What Is Web3 and Why Is Everyone Suddenly Talking About It?
Meet the new hype cycle about new tools for online decentralization.
Science & Technology
The First Amendment Protects Everyone, Even Facebook and Twitter
Florida passed a law to stop big tech “censorship.” But the law itself tramples First Amendment rights.
Why Does Bernie Sanders Think Billionaires Should Get Out of Space?
Today's highly successful space race "is not something for two billionaires to be directing," says Sanders, who favors the government spending taxpayer money to do the same damn thing (but more slowly).
The Fake Environmentalist Attack on Bitcoin
The cryptocurrency is spurring use of renewable energy even as it undermines existing economic, political, and cultural elites.
Government Regulation of Social Media Won't Protect Free Speech
Sen. Amy Klobuchar wants to put HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, the former California attorney general with a reputation for being a partisan hack, in charge of "health disinformation" online.
Let's Not Have a Bunch of Posturing Politicians Decide How Online Algorithms Should Work
The latest bill to “fight big tech” could turn your online experience into a miserable slog.
Nicholas Christakis: How To End the Covid Pandemic
Misinformation and bad policy can only be defeated by robust, open debate in the public square.
Amy Klobuchar and Tom Cotton's Big Tech Anti-Monopoly Bill Exempts Their Preferred Firms
Plus: Much ado about Big Bird, one neat trick for fixing Facebook (do nothing), and more...
Congress Finally Passed Biden's Inefficient, Deficit-Hiking Infrastructure Bill
It's one of the most expensive legislative packages in American history, but the $1.2 trillion bill will end up doing far less than it otherwise could have.
Democrats Hike Taxes on Vaping, but Not Tobacco, in Latest Version of 'Build Back Better' Bill
Plus: America's mayors want to be paid in bitcoin, Democrats want to subsidize local journalists, and more...
Are Kids Stealing Because TikTok Made It Seem Cool, or Is the 'Devious Licks' Freakout Yet Another Adult-Led Moral Panic?
TikTok's "devious licks" trend has earned the company and its teen users plenty of scorn. But what's actually going on?
Welcome to the Metaverse
Facebook's rebrand signals that the widely scrutinized company retains lofty ambitions.
TSA Owes $100 Million for Patent Infringement on Plastic Security Bins
When overly broad patents and the TSA clash, there are no heroes.
If You Think Facebook Is Full of Dubious Outrage-Bait, Wait Til You See the Company's Critics
A business model where outrage is exploited for clicks describes both social media and the news media.
The U.S. May Stand Alone as a Haven for Free Speech
The First Amendment shields Americans from censorship, but authoritarian legislation in Britain and Canada warns of what could be in store if that protection fails.
Netflix Says Algorithm Is Protected by First Amendment in 13 Reasons Why Suicide Lawsuit
Is a required content warning or algorithm change a violation of the First Amendment?
The Facebook Papers Are a Big Fat Nothingburger
The mainstream media's fear of Mark Zuckerberg is not supported by the documents.
Your Cell Phone Is Spying on You
An FBI document reminds us: Your cell phone provider knows where you've been—and will tell the feds.
Whistleblower Absurdly Attacks Facebook's Privacy-Protecting Encryption Efforts
When "protecting users' safety" actually means the opposite
Appeals Court Rules Social Media Companies Not Liable for Pulse Nightclub Shooter's Radicalization
"The plaintiffs failed to make out a plausible claim that the Pulse massacre was an act of 'international terrorism' as that term is defined in the ATA."
Restrictive Zoning Laws Worsened the Supply Chain Crisis
Plus: America's crackdown on Big Tech gives cover to Russia's crackdown on Big Tech, high inflation likely to continue into next year, and more...
How the Government Seized a Rare Wu-Tang Clan Album (and a DAO Bought It Back)
Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, formerly owned by Martin Shkreli, was auctioned off by the government and bought by the blockchain/art enthusiasts at PleasrDAO.
There Would Be a Lot More Good News if Government Would Get Out of the Way
"The quality of life we have even during COVID is so much higher than anything humanity experienced, and it's only going to get better."
Federal Regulators Greenlight Trading of Bitcoin-Linked Securities, Delighting Investors and Infuriating Cryptocurrency Critics
Plus: Cuba violates the rights of peaceful protesters, New Zealand leads the world in zoning reform, and more...
Social Media Isn't To Blame for the Deadly Stabbing of a British Member of Parliament
Attempts by British lawmakers to erase online anonymity would lead to radical speech being pushed underground.
The Biden White House Is Lying About the Democrats' Spending Bill
For Biden, "build back better’" apparently means eyes on everything in the economy.
Steven Pinker: Rationality Saves Lives
The Harvard linguist says Enlightenment reasoning is central to both material and moral progress.
The Last Duel Is More Than a Medieval #MeToo
Ridley Scott's jousting film is also a slyly subversive take on cultural perspectives.
Facebook's Blacklists Are Another Way To Constrain Competition
Upstart competitors can’t hope to match the resources required to compile a list of banned individuals and organizations.
Can Antibiotic Goop and an Army of Divers Save Florida's Ailing Coral Reefs?
How an innovative collaboration could help bring back America's only barrier reef from the brink of destruction.
Steven Pinker: Rationality Has Made Us Richer, Kinder, and More Free
The Harvard linguist says Enlightenment reasoning and critical thinking are behind massive increases in material and moral progress.
After Becoming the Oldest Man To Visit Space, William Shatner Makes an Emotional Case for Private Space Tourism
Blue Origin's New Shepard capsule carried the 90-year-old former Star Trek actor and three crewmembers 66 miles above the Earth's surface.
Facebook Welcomes Regulations, Specifically Those That Hurt Its Competition
Tech giants expressing openness to amending Section 230 are doing so out of naked self-interest, not the goodness of their hearts.
Ted Henken on How Internet Access Is Changing Cuba
"A key part of the control in Cuba is keeping people afraid, keeping them isolated from one another," says Henken. The internet has mitigated this.
The Government's Secret 'Google Search' Warrant Trap
With “keyword warrants,” anyone who queries certain terms on search engines will get caught in the surveillance dragnet.
The New York Times Spreads Misinformation About COVID-19
Patiently waiting for senators and whistleblowers to freak out over this
With Ports Clogged, Some Retailers Are Looking for Alternative Supply Chains
Plus: Columbus Day vs. Indigenous Peoples Day, the Biden administration prepares to regulate cryptocurrencies by executive fiat, and more...
Governments Want To Control Crypto So They Can Control Us
The push for central bank digital currencies is an assault on privacy and freedom.
Banks and Trade Groups Reject Saule Omarova, Biden's New Currency Comptroller Pick
Omarova's starry-eyed view of the Soviet Union and interest in giving far more power to the Federal Reserve should not inspire confidence.
The First Semiconductor Trade War
What Reagan's tariffs in the '80s can teach us about today's foreign-made semiconductors
Instagram's Effect on Teens Gives Congress the Latest Pretext To Put Tech on Trial
Plus: California can't limit private prisons, Yellen dismisses bank privacy concerns, and more...
AOC Uses Facebook Outage To Make the (Unrelated) Case for Antitrust
"Maybe one billionaire with a penchant for destroying democracies shouldn’t be allowed to own so much of the internet," says the representative from New York.
As Facebook Crumbles, the Case for Breaking It Up Is Weaker Than Ever
The site is clearly in trouble and the government doesn't need to step in.
FDA Vaccine Approval Delays Are Deadly
The vaccines seem to be working well, but the FDA isn't.
Richard Blumenthal Pressures Facebook To End Finsta, Has No Idea What That Is
"We don't actually do finsta," Antigone Davis, Facebook's head of security, explained.
Karla Vermeulen: Inside the Mind of 'Generation Disaster'
Young people who came of age after 9/11 aren't snowflakes despite being exposed to a series of catastrophic events and apocalyptic news narratives.
CNN Shuts Down Access to Facebook Pages in Australia After Court Ruling Holding Media Outlets Liable for Commenters
This is where government demands to moderate what users say will ultimately lead.
