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 […]
Advance your programming skills and start building responsive apps with the 2024 MERN Full Stack Developer Bundle. The 10 courses cover HTML, Bootstrap, CSS, React, MongoDB, Express, NodeJS, and more. It’s on sale for $40. Note: The Techdirt Deals Store is powered and curated by StackCommerce. A portion of all sales from Techdirt Deals helps […]
Two weeks ago, Mark Zuckerberg apologized for something he didn’t actually do to appease a bad faith actor demanding he take responsibility for something that didn’t happen. This week, he’s claiming that he’s done falsely apologizing to bad faith actors demanding accountability for things he’s not responsible for. Pardon me, but I think I’ll wait […]
The ink is barely dry on Verizon’s $20 billion proposed acquisition of Frontier, but industry analysts — ever excited to boost stock valuations via speculation — are already pushing for greater consolidation in the very broken U.S. telecom industry. Telecom industry trade magazines are all frothy at the potential for even more mergers, including a […]
More than a decade ago, the NYPD was sued successfully over its stop-and-frisk program. A federal court found the program routinely violated rights and disproportionately targeted minorities. Judge Shira Sheindlin ordered a number of reforms to the program and it was placed under federal oversight. Since then, the NYPD hasn’t changed much about how it […]
Last month, we discussed the internet’s reaction to Donald Trump, well, Donald Trumping all over social media. He shared several images on social media, some of which were real, some of which were parody, and some of which were AI generated images, all of which appeared to suggest that Taylor Swift had endorsed him. In […]
If you think qualified immunity is awarded far too frequently during far too many cases involving obvious rights violations, brace yourself for the harrowing insanity that is the wreckage that has been made of Supreme Court’s Bivens decision. That case involved rights violations by federal officers against Webster Bivens. The Supreme Court found in favor […]
In the last month, I wrote about two of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s bullshit crazy lawsuits over him being very, very mad that social media companies keep moderating or limiting the spread of his dangerous bullshit anti-vax nonsense. In one, the Ninth Circuit had to explain (not for the first time) to RFK and his […]
The Fraternal Order of Police isn’t here to protect cops from anything but accountability. It doesn’t actually care about the rank-and-file, not when it can leverage its power to secure even more power. It doesn’t care about law and order, despite being the definitive figurehead of that ideal. No, the FOP is — and has […]
You probably already know the benefits of learning a language, so let’s focus on the app. Right off the bat, let’s be clear about one thing: When we say “app” we don’t mean that you’re limited to using Babbel on your phone. You can use Babbel on desktop, too, and your progress is synchronized across […]
Over the last few years, politicians in Utah have been itching to pass terrible internet legislation. Some of you may forget that in the earlier part of the century, Utah became somewhat famous for passing absolutely terrible internet laws that the courts then had to clean up. In the last few years, it’s felt like […]
Over the next six months, states are poised to receive more than $42.5 billion in taxpayer subsidies to help fund broadband rollouts around the country. A lot of this money is getting dumped into the laps of big telecom monopolies with a lousy track record of follow through. But a lot of it is also […]