This week, AI policy spans data center permitting and grid reliability to classroom integration, platform liability, and the geopolitics of AI exports. House committees are examining how to power America’s AI buildout and prepare the workforce, while the Senate considers key energy and FERC nominations that could shape infrastructure and regulatory oversight. At the same time, tensions between the Pentagon and Anthropic highlight unresolved questions about military AI governance, the FTC is testing the boundaries of platform oversight, states are pressing Apple on child safety, and the White House is expanding its AI diplomacy through a new “Tech Corps.”

In this week’s Nimitz Tech:

• Pentagon/Anthropic Dispute: A growing rift between the Pentagon and Anthropic over military use of its AI model highlights escalating tensions around defense deployment, corporate guardrails, and who ultimately controls advanced AI systems.

• FTC Warns Apple Over Apple News: The FTC has warned Apple that alleged bias in Apple News could raise consumer protection concerns, signaling a new front in the administration’s broader scrutiny of tech platforms’ editorial practices.

• Social Media Teen Safety Ratings: Meta, TikTok, and Snap have agreed to independent evaluations of their teen safety practices, adopting a voluntary ratings system amid continued legal and legislative pressure over youth mental health.

Editor’s Note: As AI deployment accelerates and grid reliability moves to the center of federal policymaking, we’re expanding Nimitz Tech’s coverage to include key developments in energy and infrastructure policy that directly affect innovation, national security, and economic growth.

WHO’S HAVING EVENTS THIS WEEK?

Tuesday, February 24th

• House Science, Space, and Technology: “Powering America's AI Future: Assessing Policy Options to Increase Data Center Infrastructure” at 10:00am. Watch here.

• House Education and Workforce: “Building an AI-Ready America: Teaching in the AI Age” at 2:00pm. Watch here.

• House Natural Resources: “Bureaucratic Delays and the Costs to Ratepayers and Electric Power Systems” at 10:15pm. Watch here.

Wednesday, February 25th

• Senate Energy and Natural Resources: “Hearings to examine the nominations of Stevan Pearce, of New Mexico, to be Director of the Bureau of Land Management, Kyle Haustveit, of North Dakota, to be Under Secretary of Energy, and David LaCerte, of Louisiana, to be a Member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission” at 9:30am. Watch here.

TECH NEWS DRIVING THE WEEK

In Washington

• A dispute has emerged between the Pentagon and AI firm Anthropic over how the military can use the company’s Claude model, putting Anthropic’s $200 million Defense Department contract at risk after its technology was reportedly used in planning a January raid targeting Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has pushed for broad authority to deploy leading AI systems for “all lawful purposes” as the military accelerates AI integration into cyberwarfare, autonomous weapons, and operational planning, with other major firms like OpenAI, Google, and xAI reportedly agreeing to such terms. Anthropic, which brands itself as safety-focused, has corporate principles cautioning against unchecked use of advanced AI in autonomous weapons or mass surveillance, raising tensions over who ultimately controls how the technology is applied. Pentagon officials have suggested Anthropic could be deemed a “supply chain risk” if it seeks to limit usage, a move that could bar not only the company but also contractors relying on its models, underscoring a broader clash between rapid military AI deployment and concerns about governance, legality, and ethical guardrails.

• Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson has warned Apple that its Apple News app could face scrutiny if its article selection practices are found to systematically favor left-leaning outlets, citing a conservative watchdog report that claimed none of the app’s top January stories came from right-leaning sources. In a letter to CEO Tim Cook, Ferguson said the FTC is “not the speech police” but suggested Apple could run afoul of deceptive business practice laws if its curation contradicts consumer expectations or its own terms of service. The move places Apple into the Trump administration’s broader campaign to challenge what it views as liberal bias across media and tech platforms, a strategy critics describe as unconstitutional “jawboning” designed to pressure companies to alter editorial decisions. Legal experts and former FTC officials argue the letter raises First Amendment concerns, while conservative advocates maintain that dominant platforms should not present themselves as neutral aggregators while allegedly skewing coverage.

• The Department of Energy announced it has selected four federal sites—Idaho National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Reservation, Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, and Savannah River Site—to move forward with plans to solicit private-sector partners for AI data center and associated energy generation projects. The initiative, aligned with President Trump’s executive orders on accelerating federal permitting, deploying advanced nuclear technologies, and expanding domestic energy production, aims to leverage DOE-owned land to support large-scale AI infrastructure while bolstering grid reliability, lowering energy costs, and strengthening national security. Following strong industry interest in an earlier request for information, DOE said formal solicitations outlining project scope and eligibility requirements will be released in the coming months, with partner selections potentially occurring by year’s end, and additional sites under evaluation.

National

• Meta, TikTok, and Snap have agreed to undergo independent evaluations of how well their platforms protect teenage users, signing onto a new voluntary ratings system developed by mental health experts and backed by the Mental Health Coalition. The framework includes roughly two dozen standards assessing areas such as protections against suicide and self-harm content, limits on endless scrolling, break reminders, internal oversight, transparency, and user education. Companies that perform well will receive a “blue shield” designation, while weaker performers could be publicly identified as failing to meet safety benchmarks. The initiative comes amid mounting legal and political pressure on social media firms over youth mental health, as lawsuits, stalled federal legislation, and state-level regulations have struggled to produce clear guardrails. Organizers say the ratings are not a substitute for regulation but offer parents and teens clearer information about platform safety practices, while lawmakers like Sen. Mark Warner argue that enforceable federal standards are still needed.

• Anthropic has poured $20 million into Public First Action, an advocacy group aligned with super PACs, to launch a $300,000 ad campaign in New Jersey urging voters to oppose federal legislation that would block states from enacting their own AI consumer protections. The effort marks an escalation in a broader political battle over AI regulation ahead of the midterms, pitting Anthropic—an unusual tech company advocating for stricter AI guardrails—against rivals like OpenAI and industry-backed groups favoring a lighter regulatory touch. Public First and allied organizations are funding ads nationwide to promote AI safety standards focused on child protection, jobs, and national security, while industry groups have raised more than $100 million to support AI-friendly candidates. The fight reflects deeper tensions between federal and state authority, divisions within the tech industry, and friction between Anthropic and the Trump administration, particularly after disputes with the Pentagon over military AI use. Political strategists say the spending blitz could force candidates to stake out positions on AI policy, even if voters remain more focused on economic issues.

• West Virginia’s attorney general has sued Apple, alleging that the company knowingly allowed its iCloud service to be used to store and share child sexual abuse material (CSAM) by declining to adopt widely used detection tools such as Microsoft’s PhotoDNA. The 52-page complaint argues that Apple’s emphasis on user privacy over content monitoring violates state consumer protection laws and has facilitated the spread of illegal material, seeking monetary damages and changes to Apple’s detection practices. The lawsuit highlights Apple’s historically low number of CSAM reports compared with companies like Meta and Google and revisits the company’s abandoned 2021 effort to implement its own scanning system, NeuralHash, which was scrapped after privacy backlash. Apple says protecting children is central to its mission and points to parental control features, but the case adds to mounting legal pressure on tech companies to balance encryption and privacy with child safety obligations.

International

• The White House has launched a new “Tech Corps” initiative within the Peace Corps aimed at exporting U.S. artificial intelligence technologies abroad as part of a broader strategy to counter China’s growing tech influence. Modeled on the traditional Peace Corps, the program will recruit and deploy engineers and STEM professionals to help partner countries implement American AI systems in sectors such as agriculture, education, health care, and economic development, providing “last-mile” technical support. The initiative ties into the Trump administration’s American AI Exports Program and the broader Pax Silica effort to secure global semiconductor supply chains, with countries like India expected to participate. Officials framed the effort as advancing “AI sovereignty” by helping nations adopt U.S.-developed technologies while strengthening American leadership in advanced tech and expanding soft-power influence through financing support from institutions such as the World Bank and U.S. International Development Finance Corporation.

Just for Fun

Celebrating American Art at the National Gallery of Art presents a fresh look at iconic works by Copley, Stuart, and Cole alongside historic sculptures by Hiram Powers and Bessie Potter Vonnoh, inviting visitors to explore how artists shaped the American story from the colonial era through the 20th century. On view at the National Gallery starting March 1.

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