Federal Government

Federal law enforcement and cybersecurity officials are warning the nation’s state election administrators that they face serious threats ahead of November’s presidential election.

Members of the National Association of Counties were in Washington, D.C., to urge Congress to extend funding for a program providing subsidies to help low-income households afford broadband Internet service.

OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman is working to secure U.S. government federal approval for a massive venture to boost global manufacturing of artificial intelligence chips.

Plus, the state of Washington has appointed Aaron Wheeler to serve as the new broadband director, a digital navigator pilot program has been launched in the city of Cambridge, Mass., and more.

In accordance with President Joe Biden’s 2023 executive order on artificial intelligence, the federal government is moving forward with key actions — namely, the creation of an AI safety consortium.

The federal cybersecurity certification brought by FedRAMP ensures that electric vehicle charging networks have the security protocols in place to protect data held and managed by federal agencies.

According to a Government Technology analysis of CISA data, only 42 percent of counties have registered .gov domains. Now that the federal government is making it easier than ever to get a .gov domain, will more agencies make the change?

Ivanti, which has verified the cybersecurity issues with its own investigation, is working to release patches and mitigations, but in the meantime there are precautions that users can take.

Since the Federal Trade Commission sued Amazon over allegations of anti-competitive and monopolistic behavior, the two parties have debated the schedule, the scope and the rationale of the case itself.

The deadline to sign up for benefits under the Affordable Connectivity Program is looming. Applicants have until Feb. 7 to enroll in the program that is set to expire later this year without legislative action.

The U.S. National Science Foundation and other collaborating federal agencies are launching a national pilot to research, and ultimately bolster investment in, the area of artificial intelligence.

The U.S. General Services Administration has chosen to collaborate with four states to pilot a text notification platform geared toward enhancing internal and external communication surrounding federal benefits services.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined 25 other top state attorneys to ask the federal government for an inquiry into how AI technology could make it more difficult to protect consumers from illegal scam calls and texts.

In the absence of nationwide policy, 13 states have enacted their own data privacy laws. Several others have taken a different approach with a mix of basic and substantive protections. Congress may take the issue this session.

In a discussion about the near future, the writers and editors at Governing walk through the legislative issues to keep an eye on this year. Technology, budget and transportation top the list.

Plus, a new fact sheet from the FCC looks at the future of the ACP; California launches a website to track infrastructure investment; the White House puts $80 million toward wireless innovation; and more.

Advocates for children’s online safety are hoping that Congress will enact federal legislation rather than allowing a piecemeal, state-by-state approach. They hope new rules would rein in tech platforms.

Plus, a new dashboard compiles state-level rules on digital transformation, the American Library Association launches a new digital inclusion working group for library staffers, and more.