Federal Government

Demand for electric vehicles is growing internationally and the technology is finding gubernatorial backing at home from both sides of the aisle, Shailen Bhatt, a senior member of the U.S. Department of Transportation, said Friday.

18F, a digital consulting office within the General Services Administration, is at work on three projects with federal agencies, it said this week in announcing its 10th anniversary. The office has completed 455 initiatives in 10 years.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday, accuses Apple of stifling competition and leveraging its clout and ownership of the popular App Store to increase prices for customers.

Powerful technology has perhaps never presented a bigger set of regulatory challenges for the U.S. government than it is at this moment, with an election year looming and disinformation flowing.

Several ideas are afoot to update the Congressional Research Service, sometimes known as Congress’ think tank. One would eliminate the weighty print version of the Constitution Annotated, known as CONAN, making it digital-only.

The Biden administration awarded Intel $8.5 billion in subsidies this week and promised it $11 billion in loans to go toward financing new semiconductor factories.

Everyday household items like remote thermostats may be vulnerable to hackers, but a new federal program hopes to identify and label which connected products are taking measures to protect your information.

The federal government has issued guidance on exemptions from its Build America Buy America requirements for broadband infrastructure projects. This could help make it easier to acquire key pieces of high-speed Internet networks.

The federal Department of Homeland Security on Monday released its first artificial intelligence road map, which includes three AI pilot projects to test the technology's impact. Map goals include making DHS’ use of AI more transparent.

Plus, more states see their digital equity plans accepted, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance unveils a low-cost plan model as an alternative to the ACP, and more.

Contracts and federal grant monies aim to rapidly bring high-speed Internet to many of the state’s 67 counties. The developments follow last-mile broadband work paid for by more than $82 million in state funding.

The European Parliament held a vote on the EU AI Act Wednesday in which a majority of members voted to adopt the regulation — marking the establishment of a model in artificial intelligence regulation for governments worldwide.

The federal government and the health-care company have announced relief programs after the national impact of last month’s attack. Two services around electronic payments and medical claims are expected to be restored later this month.

As the need for skilled tech workers skyrockets, former federal CIO Suzette Kent argues organizations including state and local governments should start recruiting from less traditional pipelines.

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program’s redesign of its marketplace is focused on smoothing navigation. The update to FedRAMP, first launched in 2011, followed dialog with users on pain points.

Experts have long debated a nationwide ban on paying cyber extortionists. But any ban must be paired with measures to help targets improve defenses, cybersecurity experts say.

Plus, Maine is the first state to have its digital equity plan accepted, the NTCA is calling for a more effective challenge process for the national broadband map, and more.

This week, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries announced the establishment of a new task force that will help Congress to better understand artificial intelligence and its related risks.