ZDNETMicrosoft's Copilot Vision AI is a handy feature that will analyze, summarize, and field questions about what you see on your screen. You can use this on a mobile device to inspect a live feed from your camera or a printed document and on a PC to view your current web page. By scanning what's on the screen, Copilot tries to understand the content to provide you with real-time, context-sensitive help.You can use Copilot Vision on an iPhone, on an Android phone, and in Microsoft Edge on your PC. For now, certain skills are freely available to all Copilot users, while others require a Copilot Pro subscription. Anyone can use Copilot in Edge to analyze the current web page. But you'll need a Pro subscription to use Copilot Vision on a mobile device.Also: The best AI for coding in 2025 (including two new top picks - and what not to use)Copilot Vision works with most sites, except those with harmful or adult content. Also, it can't scan a web page that's restricted or hidden behind a login or paywall. If you visit an unsupported site, Copilot displays a grayed-out icon and crossed eyeglasses and will simply refuse to discuss the content on the page.To address privacy concerns, your requests and page content aren't captured or stored. Copilot's own responses are logged so that Microsoft can monitor them for unsafe conversations. After the session ends, though, all data is supposed to be deleted.Copilot Vision works through Copilot Voice in which you can carry on a back-and-forth conversation using natural language. You can choose among eight different voices, each with its own unique style. You're also able to change the speed to coax the voice to speak faster or slower.Also: I retested Microsoft Copilot's AI coding skills in 2025 and now it's got serious gameAfter the conversation ends, return to the main screen and tap the hamburger icon to view your recent chats. Tap the first one at the top to see a transcript of the conversation you just completed.With Copilot Vision on your phone, you can get help and information on all kinds of items in the "real world," such as photos, models, paintings, clothing, animals, plants, and much more, as well as any type of printed document. In Edge, you're able to get details on any supported web page. Here's how I use Copilot Vision to save time on both my phone and PC.Use Copilot Vision on your mobile deviceFirst, let's check out how Copilot Vision works on a phone or tablet. If you don't already have a Copilot Pro subscription, you'll need one to use Copilot Vision on your iPhone or Android device. Download and install the Copilot app from Apple's App Store or Google Play if you don't yet have it. Open the app and sign in with your Microsoft account. Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNETTap the microphone icon at the bottom to go to the Copilot Voice screen. Tap the eyeglasses icon to segue into Copilot Vision mode. Point your phone at a specific person, place, object, or physical document. You can then ask Copilot to describe it or analyze it. You can also pose specific questions about the item. Copilot will respond based on its view and understanding of the item. Below are some examples.  1. Analyze a poster In this case, I asked Copilot Vision to view a poster of the front cover of Amazing Spider-Man #1. After it correctly identified the cover, I asked it how much a mint copy of the actual issue would cost. It answered more than $1 million. Show more Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET 2. Ask about a model Here, I had Copilot Vision check out a model of the starship Enterprise. To challenge the AI, I asked it how many crew members served aboard this ship without giving its name, and it correctly answered my question: 430. Show more Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET 3. Ask about clothing For this one, I told the AI to look at a bowler hat, the type that Winston Churchill made famous. I asked it when it was created, and Copilot filled me in on its origin. Show more Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET 4. Find details in a printed document Here, I had Copilot Vision "read" a channel list for SiriusXM. I asked if if the lineup included a channel for the Beatles, and it correctly picked the right one. Show more Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNETUse Copilot Vision in EdgeNext, let's see how Copilot works in Edge.Fire up Edge on your computer and make sure you're signed in with your Microsoft account. Browse to a web page that you'd like Copilot to analyze. Click the Copilot icon in the upper right, select the microphone icon, and then click the eyeglasses icon. Tell Copilot to summarize the page or ask it specific questions about the content. 1. Summarize an article For this one, I asked Copilot Vision to summarize an article online and followed up with some specific questions. Show more Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET 2. Ask for shopping help Here, I asked the AI to view a list of outdoor security cameras on Amazon and recommend a model based on certain criteria. Specifically, I asked it to find outdoor cameras with no subscription for under $200. Show more Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET 3. Get a recipe Next, I browsed to a page on lemon meringue pie, which got my mouth watering for this tasty dessert. But I wanted to cook up a pie that wasn't too unhealthy, so I asked Copilot to give me a step-by-step recipe for this dish with low fat and no sugar. Show more 4. Get help landing a job For this one, I checked out postings for freelance writers at LinkedIn. When I found a job that intrigued me, I asked Copilot to generate a cover letter for it. Show more Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNETWhat's especially cool is that Copilot Vision can see an entire web page, not just what's currently visible. For example, I asked it to summarize an article I had written, and it discussed the entire story from start to finish, even though only a few paragraphs were visible on the screen. That means you don't have to scroll up and down a page or focus on a specific section to get Copilot to work its magic.The next time you're curious about something you see in the real world or on the web, try using Copilot Vision to fill in the blanks and answer any questions you pose.More how-tos

At its core, one of the biggest issues is the assumption that technology is a magic wand and that automating a process, no matter how broken or inefficient, will fix it.

Key Takeaways Hyte Halts U.S. Shipments: California-based PC case maker Hyte paused its U.S. shipments due to the financial strain caused by Trump’s 145% tariffs, which made doing business in the U.S. unfeasible. Impact Across the Industry: Hyte is not alone—other tech companies like 8BitDo, Anbernic, and even Nintendo have also suspended shipments to the U.S. due to the tariffs. Uncertainty and Increased Costs: The unpredictability of future tariff changes is causing widespread stress, with many manufacturers facing higher costs and limited U.S. availability of products. Long-Term Consequences for U.S. Consumers: If the tariffs remain, U.S. consumers could see fewer product options, higher prices, and limited availability, potentially ending the era of affordable PC building. California-based PC case manufacturer Hyte halted its shipments to the United States last week, citing the heavy impact of President Trump’s 145% tariffs, making it financially unfeasible for the company to continue operating in the U.S. market. Hyte, the sister brand of iBuyPower, counted the US as its number one region, with around 65% of its revenue in America. In an interview with Gamers Nexus on April 23, the company said it is halting some product shipments to focus on the EMEA region.  In a spreadsheet shared in the GN YouTube documentary, the case maker revealed that its profit margins on its Y40 case were just 5% (or around $5). Any tariff increase meant it would sell at a loss unless it raised prices, which it announced on March 27. That means relying on its existing US inventory, but what about when that runs out? If Trump nixes the tariffs or Hyte develops a new sourcing strategy, things could be dire. Hyte’s Product Director, Rob Teller, confirmed the news in a Reddit Ask Me Anything session last week. Speaking of the decision’s impact on US inventory, he said: “As for our normal library, we will be reducing our SKU count and quantity being brought to the US.” He added that this could make finding Hyte products in retail stores harder and affect US consumers’ configurations, colors, or models. Speaking to Steve Burke of Gamers Nexus, Teller said: “If you tried to buy a product from me today, I could not afford to sell it to you.” Although the company will continue to bring in products with open customer pre-orders, everything else is paused or diverted to other regions. The difficulty in forecasting what the Trump Administration will do next regarding tariffs is at the heart of the situation, with changes on a near-daily basis. Companies that do most of their business with the US, like CyberPower, a California-based prebuilt PC manufacturer that relies on the US market for around 80% of its business, will be hit hardest. PC cases may not face the 145% tariffs, but manufacturers are still being hit with a 20% tariff on Chinese imports and a further 25% tariff on products derived from aluminum. Manufacturers of PC components haven’t been so lucky.  Components such as liquid coolers, PSUs, and fans are not exempt from the tariffs and face the full 145% charge on imports from China, which were announced on April 10, 2025. Less than 24 hours later, several OEMs paused laptop shipments to the US, including Lenovo, HP, and Dell, according to Commercial Times.  It’s also worth noting that video game consoles and accessories aren’t exempt from the tariffs, as these are listed as toys rather than technology under current trade classifications. Gaming & PC Manufacturers Pause US Shipments Hyte isn’t alone in its decision to pause US shipments. Gaming controller company 8BitDo also suspended shipments from its Chinese warehouse at the end of April (h/t Polygon). The company posted a statement on its website explaining that the halt is temporary, with only products from US warehouses available for shipping to the United States. Chinese retro handheld manufacturer Anbernic also released a statement advising that it was halting US shipments from April 21.  Nintendo pulled US Switch 2 pre-orders over the tariffs, though these reopened on April 24 at the originally announced $450 price.  However, in a press release, the company confirmed that accessories for the new console: “Will experience price adjustments from those announced on April 2 due to changes in market conditions.” It also acknowledged that future price adjustments were possible “depending on market conditions.” Image credit: 8BitDo Elsewhere, there were unconfirmed reports that Razr had ceased laptop sales to the US after consumers found themselves unable to purchase laptops on the Razr site at the start of April.  It seems like the Razer Blade 16 is now available to US customers again, as reported by Notebookcheck — though it’s the only model available in the US.   Even tech giants like Apple have felt the impact, with reports indicating that the company urged its suppliers to ship premium devices to the U.S. ahead of the April 9 deadline. Companies obliged to honor customer pre-orders will take a financial hit too, absorbing unexpected tariffs for orders placed before these were introduced. Many companies still shipping to the US have raised their prices, including the Chinese electronics brand Anker.  According to Reuters, over 120 of the company’s products on Amazon saw an average 18% increase since April 3. Best Buy CEO Corie Bary told consumers to expect higher prices, while China-based e-commerce companies Temu and Shein released statements announcing their price hike plans from April 25. Why is Trump Implementing Tariffs on Imports? We’ve seen plenty of online discussions about tariffs and thoughts on the Trump Administration’s goal of bringing manufacturing back to the US. Ultimately, high tariffs will never drive companies back to US production.  Opening a US factory isn’t viable for most companies, especially small businesses — it’s simply cheaper and more efficient to operate in China or other countries.  A Redditor on r/hardware pointed out that even if companies did open US factories, the raw materials to make cases and components would also need to be manufactured in the US to avoid tariffs. Right now metals, screws, and glass are all usually imported. Is This the Death of Affordable Computing? But what does this all mean for consumers in the US? As Gamer Nexus’ documentary put it succinctly, could it be “the death of affordable computing?” It will almost certainly change the annual upgrade/obsolescence cycle prevalent in the industry. Image credit: Samsung Memory on Unsplash While affordable computing (and gaming) may not be completely doomed just yet, the actions taken by PC case and component manufacturers in the coming months are likely to significantly impact stock levels both in retail stores and online.  This could result in fewer consumer choices and higher prices across the board. In the long run, if President Trump doesn’t reverse the tariffs, the U.S. could face fewer options for components and cases, rising costs, and limited availability.  This may mark the end of building your PC at a competitive price, which would seriously blow manufacturers in both the tech and gaming sectors. Ultimately, it could spell the end for U.S. companies, especially smaller brands or those without a presence in other markets. Paula has been a writer for over a decade, starting off in the travel industry for brands like Skyscanner and Thomas Cook. She’s written everything from a guide to visiting Lithuania’s top restaurants to how to survive a zombie apocalypse and also worked as an editor/proofreader for indie authors and publishing houses, focusing on mystery, gothic, and crime fiction. She made the move to tech writing in 2019 and has worked as a writer and editor for websites such as Android Authority, Android Central, XDA, Megagames, Online Tech Tips, and Xbox Advisor. These days as well as contributing articles on all-things-tech for Techreport, you’ll find her writing about mobile tech over at Digital Trends. She’s obsessed with gaming, PC hardware, AI, and the latest and greatest gadgets and is never far from a screen of some sort.Her attention to detail, ability to get lost in a rabbit hole of research, and obsessive need to know every fact ensures that the news stories she covers and features she writes are (hopefully) as interesting and engaging to read as they are to write. When she’s not working, you’ll usually find her gaming on her Xbox Series X or PS5. As well as story-driven games like The Last of Us, Firewatch, and South of Midnight she loves anything with a post-apocalyptic setting. She’s also not averse to being absolutely terrified watching the latest horror films, when she feels brave enough! View all articles by Paula Beaton Our editorial process The Tech Report editorial policy is centered on providing helpful, accurate content that offers real value to our readers. We only work with experienced writers who have specific knowledge in the topics they cover, including latest developments in technology, online privacy, cryptocurrencies, software, and more. Our editorial policy ensures that each topic is researched and curated by our in-house editors. We maintain rigorous journalistic standards, and every article is 100% written by real authors.

A hot potato: App developers frustrated with Apple's and Google's "unfair" walled-garden policies have a new champion. Meta and several other organizations have formed a coalition to challenge the "duopoly" these two mobile platform giants have built. Initial efforts focus on age verification reform, but the alliance also plans to tackle several other restrictive policies maintained by both companies. Meta, Spotify, Garmin, Match Group, and others have joined forces to form a lobbying partnership targeting the control Apple and Google exert over their mobile app ecosystems. Bloomberg notes that the Coalition for a Competitive Mobile Experience will focus on platform fairness, with its initial priority being a push to shift age verification responsibilities from apps to app stores. The group argues that platforms – not individual developers – should handle the process of confirming user age before downloads. Utah passed a law last year requiring app stores to conduct age verification, so it's not without precedent. Meta has already made that case to lawmakers, and the coalition plans to support similar legislation at the state and federal levels. Google unsurprisingly opposes the effort, claiming that Meta is just trying to offload its responsibility under current COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) regulations. The group's broader mission goes beyond age gates. It wants app store operators to play fair with rival software and hardware, stop favoring first-party products, and give developers more freedom to direct users to alternative payment options. It also plans to support the Department of Justice's antitrust cases against Apple and Google. Coalition for a Competitive Mobile Experience Director Brandon Kressin, a seasoned antitrust attorney, said the group aims to amplify concerns that smaller app makers struggle to raise alone. "There's power in numbers, especially when going up against companies as powerful as the duopoly," Kressin told Bloomberg. // Related Stories The coalition formed on the same day Apple lost a major round in its legal fight with Epic Games. A federal judge ruled that Apple can no longer block developers from steering users to external payment options or charge fees on purchases outside the App Store. That decision undercuts one of Apple's most tightly controlled policies, giving the new coalition extra momentum. With lawmakers cracking down and courts chipping away at the status quo, the coalition is betting that collective pressure – not individual complaints – has the best shot at breaking the current walled-garden model wide open. The group is well-positioned to become a key player in reshaping the future of app store policies. Whether or not it can challenge the dominant duopoly remains to be seen, but with increasing bipartisan support, the coalition's efforts are already gaining traction. Image credit: Yuri Samoilov

Table of Contents Table of Contents What’s more lossless than lossless? Artist Connection inside Required equipment These days, with the ongoing exception of Spotify, most of the best music streaming services let you stream in lossless audio, which can deliver the equivalent of CD quality (or better) music to your phone, tablet, or wireless speakers. However, a new entrant in the streaming landscape called Pure Audio Streaming, thinks it can attract an audience of audiophiles by taking lossless further, with 5.1 surround sound, and multichannel 3D sound at up to 192kHz. Originally slated to launch in 2024, the company now says the service will debut on July 25. Pure Audio Streaming is the brainchild of Stefan Bock, the founder of Germany-based mastering studios, MSM-Studios. But perhaps more relevantly, Bock is also the founder and developer of the Pure Audio Blu-ray disc format, which lets artists present their albums in a wide variety of formats (both lossy and lossless) on a single disc that can be played on any standard Blu-ray player. According to a Pure Audio Streaming press release, “The service delivers hardware-optimized playback for high-end AV systems and exclusive high-resolution content, positioning itself as the ultimate streaming solution for discerning audio enthusiasts.” Recommended Videos The company hasn’t released any pricing details yet, but it will open up an early adopter program on May 15 that starts at $300 for one year of streaming access. The company is taking early adopter requests on its website, and participants must be approved before they gain access. Early adopters will be asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) which prevents from discussing issues with the service prior to the official launch date. Related When the service launches, there will be two subscription tiers: A stereo subscription plan that provides high-res stereo and binaural audio, and an immersive plan that adds up to 7.1.4, 96 kHz PCM immersive audio. Simon Cohen / Digital Trends Apple Music, Amazon Music, Qobuz, and Tidal all possess massive catalogs in excess of 100 million tracks, many of which are available in CD quality or so-called hi-res audio. Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Tidal also offer smaller collections of songs in Dolby Atmos Music, an immersive spatial audio format. But all of the Dolby Atmos Music tracks are streamed using Dolby Digital Plus, a lossy form of compression that removes information in favor of smaller file sizes. Pure Audio Streaming says that its 3D music tracks will be available, without any loss, in 7.1.4-channel PCM, via the Auro-3D format. It will also have a collection of 5.1 surround sound music, also delivered losslessly. Essentially, it’s the streaming equivalent of Bock’s Pure Audio Blu-rays. So far, we don’t know much about Pure Audio Streaming’s catalog size or even the kinds of genres that it will offer. On the site’s current FAQ page, the question, “Is this all classical music?” is answered with the somewhat vague, “Pure Audio Streaming has way more than just classical music. While we do have plenty of classic music for those looking, the labels we work with produce a ton of different genres.” While Pure Audio Streaming may be a new option for music fans, unlike Apple Music and other major players, the service isn’t being built from the ground up on its own infrastructure. Instead, it uses the Artist Connection platform, which has been designed to work as a white label streaming service — giving companies like Pure Audio Streaming sophisticated format support and streaming infrastructure without a major investment. Nvidia Shield TV (left) and Shield TV Pro. Nvidia With the stereo plan, you’ll be able to stream lossless stereo and binaural spatial audio to any iOS or Android mobile device via the Pure Audio Streaming app (which is effectively the Artist Connection mobile app). However, if you want to listen to 5.1 or 7.1.4-channel immersive audio, via the immersive plan, you’ll need one of: Nvidia Shield TV Pro or Amazon Fire Stick 4K (2023), connected via HDMI to an AV receiver Mac or Windows computer using Chrome, connected via HDMI to an AV receiver Right now, the FAQ says that Mac devices must be “2021 or older,” which we’re hoping is a mistake — we’ve reached out to clarify. The company says that support for the Amazon “Fire Cube” is coming, but there’s no mention of which Fire TV Cube model is needed. It will also be possible in the future to stream from your phone to either the Nvidia Shield TV Pro or Amazon Fire Stick 4K via Artist Connection’s AC Connect protocol (similar to Spotify Connect/Tidal Connect). Editors’ Recommendations

The first advice column was published in 17th-century London. Correspondents were especially interested in the topic of sex.

scaly! Don’t watermark your legal PDFs with purple dragons in suits There's a time and there's a place. Federal court is neither. Nate Anderson – May 1, 2025 3:41 pm | 12 That is one purple dragon. That is one purple dragon. Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only   Learn more Being a model citizen and a person of taste, you probably don't need this reminder, but some others do: Federal judges do not like it when lawyers electronically watermark every page of their legal PDFs with a gigantic image—purchased for $20 online—of a purple dragon wearing a suit and tie. Not even if your firm's name is "Dragon Lawyers." Federal Magistrate Judge Ray Kent of the Western District of Michigan was unamused by a recent complaint (PDF) that prominently featured the aubergine wyrm. "Each page of plaintiff’s complaint appears on an e-filing which is dominated by a large multi-colored cartoon dragon dressed in a suit," he wrote on April 28 (PDF). "Use of this dragon cartoon logo is not only distracting, it is juvenile and impertinent. The Court is not a cartoon." Kent then ordered "that plaintiff shall not file any other documents with the cartoon dragon or other inappropriate content." Seriously, don't do this. The unusual order generated coverage across the legal blogging community, which was apparently ensorcelled by a spell requiring headline writers to use dragon-related puns, including: Jacob A. Perrone is the lawyer behind Dragon Lawyers (phone number: [area code redacted] JAKELAW). His website, which also features the purple dragon and a bunch of busted links in the footer, says that the firm "integrates AI to lower the cost of legal services." The New York Times got in touch with Perrone this week, who explained that he liked Game of Thrones, that he bought the dragon image online, and that he selected it because "people like dragons." He plans to keep using the logo but will tone it down in future filings. The whole story would be far more humorous were it not from a case in which Perrone represented a woman who claims that she nearly died after being incarcerated and not given proper medical care. Perrone must now refile his complaint in that case—without the cartoon dragon. Nate Anderson Deputy Editor Nate Anderson Deputy Editor Nate is the deputy editor at Ars Technica. His most recent book is In Emergency, Break Glass: What Nietzsche Can Teach Us About Joyful Living in a Tech-Saturated World, which is much funnier than it sounds. 12 Comments

The division of human cells may not exactly align with what’s written in textbooksIokanan VFX Studios/Shutterstock Scientists have discovered a kind of division that allows cells to use the information encoded in their shape to direct what kinds of cells their offspring become. This could help us develop ways of engineering tissues and deepen our understanding of how cancers spread. Until now, scientists thought that most cells in the body become round as they prepare to divide in two. This makes it easier for them to distribute their contents equally between their “daughter” cells, resulting in two cells of the same type. Advertisement An exception to this is stem cells, which undergo an unequal, or asymmetric, cell division, which produces cells of two different types. But Shane Herbert at the University of Manchester, UK, and his colleagues noticed that non-stem cells in the developing blood vessels of zebrafish embryos were also dividing asymmetrically. These cells, known as endothelial cells, were migrating to form new blood vessel branches and divided without rounding to create two different types. When the team manipulated the shape of human endothelial cells in a lab dish, it confirmed that their shape before division predicted how symmetric that division was going to be. Longer, thinner cells were the most likely to divide asymmetrically, which suggests that cells can fine-tune the nature of their divisions depending on the shape they take between them. Get the most essential health and fitness news in your inbox every Saturday. Sign up to newsletter It means cells don’t lose information about their structure and behaviour as they would if they underwent rounding, says Herbert. “Very frequently, they actually retain their shape, and that means they can transfer that kind of memory.” This also means that cells don’t have to stop what they are doing to divide, but can migrate, divide and generate different cell types all at once. This lets them respond quickly to the dynamic demands of development, such as the need to supply an expanding tissue with blood vessels or nerves. The discovery could have applications for growing replacement tissues in the lab, where the ability to grow blood vessels is a key limitation. “Our work is showing is that there’s a really specific environment that’s needed to give these cells the kind of shape and behaviour that they need to generate functional blood vessels,” says team member Holly Lovegrove, also at the University of Manchester. Manipulating cell shapes could offer a new way to generate certain cell types, she says. Cancer, meanwhile, spreads by generating clusters of migrating cells, so the new findings could provide further insight into how they do this. It is a nice example of how organisms can tweak mechanisms like cell rounding to do different things, such as the multitasking needed to sculpt developing tissues, says Buzz Baum of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK. “It’s a clever way to keep the information you need while still growing the network by making more cells.” Journal reference:Science DOI: 10.1126/science.adu9628 Topics:cell biology

A previously unreported document distributed by senior US State Department official Darren Beattie reveals a sweeping effort to uncover all communications between the staff of a small government office focused on online disinformation and a lengthy list of public and private figures—many of whom are longtime targets of the political right.  The document, originally shared in person with roughly a dozen State Department employees in early March, requested staff emails and other records with or about a host of individuals and organizations that track or write about foreign disinformation—including Atlantic journalist Anne Applebaum, former US cybersecurity official Christopher Krebs, and the Stanford Internet Observatory—or have criticized President Donald Trump and his allies, such as the conservative anti-Trump commentator Bill Kristol.  The document also seeks all staff communications that merely reference Trump or people in his orbit, like Alex Jones, Glenn Greenwald, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In addition, it directs a search of communications for a long list of keywords, including “Pepe the Frog,” “incel,” “q-anon,” “Black Lives Matter,” “great replacement theory,” “far-right,” and “infodemic.” For several people who received or saw the document, the broad requests for unredacted information felt like a “witch hunt,” one official says—one that could put the privacy and security of numerous individuals and organizations at risk.  Beattie, whom Trump appointed in February to be the acting undersecretary for public diplomacy, told State Department officials that his goal in seeking these records was a “Twitter files”-like release of internal State Department documents “to rebuild trust with the American public,” according to a State Department employee who heard the remarks. (Beattie was referring to the internal Twitter documents that were released after Elon Musk bought the platform, in an attempt to prove that the company had previously silenced conservatives. While the effort provided more detail on the challenges and mistakes Twitter had already admitted to, it failed to produce a smoking gun.) “What would be the innocent reason for doing that?” Bill Kristol The document, dated March 11, 2025, focuses specifically on records and communications from the Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (R/FIMI) Hub, a small office in the State Department’s Office of Public Diplomacy that tracked and countered foreign disinformation campaigns; it was created after the Global Engagement Center (GEC), which had the same mission, shut down at the end of 2024. MIT Technology Review broke the news earlier this month that R/FIMI would be shuttered.  Some R/FIMI staff were at the meeting where the document was initially shared, as were State Department lawyers and staff from the department’s Bureau of Administration, who are responsible for conducting searches to fulfill public records requests.  Also included among the nearly 60 individuals and organizations caught up in Beattie’s information dragnet are Bill Gates; the open-source journalism outlet Bellingcat; former FBI special agent Clint Watts; Nancy Faeser, the German interior minister; Daniel Fried, a career State Department official and former US ambassador to Poland; Renée DiResta, an expert in online disinformation who led research at Stanford Internet Observatory; and Nina Jankowicz, a disinformation researcher who briefly led the Disinformation Governance Board at the US Department of Homeland Security. Have more information on this story or a tip for something else that we should report? Using a non-work device, reach the reporter on Signal at eileenguo.15 or tips@technologyreview.com. When told of their inclusion in the records request, multiple people expressed alarm that such a list exists at all in an American institution. “When I was in government I’d never done anything like that,” Kristol, a former chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle, says. “What would be the innocent reason for doing that?” Fried echoes this sentiment. “I spent 40 years in the State Department, and you didn’t collect names or demand email records,” says Fried. “I’ve never heard of such a thing”—at least not in the American context, he clarifies. It did remind him of Eastern European “Communist Party minder[s] watching over the untrusted bureaucracy.”  He adds: “It also approaches the compilation of an enemies list.”  Targeting the “censorship industrial complex” Both GEC and R/FIMI, its pared-down successor office, focused on tracking and countering foreign disinformation efforts from Russia, China, and Iran, among others, but GEC was frequently accused—and was even sued—by conservative critics who claimed that it enabled censorship of conservative Americans’ views. A judge threw out one of those claims against GEC in 2022 (while finding that other parts of the Biden administration did exert undue pressure on tech platforms).  Beattie has also personally promoted these views. Before joining the State Department, he started Revolver News, a website that espouses far-right talking points that often gain traction in certain conservative circles. Among the ideas promoted in Revolver News is that GEC was part of a “censorship industrial complex” aimed at suppressing American conservative voices, even though GEC’s mission was foreign disinformation. This idea has taken hold more broadly; the House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing titled the “Censorship-Industrial Complex: The Need for First Amendment Safeguards at the State Department,” on April 1 focused on GEC.  Most people on the list appear to have focused at some point on tracking or challenging disinformation broadly, or on countering specific false claims, including those related to the 2020 election. A few of the individuals appear primarily to be critics of Trump, Beattie, or others in the right-wing media ecosystem. Many have been the subject of Trump’s public grievances for years. (Trump called Krebs, for instance, a “significant bad-faith actor” in an executive order targeting him earlier this month.)    Beattie specifically asked for “all documents, emails, correspondence, or other records of communications amongst/between employees, contractors, subcontractors or consultants at the GEC or R/FIMI” since 2017 with all the named individuals, as well as communications that merely referenced them. He sought communications that referenced any of the listed organizations.   Finally, he sought a list of additional unredacted agency records—including all GEC grants and contracts, as well as subgrants, which are particularly sensitive due to the risks of retaliation to subgrantees, who often work in local journalism, fact-checking, or pro-democracy organizations under repressive regimes. It also asked for “all documents mentioning” the Election Integrity Partnership, a research collaboration between academics and tech companies that has been a target of right-wing criticism.  Several State Department staffers call the records requests “unusual” and “improper” in their scope. MIT Technology Review spoke to three people who had personally seen the document, as well as two others who were aware of it; we agreed to allow them to speak anonymously due to their fears of retaliation.  While they acknowledge that previous political appointees have, on occasion, made information requests through the records management system, Beattie’s request was something wholly different.  Never had “an incoming political appointee” sought to “search through seven years’ worth of all staff emails to see whether anything negative had been said about his friends,” says one staffer.  Another staffer calls it a “pet project” for Beattie.  Selective transparency Beattie delivered the request, which he framed as a “transparency” initiative, to the State Department officials in a conference room at its Washington, D.C., headquarters on a Tuesday afternoon in early March, in the form of an 11-page packet titled, “SO [Senior Official] Beattie Inquiry for GEC/R/FIMI Records.” The documents were printed out, rather than emailed. Labeled “sensitive but unclassified,” the document lays out Beattie’s requests in 12 separate, but sometimes repetitive, bullet points. In total, he sought communications about 16 organizations, Notably, this includes several journalists: In addition to Bellingcat and Applebaum, the document also asks for communications with NBC News senior reporter Brandy Zadrozny.  Press-freedom advocates expressed alarm about the inclusion of journalists on the list, as well as the possibility of their communications being released to the public, which goes “considerably well beyond the scope of what … leak investigations in the past have typically focused on,” says Grayson Clary, a staff attorney at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Rather, the effort seems like “a tactic designed to … make it much harder for journalists to strike up those source relationships in the first instance.” Beattie also requested a search for communications that mentioned Trump and more than a dozen other prominent right-leaning figures. In addition to Jones, Greenwald, and “RFK Jr.,” the list includes “Don Jr.,” Elon Musk, Joe Rogan, Charlie Kirk, Marine Le Pen, “Bolsonaro” (which could cover either Jair Bolsonaro, the former Brazilian president, or his son Eduardo, who is seeking political asylum in the US), and Beattie himself. It also asked for a search for 32 right-wing buzzwords related to abortion, immigration, election denial, and January 6, suggesting a determined effort to find State Department staff who even just discussed such matters.  (Staffers say they doubt that Beattie will find much, unless, one says, it’s “previous [FOIA] queries from people like Beattie” or discussions about “some Russian or PRC [Chinese] narrative that includes some of this stuff.”) Multiple sources say State Department employees raised alarms internally about the records requests. They worried about the sensitivity and impropriety of the broad scope of the information requested, particularly because records would be unredacted, as well as about how the search would be conducted: through the eRecords file management system, which makes it easy for administrative staff to search through and retrieve State Department employees’ emails, typically in response to FOIA requests.  This felt, they say, like a powerful misuse of the public records system—or as Jankowicz, the disinformation researcher and former DHS official, put it, “weaponizing the access [Beattie] has to internal communications in order to upend people’s lives.” “It stank to high heaven,” one staffer says. “This could be used for retaliation. This could be used for any kind of improper purposes, and our oversight committees should be informed of this.” Another employee expressed concerns about the request for information on the agency’s subgrantees—who were often on the ground in repressive countries and whose information was closely guarded and not shared digitally, unlike the public lists of contractors and grantees typically available on websites like Grants.gov or USAspending.gov. “Making it known that [they] took money from the United States would put a target on them,” this individual explains. “We kept that information very secure. We wouldn’t even email subgrant names back and forth.” Several Neither the State Department nor Beattie responded to requests for comment. A CISA spokesperson emailed, “We do not comment on intergovernmental documents and would refer you back to the State Department.” We reached out to all individuals whose communications were requested and are named here; many declined to comment on the record. A “chilling effect” Five weeks after Beattie made his requests for information, the State Department shut down R/FIMI.  An hour after staff members were informed, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio published a blog post announcing the news on the Federalist, one of the outlets that sued the GEC over allegations of censorship. He then discussed in an interview with the influential right-wing Internet personality Mike Benz plans for Beattie to lead a “transparency effort.”   “What we have to do now—and Darren will be big involved in that as well—is sort of document what happened … because I think people who were harmed deserve to know that, and be able to prove that they were harmed,” Rubio told Benz. This is what Beattie—and Benz—have long called for. Many of the names and keywords he included in his request reflect conspiracy theories and grievances promoted by Revolver News—which Beattie founded after being fired from his job as a speechwriter during the first Trump administration when CNN reported that he had spoken at a conference with white nationalists.  Ultimately, the State Department staffers say they fear that a selective disclosure of documents, taken out of context, could be distorted to fit any kind of narrative Beattie, Rubio, or others create.  Weaponizing any speech they consider to be critical by deeming it disinformation is not only ironic, says Jankowicz—it will also have “chilling effects” on anyone who conducts disinformation research, and it will result in “less oversight and transparency over tech platforms, over adversarial activities, over, frankly, people who are legitimately trying to disenfranchise US voters.”  That, she warns, “is something we should all be alarmed about.”

The memo for the Army was issued this week and includes a number of directives. US Army photo by Spc. Noah Martin 2025-05-01T19:44:22Z Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memo on sweeping changes for the Army. The focus on future warfare includes AI, drones, ammunition stockpiles, and force restructures. The Army and larger military under President Trump have been about the ideas of lethality and readiness. Less crewed helicopters, more cheap drone swarms. That's just one of the directives listed in a memo from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on sweepingHegseth envisions a future Army in which drone swarms capable of overwhelming enemies replace crewed helicopters and augment the remainder of that fighting force. There's much more to the plan though.The defense secretary's memo addressed to Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll was shared on Thursday and included strategic transformations, force restructuring, and cuts to certain programs and systems.Some planned changes, like plans to give every division 1,000 drones within the next two years, have clear timelines and immediate impacts. Others, such as "modernizing language training programs to improve mission effectiveness," are vague.Drones, ammunition, and the Indo-Pacific Soldiers operating drones at a Project Convergence technology demonstration. Army Futures Command Hegseth has directed Driscoll to "transform the Army now for future warfare."Within the next two years, every Army division will have uncrewed aerial systems. Counter-UAS systems, too, should be integrated into maneuver platoons by then and maneuver companies by the following year, 2027.By 2027, the Army should also be fielding long-range missiles that can strike moving land and maritime targets. Some Army systems that could fit that bill include the surface-to-surface Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), the Mid-Range Capability Typhon system, and the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon.The service should also achieve dominance over the electromagnetic spectrum and air-littoral spaces, both of which have been deemed critical subdomains for future wars, and artificial intelligence-driven command and control at the Army's theater, corps, and division headquarters. US Army soldiers fire an M777 towed howitzer during live-fire drills in Hawaii. US Army photo by Spc. Jessica Scott Among the directives is a call toa priority for him, especially when thinking about a possible war with China, an Indo-Pacific power and top rival.In line with that thinking,strengthen its forward presence in the Indo-Pacific by expanding the Army's caches of warfighting equipment, conducting military exercises with allies and partners, and rotating deployments in the region. US President Donald Trump, Hegseth, Driscoll, and other officials have all identified countering China as a top priority."The President gave us a clear mission: achieve peace through strength," Hegseth wrote in the memo. "To achieve this, the US Army must prioritize defending our homeland and deterring China in the Indo-Pacific region."The emphasis on heavily transforming the Army ahead of 2027 raises questions about the motivations. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has directed the Chinese People's Liberation Army to be ready to execute an invasion of Taiwan by 2027. Though that goal does not mean action is guaranteed, US military officials have used China's deadline as a readiness guide.'A leaner, more lethal force' Soldiers at Fort Hood prepare to enter an underground facility in full protective gear during dense urban environment training. Capt. Scott Kuhn/US Army Hegseth and others in the Trump administration have highlighted their intentions to cut what they deem as wasteful spending in the Pentagon. The Army memo goes into that but still leaves some questions unanswered. The defense secretary is instructing the Army to substantially rework its force structure, which includes merging headquarters to synchronize kinetic and non-kinetic fires, implementing space-based capabilities, and adopting uncrewed systems.As already noted, Hegseth's memo also includes a plan to "reduce and restructure crewed attack helicopter formations and augment with inexpensive drone swarms capable of overwhelming adversaries."Major reforms are intended for some Army headquarters, including the merging of Army Futures Command and Doctrine Command into one and Forces Command and US Army North and South into a single entity focused on homeland defense and Western allies.Additionally, some weapons systems and capabilities deemed obsolete are being axed, including certain crewed aircraft programs, ground vehicles like the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or Humvee, and outdated UAVs. Driscoll's staff recently told BI that some legacy systems could be on the chopping block in pursuit of lethality. The US Army's Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center training in Hawaii tested soldiers' capabilities in tropical war-fighting conditions. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Ryele Bertoch Workforce reduction is also a priority and falls in line with larger priorities from Hegseth and Trump. Information in the memo on this is sparse. It calls on the Army to "optimize force structure to achieve maximum readiness" and "prioritize merit and skill needed for today's battlefield across the uniform and civilian workforce."Revisions to civilian hiring and firing policies and cuts to general officer positions are planned.When asked about Hegseth's priority for a "learner, more lethal force" and what that means for the workforce, Col. David Butler, communications adviser to Chief of Staff of the Army, told BI that the likely intention is to make cuts to "staff and bureaucracies," not maneuver or warfighting formations.Butler said Army leadership believes cutting those areas will lighten the organizational structure and "better serve the warfighter."Conversations around a "leaner" Army have been a major topic in recent weeks. Earlier this month, sources told Military.com the Army was quietly considering a reduction of up to 90,000 active-duty troops. The Army labeled the story "wrong," writing on X that it was "building more combat power while reducing staff and overhead."Hard decisions for the Army U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on a visit to Fort Bliss, Texas. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Andrew R. Sveen Many of these changes indicate sweeping plans and reforms for the Army. Talking to Fox News on Friday, Driscoll said that while "these are hard decisions," especially ones around legacy systems and weapons reform. That said, "the old way of doing war with no longer suffice," he explained.The Army secretary said he and the service have been "empowered to go make the hard decisions and the hard changes to reallocate our dollars to best position our soldiers to be the most lethal that they can be." Recommended video