Elon Musk isn’t the only tech billionaire with power over the federal agencies that regulate his businesses. Since Donald Trump took office, more than three dozen employees, allies, and investors of Musk, Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, and Palmer Luckey have taken roles at federal agencies, helping direct billions in contracts to their companies. Companies owned,
President Donald Trump has fired Shira Perlmutter, who leads the U.S. Copyright Office. The firing was reported by CBS News and Politico, and seemingly confirmed by a statement from Representative Joe Morelle, the top Democrat on the Committee on House Administration. “Donald Trump’s termination of Register of Copyrights, Shira Perlmutter, is a brazen, unprecedented power
Much of the world isn’t paying close attention to Greece right now. That may be a mistake. Best known for its stunning islands, sun-soaked cities, and deep historical roots, Greece has been quietly laying the foundation for something less expected — a modern, resilient tech economy. While the international spotlight often misses it, something real
The Federal Trade Commission voted Friday to delay enforcement of the Negative Option Rule — known widely as the “click-to-cancel” rule requiring companies to make it as easy to cancel a subscription as it was to sign up. The rule, which was first proposed in 2023, took aim at businesses selling physical and digital subscriptions
Google has agreed to pay the state of Texas $1.375 billion to settle two lawsuits accusing the company of tracking users’ personal location, incognito searches, and voice and facial data without their permission. The lawsuits were brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in 2022. Facebook’s parent company Meta agreed to pay a similar amount
An AI doctoral student in California had their SEVIS record — the digital proof of their valid student visa — terminated, putting their immigration status at risk. Speaking to TechCrunch, the student, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, said they were notified via their college’s international student center that they’d been identified in a criminal records
A group of professors specializing in copyright law has filed an amicus brief in support of authors suing Meta for allegedly training its Llama AI models on e-books without permission. The brief, filed on Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, calls Meta’s fair use defense “a
Small businesses could be crushed under President Trump’s increased tariffs, according to an open letter by 38 female consumer product founders. While Trump paused his tariff increases for 90 days for various countries — setting the rate at 10% for now — China’s was raised to 145%, which includes the previous 20% levy. In the letter,
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie wants to bring his city back to its glory days. And he’s convinced tech leaders — who often pitch utopian ideals of their own — can help him deliver. “I’m a mayor that is picking up the phone and calling CEOs,” said Lurie during TechCrunch’s StrictlyVC event on Thursday night.
Elon Musk’s role overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is likely a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s appointments clause, a federal judge wrote Tuesday. Theodore Chuang, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, wrote in an opinion there is more than enough evidence — mostly from statements made by
