How The US Government Shutdown Impacts Tech Oversight

The United States federal government shut down on Wednesday after President Donald Trump and federal lawmakers failed to reach a deal to avert a lapse in funding, shuttering a raft of services and with hundreds of thousands of workers facing potential furloughs.

It’s unclear how long the shutdown may last, but the impasse could sweep in more lasting changes as the Trump administration looks to seize on the moment to execute mass firings. Still, the shutdown is already impacting key agencies tasked with overseeing the tech and telecom sectors, including the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department.

Here’s a breakdown of how the shutdown is unfolding at key agencies with oversight of the tech industry:

Federal Trade Commission

The FTC, which enforces competition and consumer protections laws in the tech space, closed on Wednesday and announced that many of its consumer services would not be available during the shutdown, including tiplines for reporting fraud or identity theft and the national “Do Not Call” registry people can use to block unwanted telemarketing.

In a Sept. 29 contingency plan outlining next steps in the event of a shutdown, the agency said around 400 employees, roughly a third of its workforce, may be excepted from furlough.

The furloughs are expected to cause lawyers in some of the agency’s active litigation, which includes antitrust lawsuits against Amazon and Meta, to seek delays for hearings or other proceedings. Depending on the length of the shutdown, that could extend how long they take.

Justice Department

The DOJ, which also has several major ongoing antitrust cases against tech companies, is also poised to seek delays or extensions in civil cases during the shutdown, though the agency’s contingency plan forecasted that a vast majority of its workforce would remain onboard initially.

While the agency said criminal litigation “will continue without interruption,” civil litigation “will be curtailed or postponed” as much as possible. Most of its major tech cases are civil in nature.

The DOJ’s antitrust division is expected to reduce to “the level of personnel that would be needed if they had to reduce the personnel to only those most critical during a shutdown,” meaning roughly 60% of its nearly 800 person staff, the plan stated.

Last month, the DOJ kicked off a trial to determine remedies in its ad tech case against Google. The agency is also suing to break up Apple over its alleged smartphone monopoly.

Federal Communications Commission

The FCC, the nation’s top telecom enforcement agency, said it expected to send home a vast majority of its staff during the shutdown: 1,044 employees, or 81 percent of its workforce.

Many of its operations will cease, too, including responding to consumer complaints, consumer protection and competition enforcement, licensing services and spectrum management. The agency said activities “necessary for the protection of life or property” would continue, however.

Commerce Department

Commerce, which oversees numerous trade, manufacturing and research and development initiatives, said a vast majority of its nearly 43,000 staff would be furloughed.

Additionally, the department said “most research activities” at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) would cease during the shutdown. But Commerce said that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which advises the administration on telecom policy, would continue some key functions, including managing federal spectrum.

The Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth will continue broadband programs financed by means other than annual appropriations, including the major Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program (BEAD) program.

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

CISA, the nation’s top cyber watchdog, kicked off “cybersecurity awareness month” by advising users that its website would not be actively managed during the shutdown.

More pivotally, the agency’s latest projection was that one-third of its staff would remain on if funding lapsed, though its workforce estimate was dated from May. The plan did not go into additional details on what services and functions may or may not cease.

National Science Foundation

NSF, which provides grant funding to support research in science and engineering, said it expected to furlough more than two-thirds of its 1,400 staff, and cease issuing new grants.

“In general, no new grants, continuing grant increments, cooperative agreements, or contracts will be awarded. No new funding opportunities … will be issued,” the agency’s plan stated.