The 16-page platform proposed by President Trump and adopted by Republican delegates on Monday ahead of next week's Republican National Convention calls for promoting cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence, not restricting them. “The Republican Party will pave the way for future economic greatness by leading the world in emerging industries,” the platform promises.
Critics counter that platform policies empower the worst actors in emerging industries at the expense of real innovation, potentially harming consumers.
According to the document, the Republican Party's top tech priority appears to be promoting cryptocurrency.
“Republicans will end the Democrats' illegal and un-American crackdown on cryptocurrency and oppose the creation of a central bank digital currency,” the platform said. “We will defend the right to mine Bitcoin and ensure that every American has the right to self-custody their digital assets and trade them free from government oversight or control.”
Trump poses as pro-crypto candidate as a possible wise move Chris McKenzieHe is senior director of communications for the Chamber of Progress, a center-left trade group that receives funding from tech companies. In an open letter on Tuesday, the group President Biden He noted that 18 million Americans hold or trade cryptocurrencies and supports a bipartisan cryptocurrency bill that is widely seen as favorable for the industry.
“We see this as an opportunity to take the title of crypto-positive candidate away from Trump, who has made serious efforts to make cryptocurrency part of his campaign,” McKenzie said.
That's a misconception, some consumer advocates say.
Promoting cryptocurrencies is an odd policy for a major political party, given their relatively small role in the overall economy, he said. Robert WeissmanThe president of consumer advocacy group Public Citizen said cryptocurrencies' prominent place in the Republican policy platform reflects active lobbying by the crypto industry, which “clearly influences politicians in both parties.”
“The currently applied enforcement standards that Republicans are proposing to repeal or repeal are designed to protect Americans from the scams, rip-offs and abuses that are rampant in the cryptocurrency industry,” Weissman said. “In effect, they should be interpreted as, 'We're looking to facilitate further fraud against ordinary Americans.'”
The Republican platform also calls for reversing President Biden's executive orders on AI.
“We will revoke Joe Biden's dangerous executive orders that stifle AI innovation and impose a radical left ideology on the development of this technology,” the platform reads. “Instead, Republicans will support AI development that is rooted in free speech and human flourishing.”
The sweeping order, signed by President Biden in October 2023, imposed new safety obligations on AI developers and called on federal agencies to promote responsible development while mitigating the risks of the technology. My colleagues Elizabeth Dwoskin, Drew Harwell and Kat Zakrzewski In May, it was reported that an influential tech lobbying group was preparing for a future Trump administration to repeal those rules and instead funnel money into AI-related grants and contracts.
But it's unclear how many AI companies actually want the order lifted.
“If American companies are to continue to grow and lead in innovation at home and abroad, we need U.S. policymakers to help set international standards for AI,” he said. Julia MassiminoThe executive vice president for government relations at the Information Technology Industry Council, a global tech trade group, said in an emailed statement that the group is urging policymakers to prioritize policies that “build trust in technology” while supporting beneficial uses of technology.
Suresh VenkatasubramanianA Brown University computer science professor who helped shape the Biden administration's thinking on AI told Tech Brief that a hands-off approach to AI development “may have made sense” in the technology's formative years, but “we're well past that point now,” he said.
“There is a mounting evidence base about why and how we need to govern AI systems that affect people's rights, opportunities and access to essential services,” Venkatasubramanian said.
The Republican platform includes another technology-related priority: strengthening commercial space exploration.
“Under Republican leadership, America will create a robust manufacturing industry in near-Earth orbit, send American astronauts back to the Moon and then to Mars, and strengthen partnerships with a rapidly expanding commercial space sector to revolutionize our access to space, our life in space, and our ability to develop space assets,” the document states.
The main beneficiaries of government investment in commercial space exploration are likely Elon MuskMusk, the billionaire owner of SpaceX, Tesla and X, has become increasingly vocal about his conservative views in recent years, and in 2022 urged his vast X following to vote Republican in the midterm elections. He has not endorsed a presidential candidate, but said he was “moving away from Biden” after a surprise meeting with Trump in March.
The policy platform did not mention Section 230, the tech liability law that Trump sought to repeal as president, or antitrust enforcement against big tech companies, which was strengthened under the Trump administration before the Biden administration adopted a tougher line.
Meta to remove more 'Zionist' posts to combat anti-Semitism
Meta has been more aggressive in removing social media posts that include the word “Zionist” as a proxy for Jewish, an effort our colleagues say is to counter a wave of online anti-Semitism following the start of the Israel-Gaza war. Naomi Nicks Report from Tech Brief.
Meta announced on Tuesday that it would expand its existing hate speech policy to remove more content attacking “Zionists” that doesn't criticize a political movement but instead spreads anti-Semitic stereotypes or calls for harm against Jews or Israelis “under the guise of attacking Zionists,” the company said in a blog post.
The social media giant now bans all attacks based on race, religion, nationality or sexual orientation, including posts that spread “harmful stereotypes” or dehumanize people. Under this policy, Meta in limited circumstances treats the word Zionist as a proxy for Jews or Israelis, known anti-Semitic tropes such as comparing them to rats.
Going forward, Meta will begin removing more content that includes the word Zionist, such as posts claiming that Zionists run the world or control the news media, or posts that liken Zionists to pigs, filth, or vermin.
Meta has been consulting with civil society groups for months about this potential policy change, which has already won the company support from some Jewish groups but is likely to draw criticism from some digital rights activists and pro-Palestinian groups, who argue that the new approach will stifle legitimate criticism of the Israeli government and Zionism in the midst of a devastating war.
US and allies take down Russian AI-powered 'bot farms' (Joseph Meng)
Federal regulators first to ban messaging apps from hosting minors (Cristiano Lima)
US plans to fund up to $1.6 billion in computer chip packaging (New York Times)
Microsoft raises price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, launches new “Standard” tier (The Verge)
Google No Longer Claims to be Carbon Neutral (Bloomberg)
Amazon says it met its climate goals seven years early (New York Times)
Microsoft and Apple strip OpenAI of its seat amid antitrust investigation (Financial Times)
Google Maps speedometer finally comes to iOS and CarPlay (Engadget)
Kamala D. Harris' awkward remarks are turning into internet memes (Taylor Lorenz)
Your partner wants your online passwords. Say no. (Tatum Hunter)
Tesla's Secret: Elon Musk's Cars Get VIP Treatment with Self-Driving AI (Business Insider)
Victor PengThe president of Advanced Micro Devices, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based semiconductor company, has been selected to serve on the steering committee of the National Consortium of Semiconductor Technology Centers, where he will represent the private sector as a volunteer.
- The Federalist Society will host a fireside chat with the FTC's Melissa Holyoak at noon Wednesday.
- The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on “Protecting Americans' Privacy and Advancing AI” at 10 a.m. Thursday.
- The Congressional Internet Caucus Academy will host an event at noon Friday titled “Tech Platforms and the First Amendment: The Impact of the Supreme Court Decision.”
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