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Let’s Help Children, Not Trial Lawyers

1 week 1 day ago
The recent “internet addiction” verdicts against Apple, Meta, and YouTube drew applause from those eager to see big tech take a hit. But look behind the headlines and the result is something else entirely. These cases won’t help children. They will fuel a litigation plague that raises costs, chills innovation and hits smaller companies the […]
Michael Petricone

Daily Deal: Babbel Language Learning (All Languages)

1 week 1 day ago
Become a language expert with a Babbel Language Learning subscription. With the app, you can use Babbel on desktop and mobile, and your progress is synchronized across devices. Want to practice where you won’t have Wi-Fi? Download lessons before you head out, and you’ll be good to go. However you choose to access your 10K+ […]
Daily Deal

Bari Weiss Let Benjamin Netanyahu Pick His Own Softball Interviewer

1 week 2 days ago
What’s left of CBS News recently landed an interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It’s a bit of a doozy (transcript, video). There’s a part where Netanyahu tries to blame foreign social media bot farms for the rise in people disgusted by his government’s carpet bombing of children. There’s a part where he pretends […]
Karl Bode

HHS Is A Chaos Engine: Marty Makary Out At FDA

1 week 2 days ago
We’ve complained a great deal about RFK Jr.’s stint running HHS and its effects on the health of Americans in the short and long term because, well, there’s a lot to complain about. His anti-vaxxer stances have begun infecting national vaccine policy, of course, and his stance of essentially ignoring an ongoing 17 month measles […]
Timothy Geigner

Congress Narrowed The GUARD Act, But Serious Problems Remain

1 week 2 days ago
Following criticism, lawmakers have narrowed the GUARD Act, a bill aimed at restricting minors’ access to certain AI systems. The earlier version could have applied broadly to nearly every AI-powered chatbot or search tool. The amended bill focuses more narrowly on so-called “AI companions”—conversational systems designed to simulate emotional or interpersonal interactions with users.  That change does address […]
Joe Mullin

OpenAI’s KOSA Endorsement Is Regulatory Capture With A Smiley Face

1 week 2 days ago
Earlier this week, OpenAI became the latest tech company to publicly endorse KOSA, the Kids Online Safety Act. The company, conveniently, tries to frame this as being about its support of child safety. It’s not. It’s about political horse trading, desperation for good publicity, and building a regulatory moat. KOSA would help create stronger online […]
Mike Masnick

eBay To GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen: Um, No

1 week 2 days ago
It might be time to do a wellness check on GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen. We had just discussed Cohen’s announced bid to have GameStop buy eBay as part of an absolutely bizarre interview he did on CNBC’s Squawk Box. In that interview, Cohen attempted to explain how GameStop would buy the much more highly valued […]
Timothy Geigner

Daily Deal: InfoSec4TC Projects Hub: Learn Cybersecurity & GRC

1 week 2 days ago
The InfoSec4TC Projects Hub is a one-of-a-kind interactive platform where learning meets real-world practice. It enables learners to work on actual cybersecurity and compliance projects that simulate professional work environments and can help improve career readiness for roles like GRC Analyst, SOC Analyst, ISMS Consultant, or Cybersecurity Specialist. Each project is designed, reviewed, and evaluated […]
Daily Deal

Trump Administration: Anti-Fascists, Drug Dealers, And Trans People Are Terrorists

1 week 2 days ago
As was covered here last week, ProPublica’s Hannah Allam reached out to Trump’s “terrorism czar” Sebastian Gorka to ask him about the wreckage he’s caused since being elevated to a position of power he clearly has no expertise to handle. Gorka’s no expert in domestic security. While his resume may include occasional work for government […]
Tim Cushing

‘Christian’ Wireless Provider Promises To Censor All LGBTQ Content

1 week 3 days ago
A new “Christian” mobile phone provider named Radiant Mobile is promising to offer a wireless service that censors all LGBTQ+ content. The MVNO (mobile virtual network operator), which runs on the T-Mobile network, says it’s keen to deliver “faith-focused mobile service,” according to the company’s website. According to NIT Technology Review, the MVNO is working alongside […]
Karl Bode

Valve Blocks Indie Dev Game For Including IP From The Same Indie Dev In Game

1 week 3 days ago
Complaining about automagic enforcement of copyrights on the internet through copyright bots is so old hat at this point so as to be cliché. But there is a very good reason for that. Even in the narrower realm of PC gaming, we have seen examples of how copyright enforcement has ensnared totally innocent games, or […]
Timothy Geigner

DOJ Possibly Facing Contempt Charges After Admitting DHS Press Release Was False

1 week 3 days ago
Let’s hope the word “possibly” can be stricken from this headline in the near future. And while contempt charges don’t mean much to an administration that is openly contemptuous of anything that hints at checks or balances, it would, at the very least, encourage other judges to stop treating the Trump DOJ like it’s worthy […]
Tim Cushing

Daily Deal: 5-in-1 MagSafe Wireless & Wired Charging Station

1 week 3 days ago
Simplify your daily charging experience and replace most of the chargers and cables on your desktop. The 5-in-1 Wireless & Wired Charging Station is a compact and powerful charging station to charge all your favorite gadgets at the same time, and can also double as a bedside lamp with 3 brightness levels. Having 3 wireless […]
Daily Deal

Ken Paxton Pretends To Care About Consumers, Sues Netflix To ‘Protect The Children’

1 week 4 days ago
Flimsy and corrupt authoritarian populism is dedicated to pretending that the oligarchs and autocrats really care about the people. One way Trumpism has done this is by pretending they actually care about reining in corporate power. That’s included an elaborate, multi-year performance about how MAGA Republicans were going to curb abuses by “big tech” and […]
Karl Bode

Canadian ‘Pickle Fest’ Rebranded Under Bullshit Trademark Threat

1 week 4 days ago
I’ll let you all in on a little secret: I love pickles. Yes, let that statement spawn a million jokes in the comments; I don’t care. Pickles are great and the fresher the better. I began gardening specifically so that I could grow cucumbers, garlic, onion, and dill, just so I could make my own […]
Timothy Geigner