Happy Tuesday! Here’s your Tuesday Tech Drop, the past week’s top stories from the intersection of technology and politics.
Trump deflects on creepy spy tech
President Donald Trump went with his go-to deflection tactic when questioned about the controversial surveillance company Flock Safety, a federal contractor that makes license plate readers and other tools that have been misused to stalk and harass people.
“We’ll have an answer sort of, as to our views on it, over the next couple of weeks,” he said.
If there’s one thing we know about Trump, it’s that he’s cautious about offering his opinion on things … right?
As my colleague Eugene Daniels has noted, Trump has used the “two weeks” excuse many times — seemingly to buy himself time when asked a question he can’t answer (and perhaps doesn’t intend to).
“It’s being studied right now,” Trump said. “You know, you have pros and cons, right?”
Ask yourself: Does this sound like someone who has the slightest clue as to what he’s talking about? Or is the Big Tech-aligned president possibly out of his depth responding to a matter of growing concern to many Americans?
Trump Jr. benefits from drone tariffs
Trump announced tariffs last week on drones and various drone components developed abroad. I wrote about how stocks in American drone developers have soared — none more than a company that Donald Trump Jr. invests in.
Read more at MS NOW.
Bank you very much
Let’s stay on the topic of the Trump family’s self-enrichment. There’s steep competition, but the Trump administration arguably engaged in its most brazenly corrupt act yet on Friday when regulators agreed to give an official bank charter World Liberty Financial, the Trump family’s cryptocurrency firm.
Read more at CNN.
Shocking revelation
Fordham University law professor John Pfaff wrote an op-ed for MS NOW about the disturbing revelation that the Department of Homeland Security entered into a multimillion-dollar contract with a tech company that creates electrified gloves.
Pfaff wrote:
ICE has already demonstrated a willingness to excessively point — if not fire — guns and pepperballs at people, even when they are being clearly filmed by civilians and media alike. These gloves would allow ICE agents to hurt people in ways that could leave no marks and may be impossible for observers to notice or document.
Read more at MS NOW.
Kalshi crackdown
Kalshi, the glorified online betting platform that is being challenged in states across the country, was ordered by a judge to drastically limit its operations in Washington as the state’s lawsuit against the company goes forward. Kalshi, which considers itself a “prediction market,” has been ordered to implement geofence technology to prevent anyone within Washington from making certain wagers.
According to the Washington State Standard:
Wagers still allowed include those related to commodities, climate, economics and finance. In addition to sports and politics, wagers on entertainment, culture, tech and science are blocked.
Read more at the Standard.
Meta faces potentially massive penalty
Opening statements kicked off Tuesday at a federal trial in which states are seeking up to $1.4 trillion in damages from Meta over claims the social media giant helped fuel a mental health crisis by deliberately designing features to get children addicted to its platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram.
Read more at The Associated Press.
ABC v. FCC
Disney-owned ABC has filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission, led by Trump ally Brendan Carr, over allegations that the FCC’s investigation into ABC’s broadcast licenses amounted to retaliation for sharing content Trump didn’t like.
Read more at PBS.
Paramount wants states to pay
Paramount wants a dozen states to pony up $1.88 billion to cover fees that it says it will incur as the states sue over the company’s proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.
Read more at CNBC.
Trump administration’s data deletion
A new investigation from The Guardian sounds the alarm on the Trump administration’s deletion or obfuscation of numerous federal databases and details how the erasures undermine efforts to fight a host of issues. According to the report:
A database of federal law enforcement officer misconduct records. A survey measuring physical, sexual and emotional violence against children and youth. Real-time pollution readings collected by air quality monitors from US embassies around the world.
These are among the hundreds of federal datasets that the Trump administration has taken down or altered as part of its aggressive campaign to wipe all mentions of data findings that do not align with the administration’s priorities.
Read more at The Guardian.
The post Confronted about creepy spy tech, Trump uses his favorite deflection appeared first on MS NOW.
