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. IIn this week’s round-up of the latest news in online […]
It turns out the internet was one Sam Alito petulant tantrum away from being a total disaster. In two key First Amendment cases, Alito was given the majority opinion to write. And, in both of them, his insistence on obliterating the old boundaries of the First Amendment caused other Justices to switch sides – and […]
The state of New Jersey has been sued twice over its infant DNA program. Like the rest of the nation, New Jersey hospitals collect a blood sample from newborns to test them for 60 different health disorders. That part is normal. But New Jersey is different. Rather than discard the samples after the testing is […]
The Complete IT for Beginners Bundle will gear you up with the core CompTIA skills you need to be an in-demand IT professional. This includes the four most popular IT Fundamentals, A+ Core1, A+ Core2, and Network. As a bonus, it includes three new Microsoft MTA courses. It’s on sale for $50. Note: The Techdirt […]
Remember last month when ExTwitter excitedly “rejoined GARM” (the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, an advertising consortium focused on brand safety)? And then, a week later, after Rep. Jim Jordan released a misleading report about GARM, Elon Musk said he was going to sue GARM and hoped criminal investigations would be opened? Unsurprisingly, Jordan has […]
Broadband providers poised to receive $42 billion in taxpayer broadband subsidies from the infrastructure bill are ramping up complaints about a small requirement affixed to the massive handout: they have to try to make broadband affordable to poor people. Earlier this month we noted that the GOP, in lockstep with the telecom industry, had launched […]
Say what you will about the roster of Trump apologists being hosted by the Volokh Conspiracy (and I will say plenty if given the chance), but at least Eugene Volokh continues to surface truly interesting cases. (Ilya Somin remains worth reading as well.) And this one is one for the record books. Possibly the first […]
One of the arguments sometimes made in defense of copyright is that without it, creators would be unable to compete with the hordes of copycats that would spring up as soon as their works became popular. Copyright is needed, supporters say, to prevent less innovative creators from producing works that are closely based on new, […]
Donald Trump is no stranger to filing vexatious, speech-chilling SLAPP suits. For a guy whose supporters pretend he is a big “free speech” supporter, it’s kind of astounding how frequently Trump sues people and companies over speech he dislikes. Unfortunately, judges have allowed the cases to move forward in two separate recent SLAPP suits. It […]
Broken clocks may be accidentally correct twice a day, and sometimes those broken clocks save the internet. The House GOP has killed KOSA over unclear “concerns” about the version of KOSA that was approved earlier this week. There were rumors this might happen, but in a note at the bottom of a Punchbowl News Congressional […]
The 2024 Video Editing Master Class Bundle has 5 courses to help you learn how to bring your vision to life. Courses cover Adobe After Effects, CapCut, Filmora 12, Canva, and Davinci Resolve. It’s on sale for $50. Note: The Techdirt Deals Store is powered and curated by StackCommerce. A portion of all sales from […]
Another anomaly has popped up, which has the chance to create enough of a circuit split that the Supreme Court will need to weigh in on this issue. The good news (albeit undercut a bit by “good faith”) is that another federal court has ruled the Riley warrant requirement applies at the nation’s borders. Here’s […]
Back in March we noted how the GOP killed a popular program (the Affordable Connectivity Program, or ACP) that provided a $30 discount off of low-income users’ broadband bills. At the time, 22 million Americans were enrolled in the FCC effort to bring down broadband access prices for the most vulnerable. But after House leader […]
It’s been a decade or so since one of the silliest ways to combat the symptom of a broken copyright system came to be: safe streaming settings in video games. Because of the way licensing works for the musical compositions in video games, and because some games include mainstream music a la Grand Theft Auto, […]
The FCC has announced that it’s taking more direct aim at prison phone and videoconferencing monopolies that have a long history of ripping off inmates and their families. According to an agency announcement, the FCC has voted to further lower price caps on prison phone calls and closed a loophole allowing companies to charge exorbitant […]
I’ve spent many years trying to explain to people the impossibility of doing content moderation well at scale. I’ve created dozens of case studies on impossible decisions. I’ve made two separate video games about content moderation and trust & safety. I’ve written so so so many articles. But I think I’ve now found just a […]
It’s 2016 all over again. The FBI can’t get everything it wants from a dead person’s phone, so it has decided to start revving up its anti-encryption engine. The DOJ took Apple to court in hopes of securing precedent compelling tech companies to crack encrypted devices for it after it recovered the San Bernardino shooter’s […]
Go from absolute zero to GIMP pro with this comprehensive 9 course bundle. Jump into the Complete Master GIMP Design Bundle, and you’ll go all the way from installing the GIMP software and configuring it to run on Windows, to producing banners, book covers and even memes that you’ll display using Facebook and other social […]
The 2024 Paris Olympics is drawing the eyes of the world as thousands of athletes and support personnel and hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the globe converge in France. It’s not just the eyes of the world that will be watching. Artificial intelligence systems will be watching, too. Government and private companies will […]
We’ve noted repeatedly that in the wake of the Sprint T-Mobile merger, wireless carriers immediately stopped trying to compete on price (exactly what deal critics had warned the Trump administration would happen when you reduce sector competition). Recently, T-Mobile imposed another $3-$5 per month price hike on most of its plans — including customers who […]
stLouIST