Internet
Restoring Childhood Says It's Not Smartphones Making Teens Miserable. It's School.
Computers, video games, and the internet actually helped "restore childhood" in the 1990s, suggests psychologist Peter Gray in a new book. Then changes to our education system reversed those gains.
AI Executives Want International Regulation. They Could Just Slow Down Themselves.
Dario Amodei is calling for coordinated international limits on AI development while Anthropic prepares to go public.
Jimmy Kimmel Didn't Air Talarico Interview Over Fear of FCC 'Equal Time' Threats
For the second time this year, Talarico appeared on a late-night show only to be bumped in response to federal threats.
OpenAI Agents Gone Rogue
Plus: Mail-in ballots, mortgage rates reach new high, arcade.gov is a new low, and more...
Prosecutors Say a North Carolina Teenager Committed Murder by Livestreaming a California Mosque Shooting
The case smacks of a desire for retribution that cannot be satisfied by prosecuting the actual killers, who committed suicide.
What Craigslist and Backpage Can Tell Us About the Meta Settlement
It doesn't matter if you're right. If you don't cave, the government might stop at nothing to destroy you.
Lawmakers Want To Stop Kids From Nicknaming Their Pokémon
The Safer GAMING Act would silence minors in every online game by default—and violate the First Amendment.
Haidt's Moment
Plus: The scourge of scromiting, blaming air traffic control, and more...
Rubio Uses Terrorism Law To Ban Secure Email Service
The State Department doesn’t accuse Autistici/Inventati of doing anything more than providing "untraceable" email accounts. But that’s enough to outlaw it as a terrorist organization.
As France Pauses Social Media Ban, American Lawmakers Race To Restrict the Internet
France's top court ruled that a social media ban for under-15s would infringe on free expression and privacy.
Open-Weight
Plus: "Blasphemous" talk in Texas, botox everywhere, ink on Mace, and more...
Another Social Media 'Addiction' Trial Starts Today. Its Claims Are Weak—but Dangerous.
Meta is on trial for fomenting "FOMO," among other things. It sounds silly, but the playbook used here could work against religious groups, fast food, and much more.
Texas Man Arrested After Ranting About Age Verification Laws Blocking His Anime
Did he make a true threat? Or was this just hyperbolic ranting about bad policy?
A Major 'Online Safety' Bill Cleared a Senate Committee. More Crackdowns on Internet Freedom Could Be Coming.
The Senate Commerce committee advanced four bills related to online and AI safety in the name of protecting children.
Minnesota's Nudification Ban Could Punish People Over Parodies and Stripped-Down Selfies. Elon Musk's xAI Is Suing.
The law is written so broadly it could punish services that let you fake an image of yourself in a swimsuit.
Police Mix Up Usernames, Man Spends 18 Months in Prison for Someone Else's Sex Crimes
"He should never have been charged, let alone convicted," judges now say.
'Class Divide' in Teen Social Media Habits Could Explain Differences Between Heavy and Light Users
A new survey finds most teens use social media moderately, though class divides persist.
No, Remote Work Is Not Making Us Miserable
The rise of remote work is a tech success story, despite what one new and very convoluted study claims.
What Jimothy the Raccoon Reveals About Seattle
A local lawmaker said she wants to "keep my measured distance from him so he can live his good little life." What about humans?
Trump's New DOJ Nominee Wants To Ban Online Porn and Prosecute Big Tech
Adam Candeub has been nominated to head the Justice Department's Antitrust Division.
European Commission Moves Us One Step Closer to the End of the Open Internet
It's coming faster than you might think.
The Supreme Court's 'Reasonable Expectation of Privacy' Test Defies Expectations
Neil Gorsuch proposes an alternative to a Fourth Amendment standard that has proven to be an unreliable safeguard against government snooping.
The Man Who Invented Online Sports Betting—and Went to Prison for It
The father of the World Sports Exchange tells his story.
U.K. Might Force Social Platforms To Give Government-Backed Media Special Status
Plus: The Democrats' Project 2029 would ban minors from social media, the Supreme Court protects private data in geofence warrant ruling, and more...
Democrats' First 'Project 2029' Proposal: More Government Control Over Social Media
Semafor reported on Project 2029’s "Kids Over Clicks" proposal, which outlines Democrats' plans to regulate social media and AI companies.
Who Owns Your Data?
The Supreme Court could be poised to decide whether it's you or Big Tech companies.
6th Circuit Backs Ban on Ohio Minors Using Social Media Without Parental Permission
The court said the law—which would require age verification for everyone—constitutes only a “marginal burden” and "does not raise meaningful concerns about muting valuable protected discourse."
Carded Before Sexting?
The U.K. says tech companies have three months to stop minors from sending or receiving nude images—and universal identity checks for phone users may be the only way forward.
Bipartisan JAWBONE Act Targets Government Censorship Threats
Government agencies would have to report communications and could be sued for bullying.
The Smartphone Theory of Birth Rate Decline Still Doesn't Hold Up
A new NBER study suffers from the same flaws plaguing previous research on phones and fertility rates.
Illinois Just Adopted a Half-Baked Scheme to Tax Social Media
A lack of comprehension and sloppy language make a mess of a new tax scheme.
The Smartphone Theory of Birth Rate Decline Doesn't Hold Up
Fertility rates started falling centuries before the iPhone was introduced.
U.K. Targets U.S. Suicide Forum With Massive Fine It'll Never Collect
British speech police try to impose their restrictions on the entire world.
Don't Blame ChatGPT for the Florida State Shooting
A new lawsuit claims that ChatGPT gave the shooter information about busy times on campus and how to use guns.
Venezuelan Victims of Socialism Are Using RuneScape To Make Money
Venezuelan players mine in-game resources and turn hours of gameplay into dollars or cryptocurrency.
Swarms of Termite Moviemakers Have Made Cinema More Personal
Screens have become less passive, more participatory, and more open to all kinds of moving pictures.
Civil Liberties Groups Sue for Information on ICE's Speech-Chilling Subpoenas
The feds have been demanding that tech companies identify the administration's anonymous online critics. That violates the First Amendment.
A New Age-Verification Bill Could Make You Show ID To Use a Computer or Smartphone
Plus: The war with Iran is raising condom prices, increased legal liability for chatbot advice could backfire, and more...
An Important Cert Petition Pending Before the Supreme Court on Section 230 Immunity
The briefing is completed on a cert petition presenting the urgent question of whether section 230 immunizes Twitter's knowing possession and distribution of child sex abuse materials.
Lawsuits Targeting Social Media Are an Attack on Free Speech
Tech companies that create social media apps should not be blamed for the complex mental issues of everyone who might use them.
The Rise of the Information State
Jacob Siegel discusses how the internet reshaped political power, the rise of technocratic rule, and why information control keeps failing.
Sex Educators Say They're Being Harmed by Age Verification Laws
Plus: Wisconsin governor vetoes porn age-check bill, more charges for penis protester, the Komodo dragon theory of social media, and more...
