This week on Caveat, Ben’s got the story of Texas becoming the second—and largest—state to pass a law requiring Apple and Google to verify users' ages on app stores and get parental consent before kids and teens can download apps or make purchases, signaling a broader push toward stricter online age checks. Dave dives into the story of President Trump’s 2026 budget proposal, which calls for slashing over 1,000 jobs at CISA and cutting the agency’s budget by nearly half a billion dollars, raising bipartisan concerns about the future of federal cybersecurity programs. While this show covers legal topics, and Ben is a lawyer, the views expressed do not constitute legal advice. For official legal advice on any of the topics we cover, please contact your attorney. Links to stories: Trump budget proposal would slash more than 1,000 CISA jobs A new Texas law mandates age checks on phones. It may be just the start. Get the weekly Caveat Briefing delivered to your inbox. Like what you heard? Be sure to check out and subscribe to our Caveat Briefing, a weekly newsletter available exclusively to N2K Pro members on N2K CyberWire's website. N2K Pro members receive our Thursday wrap-up covering the latest in privacy, policy, and research news, including incidents, techniques, compliance, trends, and more. This week’s Caveat Briefing is on how a federal judge is weighing less aggressive remedies in the U.S. antitrust case against Google, suggesting limited data sharing and conditional changes to its deals with Apple rather than the sweeping 10-year plan proposed by regulators. The judge also noted that emerging AI tools like ChatGPT could disrupt traditional search, raising questions about how future competitors should factor into the case. Curious about the details? Head over to the Caveat Briefing for the full scoop and additional compelling stories. Got a question you'd like us to answer on our show? You can send your audio file to
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