Bernie Sanders’ AI Bill Turns Software Into a State Permission https://reclaimthenet.org/bernie-sanders-ai-licensing-bill

Senator Chris Murphy Wants Government to Regulate Your Time Online https://reclaimthenet.org/chris-murphy-government-internet-regulation

Washington Challenges Brussels’ Authority Over X https://reclaimthenet.org/washington-challenges-brussels-authority-over-x

Utah Court Blocks Key Provision of State Age Verification and VPN Law https://reclaimthenet.org/utah-court-blocks-key-provision-of-state-age-verification-and-vpn-law

Newsom Wants an AI Kill Switch. Who Gets the Keys? https://reclaimthenet.org/newsom-wants-an-ai-kill-switch-who-gets-the-keys

At the Clinton Global Initiative, “AI Safety” Comes for Open Source https://reclaimthenet.org/hugging-face-open-source-ai-defends-against-openai-attack

Von der Leyen is pushing under-13 social media bans and restricted accounts for under-15s. Macron wants AI brought into the same system. Spain is already tying age verification to the EU digital ID. Australia has gone to under-16. The rules differ, but the direction is the same: digital ID becomes the plumbing for proving who you are before you can use more of the internet. https://reclaimthenet.org/world-leaders-global-internet-age-verification-controls

New York’s AI law is starting to look less like basic safety regulation and more like an ongoing system of state control. Hochul has already gone after social media algorithms, backing laws that restrict how platforms can serve algorithmic feeds to those who haven't shown digital ID. AI developers will have to register with the state, publish safety protocols, report incidents and provide regular disclosures. A new state office will oversee compliance, and Hochul says New York may eventually explore AI “kill switches.” The state wants registration, recurring disclosures, mandatory incident reports, fees, a new enforcement bureaucracy and Hochul is already talking about possible AI “kill switches.” Call it safety if you want. It’s also a major expansion of government control over how AI companies operate. https://reclaimthenet.org/kathy-hochul-wants-more-control-over-ai

California is laying the groundwork for an AI “kill switch.” Gov. Gavin Newsom just signed an executive order accelerating plans for AI oversight, including proposals that could require frontier AI labs to install independently verified kill switches and put outside auditors inside their labs. By 2027, California plans to have an official registry of approved AI auditors. It echoes a familiar debate around online speech: controls introduced in the name of “safety” can also create powerful new gatekeepers with authority over what people can build, publish, and access. https://reclaimthenet.org/newsom-wants-an-ai-kill-switch-who-gets-the-keys

A federal court says cops can search license plate camera databases without it counting as a Fourth Amendment search. The reasoning here is basically that 8 photos isn’t enough to build a detailed picture of someone’s movements. But Culver City’s cameras collect 18 million photos a month, and there’s no way to opt out. https://reclaimthenet.org/alpr-queries-not-fourth-amendment-searches

As if the downward slide of the state of free speech in the UK wasn't moving fast enough, now there’s a proposal that would make government permission a condition of operating a social media platform. No Ofcom license = No platform. A new Private Member’s Bill would let speech regulator Ofcom license social media platforms, impose conditions, demand action against “materially harmful” or “false or misleading” content, and revoke the license. And here’s where the free speech implications get serious: the same regulator issuing the license would wield enormous power over what platforms are expected to restrict or remove. Lose the license and a court could order ISPs to block the platform across the UK. Operate without one? Up to 2 years in prison. This has only had its first reading and is not law. But the idea is now formally on the table: social media platforms needing a government regulator’s permission to operate in Britain. https://reclaimthenet.org/uk-social-media-ofcom-licensing-bill-heres-lords

EU’s Social Media Ban Could Bring ID Checks for Adults https://reclaimthenet.org/eus-social-media-ban-could-bring-id-checks-for-adults

Hopefully, governments forcing people to show ID just to get online might end up being the biggest push towards open source and decentralization we’ve seen. People will just host their own instances with no third party to hand your ID to, or a company deciding whether you’re allowed to speak. The more they try to control this stuff, the more reason people have to build things they can’t control.

Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz wants to end online anonymity. Asked what a real-name mandate would mean for whistleblowers and investigative journalists, he didn’t address the journalism question. Instead he said: “Please, nobody come to me with 'free speech.'” https://reclaimthenet.org/merz-end-online-anonymity-real-names

German customs made account cloning a permanent surveillance tool in August 2025, a leaked directive shows. It lets investigators read messenger chats without installing spyware. The government refused to tell a lawmaker how often it was used, even confidentially. https://reclaimthenet.org/german-customs-made-secret-messenger-surveillance-permanent

Australia says its new “Digital Duty of Care” bill is about giving users more control over their feeds. Ultimately though, it builds the infrastructure for much broader online censorship. The draft would cover social media, messaging, search, games, app stores, ISPs and AI, with fines up to A$109.2M. And the government could expand what counts as “harmful” content later. “More control” for users or more control for the state? https://reclaimthenet.org/australia-wants-to-remake-the-internet-in-the-name-of-safety

Revolut didn’t get “hacked.” It handed customers’ IDs, addresses, account numbers, transaction histories, selfies and more to an unauthorized third party after receiving a fake government request. That’s the real KYC problem: once companies are forced to collect your most sensitive data, you’re trusting them to protect it for years. More ID checks = more leaks. Yet, governments are constantly pushing for more ID checks to access basic aspects of daily life, like social media... https://reclaimthenet.org/revolut-leak-shows-the-cost-of-constant-id-collection

Ireland just opened its first investigation under the Online "Safety" Code, and it’s already going after X. The regulator says X may not be doing enough to stop under-18s from seeing inappropriate content and says a simple date-of-birth check isn’t good enough for age verification. No fine yet, but if X is found in breach, the penalty could be €20M or 10% of relevant annual revenue. This is how digital ID requirements creep in: first “protect the children,” then ID checks become the price of getting online to speak. Everything you say becomes linked to your real-world ID. https://reclaimthenet.org/ireland-regulator-investigates-x-age-verification-controls