Judge greenlights Musk giveaways
Nov 04, 2024
Welcome to The Hill's Technology newsletter
{beacon}
Technology
Technology
The Big Story
Musk's $1M giveaways can continue, judge rules
A Pennsylvania judge refused the Philadelphia district attorney's request to block daily $1 million giveaways from Elon Musk's pro-Trump super PAC ahead of the election.
© Associated Press/Matt Rourke
Judge Angelo Foglietta refused to block the giveaways in a one-page order with no explanation. He said he would detail his reasoning in writing separately.
The decision comes just one day before Election Day, the final day that America PAC plans to hand out a $1 million check to a registered swing state voter.
Musk’s lawyer Chris Gober argued at Monday’s hearing that the super PAC does not choose winners at random but rather for their potential as spokespeople, seeking to contradict Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s (D) accusation that it is running an “illegal lottery.”
“The $1 million recipients are not chosen by chance. We know exactly who will be announced as the $1 million recipient today and tomorrow,” Gober said, according to The Associated Press.
He also noted that America PAC’s final giveaways will go to registered voters in Arizona and Michigan and will not impact Pennsylvania.
The super PAC launched the giveaway in late October. Registered voters in seven swing states, including Pennsylvania, who signed the PAC’s petition supporting free speech and the right to bear arms were eligible.
America PAC has handed out 16 million-dollar checks so far, with four going to registered voters in Pennsylvania.
Krasner sued Musk and his super PAC last week, accusing them of running an “illegal lottery” under Pennsylvania state law and asking the court to put the giveaways on hold ahead of the election.
Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.
Welcome to The Hill’s Technology newsletter, we're Julia Shapero and Miranda Nazzaro — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley.
Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.
Essential Reads
How policy will be impacting the tech sector now and in the future:
New York Times tech workers go on strike before election
The New York Times’ Tech Guild members are on strike the day before the election, with a high likelihood of a continued strike. The Tech Guild represents over 600 software developers and other employees who operate the back-end systems behind all digital aspects at the Times. “We gave NYTimes management months of notice of our strike deadline, we made ourselves available around the clock, but the company …
Full Story
Musk’s political posts viewed twice as many times as political ads on X: Analysis
Elon Musk’s political posts on X have received more than twice as many views as paid political ads on his platform, according to a new analysis conducted by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH). Since endorsing former President Trump in July, the billionaire’s political posts have amassed 17.1 billion views, the analysis found. During the same period, paid political ads costing about $10.7 million received 7.7 …
Full Story
US regulator rejects bid to boost nuclear power to Amazon data center
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) rejected an effort Friday to allow an Amazon data center to tap into additional power from a nearby Pennsylvania nuclear plant. The decision could throw a wrench in efforts by large technology companies to secure so-called “behind the meter” power from nuclear plants as they seek to meet the growing energy demands of artificial intelligence (AI). In a 2-1 decision, the FERC …
Full Story
The Refresh
News we've flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics:
French families sue TikTok over harmful content
Seven French families filed suit against social media platform TikTok, alleging the platform exposed adolescents to harmful content that prompted two teens to take their own lives, Reuters reports.
Meta makes Llama AI models available for national security use
Meta announced it is making its Llama series of artificial intelligence (AI) models available to U.S. government agencies and contractors, TechCrunch reports.
On Our Radar
Upcoming news themes and events we're watching:
Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, heads to the Supreme Court on Wednesday over a shareholder lawsuit related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
What Others are Reading
Two key stories on The Hill right now:
Trump is confident on election’s eve: ‘It’s ours to lose’
Former President Trump thinks it’s his election to lose as voters go to the polls to elect a new president. If he’s right, he’ll make history, becoming … Read more
Former Obama campaign manager: Early voting numbers ‘a little scary’ for Harris
Jim Messina, former President Obama’s 2012 campaign manager, said Sunday that early voting numbers are a “little scary” for Vice President Harris’s … Read more
What Others are Reading
Opinion related to tech submitted to The Hill:
Vast’s commercial space station could create opportunities that ISS couldn’t
You're all caught up. See you tomorrow!
Close
Thank you for signing up!
Subscribe to more newsletters here
The latest in politics and policy.
Direct to your inbox.
Sign up for the Technology newsletter
Subscribe