It was almost exactly a year ago to the day that Unity updated its pricing program for its game engine in a way that seemed perfectly designed to piss everyone off. Whereas Unity was once a subscription-based game engine, rather than one which collected royalties, suddenly Unity went in the opposite direction, with per-install fees […]
Some of you may have heard about this. It made all the papers (at least in the United States). Tyreek Hill, wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins, was pulled over about a block away from the stadium by Miami-Dade police officers. What started as a simple situation involving a speeding/seat belt ticket escalated quickly when […]
It’s no secret that Trump-administration-in-waiting at the Heritage Foundation supports KOSA because it thinks it will be useful in achieving some of the most extreme goals of Project 2025, a project Heritage created. Last year they came out and said that they supported KOSA because “keeping trans content away from children is protecting kids.” With […]
More than a half-decade ago, the Australian government gave itself more powers. These new powers allowed the government to compel decryption — something far easier said than done, especially if existing encryption was expected to still protect everyone else but the government’s targets. Shortly after the law was passed, Australia’s federal law enforcement and national […]
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In the bizarro world of MAGA politics, up is down, black is white, and apparently, fact-checking is now a form of election interference. It is no secret that people across the political spectrum have a very warped view of what free speech or the First Amendment means. But I am particularly perplexed by the view […]
The wireless industry’s major trade association (CTIA) just released a new study indicating that Americans consumed more than 100 trillion megabytes of wireless data last year. CTIA’s 2024 Annual Wireless Industry Survey found last year saw the biggest single-year increase in wireless data usage ever recorded: 36% more data consumed than in 2022 — and almost double […]
This week, our first place winner on the insightful side is Mithras with a comment about the “Patriot Reporter” and his claims about his wealth: $5 million a month… But he needs a sideline as a realtor? That’s really making me doubt the $5 million a month. In second place, it’s That One Guy with […]
Five Years Ago This week in 2019, an appeals court issued a worrying ruling about handing IP addresses to the FBI, while the DOJ was trying to get Apple and Google to hand over names and phone numbers of 10,000 app users. A better appeals court ruling also arrived, saying that the CFAA can’t be […]
Here we go again. For those of us that view video games as a vital and still emerging form of culture and art, one of the more frustrating aspects of the industry is how music is licensed for game soundtracks and how that licensing complicates games as they age. For instance, we saw this play […]
Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast about the latest news in online speech, from Mike Masnick and Everything in Moderation‘s Ben Whitelaw. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Pocket Casts, YouTube, or your podcast app of choice — or go straight to the RSS feed. In this week’s round-up of the latest news in online […]
Imagine your search terms, key-strokes, private chats and photographs are being monitored every time they are sent. Millions of students across the country don’t have to imagine this deep surveillance of their most private communications: it’s a reality that comes with their school districts’ decision to install AI-powered monitoring software such as Gaggle and GoGuardian on students’ school-issued machines […]
It’s hardly surprising that someone who makes a living trafficking in things other than facts would have trouble recognizing facts when they’re applied to him. That’s the case here with Philip Godlewski — a self-proclaimed “patriot reporter” and QAnon conspiracy theorist. (h/t Volokh Conspiracy) According to claims made in court, Godlewski is “one of the […]
Charge your device or illuminate your desk with this innovative 6-in-1 Wireless Charger. It’s easy to use with its touch buttons and Qi wireless charging for Qi-enabled devices. Beautifully made with a modern look, it can quickly charge your device and is touch-sensitive allowing you to show the digital clock. This charger comes with an […]
I recognize why some parents are worried about screen time and the use of technology in the classroom. But isn’t the better idea to teach kids how to use it properly, rather than banning it altogether? Lately, there have been a bunch of stories about banning mobile phones in schools. Both California and New York […]
It seems like only yesterday that cable TV executives — and the analysts poised to prop up their narratives to boost stock valuations — were busy insisting that the “cord cutting” trend was a “fiction” that would abate any moment now. It was the kind of thinking that helped justify their inability to adapt to […]
Of all the ways that content creators use copyright to strike down content, one of the most befuddling is when trailers are the subject of copyright strikes. There is occasionally some logic to these sorts of strikes. Trailers that are unfinished, for instance. But even when trailers leak early in a finished state, copyright holders […]
When it comes to the Supreme Court-created (and diluted) qualified immunity doctrine, the Ninth Circuit leads the league in rejections. The Fifth Circuit is its polar opposite, more willing to forgive cops than uphold civil rights. This case would have been dead on arrival in the Fifth. But since it landed in the Ninth, the […]
Can we add a warning label to the First Amendment that says “Actually reading this can cause extreme embarrassment to grandstanding politicians”? California Attorney General, Rob Bonta, has just lost two separate cases in the Ninth Circuit regarding social media laws he strongly supported, which the court said violated the First Amendment. You would think […]
You would think this is a done deal, but it isn’t. It just keeps getting stupider. Last year, journalist Ben Camacho filed a public records request for photos of all active Los Angeles PD officers. After a couple of rounds of litigation, the city agreed to release the sought records. Camacho shared these with the […]
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