If You Give a Bear a Badge, Will It Respect Your Rights?
Despite their general ignorance of constitutional law, bears pose a much less grave threat to your civil liberties than humans do.
Privacy
Shein Can't Sell Sex Toys Unless It Checks IDs, French Court Says
Laws requiring porn platforms to age-check visitors are becoming "a Swiss army knife for the government."
He's Serving 5 Years in Prison for Bitcoin Privacy Software
Keonne Rodriguez explains why he built a bitcoin privacy tool, discusses the federal charges that sent him to prison this week, and warns that his case could redefine the legal boundaries of financial privacy.
Governments Are Pushing Digital IDs. Are You Ready To Be Tracked?
Proponents say such IDs will make life easier and protect kids from dangerous content. But opponents worry they will make you much easier to target.
Porn Sites Must Block VPNs To Comply With Indiana's Age-Verification Law, State Suggests in New Lawsuit
It's an insane—and frighteningly dystopian—interpretation of the law.
Did the Internet Break Our Sense of Reality?
Katherine Dee examines how living online reshapes attention and behavior and makes the case for a more grounded, realistic way of using digital tools.
CBP Agents Held This U.S. Citizen for Hours Until He Agreed To Let Them Search His Electronic Devices
A federal lawsuit argues that the agency's policy of perusing travelers' personal data without a warrant or probable cause violates the Fourth Amendment.
No Injunction Against Prosecution for Taking Photo of Transgender Politician Washing Hands in Women's Restroom
So holds a Fifth Circuit panel, over a dissent. Note that part of the majority's rationale is that the photo would only violate the statute if the prosecution can show that defendant intended to invade privacy in a way "highly offensive to a reasonable person of ordinary sensibilities."
Plaintiff Can Add Claims to Case Alleging Carnegie Mellon Prof Said Time on Jewish-Related Project "Would Have Been Better Spent" Exploring "What Jews Do to Make Themselves Such a Hated Group"
One claim is that CMU's Chief Diversity Officer illegally recorded meeting with student and the accused professor—and then apparently "asserted her Fifth Amendment rights when ... asked her if she did so or if she had a pattern or practice of recording student meetings, without their consent, in the scope of her duties."
Showing Plaintiffs' House in an Ad for Netflix Real Estate Reality Show Isn't Actionable Invasion of Privacy,
even if it leads people "to visit plaintiffs’ home 'on a daily basis' asking to see it and claiming they learned it was for sale through the Buying Beverly Hills advertisement."
The 'Free' World Is Coming for Your Private Messages
Nobody expects China or Iran to protect privacy. But as seen in the European debate over chat control, even nominally free countries are becoming intrusive when it comes to the digital world.
How ICE Is Watching Your Thanksgiving Drive
ICE and Border Patrol are using license plate cameras for extensive domestic surveillance.
Lindsey Graham Is Outraged About Federal Surveillance Powers That Lindsey Graham Helped Create and Expand
The government can look at your phone records whenever it wants, but it's a different story when we're talking about his metadata.
Declassified Documents Detail the FBI's Surveillance of a Libertarian Sci-Fi Author
Vernor Vinge, who mocked the surveillance state in his writing, was investigated for alleged connections to socialist Sandinistas in Nicaragua.
Stealing Innocent People's Tax Returns Isn't Heroic. The IRS Leaker Doesn't Deserve a Do-Over.
Charles Littlejohn exposed hundreds of thousands of Americans’ private tax returns and undermined the nation’s voluntary tax system. His five-year sentence shouldn’t be reduced.
Congress Investigates TeaOnHer App for Letting Men Post About Women Without Their Consent
It sounds like something niche feminist bloggers might have taken up 10 years ago. But this is being led by Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives.
ICE Is Mounting a Mass Surveillance Campaign on American Citizens
Without strict oversight, the agency’s new technology threatens Americans’ free speech and privacy.
Can Police Enter Your Home Without a Warrant? The Supreme Court Will Soon Decide.
Even well-intentioned “community caretaking” can’t justify ignoring the Fourth Amendment.
FBI Spied on Republican Lawmakers Using Surveillance Powers Many Supported
Senate Judiciary Committee head reveals legislators’ communications were monitored.
Treasury Department Surveillance at the Southern Border Faces Fourth Amendment Challenges
A new FinCEN rule forced small money services businesses to collect personal data on nearly every customer transaction. Lawsuits claim this violates the Fourth Amendment.
Whoops—Ohio Accidentally Excludes Most Major Porn Platforms From Anti-Porn Law
Ohio lawmakers set out to block minors from viewing online porn. They messed up.
First the U.K., Next the U.S.? Britain's Digital ID Plan Should Scare Americans.
Once created, a digital ID system will prove catnip to politicians who want to track where we go, online and off.
I'm a Gamer. The NO FAKES Act Could Get Me in Trouble.
A bill meant to fight AI deepfakes could devastate creativity in games like Fallout: New Vegas, Skyrim, and Minecraft, where mods keep old titles alive.
More Age Verification Fallout: Artist Blogs Blocked, Porn Data Leaked, Traffic Boosts for Noncompliant Sites
Unintended—but entirely predictable—consequences abound!
Delaware S. Ct. Rejects Defamation Claim Brought by Repair Shop Owner Who Provided Hunter Biden Laptop to Media
It also rejects Hunter Biden's invasion-of-privacy counterclaim, on statute of limitations grounds.
Bluesky Blocks Mississippi Users
Age verification laws are already coming for Americans’ access to free speech.
Tulsi Gabbard Fends Off Europe's Antitech Tyrants—for Now
Convincing the U.K. to stand down on backdoor access to Apple's encryption is a big win. The next battle will be fought over age verification.
Warrantless Use of License Plate Reader Cameras Is Unconstitutional
A new campaign pushes back against the widespread use of automatic license plate readers without warrants.
Automated License Plate Readers Are Watching You
The technology enables routine surveillance that would have troubled the Fourth Amendment’s framers.
To Truly Fix Debanking, We Need Structural Reforms
Trump’s new executive order addresses political discrimination in banking, but we need deeper reforms to money-laundering laws and the Bank Secrecy Act to truly protect freedom and privacy.
Patrick Eddington: How to 'Tyranny-Proof' America
The former CIA analyst and Cato scholar discusses Palantir, Trump's new national database, and the sordid history of federal law enforcement on Just Asking Questions.
An Arkansas Town Agrees To Remove a License Plate Camera Aimed at a Couple's Home
Local officials initially were unfazed by complaints that the constant surveillance raised serious privacy concerns.
Leaked Blueprint Reveals ICE Plan To Use IRS Data To Increase Detentions
ICE wants to access confidential IRS data to locate tax-paying undocumented immigrants and boost detention numbers.
Publishing Private Phone Number May Be Tortious, Says Court in Case Brought by Shark Tank's Mr. Wonderful (Kevin O'Leary)
Defendant had 100K X followers, and as a result O'Leary "was flooded with unwanted communications."
ICE Is Snooping on Your Medical Bills
The immigration agency has reportedly gained access to a private database designed to fight insurance fraud.
