Senators Push Sneaky Anti-Privacy Bill
The EARN IT is an attack on encryption masquerading as a blow against underage porn.
Science & Technology
No, Google Didn't Violate Tulsi Gabbard's First Amendment Rights, Federal Judge Rules
"Google is not now, nor (to the Court's knowledge) has it ever been, an arm of the United States government," wrote District Judge Stephen Wilson.
'Conservatives Will Cease To Exist Online': CPAC Speakers Fret About the Tech Bogeyman
Some panelists at the conservative conference want to give the government more power over social media.
A New Book Reveals Facebook's Problems Started Way Before the 2016 Election
In Facebook: The Inside Story, even Steven Levy’s most generous conclusions about the tech giant are still pretty damning.
Encryption Foes in Washington Won't Give Up
Government officials keep trying to make us expose our data to them—and the criminals who ride on their coattails.
PragerU's Attempt To Violate YouTube's 1st Amendment Rights Shot Down By 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
The conservative nonprofit Prager University alleged the company should not be allowed to place its videos on "Restricted Mode."
Taylor Lorenz Makes Sense of Online Culture for the Rest of Us
The New York Times technology reporter is revealing how social media is encouraging individual expression.
George Hotz: Fully Self-Driving Cars Are a 'Scam' and Silicon Valley 'Needs To Die'
The hacking wunderkind thinks Big Tech's approach won't work. He built a $999 autonomous driving system that runs on a smartphone.
Twitter's New 'Deceptive Video' Labeling Plan Immediately Abused To Attack a Silly Joke Ad from Bloomberg
Nobody is being misled by this obviously joking debate clip. But this sort of ginned-up outrage will be used to target political opponents.
Newspaper Lobbyists and Encryption Foes Join the Chorus Against Section 230
How the press learned to stop worrying and love censorship.
Future Tense Fiction
"A good science fiction story can help re-sensitize us" to the peril and promise of the new.
American Heart Association Journal Finally Retracts Study Implying That E-Cigarettes Cause Heart Attacks Before People Use Them
The journal's editors recognized the problem before publication, but the authors failed to address it.
Does South Park Encourage Political Apathy and Moral Superiority?
Critics say the long-running satiric cartoon has created "a generation of boys" who are smug and disengaged.
U.S. Fertility Reaches All-Time Low as People Choose Things Other Than Children
The global total fertility rate fell by more than half, from 5 births per woman in 1960 to 2.4 today. But don't panic!
U.K. 'Celebrates' Its New Freedom From the E.U. by Pushing Massive Online Censorship Orders
Government wants to force social media platforms to accept a “duty of care” to protect users from whatever they deem harmful.
Corporate Socialism? Bill Barr's Suggestion That the U.S. Should Buy Nokia or Ericsson To Counter China Is a Terrible Idea.
If the only way to beat China is to become like China, then we've already lost.
CIA Encryption Meddling and Chinese Espionage Allegations Make It Clear: We All Need Strong Data Protection
Somebody tell the FBI and Congress.
Where Have You Been? Your Cellphone Knows and Is Willing to Tell
Your cellphone is tracking your movements and, despite legal protections, federal, state, and local officials are finding new and disturbing ways to use that information.
People Are Less Gullible Than You Think
By default we veer on the side of being resistant to new ideas.
8 Months Later, This Journal Still Hasn't Corrected Its Study Implying That E-Cigarettes Magically Cause Heart Attacks Before People Use Them
The Journal of the American Heart Association has responded to critics with nothing but boilerplate promises of scientific integrity.
Elizabeth Warren Absolutely Wants the Government To Punish Facebook for Spreading Disinformation
"We need to stop this generation of big tech companies from profiting off of lies to the American people," the candidate told PEN America.
Lindsey Graham Wants to Use Mistrust of Big Tech To Destroy Your Right to Online Privacy
Online platforms would have to "earn" speech protections by compromising encryption—all in the name of fighting child porn.
Elizabeth Warren Wants To Make It a Crime To Give Out Fake Info About Voting
When politicians call to punish “disinformation,” we should worry about what that definition encompasses.
Feds Ground 800 Drones Over Fears About Chinese-Made Tech
But without specifying an actual cybersecurity risk, the policy comes off looking like a wasteful protectionist maneuver that will likely put human pilots back in riskier situations.
At This Year's Vegas Porn Expo, Everything People Think They Know About the Internet and Adult Entertainment Is Wrong
The internet has turned adult performers into media entrepreneurs.
How Worried Should You Be About the Wuhan Coronavirus?
We will soon learn if humanity's increasing biotechnical prowess can prevent a modern pandemic.
DNA Testing Could Prove That Arkansas Executed an Innocent Man Three Years Ago
The ACLU and the Innocence Project are suing to uncover the evidence.
How a Fake Rationing Scare Highlighted the Absurdity of California's Actual Water Policies
No, Californians aren't banned from showering and doing laundry on the same day. But the fact that so many people believed that lie says something about how insane the state's real water laws are.
Molly Jong-Fast on Trump's Impeachment, Democratic Candidates, and Why Twitter Is Great
"I don't think you should do Twitter if you think you're better than Twitter."
Senators Propose Limits on Police Use of Facial Recognition
Some privacy activists say the bill still falls short.
Will Robots Lead to Widespread Joblessness and Economic Inequality?
Martin Ford and Antony Sammeroff debate the future of robotics and its potential economic impacts at the Soho Forum.
Joe Biden Wants To Destroy Free Speech on Social Media
Biden tells the New York Times he would revoke Section 230 protections and hold Facebook (and other sites) liable for their content.
Will Robots Cause Mass Unemployment? A Soho Forum Debate
Martin Ford and Antony Sammeroff debate the impact of robotics on the economy
Trump and Comey Are United Against Encrypted Communications
Don’t worry—America’s ruling factions still disagree over who should be in charge of the snooping.
The FBI Wants Access to a Mass Shooter's iPhone. Will They Demand a Back Door?
A deadly shooting on a Naval base in Florida may lead to a new battle against encryption.
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How Truth Became a Casualty of the War on Smoking
Different types of nicotine consumption pose different amounts of risk.
Vermont Bill Criminalizing Cell Phone Use for Anyone Under 21 Is a Brilliant Troll
The proposal is parodying, not endorsing, the nanny state.
Writer Meghan Daum Thinks You Need To Toughen Up
"If 2018 was the year that the concept of 'cancel culture' went mainstream, then 2019 may be the year that cancel culture cancels itself."
Leftist YouTuber ContraPoints Explains Why Cancel Culture Mobs Should Drop the Pitchforks
"I have no faith left in call-out vigilante justice."
What Did Reason Get Wrong in 2019?
And what predictions will we shank in 2020 and beyond?
The 2010s: When the Media Lost Their Gatekeepers
Media theorist Marshall McLuhan's work best explains how the world changed in the 2010s—and what we can expect in the decade ahead.
The Vaping Panic Is a Major Setback for Public Health
"There's no question public health would benefit dramatically if everybody switched completely to e-cigarettes."
Study Finds Almost 40 Percent of People in Eight European Nations Would Like to Live "in a World Where Chemical Substances Don't Exist"
Such scientific ignorance is common in th US as well, and can have a harmful influence on government policy.
Can Jack Dorsey Reinvent the Internet by Making Twitter More Like Email?
The case for a technical free speech fix
