We’ve long noted how 5G wireless is more of an evolution than a revolution. Yes, it results in faster, better networks, but it’s not a technology that’s truly transformative. Knowing this, the wireless industry spent years coming up with all kinds of outlandish claims about how 5G can cure cancer or solve climate change in […]
Of all the things we cover here at Techdirt, content producers going legal on pure fan-made productions that amount to fans expressing their fandom will always be the most befuddling for me. All the more so when it comes to content that was essentially kept alive by this same sort of fan-made work. Take the […]
Last July, we noted how media reform activists had petitioned the FCC to revoke Fox News’ local broadcast license in Philadelphia. More specifically, the group argued that Fox News’ rampant election fraud propaganda technically violated the “character clause” embedded in the Communications Act the FCC is supposed to use to determine whether an organization should hold a […]
The states have gone rogue. In the last year alone, at least nine states enacted internet censorship laws. And more legislators are promising to take up the cause. But these laws are directly at odds with the First Amendment’s command that the government shall not abridge the freedom of speech. Undeterred, states passed laws restricting […]
Cops and cop tech providers like to pretend the things they use and the things they do are so black ops the public should not be allowed to discuss them with anyone, much less the defendants, judges, and juries being asked to weigh evidence and render verdicts in criminal trials. A lot of supposedly secret […]
Capable of removing up to 10 times more plaque than a traditional brush, the AquaSonic Black Series Toothbrush gives your pearly whites the TLC they deserve. This high-end brush allows you to customize your brushing experience with soft, whiten, massage, and cleaning modes. Plus, the 40,000 VPM motor provides a deep clean while dissolving stains […]
We need a federal anti-SLAPP law and strong state anti-SLAPP laws in all 50 states. And we need that as soon as possible. Anti-SLAPP/free speech law may not be as sexy these days as antitrust law, but, well, law shouldn’t be particularly sexy. Or involve much sex at all. Joshua Wright apparently felt otherwise. Over […]
Former T-Mobile CEO John Legere repeatedly promised in print that the Sprint merger would result in a massive surge in new jobs. In a rambling missive that took aim at deal critics predicting job losses, the charming, potty-mouthed ex-CEO proclaimed that critics were lying, and that the deal would be “job positive from day one” and every day thereafter. […]
I swear, with some of the trademark stories we cover, it ends up feeling like we should have Yakety Sax playing on loop in the background for the readers. That’s certainly my sense when it comes to The Day Before‘s trademark struggles as of late. Where to start? Well, let’s start with the basics: is […]
The government’s preference for geofence (a.k.a. “reverse”) is well known. There have been enough cases and enough litigation in recent years to demonstrably show the government will go to data havens when searching for suspects rather than engage in in-person investigative work. Why canvass a neighborhood for potential suspects when you can ask Google to […]
Social media isn’t the first phenomenon to spark a moral panic about its impact on people’s (and especially young people’s) mental health, and it surely won’t be the last — but for now, it’s the star of the show. A lot of people will gladly latch on to, and casually misrepresent, any research that might […]
We’ve talked a lot about questions regarding AI and copyright over the last few years, highlighting repeatedly that AI-created works cannot be covered by copyrights. No matter how many times we’ve pointed this out, some are still trying, and it was nice to see yet another court (not the first) again say that AI-created works […]
Law enforcement officers just don’t seem to have a sense of humor. Sure, they may laugh when they beat, humiliate, or otherwise violates citizens’ rights, but they can’t seem to take a joke when it’s pointed in their direction. Not being able to recognize an obvious joke has ensured two members of the Rapides Parish […]
Design Wizard is an easy-to-use graphic design software that will add magic to your marketing and put the sparkle in your social media. With its features, you can magically resize your designs, upload your fonts, photos, logos, and create custom color palettes. Its library has over 1 million premium images, illustrations, graphics, and more. It’s on […]
What, Elon Musk is a hypocrite? Who knew? You may recall that last year, after directly promising that he’d leave up the ElonJet account, which reveals public information regarding the flights of Elon Musk’s private plane, he changed his mind and banned it, along with any reporter who even mentioned the existence of the account […]
Eager to maintain a lucrative repair monopoly over its products, Apple has had a long history of bullying independent repair shops. Apple lobbyists have also falsely claimed that making its products easier and less expensive to repair would result in vast untold consumer privacy and security nightmares, turning states that consider “right to reform” legislation […]
I’m certainly not the first person to make this point, but the only thing that’s really going to prevent truly bullshit copyright infringement lawsuits from being filed in the first place is when bad actors get hit in the pocketbook. One of the most common ways that actually occurs is through courts ordering plaintiffs in […]
One thing that the old Twitter was pretty good for was getting help on customer service problems. Rather than having to call customer service lines and wait on hold for hours on end only to be given the run around, many people found that complaining on Twitter was a lot faster and more helpful (likely, […]
One can only assume the Marion, Kansas police department felt this would never be this big. Overconfidence is a killer, as the MPD can surely attest, albeit after the fact. The raid of the Marion County Record is now international news, thanks in large part to the flagrant First Amendment violations. Then there’s the fact […]
Election season is approaching, so I fully expect this nonsense to come right back again, but maybe with a court shutting it down, culture war nonsense peddlers can move on to some other nonsense? The background: in the runup to the 2022 U.S. elections, a prominent Republican “digital marketing” (read: political spam) shop noticed that […]
stLouIST