗 Read more here: buff.ly/qt5rz60

Tech Policy Press fellow Jasmine Mithani reached out to a variety of legal and policy experts for their reactions to how the newest Trump executive order on AI will impact the movement against digital sexual violence.

My latest for @techpolicypress.bsky.social looks at the drive for European tech sovereignty that took place this year - and what's likely to happen in 2026 www.techpolicy.press/europe-tried...

Tech Policy Press Fellow Ariana Aboulafia highlights the perspectives of four professors teaching at the intersection of disability rights and technology on their experiences under the Trump Administration’s policies targeting higher education, including lost research support and chilled classrooms.

Trump's attack on civil rights protections seems to be more of a vehicle for the president to expand his assault on disparate impact liability than it is about AI regulation, argues Leah Frazier, director of the Digital Justice Initiative at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

For Tech Policy Press, Chris-Stokel Walker looks at Europe’s push for digital sovereignty over the past year and whether the EU can curb US tech dominance without minting its own giants.

Big Tech firms have been complaining about the “patchwork” of state laws ever since Californians adopted their landmark privacy law in 2020, Alan Butler writes. Trump's AI executive order is thus an escalation of a fight that has been brewing for years.

Amid the AI investment boom, cities and counties across the US are pulling the emergency brake on data centers, writes Jenna Ruddock. From Maryland to Missouri, at least fourteen states are home to towns or counties that have implemented moratoriums: a complete pause on data center development.

An important critique for education researchers thinking of taking money from OpenAI or otherwise providing cover for the company by working with them👇🏻

Ireland has one of the world's highest concentrations of data centers. The expansion has reshaped the grid & deepened fossil fuel use. As the EU pushes to triple data center capacity, Ireland offers a warning. Read our investigation with AlgorithmWatch.

A broad interpretation of India's new data privacy regime reveals a troubling reality: it would dramatically enlarge the volume, granularity and sensitivity of retained metadata, heightening risks of pervasive monitoring, Rudraksh Lakra writes

On Tuesday, a US House hearing framed the DMA as protectionist. Brazil shows how EU digital rules have real power but exporting them without local fit risks eroding democratic rights and legitimacy, writes Kati Cseres.

Tech Policy Press fellow Megan Kirkwood considers the antitrust scrutiny Nvidia has recently attracted, and how those efforts, which have largely stalled, are now potentially jeopardized by the ambitions of various countries to build out AI infrastructure and get ahead in the so-called “AI race.”

X has spent years fighting scrutiny and suing researchers, writes CCDH's Imran Ahmed, arguing the EU’s fine isn’t censorship but enforcement of the public’s right to understand how platforms shape the online world.