Today on Lawfare: Nov. 26, 2025
From Lawfare's Editorial Team.
Compiled by Isabel Arroyo.
Articles
The Hidden Risks of Platform Control Over Historical Memory
Alena Gribanova explained how the European Union’s Digital Services Act gives regulators unprecedented and untested power to shape historical memory—as well as future war crimes prosecutions—by determining which images of violence are allowed to exist on digital platforms.
In modern conflicts, the first casualty is not truth but visibility. Platforms decide which images of war survive and which disappear. The new Digital Services Act (DSA) in the European Union gives regulators unprecedented powers to shape this process. Information has long been a strategic asset in war. Contemporary conflicts have accelerated this trend to an unprecedented scale due to the vast volume of digital evidence. Control over digital narratives now shapes public perception of war as it unfolds. Digital platforms have become arenas where evidence of violence is quietly erased. Tech companies apply moderation policies that often mirror government pressure. They leave the public cut off from vital information during crises. This deprives future historians of key sources. Geopolitical tensions have exposed how quickly digital records can disappear from major platforms, casting doubt on the permanence of the digital historical record.
Kevin Frazier argued that China’s recent innovations in undersea drones constitute a “Sputnik moment” that should catalyze concerted attention to and investment in the U.S.’s own undersea cable system.
The spread of XLUUVs and their smaller counterparts–—UUVs—makes Hollywood-esque scenarios once regarded as “extremely difficult” something that all stakeholders must plan for. More specifically, it is now technologically feasible for a bad actor to launch a coordinated attack on dozens of cables—such as the 15 telecommunications cables that connect Taiwan to the rest of the world. That’s not a scenario most nations have mapped out nor prepared for.
The United States is not in a position to rapidly replace its own cables or assist its allies in doing the same. As it stands, it can take years to even approve a new cable in the U.S. If and when it is necessary to lay new cables, there is simply no regulatory path to do so. That’s why this precise moment merits a substantial overhaul of how the U.S. regulates and protects the undersea cable system.
The Situation: You Get to Play Lindsey Halligan’s Hand
Katherine Pompilio and Benjamin Wittes created a choose-your-own-adventure game summarizing all the options that remain to Lindsey Halligan for prosecuting former FBI Director James Comey.
Our suggestion is that you play this flowchart game a few dozen times before deciding your next move. Here’s what you’ll see if you go through this exercise: You lose. One way or another, embarrassingly or with a modicum of dignity. There is only one path to victory for you in this chart, and it involves the most inside of inside straights. In other words, your chances of success are slim.
Documents
Isabel Arroyo shared Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee’s order granting the dismissal of the election conspiracy case against President Trump in Georgia.
Podcasts
Lawfare Daily: Anastasiia Lapatina and Eric Ciaramella Talk Russia, Ukraine, and Trump: Wittes sat down with Anastasiia Lapatina and Eric Ciaramella to discuss the recent machinations surrounding a potential Russia-Ukraine peace deal. The three unpacked the contours of the American position on the matter, whether the United States is abandoning Ukraine, whether the administration will back off the 28-point document it reportedly put together with Russian negotiators, and more.
Announcements
Beginning on Dec. 10, Laura Field, the author of “Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right,” will teach a 6-part class on the conservative intellectual movement and how it has shaped Donald Trump’s presidency as a part of the Lawfare Lecture series. You can gain access to these classes by becoming a paid supporter at Patreon or Substack. The lectures will also be published on Lawfare’s YouTube channel on a delayed timeline.
Submissions are now open for Lawfare’s annual Ask Us Anything podcast, an opportunity for you to ask Lawfare editors and contributors your most burning questions of the year. You can submit questions through Dec. 16.
Lawfare’s new Domestic Deployments Tracker maps federal non-disaster deployments of the military within U.S. borders. You can read more about the tracker here.
The Trials of the Trump Administration, our coverage of Trump’s executive actions and their legal challenges, now includes a page devoted to tracking the status of Alien Enemies Act cases in federal courts. Find the page here.
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