WEEK OF JANUARY 21, 2025 AI Uncertainty, TikTok’s Clock, and Trump’s Digital DOGE
State of Play:
President Trump will be issuing additional executive orders this week, on top of the dozens signed yesterday following his inauguration.
Senate committees will continue with the confirmation process. Marco Rubio was confirmed last night as the Secretary of State by a vote of 99-0. We expect Kristi Noem for DHS, John Ratcliffe for CIA, and Russell Vought for OMB to likely be next in line for Senate floor votes. The Judiciary Committee will vote on Pam Bondi for Attorney General on Wednesday, teeing her up for a Senate floor vote likely early next week.
Driving the News:
Big Tech leaders had front row seats at the inauguration, which raised some eyebrows. But what are the long-term implications for the industry?
Speaker Johnson and Majority Leader Thune go to the White House to meet with Trump today, as there is a lot at stake for Congress in the balance of power in Washington.
Three Things to Watch in Tech:1. Trump Rescinds Biden AI Order on Day One: President Trump signed an executive order to rescind former President Biden’s AI EO. The AI EO was included in a long list of executive orders rescinded.
We expect the AI EO to be replaced with a new Trump AI policy at some point. But in the meantime, there are lots of questions.
The AI Safety Institute created under the Biden EO is in limbo, but we expect it to be reincarnated under a new name and mission.
Some of the Biden EO directives, such as the Commerce report on open source and open weight models, could be ignored or revisited.
2. TikTok and the US’s Off-Again, On-Again:
TikTok did a little TikTok dance this weekend, shutting down the service briefly Sunday night, then in the least surprising move this weekend, coming back online just in time for the inauguration.
As expected, Trump issued an executive order officially giving TikTok 90 days to sell. Now the hard part starts.
President Trump and Congress will not have to grapple with the company’s Chinese ownership, and whether or not divestment from China will remain ultimately necessary.
The move was highly anticipated, as TikTok issued a message to users before the brief shutdown hinting at President Trump’s willingness to work with the company.
3. The DOGE is Official:
President Trump issued an executive order establishing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) within the existing US Digital Service Office in the White House. It appears DOGE will be more than just cost cutting. The EO includes this important language on use of technology to create efficiency.
Modernizing Federal Technology and Software to Maximize Efficiency and Productivity. (a) The USDS Administrator shall commence a Software Modernization Initiative to improve the quality and efficiency of government-wide software, network infrastructure, and information technology (IT) systems. Among other things, the USDS Administrator shall work with Agency Heads to promote inter-operability between agency networks and systems, ensure data integrity, and facilitate responsible data collection and synchronization.
Register HERE for Franklin Square Group and Spotdraft’s upcoming webinar. Matt Tanielian and Franklin Square client Kara Calvert of Coinbase, will be offering insights on the return of the Trump administration and how in-house legal teams can prepare for a new wave of executive orders, regulatory shifts, and policy changes. February 6, 2025 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET.
What's Happening This Week
Tech Hearings
The House Homeland Security Committee with hold a hearing on “Unconstrained Actors: Assessing Global Cyber Threats to the Homeland” - Wednesday, January 22 at 10:30 AM EST
Tech Events
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation - Virtual Discussion on "The Worst Tech Policies of 2024: How the New Administration and Congress Can Turn the Page" - Tuesday, January 21 at 12:00 PM EST
The Government Executive Media Group - Virtual Discussion on "The Future of Care: Integrating Technology for Better Outcomes" - Tuesday, January 21 at 2:00 PM EST
The National Institute of Standards and Technology's National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence - Forum on "Implementing a Zero Trust Architecture" - Thursday, January 23 at 11:00 AM EST
Johns Hopkins University - A monthly virtual briefing series for journalists on AI by researchers to consider the implications of anticipated policy and regulatory changes on artificial intelligence - Thursday, January 23 at 11:00 AM EST
The Center for Strategic and International Studies - Debate on "Artificial Intelligence Integration in Nuclear Command, Control and Communications” - Friday, January 24 at 9:00 AM EST
Weekly Meme
