Beto O'Rourke Proposes Plan to Punish Tech Companies for Failing to Censor Hate Speech
The move would violate the First Amendment.
Science & Technology
The Government Wants a 'Red Flag' Social Media Tool. That's a Terrible Idea.
The FBI is looking for companies to comb through social media posts and pinpoint possible threats ahead of time. Think of it like a meme-illiterate Facebook-stalking precog from Minority Report.
Privacy-Friendly Fashion for a Surveillance-State Age
You can literally wear your principles on your sleeve while baffling facial recognition technology.
Another Federal Court Allows Warrantless Cellphone Searches at U.S. Border
It’s time for SCOTUS to revisit the "border search exception" to the Fourth Amendment.
Is YouTube Discriminating Against Both Conservatives and LGBT Videos? Two Lawsuits Say Yes.
Trying to get the government involved in what sort of videos online platforms promote or hide is going to end badly.
James Alan Fox: There Is No Evidence of an 'Epidemic of Mass Shootings'
The nation's leading scholar of mass shootings explains how media coverage of horrific events such as El Paso and Dayton stoke unwarranted fear and anxiety.
Are Hookahs More Dangerous Than Cigarettes, or Does Misleading University Publicity Generate Inaccurate Reporting?
The sexiest discoveries are often the ones not found in the actual study.
Democrats Join Trump in Seeking Balance by Policing Speech
The constitutional amendment they support, like the president’s plan to regulate social media, trusts the government to moderate our political debate.
If You're Near the Scene of a Crime, Authorities Can Demand That Google Hand Over Your Data
Quiet fishing expeditions are being used to sort through potential suspects.
Jeffrey Epstein's Death in Manhattan Jail Sets Off Conspiracy Theories, but Police Neglect Seems More Likely
Plus: Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests turn violent as China cracks down, Elizabeth Warren admits taxes are bad for business, and more...
Trump's Social Media Executive Order Would Let Unelected Bureaucrats Police Online Speech
It would essentially be a Fairness Doctrine for the internet.
No Probable Cause Required for Cops To Access User Data From Popular Apps
Only three states require police to obtain a warrant before requesting private user data from companies.
Next Round of Tariffs Will Be $1 Billion Tax Increase on Smartphones, TVs, Tablets, and More
Thanks to the trade war, Americans are already importing fewer laptops, speakers, and other electronic items—and paying a higher price for the items they do buy. A bigger hit is coming.
6 Terrible New Tech Bills in Congress
While expressing concern for free speech and privacy, lawmakers are seriously threatening both.
Free Speech on the Internet Continues to Confuse Everyone
Plus: 8chan called before Congress, data privacy bill hits a snag, and more...
How Libertarians Should Respond to Mass Shootings
Plus: the budget deal, GOP retirements, and the latest front in the trade war.
Cloudflare, Not the Government, Should Decide Whether It Wants to Do Business with 8chan
Companies should forced neither to help spread offensive speech nor to suppress it.
A New Front in Trump's War on Amazon
Plus: Thousands of troops leaving Afghanistan, TV networks sue streaming site Locust, Gabbard calls Harris response "pathetic," and more...
Josh Hawley: What Has Technology Done for Us Lately?
The senator leading an anti-tech crusade in Congress is being willfully ignorant of all the ways technology has improved humanity in recent decades.
The Justice Department Renews Its Irresponsible Calls for Encryption Bypasses
In order to fight crime, Americans must...make their data more susceptible to hacking?
Josh Hawley Wants to Ban YouTube's Autoplay Feature in the Name of Fighting Social Media Addiction
The Missouri senator thinks wasting time on Instagram is a problem so big that only the federal government can solve it.
Cops Can't Take a Joke? The First Amendment Doesn't Care
Plus: Behind the bipartisan war on internet speech, New York "decriminalizes" pot (but you'll still get fined), and more...
Section 230 Is the Internet's First Amendment. Now Both Republicans and Democrats Want To Take It Away.
From Josh Hawley to Kamala Harris, online free speech is under attack.
Tulsi Gabbard's $50 Million Lawsuit Against Google Is Another Attack on Online Free Speech
The presidential hopeful alleges the company violated her First Amendment rights when it suspended her campaign advertising site for 6 hours.
The Justice Department's 'Big Tech' Antitrust Investigation Is Unnecessary Political Theater
Both Democrats and Republicans are cheerleading for government action against Facebook, Google, Amazon, and the rest, but Americans should be skeptical.
E.U. Regulators Can't Detect the Gene-Edited Crops They Banned
The difference between two identical genes—one edited and the other a natural mutation—is entirely metaphysical.
The Erica Thomas Incident Wasn't National News, But That Never Stops Our Outrage-Hungry Media
A trivial encounter between two irate grocery shoppers becomes a viral story, then a hate hoax.
Outraged Politicians and Official Statistics Miss the Benefits of Tech
Many innovations' benefits aren't captured by the GDP.
The Feds Are Finally Getting Involved in the Fight Over Right To Repair
Right to Repair has become a national policy issue.
The Apollo Missions Were Cool, But Private Enterprise Has Been Better for Innovation
People are happier, healthier, and wealthier because freer markets have opened the floodgates of innovation, research, and development.
Anti-Vaping Researchers Claim E-Cigarettes Cause Heart Attacks Before Smokers Try Them
A study suggesting that e-cigarettes double the risk of a heart attack ignored crucial information on timing.
San Francisco Has Ditched Its Dumb 'IPO Tax' (For Now)
The tax was actually on much more than initial public offerings of stocks, and likely would have driven the next generation of startups to locate somewhere else.
Facebook's Libra Yields Before Congress. Bitcoin Can Never Be Controlled.
Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez will never get to interrogate Satoshi Nakamoto.
Corey Atchison Freed After Serving 28 Years for a Murder He Didn't Commit
His case reminds us that the misuse of government power is still the biggest threat to liberty.
Dennis Prager, Who Boasts 1 Billion Video Views a Year, Decries YouTube 'Censorship'
The pundit made the claim at a Senate hearing on allegations of tech censorship against conservatives.
Renegade University's Thaddeus Russell Wants To Blow Your Mind
This historian and online-education entrepreneur says runaway slaves, ladies of the evening, bootleggers, and other dropouts and discontents made America free.
The Folly of Government-Imposed Social Media 'Neutrality'
Trump supports a bill that would encourage censorship in the name of free speech.
Trump and Others Scared of Cryptocurrency Echo Earlier Fears About Cash
If there’s one thing government types can agree on, it’s that nobody should be allowed to buy and sell stuff without permission.
Before Bashing Big Tech, Politicians Should Visit an Apple Store
One of the best ways to succeed long-term in capitalism is by treating customers well rather than ripping them off. That's something you won't hear Democrats or Republicans admit these days.
Humans Are Building Better Versions of Themselves
From insulin to prosthetics, technology makes this the best moment yet to be living with a disability.
Another Study Finds Trigger Warnings Are Useless, or Even Harmful
A scientific consensus has emerged that trigger warnings just don't work—and student activists should stop demanding them.
Donald Trump Doesn't Think 'the Mainstream Media Is Free Speech'
At his social media summit on Thursday, the president ranted incoherently about the media's "crooked," "dishonest," and "dangerous" speech.
Trump Is Hosting a Very Weird Social Media Summit at the White House
Plus: Air-launched rockets, the GOP becomes the party of Trump, and Pelosi feuds with AOC.
Google Told Employees to Delete Politically Incorrect Language From Code
"The cost of not doing this is the harm done to other Googlers every time they encounter these terms," says the company's diversity and inclusion team.
Trump To Convene 'Social Media Summit' Over Accusations of Anti-Conservative Bias
The president invited Republican lawmakers as well as social media stars who claim that tech giants are suppressing free speech.
Two Lawsuits Argue That Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Blocking of Twitter Critics, Like Trump's, Violates the First Amendment
The New York congresswoman's use of Twitter seems similar to the president's in constitutionally relevant ways.
