Cellphones
Controversial Geofence Warrants Face Supreme Court Challenge
Technological innovations allow the authorities to see who has visited whole geographic areas.
A 'Goldilocks' Effect for Online Teens? Moderate Social Media Users Fare Better Than Abstainers or Heavy Users
“Both abstinence and excessive use can be problematic,” researchers suggest.
Do Cellphones Cause Cancer? RFK Jr.'s HHS Is Suppressing FDA Data Confirming Cellphone Safety.
The Department of Health and Human Services is launching a study apparently trying to find otherwise.
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.
How the Military Exposed the Tools That Let Authorities Break Into Phones
The Marine Corps is trying to close a no-bid contract with Cellebrite, a company that helps police get into locked phones. The specs weren’t supposed to be public.
Can We Please Stop Romanticizing Pre-Smartphone Life?
A lot of anti-tech—or anti-Gen Z—screeds only work by romanticizing the past while pathologizing the present and projecting damage on strangers.
Jonathan Haidt: Kids Should Put Down the Phones and Take More Risks
"We're too afraid they'll get abducted," says the author of The Anxious Generation. "That sets kids up to be weaker."
Do Phones Really Wreck Kids' Lives?
"If your kids went through puberty on a smartphone with social media, they came out different than human beings before that," argues psychologist Jonathan Haidt.
10 of the Worst State Laws Going Into Effect in July
From minimum wage hikes to bans on cellphones in public schools, here are some of the most ridiculous ways state governments are interfering with Americans’ lives.
Despite What Robert F. Kennedy Wants You To Think, Cell Phones Do Not Cause Brain Cancer
Unfortunately, the director of Health and Human Services leads a movement prone to untrue beliefs on medical matters from cell phones to vaccines, pesticides, and genetically modified crops.
Crossing the U.S. Border? Keep Your Electronic Devices Safe from Searches.
Officials at the border have the power to paw through sensitive data on your phone.
How Much of Trump's 'Built in America' Phone Is Actually Built in America?
The Trump Organization says the phone is domestically manufactured, but its hardware—and a statement from Eric Trump—suggest otherwise.
Trump Declares That iPhones Should Be More Expensive
Whether due to tariffs or because they are made in America, the result would be much higher prices.
Does Tween Tech Study Prove Jonathan Haidt Right?
Nope, but it does show how complicated the issue is.
BBC Grills Member of Parliament for Not Watching Enough TV
Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch said she doesn’t have to watch Adolescence to understand the show’s themes.
Study: Kids With Smartphones Are Less Depressed, Anxious, Bullied Than Peers Without Them
A large new study finds smartphone ownership positively correlated with multiple measures of well being in 11- to 13-year-old kids.
What To Do If Border Police Ask To Search Your Phone
Know how much the law does—and doesn’t—protect your privacy rights.
Don't Count on Quitting Social Media To Make Your Life Better
A new meta-analysis finds “no significant effects of social media abstinence interventions on positive affect, negative affect, or life satisfaction.”
Everyone Is Wrong About RFK Jr. and Cellphones
There's no strong evidence that cellphones cause cancer. There also isn't strong evidence that cellphones cause teen depression.
How Antitrust Crusaders Brought a Porn App to iPhones
The E.U.'s Digital Markets Act is making it easier for iPhone users to watch porn.
Wireless Capacity Is Running Thin, but Spectrum Auctions Can Save 5G
Billions of dollars in government revenue is a no-brainer.
Traffic Cops Who Snooped Sexy Selfies Face Federal Charges
David McKnight and Julian Alcala were accused of separate plots to steal sexually explicit photos from women's phones during traffic stops.
Are Humans Abandoning the Physical World in Favor of Smartphones?
The Extinction of Experience condemns digital technology but the book is full of contradictions and cherry-picked examples.
Apple Makes It More Difficult for Crooks and Cops To Look at Your Phone
A new "inactivity reboot" protects data from thieves and helps preserve due process.
Police Want the Password to Your Phone
Without a warrant and specific proof of incriminating evidence, police should never be allowed past your phone’s lock screen.
The Feds Won't Let You Use These Cheap Chinese Cellphones
American cellphone service providers don’t carry Huawei. Blame Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
North Carolina Threatened To Prosecute Her for Taking a 'Ballot Selfie.' Now, She's Suing.
Susan Hogarth posted a photo of her primary ballot. In North Carolina, that's against the law.
Ted and Courtney Balaker: College Students Are Rejecting Wokeness
The filmmakers who brought The Coddling of the American Mind to the big screen discuss the students whose stories inspired the film and the state of the media, Hollywood, and storytelling.
Federal Judge, ICE Agents Linked to Compromised Spyware Use
The surveillance company mSpy just suffered its third data breach in a decade, exposing government officials snooping for both official and unofficial reasons.
Baltimore Brings Back Controversial Cellphone Hacking System
A year after a court told Maryland police that Cellebrite searches were too broad, Baltimore quietly resumed using the software.
Parents, Not Lax Regulation, To Blame for Tweens' Excessive Screen Time
We need parents with better phone habits, not more government regulation of social media.
Here's How the CIA Plans To Use Your Ad Tracking Data
The intelligence community is admitting that info from data brokers is sensitive but isn’t accepting hard limits on how to use it.
Appeals Court Rules That Cops Can Physically Make You Unlock Your Phone
The 9th Circuit determined that forcibly mashing a suspect's thumb into his phone to unlock it was akin to fingerprinting him at the police station.
Study: Social Media Don't Displace In-Person Hangouts for Teens
Teens who use social media heavily also spend the most in-person time with friends.
The Bad Science Behind Jonathan Haidt's Call to Regulate Social Media
Only 22 of the 476 studies in The Anxious Generation contain data on either heavy social media use or serious mental issues among adolescents, and none have data on both.
Parents Don't Want Schools to Confiscate Kids' Phones
A new survey highlights how fear-based parenting drives phone-based childhoods.
Blaming Tech for Teen Troubles
Jonathan Haidt’s clever, insufficient case against smartphones.
Biden's Antitrust Case Against Apple Is Truly Stupid
Plus: A listener asks about the absurdity of Social Security entitlements.
The Absurd Apple Antitrust Lawsuit
If you fail to see a problem with Apple's actions, you may not be an overzealous government lawyer.
The Spy in Your Pocket
Byron Tau's Means of Control documents how the private sector helps government agencies keep tabs on American citizens.
Government Is Snooping on Your Phone
Many apps collect data that is then accessed by outside entities. Should you care?
New Net Neutrality Rules Could Threaten Popular Services
FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel has initiated a new rulemaking that would enact what are largely the same net neutrality rules tried back in 2016.
TikTok Woos Republicans With Debate Commercials
The video site took out ads touting social media's benefits.
We Don't Need a War on Screen Time
Unwired makes an unconvincing argument for heavy-handed tech regulation.
