The FCC wants to roll back steps meant to stop a repeat of a massive telecom hack
The FCC wants to roll back steps meant to stop a repeat of a massive telecom hack After one of the biggest telecom hacks in US history, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) moved to enforce strict standards on carriers’ cybersecurity measures. On Thursday, the agency is set to vote to roll back those requirements, arguing […]
Europe is scaling back its landmark privacy and AI laws
Europe is scaling back its landmark privacy and AI laws After years of staring down the world’s biggest tech companies and setting the bar for tough regulation worldwide, Europe has blinked. Under intense pressure from industry and the US government, Brussels is stripping protections from its flagship General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) — including simplifying […]
It’s not your job to fix the internet
It's not your job to fix the internet The concept of enshittification, as coined by the author and activist Cory Doctorow, just feels right. Whether you’re searching on Google, shopping on Amazon, or scrolling on Facebook, large platforms often feel like they’re not trying to bring us value so much as extract every bit of […]
Google is fighting the defamation battle Meta caved on
Google is fighting the defamation battle Meta caved on Google filed a motion to dismiss a defamation lawsuit brought by anti-corporate diversity activist Robby Starbuck, who claimed Google’s AI falsely associated him with sexual assault allegations and a white nationalist. Starbuck’s claims against Google came after he filed a similar lawsuit against Meta, whose AI […]
NetChoice sues Virginia to block its one-hour social media limit for kids
NetChoice sues Virginia to block its one-hour social media limit for kids The tech industry trade group NetChoice is suing Virginia over a new law that will restrict minors from using social media for more than one hour per day. The lawsuit, filed on Monday, asks the court to block the law over claims it […]
How Jeffrey Epstein used SEO to bury news about his crimes
How Jeffrey Epstein used SEO to bury news about his crimes On December 11th, 2010, Jeffrey Epstein was fretting about what came up if you Googled him. By this time Epstein had already pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution with a child and was a registered sex offender, and just a few days earlier he had […]
WhatsApp is launching third-party chat integration in Europe
WhatsApp is launching third-party chat integration in Europe Meta is on the cusp of launching third-party integration with WhatsApp in Europe — something that’s required by the Digital Markets Act (DMA). It’s rolling out “over the coming months” with WhatsApp’s level of end-to-end encryption (E2EE) maintained. Meta says that BirdyChat and Haiket will be the first third-party services to […]
Google is trying to take down a group sending you all those spammy texts
Google is trying to take down a group sending you all those spammy texts If you’ve ever received a spammy text falsely alerting you to an unpaid toll or failed delivery, it might have come from a so-called Phishing-as-a-Service network that Google is now trying to take down. Google filed suit against several unnamed defendants […]
America’s cybersecurity defenses are cracking
America's cybersecurity defenses are cracking It was late June, and something strange was happening on Arizona’s online portal for political candidates. Images of the candidates were disappearing. Photos of the Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini were popping up in their place. The state would later come to believe it was an attack from an Iranian government-affiliated […]
Texas sues Roblox for allegedly failing to protect children on its platform
Texas sues Roblox for allegedly failing to protect children on its platform Texas AG Ken Paxton is accusing Roblox of “putting pixel pedophiles and profits over the safety of Texas children,” alleging in a lawsuit filed this week that it is “flagrantly ignoring state and federal online safety laws while deceiving parents about the dangers […]