#SEC Enforcement Division Director Margaret Ryan resigned last Monday after just over 6 months on the job, Reuters was the first to report.…

3 of the people said Ryan wanted to be more aggressive in pursuing charges for #fraud & other #misconduct including in cases that touched #Trump
& his circle, but faced resistance from SEC chair Paul Atkins & other top #Republican political appointees.

#criminal #law #felon47 #InsiderTrading #MarketManipulation

Gizmodo: Concerns Over Meta’s Smart Glasses Have Reached the U.S. Senate. “Consternation about smart glasses is ramping up, and it looks like those fears are officially hitting the national stage. This week, U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley (both D-Ore) officially inquired about Meta’s plans to add facial recognition to its Ray-Ban smart glasses, painting the idea as an existential […]

3 weeks in, #Iran #war escalates beyond Trump's control [not that it was ever in his control after the first attack]

#Trump ends the 3rd week of the Iran war confronting a crisis that seems to be slipping out of his hands∶ Global #energy prices are surging, the #US stands isolated from [former] #allies & more ​#troops are preparing to deploy despite his promise the war would be only a "short excursion."

#TrumpsWar #IllegalWar #law #Congress #WarPowers
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/three-weeks-iran-war-escalates-beyond-trumps-control-2026-03-21/?utm_source=braze&utm_medium=notifications&utm_campaign=2025_engagement

A defensive #Trump called other #NATO countries "cowards" for refusing to help secure the #StraitOfHormuz & insisted the campaign was ‌unfolding according to plan. But his declaration on Friday that the battle "was Militarily WON" clashed with the #reality of a defiant #Iran that is choking off Gulf #oil & #gas supplies while launching missile strikes across the region.

#TrumpsWar #IllegalWar #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics #MiddleEast #energy #economy

#Trump, who took office promising to keep the #US out of "stupid" military interventions, now controls neither the outcome nor the messaging of a #war he initiated. The lack of a clear exit strategy carries risks both for his “legacy” & his party's political prospects as #Republicans scramble to defend narrow majorities in #Congress in the November #midterms.

#Iran #TrumpsWar #IllegalWar #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics #MiddleEast #energy #economy

…#Trump was caught off-guard by the resistance of fellow #NATO members & other foreign partners to deploying their navies ​to help secure the #StraitOfHormuz, according to a White House official….

With Trump not wanting to appear isolated, some aides have advised ​him to quickly find an "off-ramp" & set limits on the military operation's scope, said one person close to the discussions. But it was unclear whether that argument was enough to sway Trump.

#Iran #TrumpsWar #law #Congress #WarPowers

…The war has also shown #Trump's once-iron grip over his #MAGA movement is weakening, with prominent influencers speaking out against the #war. While his base has mostly stood with him so far, analysts say that Trump's control could weaken in the coming weeks if gas prices keep rising and #US #troops are deployed.

#Iran #TrumpsWar #IllegalWar #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics #MiddleEast #energy #economy

Since the #war's start on Feb 28, there has been a growing realization within the #Trump admin that the conflict & its consequences should have been better mapped out in advance [duh!], according to 2 sources familiar with White House thinking, although the first White House official countered that the campaign was extensively planned ​& well-equipped for any potential action [maybe, just badly].

#Iran #TrumpsWar #IllegalWar #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics #MiddleEast #energy #economy

Analysts say Trump's biggest misjudgment was over how #Iran would respond to a #war that it considers existential.

Tehran has retaliated with its remaining missiles & ​a fleet of armed drones to ⁠offset its foes' military superiority, striking neighboring Gulf states & mostly shutting down the #StraitOfHormuz, the conduit for one-fifth of the world's #oil.

#Trump #TrumpsWar #IllegalWar #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics #MiddleEast #energy #economy

Here we go again

#Trump Administration Sues #Harvard Over Accusations of “Antisemitism” [Protests for #Palestinian #HumanRights]

The admin spent months investigating the #school. The two sides had been in talks to negotiate a settlement.

#law #FirstAmendment #FreeSpeech #AcademicFreedom #RevengePolitics
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/20/us/trump-harvard-antisemitism-suit.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

Illinois introduces OS-level age verification law

https://legiscan.com/IL/bill/SB3977/2025

#HackerNews #Illinois #OS-level #age #verification #law #legislation #tech #policy #cybersecurity

#Enshittification of #law is what we see around the world. Following law will soon be very unfashionable.

#ageverification #privacy

Gothamist: NYC Council pushes to ban stores from collecting biometric data. “New York City lawmakers are pushing to ban private businesses from using biometric tools like voice and facial recognition software to track the public.”

Engadget: COPPA 2.0 passes the Senate again, unanimously this time. “Today the US Senate unanimously passed proposed legislation known as COPPA 2.0. This measure, fully named the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act, aims to create new protections for younger users online, such as blocking platforms from collecting their personal data without consent.”

#ByteDance said #TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC -- which was finalized in January & is 80% ‌owned by ⁠non-Chinese investors -- would secure #US #user #data, apps & algorithms through data #privacy & #cybersecurity measures. It disclosed few details about the divestiture or the financial arrangements.

#law #Trump #PamBondi

#Trump, Bondi face lawsuit over approval of #ByteDance #TikTok US asset sale

Trump & Attorney General #PamBondi were sued ​Thursday over the US government's approval of a deal by TikTok's Chinese owner ‌ByteDance to establish a majority American-owned joint venture, saying the approval was illegal & did not meet the requirements of a 2024 #law.

https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-bondi-face-lawsuit-over-approval-bytedance-tiktok-us-asset-sale-2026-03-05/?utm_source=braze&utm_medium=notifications&utm_campaign=2025_engagement

The lawsuit was filed in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia by ​the Public Integrity Project on behalf of two retail US investors in rival #socialmedia firms. It aims to require a renegotiation of the deal "that doesn't put ⁠administration allies in a position to #censor #political #content on one of the world's most ​popular #media platforms."

#law #Trump #PamBondi #ByteDance #TikTok

The lawsuit does not seek to force a ban on #TikTok, which is used ​by 200 million Americans.

#Congress passed #legislation in April 2024 requiring #ByteDance to sell its US assets by January 2025 or face a ban or potentially hundreds of billions of dollars in fines -- but #Trump opted not ​to enforce the law & #PamBondi told companies they would face no liability for continuing ​to allow TikTok use.

#law

Al Gore Invented the Internet.
Joe Biden invented PGP encryption.
Cypherpunks write code.

Joe Biden gifted humanity with PGP encryption (in a roundabout way). Phil Zimmermann created PGP in response to a anti-privacy bill clause proposed by Senator Joe Biden.

https://www.americanscientist.org/article/cypherpunks-write-code

"In 1990, the FBI launched an over-the-top crackdown on computer hackers, known as Operation Sundevil. This was swiftly followed, in early 1991, by a proposed piece of U.S. Senate legislation that would force electronic communications service providers to hand over people’s personal data. (The key clause, S.266, was pushed by the then chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Joe Biden.)"

"On learning of Biden’s S.266 clause, Zimmermann feverishly set out to complete the project, almost losing his house in the process. When he finished his software in 1991, he published it all online, free for anyone who wanted to use it. He called it “Pretty Good Privacy,” or PGP for short, and within weeks it had been downloaded and shared by thousands of people around the world. “Before PGP, there was no way for two ordinary people to communicate over long distances without the risk of interception,” said Zimmermann in a later interview. “Not by phone, not by FedEx, not by fax.” It remains the most widely used form of email encryption to this day."

https://www.congress.gov/bill/102nd-congress/senate-bill/266

"SEC. 2201. COOPERATION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROVIDERS WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT. It is the sense of Congress that providers of electronic communications services and manufacturers of electronic communications service equipment shall ensure that communications systems permit the government to obtain the plain text contents of voice, data, and other communications when appropriately authorized by law."

#Biden #JoeBiden #PGP #Cypherpunks #Cypherpunk #PhilZimmermann #Privacy #Cybersecurity #Cryptography #GPG #Email #Senate #Law #Government #Panopticon #Hackers #Hacking #Security #Encryption

The madness continues …

#OpenAI reaches deal to deploy #AI models on US Department of #Defense #classified network

#SamAltman said Friday OpenAi reached an agreement with the #DoD.

"In all of our interactions, the DoW displayed a deep respect for safety & a desire to partner to achieve the best possible outcome," Altman posted on X using the #Trump admin’s BS name for the DoD.

#law #tech #surveillance #AutonomousWeapons #privacy #security #InfoSec #military
https://www.reuters.com/business/openai-reaches-deal-deploy-ai-models-us-department-war-classified-network-2026-02-28/?utm_source=braze&utm_medium=notifications&utm_campaign=2025_engagement

Alt...

Altman post: Tonight, we reached an agreement with the Department of War to deploy our models in their classified network. In all of our interactions, the DoW displayed a deep respect for safety and a desire to partner to achieve the best possible outcome. AI safety and wide distribution of benefits are the core of our mission. Two of our most important safety principles are prohibitions on domestic mass surveillance and human responsibility for the use of force, including for autonomous weapon systems. The DoW agrees with these principles, reflects them in law and policy, and we put them into our agreement. We also will build technical safeguards to ensure our models behave as they should, which the DoW also wanted. We will deploy FDEs to help with our models and to ensure their safety, we will deploy on cloud networks only. We are asking the DoW to offer these same terms to all AI companies, which in our opinion we think everyone should be willing to accept. We have expressed our strong desire to see things de-escalate away from legal and governmental actions and towards reasonable agreements. We remain committed to serve all of humanity as best we can. The world is a complicated, messy, and sometimes dangerous place.

…The ultimate winner could now prove to be Elon #Musk’s #xAI [great /s], which #defense ofcls say has already agreed to the #Pentagon’s terms for working on #classified systems. The entrepreneur jumped on Emil Michael’s social media Friday [the DoD’s technology chief] saying “#Anthropic hates Western Civilization.” [ridiculous idiot.]

#Trump #RevengePolitics #law #AI #tech #surveillance #AutonomousWeapons #SupplyChainRisk #privacy #security #InfoSec #military

Earlier in the week, Jeff Dean, #Google’s chief #AI scientist, said he was opposed to the #technology being used for #surveillance & repeated his long-standing opposition to #AutonomousWeapons.

#SamAltman, #OpenAI’s chief executive, said Friday that it was important for AI companies to find ways to work with the #Pentagon but that he had concerns similar to those of his rival #Amodei.

#Trump #RevengePolitics #law #Anthropic #tech #SupplyChainRisk #privacy #security #InfoSec #military

The #Pentagon did not explain the #legal reasoning behind its claim [there is none] that it could compel #military contractors to immediately cease work with Anthropic.

…Experts said the #Trump admin’s dramatic intervention Friday is likely to have ramifications for more than just the #US govt’s relationship with #Anthropic, potentially complicating the admin’s work with other #AI developers, especially in relation to #defense work.

#RevengePolitics #law #tech #surveillance #AutonomousWeapons

…Many researchers & engineers working on #AI have long harbored concerns about their #technology being used to power #weapons or #surveillance. The battle between #Anthropic & the #Pentagon has reawakened those concerns across the industry.

By Friday afternoon, >550 employees at #Google & #ChatGPT maker #OpenAI signed an open letter in support of Anthropic’s position & calling on their bosses to stand up to the Pentagon.

#Trump #RevengePolitics #law #AutonomousWeapons
https://notdivided.org/

…The #SupplyChainRisk designation issued by #Hegseth late Friday was an extraordinary escalation, ranking a leading #US #AI company alongside the likes of Chinese & Russian firms seen as a danger to the #UnitedStates.

It was unclear how easy it would be for government departments to move away from #Anthropic’s #technology, or for the company’s partners that do business with the #Pentagon to cut ties.

#Trump #RevengePolitics #law #surveillance #AutonomousWeapons #privacy #security #military

The company wrote that, “Designating #Anthropic as a supply chain risk would be an unprecedented action—one historically reserved for US adversaries, never before publicly applied to an American company.” The unsigned blog post added: “We are deeply saddened by these developments.”

#Trump #RevengePolitics #law #AI #tech #surveillance #AutonomousWeapons #privacy #security #InfoSec #military

#Anthropic said it would fight the blacklisting in court. In a blog post late Friday, the company said that it believed the wide-reaching ban #Hegseth described was not permitted by federal #law & that the designation of the company as a #SupplyChainRisk was “legally unsound.” [pretty good bet]

#Trump #RevengePolitics #law #AI #tech #surveillance #AutonomousWeapons #privacy #security #InfoSec #military

Late Friday, #Defense Secy Pete #Hegseth followed #Trump’s unhinged post, saying in his own post that he was declaring #Anthropic a #SupplyChainRisk. “Effective immediately, no contractor, supplier, or partner that does business with the United States military may conduct any commercial activity with Anthropic,” Hegseth wrote.

#RevengePolitics #law #AI #tech #surveillance #AutonomousWeapons #privacy #security #InfoSec #military

So much for holding back. GMAFB.

#Pentagon declares #Anthropic a threat to #NationalSecurity

#Defense Secretary Pete #Hegseth declared Anthropic a “#SupplyChainRisk,” blocking all federal agencies & contractors from doing business with the company.

#Trump #RevengePolitics #law #AI #tech #surveillance #AutonomousWeapons #privacy #security #InfoSec #military
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/02/27/trump-anthropic-claude-drop/

The setback comes as #AI leader #Anthropic raced to sell novel #technology to #business & #government, particularly for #NationalSecurity, ahead of its widely expected #IPO.

At the same time, the battle over #tech #guardrails had raised concerns that the #DoD would follow #US #law [certainly not this one] but little other constraint when deploying AI for national-security missions, regardless of #safety or #ethics service terms embraced by the technology's developers.

#Trump #surveillance

#Anthropic had sought guarantees that its #AI would not be used for fully #AutonomousWeapons or for mass #domestic #surveillance - applications in which the #Pentagon claimed it had no interest [wink wink nudge nudge].

#law #privacy #security #InfoSec #Trump #fascism

Trump's decision stopped short of #threats issued by #Hegseth & the #Pentagon, including that it could invoke the Defense Production Act to require Anthropic's compliance. The Pentagon had also said it considered designating #Anthropic a #SupplyChain risk, a step previously only used against businesses tied to foreign adversaries.

But #Trump vowed further action if Anthropic did not cooperate with the phaseout.

#law #AI #surveillance #AutonomousWeapons #privacy #security #InfoSec

Just like all #rapists, #Trump really doesn’t like being told no.

Trump says he is directing federal agencies to cease use of #Anthropic #technology in a petty whiny social media post.

#law #AI #surveillance #AutonomousWeapons #privacy #security #InfoSec
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-says-he-is-directing-federal-agencies-cease-use-anthropic-technology-2026-02-27/?utm_source=braze&utm_medium=notifications&utm_campaign=2025_engagement

Alt...

Trump post: THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WILL NEVER ALLOW A RADICAL LEFT, WOKE COMPANY TO DICTATE HOW OUR GREAT MILITARY FIGHTS AND WINS WARS! That decision belongs to YOUR COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF, and the tremendous leaders I appoint to run our Military. The Leftwing nut jobs at Anthropic have made a DISASTROUS MISTAKE trying to STRONG-ARM the Department of War, and force them to obey their Terms of Service instead of our Constitution. Their selfishness is putting AMERICAN LIVES at risk, our Troops in danger, and our National Security in JEOPARDY. Therefore, I am directing EVERY Federal Agency in the United States Government to IMMEDIATELY CEASE all use of Anthropic's technology. We don't need it, we don't want it, and will not do business with them again! There will be a Six Month phase out period for Agencies like the Department of War who are using Anthropic's products, at various levels. Anthropic better get their act together, and be helpful during this phase out period, or I will use the Full Power of the Presidency to make them comply, with major civil and criminal consequences to follow. WE will decide the fate of our Country - NOT some out-of-control, Radical Left Al company run by people who have no idea what the real World is all about. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

A new California law says all operating systems need to have age verification

https://www.pcgamer.com/software/operating-systems/a-new-california-law-says-all-operating-systems-including-linux-need-to-have-some-form-of-age-verification-at-account-setup/

#HackerNews #California #Law #Age #Verification #Operating #Systems #Cybersecurity #Privacy

Amodei said #Anthropic understands that the #Pentagon, “not private companies, makes #military decisions.” But “in a narrow set of cases, we believe #AI can undermine, rather than defend, democratic values.” In the case of mass #surveillance & #AutonomousWeapons are “outside the bounds of what today’s technology can safely & reliably do.”

#Trump #Hegseth #law #privacy #InfoSec #ContractLaw #democracy

#Anthropic said in a statement that the #Pentagon’s new language was framed as a compromise but “was paired with legalese that would allow those safeguards to be disregarded at will.” [shocker]

In a lengthy blog post Thursday, Amodei wrote: “I believe deeply in the existential importance of using #AI to defend the #UnitedStates & other democracies, & to defeat our autocratic adversaries.”

#Trump #Hegseth #law #privacy #InfoSec #ContractLaw #military #surveillance #democracy

#Defense Secretary #PeteHegseth told #Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei on Tuesday that if Anthropic does not allow its #AI model to be used “for all lawful purposes” [as if that’s what they plan to use it for], the #Pentagon would cancel Anthropic’s $200 million contract. In addition to the #contract cancellation, Anthropic would be deemed a “supply chain risk,” a classification normally reserved for companies connected to foreign adversaries, #Hegseth said.

#Trump #law #privacy #InfoSec #ContractLaw

#Anthropic is rejecting the Pentagon’s latest offer to change their contract, saying the changes do not satisfy the company’s concerns that #AI could be used for mass #surveillance or in fully #AutonomousWeapons.

The #Pentagon & Anthropic are at odds over restrictions the company places on the use of #Claude, the first #AI system to be used in the #military #classified network.

#Trump #Hegseth #law #privacy #InfoSec #ContractLaw
https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/26/tech/anthropic-rejects-pentagon-offer?cid=ios_app

Olson emphasized that there was no precedent to her knowledge of a judge finding tens of thousands of simultaneous violations of federal law regarding taxpayer confidentiality.​

“I don’t know of any opinion about the #IRS like this,” she added. “The kinds of mass requests that are coming in are unprecedented.”

#Trump #law #immigration #privacy #InfoSec #WhiteSupremacy #WhiteChristianNationalism

“This confirms what we’ve been saying all along: that the #IRS has an unlawful policy that violates the Internal Revenue Code’s protections by releasing these addresses in a way that violates the law’s requirements,” said Nina Olson, founder of the Center for Taxpayer Rights, which has sued the government over the disclosures.

#Trump #law #immigration #privacy #InfoSec #WhiteSupremacy #WhiteChristianNationalism

In Thursday’s opinion, the judge used pointed language to describe the #IRS’s verification standard. Under the government’s process, she wrote, #ICE could have submitted a request with an address like “Don’t Care 12345” or simply “00000” & still received a taxpayer’s home address from the agency.

#Trump #law #immigration #privacy #InfoSec #WhiteSupremacy #WhiteChristianNationalism

…Taxpayer advocates raised concerns about the data-sharing agreement since it began. Romo’s declaration stated that in thousands of cases, ICE’s requests contained addresses that were incomplete—featuring entries such as “Failed to Provide,” “Unknown Address,” or simply “NA NA.” In other cases, addresses were missing street names or street numbers. In still others, #ICE listed jails, detention facilities or prisons as a taxpayer’s address w/o including the building’s street location.

#law

WaPo reported that the #IRS had improperly shared #confidential #tax information of thousands of individuals with #immigration enforcement officials. That report was confirmed by a subsequent court filing by Dottie A. Romo, the IRS’s chief risk & control officer.

#DHS officials have defended the data-sharing agreement as necessary to crack down on illegal #immigration. [but you can’t break a law because you think another law was broken.]

#Trump #law #privacy #InfoSec #WhiteSupremacy

“The #IRS violated the [#IRC] approximately 42,695 times by disclosing last known taxpayer addresses to #ICE ... without confirming that ICE’s request set forth the ‘address of the taxpayer with respect to whom the requested return information relate[d],’” the judge’s opinion stated.

The case is now before the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, where the government is appealing Kollar-Kotelly’s November order that blocked the data-sharing arrangement.

#Trump #law #immigration #privacy