Way back in 2020, Tim Cushing wrote about the Las Vegas police and its habit of running low-resolution images through facial recognition software in order to generate leads when conducting investigations. While his post focused on just how those low-res images were used, and sometimes misused, the important thing to recognize for the purposes of […]
Back in February, the FCC announced new rules that would prohibit the use of AI-generated deep fake robocalls. The proposal would make such calls illegal under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which it already uses to combat robocalls. It was prompted by that very sloppy AI deep fake that targeted the Democratic Presidential primary […]
Last week, the NY Times had an article about how Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, is being targeted in a SLAPP suit by a “podcaster” who claims Raffensperger defamed her in his book about the 2020 election. (For reasons unknown, the NY Times links to none of the legal filings in the case, […]
Oh, Fifth Circuit, you crazy, crazy kid. I take back almost all the bad things I’ve said about you. The cop-friendliest circuit in the nation has done the unimaginable: set up a circuit-on-circuit showdown that can only be resolved by a Supreme Court decision. Until that happens (don’t hold your breath), you and your Google […]
StackSkills is the premier online learning platform for mastering today’s most in-demand skills. Now, with this exclusive limited-time offer, you’ll gain access to 1000+ StackSkills courses for life! Whether you’re looking to earn a promotion, make a career change, or pick up a side hustle to make some extra cash, StackSkills delivers engaging online courses […]
As we head into another Presidential election, one thing has been consistent from the last two such elections as well: the tech policies of both major parties are terrible. The Donald Trump Republican platform for 2025 is beyond crazy with all sorts of nonsense. The “tech” part of it is barely worth a mention, but […]
I spent decades as a telecom beat reporter watching the mainstream press cover the telecom industry. I had a front row seat to the endless promises big telecoms like AT&T and Comcast made before a merger, and the way the U.S. business press repeatedly parroted pre-merger claims entirely unskeptically, without pointing out the harms of […]
One of many ideas floated as a solution to police misconduct issues is the requirement that officers carry their own insurance. Almost every law enforcement officer is currently indemnified by the towns and cities that employ them, ensuring they’re never personally responsible for any judgments or settlements stemming from their misconduct. And that’s a very […]
Because of the wonderful world in which we live, we get to learn about certain unhappy terms and practices, one of which is the concept of “collective punishment.” As a matter of war, collective punishment is a war crime. The idea is that a belligerent force cannot punish an entire population or group merely for […]
The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has allowed Indiana’s age verification law to go into effect — even as the Supreme Court has suggested a similar law in Texas might be unconstitutional. The Seventh Circuit panel handed down this ruling, letting the law go into effect just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court decided […]
For as long as the evening news has existed, America has been portrayed as a dangerous place to live. Reminding people we’re a very safe country — especially over the past 30 years — doesn’t draw in viewers. And it doesn’t draw in voters, either. Among the many, many, many things Donald Trump lied about […]
As we recently noted, telecom giants like AT&T and Comcast are having some very good luck using a corrupt, MAGA-heavy court to not only kill popular net neutrality rules — but to effectively lobotomize the FCC’s ability to protect broadband consumers at all. Leveraging the recent Supreme Court Lopper rulings, telecom lawyers are trying to […]
This week, our first place winner on the insightful side is an anonymous comment about the Governor who told students to “look the other way” if they are bothered by mandated postings of the Ten Commandments: Funny how theocrats never practice what they preach. They refuse to simply “look the other way” when bothered by, […]
Five Years Ago This week in 2019, we looked at the loss of Aereo and its impact on policy, and also dedicated the first of two episodes of our podcast to dissecting the FTC’s Facebook settlement. The Wall Street Journal had Dennis Prager peddling complete nonsense about “Google censorship”, a Fox News commenter was calling […]
It was just a few weeks ago that we were discussing how an update Apple made to its rules for its App Store allowed for some retro-console game emulator apps, but not retro-PC game emulator apps for some reason. When Apple made the policy change, developer Chaoji Li submitted his app, iDOS, for consideration, only […]
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 […]
For a while, we’ve been pointing out how terrible KOSA (the Kids Online Safety Act) is. Our main concern is that the bill would fundamentally lead to the suppression of all kinds of speech. That’s because the “duty of care” provision, while limited, would allow officials (mostly at the FTC, which can get partisan) to […]
I, for one, would welcome an opportunity for the inmates to run the asylum. It can’t possibly be any stupider than this bit of news, which emanates from what I consider to be my hometown (I spent 15 formative years living here, beginning at age 5), El Paso, Texas. An El Paso middle school is […]
The Premium Python Programming PCEP Certification Prep Bundle has 12 courses to help you become an expert Python coder. Courses cover everything from app creation to AI and machine learning. It’s on sale for $35. Note: The Techdirt Deals Store is powered and curated by StackCommerce. A portion of all sales from Techdirt Deals helps […]
A challenge for the mainstream media: can you stop saying that Elon Musk is a free speech absolutist? Over the past few years, we’ve had a number of posts highlighting just how laughable it is that Elon Musk claims that he’s a “free speech absolutist.” He never has been. Remember that even before he took […]
stLouIST