As the government teeters on the edge of a shutdown, this week in tech policy brings another round of high-stakes developments at the intersection of politics, industry, and global influence. From the Trump administration’s controversial TikTok deal and congressional scrutiny over its terms, to California’s push to set the pace on AI regulation, to new polling on how Americans view AI’s risks and benefits, the debates shaping the digital future are accelerating. Add to that fresh reporting on Silicon Valley’s experiments with “network states” and the growing scrutiny of tech companies’ cooperation with federal subpoenas, and it’s clear the policy landscape is shifting quickly. Here’s what you need to know.

In this week’s Nimitz Tech:

• States: California is racing to set the rules for AI—whether Washington likes it or not.

• Public: Americans want AI’s help with data, not their dating lives.

• Billions: From rave-fueled pop-ups to billionaires buying farmland, Silicon Valley’s elite are trying to build their own countries—and make the rules themselves.

TECH NEWS DRIVING THE WEEK

In Washington

• President Donald Trump’s administration has brokered a controversial $14 billion deal to spin off TikTok’s U.S. operations from Chinese parent company ByteDance, granting major stakes to Trump allies and foreign investors, including a UAE state-backed firm that previously invested heavily in the Trump family’s cryptocurrency venture. While the White House insists American investors will retain majority control, critics such as Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden accuse Trump of engineering a sweetheart arrangement that enriches his allies, undervalues the app, and undermines national security concerns. The deal, still unfinished, has already triggered sharp political backlash, investor scrutiny, and questions about foreign influence in one of America’s most popular social media platforms.

• California is advancing a slate of new AI regulations, including S.B. 53, which would require developers of large frontier models to publish risk-mitigation frameworks, putting the state at odds with President Trump and Republican lawmakers pushing for a national ban on state-level AI laws. Governor Gavin Newsom argues California has a responsibility to lead as the hub of Silicon Valley, while critics in Washington warn the state could end up dictating rules for the entire country. The GOP, meanwhile, remains divided over preemption efforts, with Trump’s AI Action Plan seeking to limit state power even as Congress struggles to pass federal tech legislation. Tech firms like Anthropic support the California bill as a pragmatic stopgap, though OpenAI remains critical, warning of regulatory overreach. The battle underscores both California’s growing influence in AI policy and the widening federal-state rift over who should shape the rules for the most powerful technology of the era.

National

• A new Pew Research Center survey finds that Americans are far more concerned than excited about the rise of artificial intelligence, with majorities saying they want greater control over its use and believe it will weaken human creativity and relationships. While most people are open to AI helping with analytical or technical tasks—such as weather forecasting, fraud detection, or medical research—they strongly oppose its involvement in personal areas like religion or matchmaking. Despite this skepticism, nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults say they would allow AI some role in everyday activities, though most admit they lack confidence in spotting AI-generated content. Younger adults report higher awareness and interaction with AI, but they are also more likely than older Americans to worry it will erode human skills.

• An Intercept investigation reveals that Google secretly complied with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement subpoena for Gmail account data tied to pro-Palestine student activist Amandla Thomas-Johnson, handing over subscriber information before notifying him or allowing a legal challenge. The case, alongside similar subpoenas targeting Cornell graduate student Momodou Taal, highlights ICE’s use of broad, judge-free administrative subpoenas to pursue international students protesting Israel’s war in Gaza — a tactic critics warn enables unchecked surveillance and retaliation against protected political speech. While Meta gave Taal advance notice to contest its subpoena, Google’s swift compliance has raised alarms about Silicon Valley’s willingness to accommodate law enforcement at the expense of activists’ rights.

International

• Across the globe, tech billionaires and crypto visionaries are pushing to build “network states”—private city-states designed to bypass government regulation and pursue radical experiments in technology, medicine, and governance. Figures like Laurence Ion, backed by influential investors including Balaji Srinivasan, Marc Andreessen, and Peter Thiel, are experimenting with pop-up communities and seeking special economic zones where they can rewrite the rules around biotech and AI. Projects such as Viva City, Praxis, and Próspera aim to blend utopian ambition with libertarian control, promising innovation and prosperity while raising alarms about elitism, exclusion, and neo-colonialism. Proponents argue that failing governments make alternative systems necessary, but critics warn these enclaves risk creating societies for the wealthy while leaving service workers and the marginalized behind.

• Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), chair of the House Select Committee on China, has demanded an “urgent” briefing from the Trump administration on its newly approved TikTok deal, voicing concern that it may leave the app vulnerable to continued influence from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. While the agreement spins TikTok into a majority U.S.-owned entity with Oracle providing security and a copy of the algorithm, ByteDance will retain a stake of under 20 percent and license its recommendation system — a detail critics argue undermines the divestment law Congress passed in 2024. Moolenaar warned that the arrangement risks allowing the Chinese Communist Party to maintain sway over U.S. users’ feeds, even as administration officials insist the new company will control the algorithm and meet the law’s requirements.

FOR FUN

• 📚 Author Talk: “Who Better than You” at MLK Library (Downtown) (9/30)

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