This week’s Nimitz Tech provides a snapshot of the technology policy issues drawing attention across Washington. Recent developments touch on military cyberoperations, federal surveillance practices, autonomous vehicle safety, and legal questions surrounding AI training data and encrypted communications. On Capitol Hill, committees will examine topics ranging from AI adoption in the workplace and self-driving cars to cybersecurity risks facing water infrastructure, energy oversight, and public safety communications, offering a sense of where congressional focus is likely to land in the days ahead.

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In this week’s Nimitz Tech:

• Cyberoperations / Pentagon: U.S. officials say the military is increasingly coordinating cyberoperations with conventional forces during overseas operations.

• AI training on books: Court filings reveal how AI companies acquired and digitized large numbers of books for use in training artificial intelligence models.

• ICE surveillance program: ICE has launched a nationwide program using private contractors to locate undocumented immigrants through digital and in-person surveillance.

WHO’S HAVING EVENTS THIS WEEK?

Tuesday, February 3rd

• House Education and Workforce: “Building an AI-Ready America: Adopting AI at Work” at 10:15am. Watch here.

• House Energy and Commerce: “Oversight of FERC: Advancing Affordable and Reliable Energy for All Americans” at 10:15am. Watch here.

Wednesday, February 4th

• Senate Environment and Public Works: “Identifying and Addressing Cybersecurity Challenges to Protect America’s Water Infrastructure” at 10:00am. Watch here.

• Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation: “Hit the Road, Mac: The Future of Self-Driving Cars” at 10:00am. Watch here.

• House Energy and Commerce: “Evaluating FirstNet: Performance, Accountability, and Reauthorization” at 10:15am. Watch here.

TECH NEWS DRIVING THE WEEK

In Washington

• U.S. officials say the military has begun more closely integrating cyberoperations with traditional military activities, including recent operations in Venezuela and strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. In Venezuela, U.S. Cyber Command reportedly disrupted power, radar, and military communications to support the movement of American forces, reflecting an effort to apply cyber capabilities alongside physical operations rather than as standalone actions. Defense officials describe this approach as a way to degrade adversary command and control and support battlefield maneuver, though some analysts and former officials have questioned the scale and operational impact of the cyber effects in specific cases. The Pentagon is also reassessing how it trains, deploys, and retains cyber personnel as other countries, particularly China, continue to expand their own cyber capabilities.

• U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement began a nationwide program in December to track and photograph up to 1.5 million undocumented immigrants by hiring private contractors to conduct digital and in-person surveillance, according to procurement records and agency statements. The initiative, known as “skip tracing,” provides contractors with personal identifying information and offers financial incentives for quickly verifying individuals’ locations, with intelligence that may be used for enforcement actions such as raids or serving documents. A U.S. subsidiary of the French consulting firm Capgemini received the largest contract under the program, but the company said it is not currently executing the work after pressure from French government officials prompted an internal review. ICE and the Department of Homeland Security say the program complies with legal and privacy requirements and is intended to update address information and support enforcement, while critics in Congress and civil liberties groups argue that outsourcing surveillance diffuses accountability and raises concerns about oversight and safeguards.

National

• A Waymo autonomous vehicle struck a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica, California, during morning drop-off on Jan. 23, prompting a review by federal safety regulators. Waymo said the child ran into the street from behind a double-parked vehicle and that the robotaxi detected the child and braked, slowing to about 6 mph before impact, after which emergency services were called and the child was not seriously injured. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it is examining whether the vehicle exercised appropriate caution given its proximity to a school during drop-off hours, and Waymo said it will cooperate with the inquiry. The incident follows other recent federal reviews of Waymo’s behavior, including a case in Arizona involving a teenage passenger and a separate investigation into how the company’s vehicles interact with stopped school buses.

• Recently unsealed court records from a copyright lawsuit against AI company Anthropic describe an internal effort, known as Project Panama, to acquire, scan, and recycle millions of physical books for use in training artificial intelligence models. The filings show that Anthropic and other major technology companies viewed books as valuable training data and pursued large-scale acquisition strategies that included purchasing used books, scanning them after removing their spines, and in some cases downloading copies from online shadow libraries that distribute copyrighted works without authorization. While federal judges have ruled in early cases that training AI models on copyrighted books can qualify as fair use, courts have also found that companies may still face liability for how the material was obtained, particularly when pirated sources were involved. The documents provide insight into internal discussions and legal considerations within AI companies as copyright cases brought by authors and publishers continue to proceed.

International

• A lawsuit filed in California by the law firm Quinn Emanuel on behalf of seven WhatsApp users from several countries alleges that Meta and WhatsApp can access users’ private communications despite long-standing claims that the service’s end-to-end encryption prevents such access. The suit, which seeks class-action status outside the United States, relies on unnamed whistleblowers and asserts that WhatsApp staff can request and view user messages, though it provides limited technical detail. WhatsApp has denied the allegations, called the case meritless, and warned it may seek sanctions against the law firm, while also suggesting the lawsuit is linked to the firm’s involvement in an appeal by spyware company NSO Group, which recently lost a major case to WhatsApp. Independent security experts cited in the report expressed skepticism, noting that the claims conflict with how WhatsApp’s encryption is widely understood to function and lack supporting evidence.

Just for Fun

A Ford’s Theatre discussion on Feb. 6 explores how free Black Americans shaped the meaning of U.S. citizenship, drawing on Dr. Christopher Bonner’s research and historical texts to examine the evolving promises of American democracy.

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