An Abortion Pill Ban, the PCLOB Meltdown, and Funding for Data Centers

Texas Judge Revives Effort to Ban Abortion Pill

Last week, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk issued an order allowing a state lawsuit to continue against Danco Laboratories, the pharmaceutical company which produces Mifeprex (mifepristone). As a Trump appointee and member of the Federalist Society, Judge Kacsmaryk has also issued decisions restricting LGBTQ rights and preventing Texas teens from accessing birth control without their parents’ permission. In an article written several years prior to his confirmation, Kacsmaryk laid out his opposition to marriage equality, which he described as a form of “elitist postmodern philosophy.” Now, he is allowing Idaho, Kansas, and Missouri to proceed with their cases against Danco—even though his court is located in Texas.

Kacsmaryk’s courtroom is often sought out by conservative parties due to his habit of issuing sweeping injunctions. While the Judicial Conference announced a new policy to combat this form of venue shopping in March 2024, Kacsmaryk’s district decided to simply ignore the rules, meaning litigants are free to seek out specific judges. If the states win their case, the FDA will be forced to restrict mifepristone prescriptions to the first seven weeks of pregnancy, and only allow patients to access the drug in-person.

Trump Administration Guts Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board

This week, the Trump Administration informed Democrat-selected members of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) that they could either submit their resignations by January 23rd or be forced to step down, according to anonymous sources familiar with the situation. Though the Board has only issued eight reports since its creation, it had recently began to hold public hearings on important issues like the use of AI in counterterrorism and national security programs. PCLOB is also responsible for certifying the Data Protection Review Court, which is a critical part of an agreement between Europe and the United States that allows American tech companies to handle the personal data of users in the EU. The administration’s decision to hamstring PCLOB could create problems for US tech giants, David Meyer explained in Fortune, and disturb an already-delicate regulatory arrangement. Trump, for his part, has begun attacking the EU for issuing fines to American tech companies, describing it as a “form of taxation.”

New Data Center Funding for Texas, with Support from UAE

On Tuesday, the CEOs of OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle appeared at a press conference with President Trump to announce an initiative called “Stargate,” which promises to eventually invest $500 billion in AI infrastructure. Absent from the proceedings was Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, whose Abu Dhabi-based firm MGX is also providing a significant portion of the funding. As a member of the UAE’s royal family, Sheikh Tahnoon is the steward of $1.5 trillion in private and state-owned funds, and also serves as the country’s national security advisor. Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have expressed concern about a separate artificial intelligence company within his portfolio, which had allegedly worked extensively with China’s “military, intelligence services and state-owned entities.”

The first Stargate-funded data centers are already being built in Abilene, Texas, according to Oracle chairman Larry Ellison. Texas is already home to a data center boom, driven by tax breaks, low energy prices, and a “demand response” program that allows facilities to sell energy back to the grid during periods of high demand. Some data centers have made hundreds of millions of dollars through the initiative, as TTP reported in 2022. Their earnings came at the expense of regular consumers, who were saddled with massive energy bills in the aftermath of winter storms.

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