The PowerSchool breach exposed 62M students’ most sensitive records. It also revealed a policy vacuum, argues Danai Nhando, as accountability mechanisms failed to address systemic problems, including the centralization of data, weak security defaults, and governance failures.

The European Commission has preliminarily found TikTok in breach of the Digital Services Act over its addictive design. TikTok says it will challenge the findings, but it’s a massive test for the Digital Services Act, with potential implications for all platforms, writes Chris Stokel-Walker.

Sometimes it’s convenient to articulate an unwillingness to be regulated as geopolitical conflict.

My @techpolicypress.bsky.social article on military tech, venture capital and the hype of war in Portugese jacobin.com.br/2026/02/tecn...

Has the EU killed doomscrolling? Grabbing the popcorn about this latest EU commission decision labelling TikTok's design as addictive & asking it to change it. As I told @techpolicypress.bsky.social this sets a precedent & I wonder if it will trigger copycat decisions.

Regulators are pushing for AI disclosure labels in many jurisdictions around the world, but they risk becoming digital wallpaper that people ignore, writes Muhammad Irfan. With care, he writes, disclosures can be signals that ordinary people actually notice when it matters.

A ProPublica report on plans to use AI to write regulations at the US Department of Transportation should be a warning signal for public interest advocates and litigators, writes Jordan Ascher, policy counsel at Governing for Impact. It’s time to prepare for a flood of machine-generated rules.

What happens next now that the European Commission has found TikTok in breach of the Digital Services Act? My latest for @techpolicypress.bsky.social press unpicks the process - and what's likely to happen www.techpolicy.press/the-eu-wants...

Europe already contributes a major share of global open source talent. Members of the European Open Source Academy say fragmentation, not skills, is holding back EU's sovereignty ambitions.

January roundup on tech litigation from Tech Justice Law Project’s Madeline Batt. This month covers the first bellwether trial against social media companies alleging the platforms’ design caused mental health harms to youth, a case expected to have ramifications for related litigation nationwide.

France’s escalating investigation into Elon Musk’s X has become a fresh flashpoint in the transatlantic fight over platform governance, writes Mark Scott, highlighting how US claims of censorship collide with Europe’s push to hold powerful platforms accountable. buff.ly/UJptso0

Operation Metro Surge pulled back the curtain on a sprawling DHS surveillance apparatus. Justin Hendrix spoke to Irna Landrum from Kairos Fellowship and Alejandra Montoya-Boyer from the Center for Civil Rights and Technology at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights on calls for reform.

The Trump administration is pushing the Federal Trade Commission to override state AI consumer protection laws, but the agency’s power is constrained by federalism, says TechFreedom’s Andy Jung. And any preemption effort must clear several hurdles, including a lengthy rulemaking process.

Europe already contributes a major share of global open source talent. Members of the European Open Source Academy say fragmentation, not skills, is holding back EU's sovereignty ambitions.

A February 3 raid on the offices of X by the Paris prosecutor's office followed a year-long investigation that began in January 2025 and was expanded to include allegations related to the Grok ‘undressing’ controversy earlier this year. We’re tracking details here:

African governments are moving early on AI governance through data, procurement, and automation rules, but the real challenge is whether these frameworks can bind beyond borders and shape global AI systems, writes Arthur D. Sidney.

Machines decide faster than humans can supervise. With AI agents on the rise, Virgilio Almeida, Fernando Filgueiras and Ricardo Fabrino Mendonça call for "polycentric governance"—distributed human oversight through sandboxes & auditing—to keep agents accountable.

Last week, ProPublica reported that the DOT was set to use Gemini to write rules (or, in their words, generate "word salad"). Today, in @techpolicypress.bsky.social, I try to situate that reporting in context and dig into why it is disturbing. www.techpolicy.press/trump-admini...

Operation Metro Surge pulled back the curtain on a sprawling DHS surveillance apparatus. Justin Hendrix spoke to Irna Landrum from Kairos Fellowship and Alejandra Montoya-Boyer from the Center for Civil Rights and Technology at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights on calls for reform.

As cases involving AI summaries move forward, courts are grappling with how to assess fair use, says Robert Diab. At stake are key questions about how to treat copying by AI systems, how much summaries can resemble protected works, and whether they serve as substitutes that harm content creators.

A year after the Competitiveness Compass, Europe’s tech sovereignty goals still trail reality. New plans and simplification packages are moving but the numbers on cloud AI and chips show deep dependence on foreign providers, reports Joana Soares.

France’s escalating investigation into Elon Musk’s X has become a fresh flashpoint in the transatlantic fight over platform governance, writes Mark Scott, highlighting how US claims of censorship collide with Europe’s push to hold powerful platforms accountable.

Governments don’t “break” the internet during shutdowns—they use powers already baked into law and infrastructure, writes Dinah van der Geest. Iran’s 2026 shutdown shows why Starlink and satellite internet were never the censorship-proof fix they were sold as.

A good timeline from @justinhendrix.bsky.social for @techpolicypress.bsky.social here: www.techpolicy.press/tracking-the...

A ProPublica report on plans to use AI to write regulations at the US Department of Transportation should be a warning signal for public interest advocates and litigators, writes Jordan Ascher, policy counsel at Governing for Impact. It’s time to prepare for a flood of machine-generated rules.

Machines decide faster than humans can supervise. With AI agents on the rise, Virgilio Almeida, Fernando Filgueiras and Ricardo Fabrino Mendonça call for "polycentric governance"—distributed human oversight through sandboxes & auditing—to keep agents accountable.

Your smartwatch, Ring doorbell, and Alexa monitor your most intimate moments, with data just a warrant away from the authorities. In @techpolicypress.bsky.social's episode, Andrew Guthrie Ferguson talks about his upcoming NYU Press book, "Your Data Will Be Used Against You."

really excellent assessment of House GOP claims about EU fine of X, showing just how seriously hollow the claims of censorship are. jordan & musk & friends overreach when they put out such patently tendentious reports, which could be boiled down to: don't you ever touch american platforms!

What does success look like for digital antitrust? CADE Commissioner Victor Fernandes tells Tech Policy Press fellows Laís Martins & Megan Kirkwood it's not just economic metrics—fairness & competitive process matter too in the digital age.

Quantum sensing technologies test existing privacy frameworks severely because they bypass the physical boundaries—walls, distance, the opacity of the human body—on which existing doctrine depends, write Zahra Takhshid, Mark Gyure & Vivek Krishnamurthy. The issue deserves more scrutiny, they say:

The House Judiciary GOP has made several claims about the EU's decision to fine Elon Musk's X €120 million under the Digital Services Act, arguing it reveals the censorious intent of the European Commission. Do the Republican's claims hold up? Not so much, say Dean Jackson and Berin Szóka.

Fiona Kelliher reports on how a wave of new US anti-cyberscam bills is taking aim at “pig-butchering” scam syndicates, even as AI-driven fraud, China tensions, and limited regulation of tech and crypto platforms complicate the fight.

Catch up on what happened in US tech policy in January with a roundup from Freedman Consulting’s Rachel Lau and Shirley Frame and Tech Policy Press’s Ben Lennett, including Congress’s effort to bolster funding for science and tech research, and policymakers response to Grok’s deepfake crisis.

One of our Principal Researchers, Spencer Overton, was quoted in @techpolicypress.bsky.social on his forthcoming paper. He argues that AI policies under the Trump administration risk embedding exclusion into future tech by dismantling bias safeguards. Read full article: bit.ly/4sYNGC2

Europe spent a decade condemning US surveillance. Now the EU’s “Chat Control” regulation risks mandating mass message scanning, undermining encryption, and putting the EU-US Data Privacy Framework at risk—from Europe itself, says Surveillance Technology Oversight Project’s Darío Maestro.

Contestability in cloud computing isn’t just about competition law, it’s about digital sovereignty and innovation, writes Kalpana Tyagi, looking at how the DMA and Data Act address cloud market power and where their limits remain.

On January 22, South Korea introduced its AI Basic Act, which it claimed to be “the world’s first comprehensive body of laws to regulate artificial intelligence.” It’s a risky affair for a relatively small market and a “middle power” country such as South Korea, writes Charles Mok.

The TikTok saga reads less as a successful US power play than as an accommodation that revealed how difficult it has become for the state to decisively govern technologies that are already socially indispensable, despite not being American-made, write Alex Turvy & Rebecca Scharlach. buff.ly/oDWUOtG

The 2025 Department of Homeland Security AI use case inventory, released last week, details over 200 applications across DHS component agencies, including CBP and ICE. DHS is rapidly deploying these tools in US cities, while engaging in violence and defying court orders. buff.ly/e2ek6Ko

In his forthcoming book, Your Data Will Be Used Against You, George Washington University Law School professor Andrew Guthrie Ferguson explores how sensor-driven technologies, social media monitoring, and artificial intelligence can be weaponized against democratic values and personal freedoms.

What does success look like for digital antitrust? CADE Commissioner Victor Fernandes tells Tech Policy Press fellows Laís Martins & Megan Kirkwood it's not just economic metrics—fairness & competitive process matter too in the digital age.

Fiona Kelliher reports on how a wave of new US anti-cyberscam bills is taking aim at “pig-butchering” scam syndicates, even as AI-driven fraud, China tensions, and limited regulation of tech and crypto platforms complicate the fight.

Quantum sensing technologies test existing privacy frameworks severely because they bypass the physical boundaries—walls, distance, the opacity of the human body—on which existing doctrine depends, write Zahra Takhshid, Mark Gyure & Vivek Krishnamurthy. The issue deserves more scrutiny, they say:

Incredibly good work from @techpolicypress.bsky.social - an inventory of the known AI and data surveillance arsenal being used by ICE and the Department of Homeland Security. www.techpolicy.press/dhs-ai-surve...

The latest Department of Homeland Security AI use case inventory, released last week, details over 200 applications across DHS component agencies, including CBP and ICE. DHS is rapidly deploying these tools in US cities, while engaging in violence and defying court orders.

Online safety regulators face global companies with national tools but the Grok scandal shows rulebooks alone are not enough, writes Owen Bennett. Basel shows how coordination, not new laws, can turn that imbalance around.

I took a close look at the latest Department of Homeland Security AI use case inventory, which details over 200 applications across DHS component agencies, including CBP and ICE. DHS is rapidly deploying these tools in US cities, while increasingly engaging in violence and defying court orders.

If you are worried how data will be used against ICE protesters. Or how smart homes reveal your secrets. Or smart cars or medical devices will become evidence in court. Listen to this conversation. There are risks, rewards, and even solutions…

In his forthcoming book, Your Data Will Be Used Against You, George Washington University Law School professor Andrew Guthrie Ferguson explores how sensor-driven technologies, social media monitoring, and artificial intelligence can be weaponized against democratic values and personal freedoms.

Thank you to @justinhendrix.bsky.social and @techpolicypress.bsky.social for a great interview about “Your Data Will Be Used Against You.” @nyupress.bsky.social Worth a listen. www.techpolicy.press/how-to-apply...