7-minute read | 1,650 words
What to know this week
India is now contemplating phone-location surveillance.
Last Friday, India announced that it is reviewing a proposal that would force smartphone firms to enable location tracking.
Trump permits the sale of NVIDIA chips to China.
On Monday, the Trump administration permitted the sale of NVIDIA's H200 chips to China in return for 25% of the chip sales.
This week's full stories
India is considering increasing phone-location surveillance systems.
THE NEWS
On Friday, India’s government announced that it plans to review a proposal for the telecommunications industry. If passed, the proposal would require smartphone manufacturers to enable tracking services that are always activated.
This latest proposal was put forward by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI). Under the proposal, smartphone makers would be required to activate “A-GPS” technology, which uses both satellite signals and cellular data, and would only be provided if the government ordered so. Without this technology, location estimates can be off by several meters.
Currently, India’s telecommunication firms are limited to only providing cellular tower data, which can provide an estimated area location. Apple, Google, and Samsung have already responded to the proposal, voicing their opposition. The three companies stated that this effort should not be mandated.
The India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA), a lobbying group that represents Apple and Google, commented on this effort, stating:
“The A-GPS network…[is] not deployed or supported for location surveillance,... which would be a regulatory overreach.”
THE KNOWLEDGE
This latest effort comes after the Indian government revoked a controversial order aimed at installing a state-owned cybersecurity app on all new mobile devices. This application was released in early 2025 and aimed to block the use of stolen phones. Through this application, the government would be able to make and manage phone calls, send messages, access the phone’s camera, and access stored data, including message and call logs, photos, and files.
After announcing the order, the government received intense pushback from both mobile device manufacturers and privacy advocates. The Internet Freedom Foundation commented on the order, emphasizing:
“In plain terms, this converts every smartphone sold in India into a vessel for state-mandated software that the user cannot meaningfully refuse, control, or remove.”
Though the Indian government did revoke this order shortly after it became public, this previous effort, as well as this newly announced one, is representative of the Modi Government’s goals to increase its surveillance capabilities. For example, in 2020, the Modi administration released a COVID-19 contact tracing application, known as Aarogya Setu, which would be used to track the disease’s spread.
However, the application received substantial pushback as it proposed fines and potential jail time for those found in non-compliance with the government’s requirements. While the order did stand, it was later substantially diluted following pushback.
THE IMPACT
These two back-to-back efforts represent a significant push by the Modi administration to increase its security oversight of mobile devices through increased surveillance capacity. While the previous effort failed and this latest effort is also receiving significant pushback, the two efforts are representative of the Modi government’s clear policy goals regarding overseeing mobile devices and are likely representative of future policy efforts.
For India’s citizens, these two policies are likely indicative of how the Modi administration aims to address mobile devices over the coming months. People should understand how the Modi administration plans to use these orders, and people should be familiar with the powers that it would give the Indian government.
Trump approves the sale of more powerful NVIDIA chips to China.
THE NEWS
On Monday, President Trump announced that his administration is going to allow NVIDIA to sell its H200 chip series to China. With this development, NVIDIA would only be permitted to sell these chips to entities that had been approved by the Commerce Department. Alongside greenlighting these sales, the United States (US) will take a 25% cut of the revenue sales.
When announcing this development, President Trump stated:
“This policy will support American Jobs, strengthen US Manufacturing, and benefit American Taxpayers.”
An NVIDIA spokesperson also commented, emphasizing how this shift would strike “a thoughtful balance that is great for America.”
However, details regarding what companies are approved, how the approval process will operate, and how many chips can be exported are unclear.
THE KNOWLEDGE
This latest policy development is contentious among lawmakers, as just last week, a bipartisan group of US senators introduced a new law that would have limited the sale of artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China. More specifically, the bill, known as the Secure and Feasible Exports (SAFE) of Chips Act of 2025, would deny export license applications of advanced chips to adversary nations for thirty months, after which the Executive Branch would have discretion in controlling the exporting process.
However, while this approval of these sales may be controversial, it should not be surprising given previous efforts by the Trump administration. Earlier in 2025, the Trump administration changed its policy stance after approving the sale of NVIDIA's previous generation of chips, known as the H20 chip.
Overall, these repeated moves to lessen chip export restrictions have been contentious. Senator Elizabeth Warren expressed her significant concerns, stating:
“Trump is letting NVIDIA export cutting-edge AI chips that his own DOJ revealed are being illegally smuggled into China. [Trump's] own DOJ called these chips 'building blocks of AI superiority'.”
Chris McGuire, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, echoed these concerns:
“Loosening export controls on AI chips will allow Chinese AI firms to close the gap with frontier US AI models, and will allow Chinese cloud computing providers to build ‘good enough’ data centres around the world.”
However, despite the potential security risks, others have emphasized that this move reflects the reality of Chinese advancement. Tilly Zhang, an expert on Chinese tech at Gavekal Dragonomics, noted how this policy reflects “market realities.” Zhang noted how these advancements come as continually blocking China’s access to these technologies is unrealistic, and rather, growing the US’s market dominance will be the new priority to win the AI race.
THE IMPACT
The approval of the H200 chip sales signals another structural pivot in US AI policy. Rather than trying to prevent China from accessing advanced chips entirely, the Trump administration is shifting toward controlled market participation by allowing limited exports under close oversight and extracting economic value through a 25% revenue share. This new strategy reframes export controls from a previous defensive tool to a geopolitical control mechanism.
For advanced chip manufacturers and AI infrastructure companies, this development means that the chip market landscape could change significantly. Firms should prepare for future rule changes that expand exporting general capabilities alongside potential Congressional pushback. Understanding these shifts will be essential for anticipating how the US balances its national-security concerns with domestic industrial priorities.
This Week's Caveat Podcast: One nation, two AI features.
Dave Bittner, Ben Yelin, and Ethan Cook take a deep dive into revisiting the US’s AI policies and how they have developed throughout 2025. Since last having this conversation, these policies have developed significantly at the state level, and the Trump administration has begun to define and execute on its policy goals. However, despite this progress, there are still gaps within the US’s AI policy efforts and tensions between the federal and state legislatures.
OTHER NOTEWORTHY STORIES
Trump to sign new order on AI.
What: President Trump plans to sign a new executive order for AI.
Why: On Monday, President Trump announced his intent to sign a new order, which would aim to create a single national rule for AI. Through this order, the Trump administration aims to preempt existing state AI laws that are deemed overly restrictive on developers.
When announcing this order, President Trump stated:
"There must be only One Rulebook if we are going to continue to lead in AI...I will be doing a ONE RULE Executive Order this week."
This move would significantly help AI developers across the nation, who have increasingly called for greater federal leadership in this sector rather than having states lead the way.
Notably, the last time a measure similar to this order was proposed, it lost in the Senate in a 99-1 vote.
DEC 8, 2025 | Source: Reuters
Google faces EU antitrust investigation over AI.
What: Google faces a new antitrust investigation into how the publisher uses online content to train its AI models.
Why: On Tuesday, the European Commission launched its second antitrust investigation into Google in less than a month to investigate how the company is training its AI models. When announcing this investigation, the European Union’s (EU) competition enforcer stated that the region was concerned that Google may be using online content without appropriately compensating the content creators.
The EU antitrust chief, Teresa Ribera, stated:
“Google may be abusing its dominant position as a search engine to impose unfair trading conditions on publishers by using their online content to provide its own AI-powered services.”
A Google spokesperson responded to this investigation, emphasizing:
“This complaint risks stifling innovation in a market that is more competitive than ever. Europeans deserve to benefit from the latest technologies, and we will continue to work closely with the news and creative industries as they transition to the AI era.”
DEC 9, 2025 | Source: Reuters
OCC permits banks to engage in riskless principal transactions involving crypto-assets.
What: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released new guidance allowing national banks to engage in cryptocurrency transactions.
Why: On Tuesday, the OCC issued new guidance to allow national banks to engage in riskless principal crypto-asset transactions. According to the OCC’s letter, a riskless principal transaction involves an intermediary purchasing an asset from one counterparty for immediate resale to a second counterparty. Additionally, the agency stressed that banks engaging in riskless principal crypto-asset transactions must do so safely and soundly.
With this updated guidance, the OCC stated:
“More generally, the OCC has long maintained a technology-neutral stance with regard to permissibility. The OCC will examine riskless principal crypto-asset activities as part of its ongoing supervisory process.”
DEC 9, 2025 | Source: ABA Banking Journal