Consumer Rights and Laws
Surveillance Pricing: How Your Data Shapes What You Pay
Two shoppers can be offered different prices for the same product because of their personal data, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). A personal offer…
Technology and Innovation
Technology and innovation covers how government shapes the digital tools, networks, and industries that touch nearly every part of American life. Federal and state agencies, Congress, and courts set rules on safety, competition, privacy, ownership, and access as technologies reach the market.
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October 19last updated
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Referenced by Brookings, CNN, Forbes, Fox News, Pew Research, Snopes, The Hill and USA Today.
The Webby-recognized AI behind our articles »
Latest in Technology and Innovation
Privacy Laws
Can You Make Data Brokers Delete Your Personal Information?
California’s deletion platform does not cover publicly available data; Connecticut’s attorney general says residents may ask covered companies to delete publicly available information assembled into profiles…
Voting Systems and Equipment
Can Anyone Find Out Who You Voted For?
A public voter record can show that a person voted, but never who the person voted for. The record may also list the voter’s party and…
Government Technology
What Is America.gov?
America.gov, the federal government’s new artificial intelligence (AI) portal, aims to let people finish government business in one place. It offers answers to government questions now,…
Topics in Technology and Innovation
New technologies
Fast-moving fields include Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Vehicles, Drones, Robotics and Automation, and Emerging Technologies, each raising questions about safety and oversight.
Security and rights
Cybersecurity covers protection from attack, while Digital Rights and Privacy covers personal data, and Intellectual Property covers who owns ideas and creative work.
Cybersecurity
6 articles
- When Foreign Cyberattacks Expose U.S. Company Data: FBI Jurisdiction Rules
- SEC Disclosure Rules for Public Companies Hit by Supply Chain Breaches
- How the National Security Council Coordinates America’s Cyber Defense
Networks and the internet
Digital Infrastructure covers the physical systems behind connectivity, Internet Governance covers how its rules are set, and Digital Economy covers commerce and payments online.
Digital Infrastructure
7 articles
- Is the FCC Ready for the Digital Age? A 90-Year-Old Agency Faces Modern Challenges
- Who Controls the Internet?
- NTIA and the US Internet
Markets and standards
Technology Competition and Antitrust covers market power, Technology Standards covers shared technical rules, and Software and Technology Development and Specific Technology Sectors cover how technology is built and used.
Technology Competition and Antitrust
17 articles
- Why Amazon Partnering With OpenAI and Anthropic Could Raise Antitrust Concerns
- FTC Antitrust Review of Tech M&A: What Triggers Scrutiny of AI Acquisitions
- Netflix Is Buying Warner Bros. for $82 Billion. Here’s Why Regulators Might Block It
Science and people
Research and Development and Science Policy cover public support for discovery, while Technology and Society covers social effects and Technology Workforce covers the workers behind it all.
All Articles on Technology and Innovation
How to Cut Most of Your Junk Mail (and What You Can’t Stop)
Free tools like OptOutPrescreen and DMAchoice can clear out most credit offers, catalogs, and coupons cluttering your mailbox each week.
What a Patent Actually Protects (and What It Doesn’t)
A US patent only lets you stop others from making, using, or selling your invention, it does not give you permission to sell it, and claims set the limits.
What a Data Breach Means for You
A data breach notice means your info was exposed, not that it's been stolen. Learn the first steps, from freezes to protecting your Social Security number.
Section 230 Protects Social Media Companies—Except When It Doesn’t
A 1996 law called Section 230 protects internet companies from lawsuits for what users post—a reasonable protection when the internet was message boards and…
How Product-Liability Claims Are Undercutting Section 230’s Protections
A jury decision that platforms are consumer products with design defects companies can be held accountable for would force every platform from TikTok to…
Could Congress Regulate Compulsive App Design Features? The Constitutional Issues
Congress can regulate manipulative app design, but First Amendment limits depend on whether a law targets conduct or protected editorial choices.
What the FTC Can Do About Social Media Practices Affecting Minors
The FTC can challenge unlawful social media practices affecting minors through privacy rules, consumer protection cases, investigations and platform duties.
FCC Spectrum Rules Weren’t Built for Satellite Mega-Constellations
SpaceX operates over 9,400 satellites. When Elon Musk announced the company's acquisition of xAI in a deal valued at $1.25 trillion, the combined entity…
Can the FTC Block Private Company Mergers? The Authority Is Murky.
Elon Musk announced a $1.25 trillion deal in early February 2026: SpaceX would acquire xAI. The deal raised a question that nobody seems able…
How CISA Coordinates Cybersecurity for Critical Infrastructure Contractors
CISA doesn't make headlines the way the FBI or NSA does. It operates in the background, coordinating cybersecurity across sixteen sectors of critical infrastructure—everything…