Yesterday, in a closely watched antitrust case, U.S. District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled that Google illegally maintained a monopoly in online advertising. The case was brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and several states. It follows a separate ruling last year that found Google had illegally maintained a monopoly in search. The Trump administration has made it clear that it will continue to pursue competition cases against large technology companies.
Thank you for reading. Additional tech policy news and a featured podcast can be found below.
This Week in Washington
- The Hill: The Trump administration’s back-and-forth moves on tariffs for technology products are stirring confusion in a sector heavily reliant on global supply chains.
- Axios: President Trump announced that his administration will roll out tariffs on chips soon, though the administration previously listed semiconductors as “excepted products” from China import levies.
- Reuters: South Korea announced an increase in funding for the country’s vital semiconductor industry in response to calls to expand support at a time of growing uncertainty over trade with the U.S.
- Broadband Breakfast: A bipartisan group of lawmakers are reintroducing legislation designed to help the government close the digital divide. The Proper Leadership to Align Networks (PLAN) for Broadband Act aims to develop a national strategy for closing the nation’s digital divide.
- FedScoop: A bipartisan group of lawmakers reintroduced a bill that would require the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to develop a dataset to train AI forecasting models and support deployment of AI weather models in forecasts.
- Nextgov/FCW: The White House has begun a push to improve the technology used for environmental reviews and permitting in the name of greater speed and transparency, building on Biden-era efforts to modernize permitting technology.
Article Summary
- Nature: A new prototype wearable system uses machine-learning to help visually impaired people navigate their surroundings using cameras, earphones, and artificial intelligence (AI). This tech could offer advantages over canes and other more conventional technologies.
- Forbes: RISA labs has developed software enabling cancer treatment centers to automate key elements of the administrative process that gets in the way of patients’ receiving the treatment they need.
- Washington Post: Nvidia announced that it will begin making supercomputers entirely in the U.S. According to a blog post from Nvidia, the company has commissioned 1 million square feet of manufacturing space to test and produce its Blackwell chips in Arizona and AI supercomputers in Texas
Featured Highlight
- TED Tech
Why are we using tech from 100 years ago to deliver the world’s electricity? Materials scientist Jason Huang shows how we could massively upgrade the global power grid by replacing the wires in existing transmission lines with new, advanced conductors, helping us affordably meet rising energy demands while unlocking a cleaner, more climate-resilient future. (The high-wire act of unlocking clean energy – March 13, 2025)