8-minute read | 1,600 words
What to know this week
New York passes a moratorium on data centers.
The New York State Senate and Assembly passed major bills centered on data centers and consumer protections.
Meta takes legal action against the NSO Group.
Meta has filed a federal contempt order against the NSO group, alleging that the company violated a permanent injunction.
This week's full stories
NY State Congress passes new bills focused on AI and consumer protections.
THE NEWS
Last week, the New York State Senate and Assembly passed several major bills. These bills included the Responsible Data Center Development Act and the One Fair Price Act. Respectively, the first bill would establish a data center moratorium within the state. The second bill would ban surveillance pricing. For context, surveillance pricing is an increasingly utilized tool where companies collect a consumer's personal data and subsequently charge different prices based on a person’s data.
After passing the bills, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins commented on the effort stating:
“I’m leaving here feeling that we’ve accomplished the important things that we needed to accomplish."
Emerita Torres, the sponsor of the On Fair Price Act, made a statement in the legislature, emphasizing:
“Personal data is being shared on us, like our ZIP code, or when we’re getting a paycheck, when we're more able to pay more or less for a good, if we’re closer to a store. [The result is that] two people get different prices for the same products or services, and that’s inherently unfair.”
Each bill now moves to Governor Kathy Hochul to be signed into law.
THE KNOWLEDGE
The Responsible Data Center Development Act, or A11560, would impose a one-year moratorium on approving certain large-scale data center projects while state agencies study their environmental and infrastructure impacts. The moratorium itself applies to facilities that consume over twenty megawatts alongside creating labor standards for data centers that have a peak demand over five megawatts.
Currently, the state has twenty-eight data center projects on a waitlist and it is estimated that these projects would increase demand by an additional 9,682 megawatts of power. While these projects are paused, the legislation would require the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation to study how these centers would impact public water supplies, agricultural land, and electronic waste levels. Additionally, the legislation would require utility companies to create a separate billing category specifically for facilities requiring a peak demand of twenty megawatts.
Supporters argue the pause is necessary to ensure that large data center projects provide meaningful economic benefits and do not place disproportionate burdens on local infrastructure and natural resources. Democratic legislator Dr. Anna Kelles commented on its intent stating:
“We saw $77 million of tax subsidies that went to this data center [in Rockland County] for one job. That is the greatest amount of subsidies per job of any facility in the country, in the history of this country.”
For the One Fair Price Act, or A9349B, legislators are looking to ban surveillance pricing. More specifically, the act would outlaw algorithms that use consumer data to calculate and charge customers different prices for the same items. The attorney general would be tasked with enforcement with civil penalties reaching up to $5,000 for an initial violation and $20,000 for subsequent violations.
Notably, there was a private right of action included in this bill that was dropped. This would have allowed state residents to sue businesses themselves for these violations.
THE IMPACT
These bills highlight two emerging policy debates surrounding a data driven economy. As companies race to build out supporting AI infrastructure, lawmakers are beginning to increasingly scrutinize the environmental and energy demands associated with large-scale data centers. Alongside paying closer attention to data centers, lawmakers are also looking at how companies are utilizing harvested data to target consumers with personalized prices.
If these measures are signed into law by Governor Hochul, they would make New York one of the most aggressive states in regulating both AI’s physical infrastructure and how businesses use consumer data.
Meta files a complaint against NSO Group.
THE NEWS
On Monday, Meta announced that it had filed a federal court contempt order against the NSO Group. In the order, Meta alleged that the NSO Group had violated a previously issued permanent injunction that barred the company from targeting WhatsApp and its users.
In their complaint, Meta stated that the NSO Group was using a new spear phishing attempt that was similar to previous campaigns, known as “1-click phishing campaigns.”
Meta did state that it has taken down test accounts and groups created by the spyware firm on its platform.
In an article, Meta wrote:
“When a malicious company on the US government’s Entity List continues to defy US courts, existing restrictions must remain firmly in place. Easing them would undermine US national security and put American companies and billions of people worldwide who depend on secure communications at risk.”
Before filing this contempt order, Meta also joined twelve other civil rights organizations to fight against the NSO’s appeal to overturn the associated permanent injunction.
THE KNOWLEDGE
In 2025, US courts ordered the NSO Group to stop targeting WhatsApp users after determining that the company had exploited the messaging platform to deploy spyware. Alongside the injunction, the court ordered the spyware firm to pay $4 million in punitive damages. Meta’s latest filing argues that the company has continued to engage in similar behavior despite these legal orders, raising questions about the company’s compliance with legal restrictions.
For context, outside of the NSO Group’s alleged involvement with Meta and WhatsApp, the company became infamous due to the widespread usage of the Pegasus spyware. In 2021, investigations, launched by Amnesty International, found that the Pegasus spyware was being used to target journalists, politicians, and human rights activists.
Through “zero-click” attacks, the NSO Group was allegedly able to install Pegasus spyware on tens of thousands of devices, giving operators access to texts, emails, photos, videos, and other sensitive information. Investigations linked the spyware to surveillance campaigns targeting journalists, activists, lawyers, and political figures around the world. Among the most notable cases were connected to Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and Bahraini dissidents, helping turn Pegasus into one of the most controversial spywares ever developed.
THE IMPACT
Meta’s filing demonstrates that the battle against commercial spyware vendors is far from over. While technology companies have increasingly turned to the courts to disrupt surveillance operations, enforcing those rulings remains a significant challenge when spyware firms operate across international jurisdictions and continue developing new techniques.
More broadly, the case highlights the growing tension between governments’ demand for sophisticated surveillance capabilities and concerns about how those tools are used. As spyware becomes more advanced and accessible, policymakers, technology companies, and civil society organizations are likely to face increasing pressure to establish clearer rules governing the development, sale, and deployment of commercial surveillance technologies.
If Meta’s allegations are proven, the case could also set an important precedent for how courts respond when sanctioned or restricted spyware vendors continue operating despite legal injunctions, potentially shaping future efforts to hold commercial spyware companies accountable.
This Week's Caveat Podcast: Federal AI Policy: How the latest Executive Order changes the landscape.
Dave Bittner and Ben Yelin sit down with Ethan Cook to discuss the Trump administration’s most recent AI executive order. Throughout the conversation, the three look at what this new order establishes, what caused the administration to change its policy stance on AI, and what could be the downstream impacts this new order could have on the AI marketplace.
OTHER NOTEWORTHY STORIES
US adds Chinese solar and battery firms to list of military-linked companies.
What: The US has added some of the world’s largest solar and battery manufacturers to a list of companies that the nation believes are aiding the Chinese military.
Why: On Tuesday, the US added Trinasolar, JA Solar Technology, EVE Energy, CALB Group, Alibaba, Baidu, and WuXi AppTex to a list of Chinese companies associated with aiding the Chinese military.
With this list update, the Department of Defense will now be prohibited from directly working with these companies and are restricted from buying their products or services through 2027.
JUNE 9, 2026 | Source: Reuters
Meta ordered by EU to allow rival AI chatbots back on WhatsApp.
What: Meta has been ordered to allow rival AI chatbots access to WhatsApp.
Why: On Tuesday, the European Union (EU) ordered Meta to allow other AI chatbot services to have free access to WhatsApp. While Meta grants this access, EU antitrust regulators will continue to investigate whether or not Meta abused its market position by blocking competitors.
This order was issued after the European Commission received complaints from The Interaction Company of California, French AI startup Agentik, and another unnamed Spanish rival.
In a press conference, EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera stated:
“It seems that Meta expects to leverage the vast reach and likely dominance of WhatsApp to benefit its own AI assistant and to foreclose rivals.”
JUNE 9, 2026 | Source: Reuters
Anthropic releases public version of Mythos.
What: Anthropic has released the public version of Mythos, called Claude Fable 5.
Why: On Tuesday, Anthropic released its new AI system, called Claude Fable 5. This new model is a reduced version of Anthropic’s Mythos model released earlier this year. The new model includes additional guardrails that will block responses to cybersecurity, biology, and other vulnerable areas.
Notably, Mythos will still be available to select organizations without the built-in guardrails. Anthropic originally gave access to Mythos to roughly forty organizations, but the company is looking to expand that access to allow an additional 150 organizations.
JUNE 9, 2026 | Source: The New York Times