How Detectives Caught the Golden State Killer—and Unleashed a Catastrophe for Civil Liberties
Police were finally able to catch the serial killer using DNA genealogy databases—violating many innocent people's constitutional right to privacy.
Science & Technology
He Was Executed for Murder. New DNA Evidence Implicates Someone Else.
Ledell Lee was put to death in 2017 for a killing he likely didn't commit.
'The Intellectual Johnny Appleseed of the Counterculture'
A conversation with Whole Earth Catalog founder, Merry Prankster, and woolly mammoth de-extinctionist Stewart Brand.
Why COVID-19 May Be the Last Pandemic
Medical breakthroughs mean we will never again suffer through diseases like the novel coronavirus—if politicians will get out of the way.
Both the Left and the Right Are Exaggerating the Threat Posed by Facebook
Facebook can't kill, jail, or tax you. It can only stop you from posting on Facebook.
Florida Legislators Exempt Their Favorite Companies From Social Media Bill
"It's very obvious that nobody involved in [the bill] consulted a First Amendment lawyer," says TechFreedom's Berin Szóka.
Oversight Board Upholds Facebook's Initial Suspension of Trump, but Says Company Must Reassess
"At the time of Mr. Trump's posts, there was a clear, immediate risk of harm."
Court Says Snapchat Can Be Sued for Deaths of Trio Using App During Fatal Crash
Plus: The challenges of free speech on Twitter, the case against baseball bailouts, and more...
Prevent Human Epidemics by Infecting Wild Animals With Self-Disseminating Vaccines
The upsides and the possible downsides of transmissible vaccines .
The State Department Fought To Allow 'Ghost Gun' Files and Won. Why Is It Still Trying To Remove Them?
Despite its victory, the State Department is insisting that a court order to allow the files to spread is not yet technically in effect.
No, Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Will Not Turn the Florida Keys Into Jurassic Park
The goal is to drastically reduce the population of disease-carrying bloodsuckers.
California Already Tried Biden's Ghost Gun Ban. It Didn't Work.
Two years after California banned them, the ATF was complaining that 41 percent of guns they came across in L.A. were the very guns already banned
Gunmaking CAD Files Free To Spread Around the Internet, 9th Circuit Rules
States had been trying to stop the Feds from loosening their hold on certain software, but the Appeals Court says they don't have that power
Biden's Infrastructure Plan Would Redefine 'Broadband' To Justify Spending $100 Billion on Government-Run Internet
The Biden administration is manufacturing a market failure to justify spending $100 billion on municipal broadband and other government-run internet projects.
Basecamp Becomes the Latest Tech Company To Ban Talking Politics at Work
Silence isn't violence, and recusing your company from political discourse, as Basecamp and Coinbase have done, is a perfectly valid line to draw.
Is International Surveillance of Cryptocurrency Use on Its Way?
Say what you will about the U.S., but its financial reporting rules are at least consistent.
'See Something, Say Something' Returns
A new bill repurposes the war on terror's pro-snitching mantra by requiring that tech companies share user data with the federal government.
Biden's Plan to Stop Ghost Guns Is Doomed To Fail
"There's this growing gap between what's on paper and what is enforceable in law," says Kareem Shaya, the co-founder of Open Source Defense.
Lawmakers Look To Stop the Feds From Secretly Buying Your Private Data
A 2018 Supreme Court decision was supposed to protect your location data from federal snooping. That’s not what happened.
Biden Applauds Derek Chauvin Guilty Verdict, Condemns Violent 'Agitators and Extremists'
Plus: An anti-tech crusader could be joining the FTC, threats to free speech at Columbia University, and more...
NYT: Tech Crackdowns Are Only Bad When Other Countries Do Them
By invoking the magic of good intentions, the Times justifies the U.S. acting like Russia and China.
Why Americans Are Suckers for Quick Fixes From Psychologists
From "power poses" to the self-esteem movement to implicit bias tests, we want to believe one small tweak will solve our problems, says Jesse Singal.
Can Schools Punish Kids for Off-Campus Snapchats?
"The notion that a school can discipline a student for that kind of...non-harassing expression is contrary to our First Amendment tradition."
Jesse Singal: Why We Keep Falling for Psychological Quick Fixes
From "power poses" to the self-esteem movement to implicit bias tests, Americans are suckers for bad ideas from psychologists.
Why Biden's Broadband Bonanza Is Likely to Fail
We already know how to affordably expand connectivity; government-run networks ain’t it.
Biden's $2.3 Trillion Infrastructure Plan Is Teeming With Cronyism
Democrats never miss an opportunity to rail against big corporations. Yet they're eagerly subsidizing their big corporate friends.
Justice Thomas Wonders When Supreme Court Will Have To Consider Social Media's Private Deplatforming Power
A moot case about Trump blocking tweets leads to concerns that tech companies have too much control over speech.
Free Speech Under Threat from E.U. Campaign Against 'Terrorist Content'
Civil liberties advocates warn that the legislation threatens activism, journalism, and satire.
We Are As Gods: Stewart Brand & The Fight to Bring Back Woolly Mammoths
From "stay hungry, stay foolish" to "try everything, take nothing off the table."
Are NFTs Dumb, a Scam, or Secretly Useful?
Non-fungible tokens for art can seem a lot like Tulipmania. But distinct digital tokens have real use cases for things like online address management.
Elizabeth Warren Wants To Break Up Amazon So It's 'Not Powerful Enough To Heckle Senators With Snotty Tweets'
She said the quiet part out loud.
Congress Grilling Tech Companies on COVID-19 Misinformation Is a Bit Rich
What about the federal government's own health experts?
Perhaps Facebook Supports Section 230 Reform Because It Could Make Big Tech Even More Powerful
Even minor tweaks to the law could shore up Mark Zuckerberg's dominance.
New Bill Would Empower Trolls, Make It Easier for States To Sue Tech Companies
Plus: Atlanta shooter blames "sex addiction," Maryland wants new occupational licensing requirements, and more...
Stewart Brand: We Are (Still) As Gods
The former Merry Prankster and Whole Earth Catalog founder talks about psychedelics, computers, bringing back woolly mammoths, and his new documentary.
A New 'War on Terror' Would Be Just as Disastrous as the Original
"We don't need to use a faulty model and apply it to the very real terrorism problem that we have at home," says terrorism expert Max Abrahms.
The Texas Bill That Prohibits Social Media Censorship Is a Mess
The whole thing is arguably voided by Section 230.
These Big Tech Bills Are Unconstitutional. State Lawmakers Don't Care.
Plus: Problems with the PRO Act, what libertarian feminism isn't, and more...
Sierra Club Inches Toward Accepting Genetically Modified Chestnut Trees
Let's restore this giant to America's forests.
Cultivated Meat Projected To Be Cheaper Than Conventional Beef by 2030
And produced with a much lower environmental footprint
Twitter Sues Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Accusing Him of Retaliating Against the Company for Banning Donald Trump
Plus: Iowa limits early voting, a prominent sex trafficking "rescue" group relies on psychics, and more...
The Great Vaccine Fiasco
Federal predictions that 20 million Americans would be vaccinated by the end of 2020 were off by an order of magnitude.
