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Major Sports Leagues Want ‘Instantaneous’ Site Blocking, ISPs To Be Real Time Copyright Police

1 year 10 months ago
Back in May of this year, the USPTO put out a request for public comments from interested parties in how to modernize its policies and/or copyright law to combat counterfeiting and online piracy. The world’s easiest prediction would have been that the copyright industries would request more stringent copyright rules and heavier and faster policing […]
Dark Helmet

Australian Government, Of All Places, Says Age Verification Is A Privacy & Security Nightmare

1 year 10 months ago
In the past I’ve sometimes described Australia as the land where internet policy is completely upside down. Rather than having a system that protects intermediaries from liability for third party content, Australia went the opposite direction. Rather than recognizing that a search engine merely links to content and isn’t responsible for the content at those […]
Mike Masnick

Daily Deal: Apple Watch Portable USB Charger

1 year 10 months ago
This Apple Watch Portable USB Charger allows you to charge anytime, anywhere. With a built-in magnetic adsorption module, you can charge your watch immediately after contact. This charger has the ability to charge your watch within 2 to 3 hours fully. It’s lightweight and portable, so you can charge your watch while traveling, when working […]
Gretchen Heckmann

The Protecting Kids On Social Media Act Is A Terrible Alternative To KOSA

1 year 10 months ago
We have covered the Protecting Kids On Social Media Act a few times, when it was first introduced back in April, where we highlighted how it was both unconstitutional and the rationale behind it was not supported by any actual evidence, and then again just recently when Senator Chris Murphy (one of the bill’s co-sponsors) […]
Mike Masnick

A Banana Puts The Final Nail In The Coffin Of 5G Hype

1 year 10 months ago
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 […]
Karl Bode

Push To Strip Fox’s Broadcast License Over Election Lies Gains New Momentum

1 year 10 months ago
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 […]
Karl Bode

State Governments Can’t Resist The Siren Song Of Censorship

1 year 10 months ago
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 […]
Mike Masnick

Despite Everyone Knowing Cellebrite Devices Can Be Used To Break Into Locked Phones, Cellebrite Tells Cops Not To Tell Anyone Its Tech Can Used To Break Into Locked Phones

1 year 10 months ago
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 […]
Tim Cushing

Daily Deal: AquaSonic Black Series Toothbrush & Travel Case With 8 DuPont Brush Heads

1 year 10 months ago
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 […]
Gretchen Heckmann

If Your $108 Million Defamation Lawsuit Basically Admits To Everything People Are Horrified By, You Might Have Just Filed A SLAPP Suit

1 year 10 months ago
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 […]
Mike Masnick

Behold Ongoing Merger ‘Synergies’: T-Mobile Lays Off Another 5,000 Employees

1 year 10 months ago
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. […]
Karl Bode

California Supreme Court Decides There’s No Reason To Generate Precedent On Geofence Warrants

1 year 10 months ago
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 […]
Tim Cushing

Techdirt Podcast Episode 363: Social Media & Mental Health

1 year 10 months ago
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 […]
Leigh Beadon

How The Lack Of Copyright For AI-Generated Works Actually Works To Writers/Actors Advantage In Strike Negotiations

1 year 10 months ago
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 […]
Mike Masnick

Daily Deal: Design Wizard Pro

1 year 10 months ago
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 […]
Gretchen Heckmann

Elon Musk’s Double Standard On ‘Doxxing’: Says It’s Okay To Reveal Zuck’s Address Because It’s Available Via Google

1 year 10 months ago
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 […]
Mike Masnick