US legislation covering federal datacenters is set to expire in September and it appears that the Trump administration is simply going to allow it to lapse without replacement. The Federal Data Center Enhancement Act (FDCEA) of 2023 covers certain standards that are to be adhered to for facilities that are wholly or partially owned, operated, or maintained by a federal agency. It includes requirements relating to availability and uptime of the facility; the use of sustainable energy sources; protection against power failure; protections against physical intrusion and natural disasters; plus IT security protections. We understand that the legislation will sunset on September 30, 2026, and according to Wired, neither the US Congress nor the Trump administration appears to be making any move to extend the act, or put alternate legislation in place. The danger is that if the FDCEA is not renewed or superseded by similar legislation, then federal agencies across the US may cease to follow the requirements and simply act as they see fit when procuring new datacenter infrastructure. We asked the White House and Congress for comment. According to implementation guidance issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the previous administration, agency datacenters “must provide secure and highly available computing infrastructure to enable reliable access to Federal information and information systems.” It notes that the "needs of the federal government with respect to data access and data processing systems have evolved since 2014,” when the Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative (FDCCI) was established, and hence the latter was not renewed but replaced by the FDCEA. The OMB states that effective operation of datacenters requires regular monitoring, and optimization of resources by operators, and directs agencies to incorporate automated tools into the management of all new facilities, including tools that monitor metrics such as electrical consumption. It also states that the “cost, scarcity, and environmental impact of energy and water consumption necessitates that agencies evaluate datacenters against resource consumption metrics and best practices when making their decisions” regarding new datacenter builds. Perhaps most importantly, it requires that federal facilities “must be able to meet the reliability and resiliency needs of their hosted information and information systems through implementation of the appropriate information security and physical security protections.” It is widely known that the Trump administration does not look kindly on regulations, especially those relating to environmental protection. Instead, policy has focused on fast-tracking the federal permitting process for datacenters, particularly those dedicated to training and developing AI models. A recent report from Politico stated that the Trump administration was not inclined to set nationwide environmental requirements or recommendations for the datacenter industry. Instead, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin said that while there are technologies and practices that reduce air pollution and water usage, individual states and communities know what works best for them. At the same time, opposition to datacenter construction is growing across the US, precisely because of public fears over factors such as air pollution, water usage, and the prospect of spiking energy bills. A recent survey found more than 70 percent of respondents said that they would be against the construction of an AI datacenter in their neighborhood. ®

The UK government has set up an advisory board for its digital ID project, intended "to challenge the government on emerging ideas or policy decisions to ensure the system works for everyone," says the Cabinet Office. The board includes David Rogers, an Internet of Things security expert and CEO of security consultancy Copper Horse. He is no stranger to government advisory panels, having previously sat on a group formed in 2020 to consider telecoms diversification. A year later, as chairman of the GSMA's fraud and security group, he backed the then-Conservative government's Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022. Rogers has provided El Reg with comments over the years, and in 2014 discussed iPhone 6 biometric security, arguing that better usability would cut data loss overall because most people found PIN locks too cumbersome. Justine Roberts, founder and chief executive of UK parenting forum Mumsnet, is also on the board. The site experienced a data breach in 2019 due to a cloud migration affecting 46 user accounts, leading Roberts to apologize. More recently, some Mumsnet posters have been unimpressed by the government's digital ID plans, with one responding to the prime minister's October 2025 announcement with "Honestly, who is he kidding?" and "Desperate stuff to justify this authoritative bs." During the public consultation, some posters promoted the Sex Matters campaign to let Brits include their sex in their digital IDs. Another board member, Victor Dominello, has relevant experience as the minister who launched New South Wales' digital driver's license in 2019, saying it was more secure than the physical equivalent. In 2022, a researcher at security company Dvuln found numerous security flaws in the Service NSW app that hosts the license and other government services, although the state government said these did not pose a risk to customer information. Other members include John Fallon, former chief executive of Pearson and the lead non-executive board member of the Cabinet Office; Anne-Marie Imafidon, who runs social enterprise Stemettes, which encourages people to consider jobs in tech and science; and digital regulation lawyer Emma Wright. The board will meet quarterly for as long as the digital ID program lasts. The government is also setting up engagement exercises with the digital verification and financial services sectors. It is currently running a People's Panel with around 100 to 120 participants meeting in Birmingham and on Zoom to hear from experts and ministers before producing recommendations, in return for £550 in cash or vouchers. ®