Cristiano Lima-Strong

Cancel culture run amok

California Signed A Landmark AI Safety Law. What To Know About SB53. | TechPolicy.Press California is ushering in some of the most significant artificial intelligence rules in the United States. A breakdown of how we got here.

After more than a year of intense debate, California is ushering in some of the most significant AI protections in the US with the signing of SB53. Here's a look at how we got here, what the law will do and how it's playing politically from @viacristiano.bsky.social.

This post appeared under this Techmeme headline:

Trump is bashing former DOJ official Lisa Monaco, who was instrumental in getting the TikTok law passed that will now see the app's control shift more toward Trump's allies

The attack on Monaco, who is at Microsoft, follows Trump singling out LinkedIn co-founder & MSFT board member Reid Hoffman

California Becomes Frontline in Battle Over AI Companions | TechPolicy.Press Justin Hendrix speaks with Tech Policy Press associate editor Cristiano Lima-Strong about the battle over two bills that could set a national standard.

New podcast! I spoke with Tech Policy Press associate editor Cristiano Lima-Strong about his reporting on the lobbying battle over two AI companions bills that are currently on California Governor Gavin Newsom's desk.
www.techpolicy.press/california-b...

California Becomes Frontline in Battle Over AI Companions | TechPolicy.Press Justin Hendrix speaks with Tech Policy Press associate editor Cristiano Lima-Strong about the battle over two bills that could set a national standard.

🎙 @justinhendrix.bsky.social & I chatted on the podcast about my reporting on the fight over AI companion legislation in California. Have a listen!

If you're trying to make sense of the FTC's settlement with Amazon, here's two data points:

1) Lina Khan, who chaired the agency when it brought the suit, is jeering the settlement

2) NetChoice, a trade group that counts Amazon as a member, is cheering the settlement

Inside the Lobbying Frenzy Over California's AI Companion Bills | TechPolicy.Press State legislation to impose new guardrails on AI companions sparked a lobbying blitz in California, Cristiano Lima-Strong reports.

A pair of bills to expand protections for AI companions have sparked a major lobbying blitz in California, with tech industry groups and consumer advocates vying to shape what may become the most significant rules in the country, Tech Policy Press associate editor Cristiano Lima-Strong reports:

Inside the Lobbying Frenzy Over California's AI Companion Bills | TechPolicy.Press State legislation to impose new guardrails on AI companions sparked a lobbying blitz in California, Cristiano Lima-Strong reports.

A pair of bills to expand protections for AI companions have sparked a major lobbying blitz in California, with tech industry groups and consumer advocates vying to shape what may become the most significant rules in the country, Tech Policy Press associate editor Cristiano Lima-Strong reports:

Inside the Lobbying Frenzy Over California's AI Companion Bills | TechPolicy.Press State legislation to impose new guardrails on AI companions sparked a lobbying blitz in California, Cristiano Lima-Strong reports.

The bills now sit on the desk of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who faces another big test on AI regulation after vetoing the state's most sweeping AI proposal to date last year, AB1047

Read my full dispatch, which was supported by a grant from the Tarbell Center for AI Journalism, here:

The tech industry has come out strongly against AB1064, warning in ads splattered across the web that it would stifle innovation in schools and in health care, hurting students and kids. Several groups have instead embraced SB243, a measure to boost transparency around AI companions

Tech industry groups & consumer advocates are pouring tens & possibly hundreds of thousands of $$$ into this fight. Children's safety advocates rallied around AB1064, which would ban companies from offering AI companions to kids unless they are “not foreseeably capable” of harmful conduct

I traveled to Sacramento to track what has become the frontline for an emerging battle over the safety of AI companions, which have triggered fresh scrutiny amid reports linking the tools to self-harm and other issues

Inside the Lobbying Frenzy Over California's AI Companion Bills | TechPolicy.Press State legislation to impose new guardrails on AI companions sparked a lobbying blitz in California, Cristiano Lima-Strong reports.

NEW: California could soon enact the most significant protections for AI companions in the U.S. Debate over two bills, AB1064 & SB243, has sparked a major lobbying blitz as tech industry groups and consumer advocates vie to shape the rules www.techpolicy.press/inside-the-l... tip @techmeme.com

If you're a journalist interested in covering tech policy, we want to hear from you!

🎙️New podcast is out! Had a great chat with two @coloradosun.com reporters about the massive lobbying blitz around the state's first-of-its-kind AI law. Listen here:

U.S. officials pressure EU regulators to soften tech regulations Cristiano Lima-Strong, assistant editor at the news site Tech Policy Press, says Silicon Valley leaders want the bloc to weaken its Digital Services Act, which penalizes internet companies for not…

Tech Policy Press associate editor Cristiano Lima-Strong spoke with Marketplace Tech about the Trump administration’s attacks against European tech regulations and what it means for platform accountability going forward.
Listen here: buff.ly/7vNjkaG

Analysis | Republicans seized on a study as proof of Google’s bias. Its authors say it's being misrepresented. A study on email spam filters does not prove intentional bias, researchers said.

A few years ago I spoke to the authors of the study that incidentally birthed these allegations, who said their findings were being taken out of context www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Hill Republicans tried to take up legislation targeting alleged bias in Google's email spam filter, but it went nowhere. The RNC filed an FEC complaint & a lawsuit over it, but both were dismissed

Now Trump's FTC is warning tech giants it may take up the cause under federal law

How US Officials Are Pressuring Europe Over Its Platform Regulations | TechPolicy.Press Republicans are using trade talks, immigration threats and diplomatic messaging to counter Europe's platform regulations.

Top Republicans and US tech leaders are ramping up a pressure campaign against the EU’s platform regulations, calling it foreign “censorship.” @viacristiano.bsky.social and @ramshajahangir.bsky.social unpack how Washington and Silicon Valley are working to sway Brussels on softening enforcement.

Opinion | Remember the TikTok Ban? Does Anyone?

Remember the TikTok Ban? Does Anyone? www.nytimes.com/2025/07/25/o...

Unpacking Trump’s AI Action Plan: Gutting Rules and Speeding Roll-Out | TechPolicy.Press Trump's action plan on artificial intelligence calls for slashing regulations and easing rollout of the technology, Cristiano Lima-Strong reports.

On Wednesday, the Trump administration unveiled its AI Action Plan. Looking to make sense of what it means for the future of AI in the US? Tech Policy Press has you covered (1/4)

1. @viacristiano.bsky.social unpacks the AI Action Plan and what it means:

Of the big tech companies like Meta, Google, Amazon, etc, Trump says while he didn't like them during his first term, he's “gotten to know and like them,” presumably the CEOs

Unpacking Trump’s AI Action Plan: Gutting Rules and Speeding Roll-Out | TechPolicy.Press Trump's action plan on artificial intelligence calls for slashing regulations and easing rollout of the technology, Cristiano Lima-Strong reports.

"We need one common sense federal standard" that supersedes all states, Trump says of AI regulation, seemingly plugging the AI state moratorium. His new action plan revives a version of that, as we noted www.techpolicy.press/unpacking-tr...

Nvidia Gets DOJ Subpoena in Escalating Antitrust Probe The US Justice Department sent subpoenas to Nvidia Corp. and other companies as it seeks evidence that the chipmaker violated antitrust laws, an escalation of its investigation into the dominant provi...

Under Biden, the DOJ began probing Nvidia on antitrust grounds. But Trump has called for backing off AI companies and in today's action plan called on the FTC in particular to reconsider any probes hindering AI www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

In his AI summit speech, Trump is musing about how he initially looked at Nvidia and thought they should “break them up a little" but he “found out it’s not easy” so he said “let’s go on to the next one”

Unpacking Trump’s AI Action Plan: Gutting Rules and Speeding Roll-Out | TechPolicy.Press Trump's action plan on artificial intelligence calls for slashing regulations and easing rollout of the technology, Cristiano Lima-Strong reports.

Here's our breakdown of Trump's AI action plan, from slashing regulations to warring on DEI & easing data center buildouts www.techpolicy.press/unpacking-tr... via @techpolicypress.bsky.social

Justice Department Files Statement of Interest on Suppression of Competition in the Marketplace of Ideas Through Deplatforming of Rival Viewpoints Today, the Justice Department filed a statement of interest in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in the case of Children’s Health Defense et al. v. Washington Post et al. T...

Trump's DOJ here asserting that "antitrust laws protect viewpoint competition in news markets"
www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justi...

Journalist Bill Moyers delivers annual Tresolini lecture - The Brown and White Bill Moyers spoke about the state of America's democracy as part of Lehigh University's annual Tresolini Lecture.

Here's a Lehigh Brown & White dispatch from that day from the great @klaudia.bsky.social: thebrownandwhite.com/2015/04/09/b...

Bill Moyers, eminence of public affairs broadcasting, dies at 91 He was White House press secretary under Lyndon B. Johnson and Newsday publisher before becoming an acclaimed television journalist, mostly for PBS.

Bill Moyers went out of his way to share his wisdom with one young journalist at a dinner in grad school. Exceedingly generous and kind. May he rest in peace. www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2...