Government & Communications

On March 24, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) launched its “Make America AI-Ready Initiative” with a seven-day artificial intelligence (AI) literacy course brought to learners via text messages on their cellphones.

The 2017 “alternative facts” statement made by the White House was a turning point. We are now in a place where the person who gets their version of the truth out fastest and biggest wins. The fact that President Trump has a social network he calls “Truth Social” is not an accident. He wants to own the word “truth.” We’re past the point where there’s a singular truth or a singular fact.

More than 400,000 Arizonans have lost their SNAP benefits since July—the largest decline in the nation by a wide margin—as an underfunded state agency administered changes called for in President Donald Trump’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The drop represents nearly 47 percent of the state’s participants in the program better known as food stamps and includes about 180,000 children, according to the Arizona Department of Economic Security, which administers the program.

In a raw exercise of leveraging public trust for political gain, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr, at the behest of President Trump, is forcing America’s broadcasters to choose between free speech and their business interests. It is a bad business deal and an even worse deal for democracy.

Planet Labs, a provider of satellite imagery, will further withhold distribution of photos from the Iran conflict zone at the request of the US government. Planet Labs is switching to so-called managed access to its satellite images of the region, releasing them on a case-by-case basis and “for urgent, mission critical requirements or in the public interest.” Planet had already slowed down how quickly it released imagery from the region, citing concerns the data could be used by U.S. adversaries. The U.S.

The White House’s approach to AI development has been marked by a consistent opposition to almost any significant regulation of the tech industry. Led for many months by AI czar David Sacks, the White House believes that any policy that might restrict AI companies’ ability to grow — and grow quickly — is handing a consequential advantage to China. That attitude has led to a divide within the Republican Party on the issue of AI development, which is now widening and deepening.

Anthropic is launching a corporate PAC, following the path of other tech companies that operate similar employee-funded PACs. AnthroPAC will be funded through voluntary employee contributions capped at $5,000 per person annually under federal election law. It will be overseen by a bipartisan board and disclose its activity through Federal Election Commission filings.

Heavy users of social media are more likely than others to believe that leaders are listening to them and to view democratic participation as effective, according to a study conducted by the Charles F. Kettering Foundation and Gallup. However, they are also less likely to think democracy is the best form of government and more likely to express views that depart from widely held democratic norms about violence and political compromise. Americans who spend more time on social media are more likely to say their experiences and beliefs are respected by others in the country.

U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss struck down part of President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting funding for National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service, ruling that it was unconstitutional retaliation that violated their press freedom rights under the First Amendment. The May 1, 2025, executive order, titled “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media,” cut off funding to public media—with President Trump calling out what he perceived as left-wing bias in NPR’s and PBS’s news reporting. “The message is clear,” wrote Judge Moss in an opinion.

To better understand public sentiment and concerns around the government’s collection, sharing, and consolidation of personal data, the Center for Democracy & Technology conducted nationally representative polling of U.S. adults. CDT found that concern is consistent and high and that people across the United States want to hold government agencies accountable for protecting the privacy of their personal data. Specifically: