Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

February 2026 US Tech Policy Roundup

A digital collage combining a historical painting of a miner with a large grid of small online images. At the center, a muscular miner works underground with a heavy drill inside a dark tunnel. To the left and along the bottom, hundreds of tiny square images form a dense mosaic, suggesting scraped internet content. A bright beam of light connects the image grid to the miner’s drill. On the right, a block of colorful digital noise contrasts with the detailed painting, reinforcing the link between physical mining and data extraction.

Primitive Accumulation by Daniela Zampieri / 

How Big AI Developers are Skirting a Mandate for Training Data Transparency

New UK Competition and Markets Authority chief Doug Gurr speaking at a parliament committee hearing on Tuesday, February 26. Source: Parliament TV

New UK Competition and Markets Authority chair Doug Gurr speaking at a parliament committee hearing on Tuesday, February 26. Source: 

Former Amazon Boss Takes Charge of UK Antitrust Strategy. What Does It Mean?

President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the White House AI Summit in Washington, DC, on July 23. (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)

President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the White House AI Summit in Washington, DC, on July 23. (

Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian

Big Tech’s Affordability Fight is Finally Here

Gas turbines are seen at the xAI facility, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)

The Great Green AI Hoax Machine

"Illustration depicting the spyware maker NSO Group surveilling the world." (Gibrán Aquino)

"Illustration depicting the spyware maker NSO Group surveilling the world." (

Will NSO’s US Lobbying Pay Off Under Trump?

The Wyoming State Capitol in Cheyenne. (Source)

Wyoming’s GRANITE Act Hints at Global Speech Battle to Come

Google CEO Sundar Pichai, left, speaks with India's IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, India, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo)

Rethinking Sovereign AI as Strategy

An archival image of a medieval dinner scene. On one side, there is a Penelope (from Greek mythology) weaving, but instead of thread, it is a board of binary code. On the other side, there is a a drink spilling and other figures looking distressed/chaotic. 

Deceptive Dialogues by Nadia Nadesan & Digit / 

The Governance Gap That Moltbook Reveals and OpenAI Just Made Urgent

A computer monitor with a parody of a tech company logo floats on the waves while human hands reach up from the depths.

A Rising Tide Lifts All Bots by Rose Willis & Kathryn Conrad / 

How Collaboration Can Enable Action on AI and Mental Health

The image depicts the concept of combating fake news. It shows a large computer screen with the word "NEWS" at the top, and the word "FAKE" stamped prominently in red across the screen. Various illustrated figures are working around this large screen. One person is suspended from above, holding a megaphone, symbolizing spreading information. Another person holds a warning triangle sign, while a third individual examines the screen with a magnifying glass, representing fact-checking. Additionally, a person points at the screen, and another stands beside a shopping cart filled with question marks, implying the confusion and scrutiny that arise from fake news. The background has a digital and leafy theme, indicating an online or media environment.

Community Notes Alone Won't Beat Disinformation: Why Fact-Checkers Are Essential

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron at the opening ceremony of the 2026 India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on February 19. (Prime Minister’s Office)

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron at the opening ceremony of the 2026 India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on February 19. (

AI Agents and the Next Layer of India’s Digital Infrastructure

Traditional Tibetan weaver in Dharamsala India working at a loom, framed by yellow bounding boxes that classify different elements of textile craft. The image features digital distortion effects and fragmented views of weaving tools and finished textiles. Text has been selectively blanched from the composition, symbolizing whose voices are included or excluded in conversations about digital transformation.

Woven Dialogues by Elise Racine & Digit / 

Anthropomorphism Is Breaking Our Ability to Judge AI

On February 10, 2026, Gabriel Boric, President of Chile, joined in the launch LatamGPT, open-source artificial intelligence language model. Source

On February 10, 2026, Gabriel Boric, President of Chile, joined in the 

 LatamGPT, open-source artificial intelligence language model. 

LatamGPT Navigates the Gap Between Regional Aspiration and Market Realities

India Is Using AI to Police Identity and Expel Minorities

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrives for a landmark trial over whether social media platforms deliberately addict and harm children, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

In Age of Disruption, a Defense of Incrementalism

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at SpaceX in Starbase, Texas, on January 12, 2026. Source

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at SpaceX in Starbase, Texas, on January 12, 2026. 

How to Think About the Anthropic-Pentagon Dispute

Carter G. Woodson, born in 1875 in New Canton, Virginia, founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASALH).

Carter G. Woodson, born in 1875 in New Canton, Virginia, 

 the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASALH).

What the Father of Black History Can Teach Us About Technology

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brasília on July 8. (Prime Minister’s Office)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brasília on July 8. (

How Brazil's AI Governance Vision Got Sidelined at the India Summit

President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address, Tuesday, February 24, 2026, on the House floor of the US Capitol in Washington, D.C. (Official White House photo by Daniel Torok)

President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address, Tuesday, February 24, 2026, on the House floor of the US Capitol in Washington, D.C. (Official White House 

What Trump Did and Didn’t Say About AI in the State of the Union

Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg Faces Jury in High-Stakes Civil Trial in Los Angeles

Image of Elon Musk next to the Grok and xAI logos.

X Tried to Sidestep Brazil's Inquiry on AI Deepfakes. The Government Just Pushed Back.

A corrections officer walks beside people holding candles, signs, and flowers during a vigil outside the Krome Detention Center in Miami on May 24, 2025, protesting US Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody and mass deportations. (Photo by GIORGIO VIERA/AFP via Getty Images)

How ICE Will Spy On Protesters, And How You Can Protect Your Privacy

Tech Policy Press - Technology and Democracy

Tech Policy Press is tracking laws and regulations, along with government investigations and litigation, that will shape the rules and accountability for tech companies.

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