Happy Tuesday! Here’s your Tech Drop, my weekly compilation of the past week’s top stories from the intersection of technology and politics.

Trump meme coins cause a rift in MAGA world

Cryptocurrency enthusiasts are not happy about Donald and Melania Trump’s new “meme coins” — essentially, glorified trading cards. The digital tokens seem like a perfect vessel for anyone, including foreign governments, to funnel money to the Trump family. That’s one reason why some experts have said the ventures — launched within days of Trump’s inauguration — are ripe for blatant corruption.

And even some of Trump’s biggest fans are bemoaning the move. The Wall Street Journal published an article that quotes Trump-supporting crypto bros who are worried that this move will delegitimize the industry. On Monday, the Rev. Lorenzo Sewell, the pastor who gave the benediction at Trump’s swearing-in, announced that he also has launched a meme coin. Probably not helping with that whole legitimacy thing.

Read more at The Wall Street Journal.

TikTok’s legal limbo

Trump’s executive order requiring the postponement of the TikTok ban, which was set to take effect in the U.S. this week, appears to have saved the app for now. At least, that’s what Trump and the app’s owners want us to think.

But Business Insider published an article raising questions about Trump’s authority to single-handedly overrule a law that received overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress and was unanimously upheld by the Supreme Court.

Read more at Business Insider.

Creepy ‘surveillance pricing’

In one of its last acts during the Biden administration, the Federal Trade Commission and its then-chair, Lina Khan, revealed the initial findings of the agency’s “surveillance pricing” market study. The report shows how companies can manipulate pricing based on personal data. According to the FTC, “details like a person’s precise location or browser history can be frequently used to target individual consumers with different prices for the same goods and services.”

Read more at the FTC.

Kristi Noem’s concerning misinfo plans

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, whom Trump has nominated to lead the Department of Homeland Security, says she wants to shut down the department’s efforts at fighting foreign actors’ misinformation campaigns targeting Americans, effectively saying she wants to leave Americans vulnerable to manipulation.

Read more at The ReidOut Blog.

Biden’s FCC chair warns about Trump

On her way out the door, outgoing Federal Communication Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel warned about Trump’s efforts to suppress free speech and press freedoms. In a post last week, I wrote about the statement she released while dismissing multiple complaints from activist groups seeking to punish news outlets for coverage they didn’t like.

Rosenworcel compared Trump’s attacks on the First Amendment to actions taken by Presidents Richard Nixon and John Adams, and she also cited his push to “revoke licenses for broadcast television stations because he disagrees with their content and coverage” — noting that the FCC “has a duty to respect the Constitution.”

Read more at The ReidOut Blog.

Bigwigs snicker at Sewell’s remarks

The aforementioned pastor, Sewell, has garnered criticism — including from MSNBC’s Joy Reid — for his inaugural benediction, which borrowed from the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech and relied on what seemed like an overdone Black preacher affect. One thing I noted? Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick seemingly found the performance pretty funny as they watched and snickered in the background.

To me, the sight — of MAGA-aligned elites giggling during a King-inspired performance on MLK Day — epitomized some of the disrespect that Black people have come to expect from Trump and his movement.

President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly planning to use his executive authority to support cryptocurrency companies and promote broader digital asset adoption during the early days of his administration, according to Reuters. This initiative marks a sharp departure from the regulatory approach under President Joe Biden’s administration, which took stringent measures to address fraud and money laundering in the crypto sector.

Executive Orders to Signal Crypto Support

Trump is expected to issue an executive order establishing a cryptocurrency advisory council, a proposal he initially suggested in July, as reported by Reuters. Two sources familiar with the discussions noted that this council could include up to 20 members tasked with advising the government on creating crypto-friendly policies. Bloomberg News was the first to report the plan to establish such a council.

Additionally, Trump’s team has reportedly discussed reversing specific regulatory measures that have posed challenges for crypto companies. According to Reuters, one potential target is the 2022 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accounting guidance known as “SAB 121,” which has been criticized for increasing costs for companies, particularly banks, attempting to hold cryptocurrencies for third parties. This action could alleviate financial burdens and facilitate greater participation in the crypto market.

Related: FTC Raises Antitrust Concerns Over Big Tech’s AI Partnerships

Controversial “Operation Choke Point 2.0” in Focus

Another area of focus for the incoming administration is addressing concerns raised by cryptocurrency executives about “Operation Choke Point 2.0.” This term, used by industry insiders, describes what they perceive as a coordinated effort by bank regulators to restrict crypto companies’ access to traditional financial services. While bank regulators have denied the existence of such an initiative, sources cited by Reuters suggest that Trump plans to issue an executive order to halt these practices.

Broader Implications for the Crypto Sector

If implemented, these policy changes could significantly impact the cryptocurrency industry by fostering a more supportive regulatory environment. Experts in both the regulatory and crypto spaces told Reuters that such actions might accelerate the mainstream adoption of digital assets, signaling a new era for the sector under the Trump administration.

This approach stands in stark contrast to the policies of the Biden administration, which pursued legal action against major cryptocurrency exchanges, including Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken, in efforts to combat illicit activities and safeguard consumers.

Source: Reuters