Welcome to The Hill's Technology newsletter {beacon} Technology Technology   The Big Story  Meta’s fact-checking changes stoke concerns   The end of fact-checking at Meta is raising fresh concerns its platforms will become a hotbed of disinformation as the network hands over the policing of content to users.   © AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, File The move, coupled with the loosening of some hate speech rules, was slammed by some tech policy experts as a 180-degree shift for Meta that could undo nearly a decade of efforts to prevent disinformation from spreading on its platforms — Facebook, Instagram and Threads.    While Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg framed the decision as a return to the company’s “roots” in an embrace of free speech, some observers worry today’s political and digital climate leaves too much room for false information to spread online.      “You get rid of the fact-checkers and people that are sort of policing the content ... that [could] be a turbo-charged engine for disinformation,” Ari Lightman, a digital media professor at Carnegie Mellon University, told The Hill.     “Disinformation is very sensational in terms of its orientation. It’s designed to draw people in, it’s designed to be confrontational,” he said.   The fact-checking program was created in 2016 amid mounting scrutiny after it was revealed Russia attempted to use Facebook to influence the U.S. election that year.    In the years that followed, the platform repeatedly boosted the program, with more than 80 independent fact-checkers.     The fact-checkers, however, did not monitor or judge the speech of elected officials on its platforms.    Now, Zuckerberg appears to be changing his tune on Trump, a longtime critic of social media companies for what he believes is censorship of his views.     “Four years ago this week, Facebook banned Donald Trump for inciting a violent insurrection that resulted in the deaths of five people and disrupted our democracy,” Nicole Gill, the co-founder and executive director of tech advocacy group Accountable Tech, said of the announcement last week.   “Now, Zuckerberg is reopening the floodgates to the exact same surge of hate, disinformation, and conspiracy theories that caused January 6th — and that continue to spur real-world violence,” she added.   The fact-checking system will be replaced by user-generated “community notes,” reminiscent of the feature used on Elon Musk’s X platform.    Musk, for his part, has faced criticism for X’s reliance on community notes. Some tech advocacy groups have accused the platform of becoming a hub for disinformation and bias toward certain views.   Some of these same groups are concerned Meta will face the same fate.   Read more in a full report at TheHill.com Tuesday morning.    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:   Biden admin puts new restrictions on AI chip, technology exports The Biden administration is further restricting the sale of advanced chips used to power and develop artificial intelligence (AI) amid growing concerns about the use of American-made AI by foreign adversaries.  The AI “diffusion” rule announced Monday would place caps on chip sales to most countries around the world. Eighteen U.S. allies and partners would be exempt from the new restrictions.  “This policy …  Full Story   OpenAI outlines proposals to bolster national security, drive economic growth OpenAI laid out a series of new artificial intelligence (AI) policy proposals Monday, encouraging U.S. development of the emerging technology to stay ahead of China while minimizing its risks. “As AI becomes more advanced, we believe America needs to act now to maximize the technology’s possibilities while minimizing its harms,” Chris Lehane, OpenAI’s vice president of global affairs, wrote in the foreword …  Full Story   Bezos ‘very optimistic’ about Trump’s space agenda Jeff Bezos, owner of aerospace company Blue Origin, expressed optimism about the incoming Trump administration’s space policy, emphasizing Sunday he is not concerned about competitor Elon Musk’s allyship with the president-elect. “Elon has been very clear that he’s doing this for the public interest and not for his personal gain. And I take him at face value,” Bezos told Reuters, adding later he …  Full Story   Steve Bannon says he will ‘take down’ the ‘truly evil’ Elon Musk President-elect Trump’s former adviser Steve Bannon has vowed to “take down” tech billionaire Elon Musk, calling him “truly evil.” In an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, as highlighted by Mediaite, Bannon sharply criticized Musk, who was tapped by Trump to co-lead the “Department of Government Efficiency.” “I will have Elon Musk run out of here by Inauguration Day,” Bannon said. “He is a truly evil guy, …  Full Story   The Refresh  News we've flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics:   Blue Origin postpones rocket launch Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos' aerospace company, has delayed the launch of its first orbital rocket after encountering an unspecified subsystem issue, TechCrunch reported.   Tech leaders to attend Trump inauguration Major tech leaders, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi plan to attend President-elect Trump's inauguration and the surrounding festivities next week, Bloomberg reported.   On Our Radar  Upcoming news themes and events we're watching: Supporters of a Texas age verification law will host a briefing at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET ahead of a Supreme Court hearing this week to hear a challenge to the law.    In Other News  Branch out with other reads on The Hill: Kelly says he is aware TikTok ban ‘is controversial,’ but there is ‘national security risk to’ app Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) said Sunday he is aware that the possible TikTok ban “is controversial,” yet the app “has a national security risk to it.” “I imagine [there’s going to] be a disruption in the service here, you know, starting on the 19th,” Kelly told CBS News’s Margaret Brennan on “Face the Nation.” “I know this is controversial. I know there are folks out there that earn a living, you know, on TikTok, but it … Full Story   Biden: Zuckerberg’s decision to end Meta fact-checking is ‘really shameful’ Outgoing President Biden weighed in on CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to end the fact-checking programs on Meta’s platforms, calling it a “really shameful” choice since “telling the truth matters.”  “The whole idea of walking away from fact-checking as well as not reporting anything having to do with discrimination regarding…I find it to be contrary to American justice. Telling the truth matters,” Biden told reporters … Full Story   What Others are Reading  Two key stories on The Hill right now: David Weiss condemns pardon, defends record in Hunter Biden prosecution report Special Counsel David Weiss defended his handling of the Hunter Biden investigation in a final report capping his multi-year probe into the president’s … Read more Cannon allows for release of Smith report on Trump election interference U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on Monday allowed the release of the volume of special counsel Jack Smith’s report dealing with Donald Trump’s efforts … Read more   What Others are Reading  Opinions related to tech submitted to The Hill: How Trump could break Bitcoin Trump can use Russia’s space program to end the war in Ukraine US leadership in AI requires open-source diplomacy      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. 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