Augmented reality is on its way. The ability to layer media over top of the real world is, for the moment, a hardware problem. Our phones can do it – think Pokémon Go, or Snapchat’s dancing hotdog – but a real-time heads-up display remains out of reach, for the moment. When such technology arrives, it […]
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. In this sponsored Spotlight episode of Ctrl-Alt-Speech, host Ben Whitelaw […]
It sounds absolutely batty that there is a strong, bipartisan push to lock up aspects of our law behind copyright. But it’s happening. Even worse, the push is on to include this effort to lock up the law in the “must pass” National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This is the bill that Congress lights up […]
Good news for phone owners. Perhaps a little less great for law enforcement, which presumably still doesn’t have the capability to crack the latest cell phones. Not that it’s all bad news for law enforcement. Whether or not compelled password production is a constitutional violation is still an open question. Those whose phones are secured […]
In a stunning display of technocratic incompetence, the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) has effectively outlawed the very tool that online platforms have relied on for years to combat trolls: shadowbanning. Recent court decisions suggest that the DSA’s (possibly?) well-intentioned but misguided Article 17 has created a troll’s paradise, leaving websites in an impossible position […]
The leading candidate to head the FCC should Trump win re-election is facing calls for an investigation into Hatch Act violations after he helped co-author the controversial Project 2025. Sixteen House Democrats have sent a letter to government officials arguing that Carr’s involvement in the openly political Project 2025 is a clear violation of the […]
Here’s a fun one, coming to us via MLive, which at least let us know this exists, even if it couldn’t be bothered to post the freely available decision posted at the Michigan Supreme Court’s website. I can only imagine the amount of cop whining this will provoke. When cops don’t have a legitimate reason […]
Late last year, the FTC appealed the decision by the court to allow Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard to go through by denying the FTC’s requested injunction against it. Since then, Microsoft appears to be running some sort of experiment to see just how completely it can prove the FTC’s warning about the deal was […]
Students have rights. That’s something educators and (especially) administrators seem to forget. Schools also aren’t immune from the same issues that negatively affect the outside world. Adding cops to the school discipline mix definitely hasn’t helped anything. Biased policing is an everyday occurrence pretty much everywhere in the county. Just because the officer patrols halls […]
The First Amendment is America’s secret sauce. Far from a relic of the 18th century, the right to speak freely and question authority is a cornerstone of innovation, which thrives on pushing boundaries and challenging the status quo. This freedom is why the United States consistently out-invents and out-performs other societies that do not prioritize […]
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When tragedy strikes, it’s human nature to search for answers. But when you’re Fox News, it seems that the answer is always the same: blame video games, social media, or anything else that fits your preconceived notions, facts be damned. In the aftermath of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, I idly wondered how long […]
You might just start to detect a theme here. Consumer Reports’ latest survey of the most popular ISPs in America is once again dominated by smaller providers and community-owned and operated broadband networks. Networks often built by locals that were tired of being ripped off by local monopolies like AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, or Charter. According […]
This week, our first place winner on the insightful side is That One Guy with a comment about Silicon Valley VCs lining up to back Trump and our supposition that it’s because they cynically welcome chaos: ‘Look, we put BBQ sauce on our faces and everything, so no snacking alright?’ Either that or in the […]
Five Years Ago This week in 2019, an opportunistic IBM sold out Section 230 while the Third Circuit joined the Ninth in denying its protections to e-commerce platforms, soon followed by the Sixth Circuit making a mess of it as well, so we wrote more about how Section 230 is not exceptional and is not […]
Earlier this year, I brought to you an absolute bonkers trademark lawsuit filed in Turkey by Hermes, the luxury brand, against Hermes Sahaf, an itty bitty bookstore. There was never a reason to file this lawsuit, but it’s an especially bad PR look for a massive company like Hermes to be going after an independent […]
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. In this week’s round-up of the latest news in online […]
Apparently, exceptions apply. The “Thin Blue Line” is the supposedly united front of law enforcement that protects society against evil. But it’s not unconditional. If you’re a good cop, you get frozen out. And, if you’re a woman, you get treated like most cops treat most women. The “Blue Line” often seems to be the […]
I’m curious how Republicans would react if AOC suddenly sought to hold a hearing questioning Elon Musk’s bias in endorsing and promoting Donald Trump on ExTwitter. I imagine there would be apocalyptic outrage and nonstop cries of tyranny over such a blatant abuse of power to punish someone for their political views. And they’d be […]
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