Social Media
Are You a Woman Traveling Alone? Marriott Might Be Watching You.
How big hotel chains became arms of the surveillance state.
Another Blow for Fake News About Fake News: Reason Roundup
Plus: Author Zadie Smith talking cultural appropriation, and Budweiser versus Big Corn
Google Says E.U. Copyright Plans Will Kill Citizens' Online News Access
Big publishers want new sources of revenue. But trying to force license fees for linking will backfire.
4 Cases That Show the Scope of Services, Speech, and Conduct Protected by Section 230
Gun buyers, gay lovers, cannabis customers, and Yelp users are just a few of the groups that benefit from this federal law.
How the Internet Is Now Making Us Less Free: Reason Roundup
Plus: FDA greenlights new 23andMe test, Kamala Harris gets the Onion treatment, and nobody likes Trump's new shutdown salve.
Can We Just Light Twitter on Fire After This Past Weekend?: Podcast
Covingtongate, Buzzfeed's bomb, Baby Hitler, Kamalamentum…maybe it's time to pull the plug.
Twitter Suspends User Who First Spread Covington Catholic Video: Reason Roundup
Plus: Kamala Harris officially enters the 2020 race and Google News may leave the E.U.
The FBI Won't Say if It Spies on Your Social Media Posts. Cue the Lawsuit!
"We shouldn't have to think about self-censoring what we say online."
The 'Fake News' Epidemic Was…Fake News
It's "important to be clear about how rare this behavior is on social platforms," researchers say.
Verbal Harassment of Government Buildings Now Violates Twitter Rules, Apparently
Author and sex worker Maggie McNeill was suspended from Twitter Tuesday for a hyperbolic comment about burning the White House down.
Suit Against Grindr Over Harassment Is Part of a Trending Assault on Internet Freedom
On Monday, a federal appeals court considered Grindr's guilt in a case involving app-based impersonators.
How Should Facebook (and Twitter, and YouTube, and…) Decide What Speech To Allow?
Social media platforms have every right to do whatever the hell they want, but they shouldn't really do much speech policing at all.
If Spreading Fake News on Facebook Is a Crime in Ohio, They Will Need More Jails
A Barberton judge just sentenced a woman to jail, house arrest, and a year without social media for repeating a rumor about a pellet gun at school.
Stossel: Does Silicon Valley Manipulate Users?
New film The Creepy Line argues that tech giants sometimes silence conservatives and try to steer America left.
Everybody Wants To Regulate the Internet Except Ajit Pai: Podcast
One year after Net Neutrality, connection speed is up, the discrimination critics feared is non-existent, and the debate about Internet regulation is abysmal.
Is Rand Paul Right About Special Prosecutors Being Wrong?: Podcast
Also: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez owns the cons while spouting policy B.S.
Facebook Cripples Community Organizing With Overzealous Attempts to Stop Russian Trolls: Reason Roundup
Plus: Trump changes his mind about military spending and why Rand Paul hates Trump's new attorney general pick.
Facebook Also Becoming a Sexuality-Free Zone: Reason Roundup
New rules ban erotic art, talk of shared sexual interests, kink groups, and anything that "encourages sexual encounters between adults."
Tumblr Says It's Banning Porn. This Will Not End Well.
Research shows a fifth of its users seek out sexual images. But the sharing site is now part of a massive media conglomerate.
SEC Goes After Cryptocurrency 'Influencers,' Starting With DJ Khaled and Floyd Mayweather: Reason Roundup
Plus: the First Amendment problems with prosecuting Wikileaks and the trans troops ban is dealt another blow.
Trigger Warnings Aren't Confined to College Campuses: Here Are 3 Unusual Places They Appeared
"I had to add a content warning or else."
Facebook and Big Tech Discover That Political Friends Are Fickle Friends
As Facebook's supposed ideological allies unfriend the social media giant, the tech industry is learning that there are no permanent allegiances in politics.
The #ThotAudit Is Deeply, Painfully Stupid
The snitch crusade is ostensibly about making sure hot women aren't making money off their hotness without giving the government a cut.
Suppressing Trump's Bigotry on Facebook Is Another Form of Bias
Censoring politicians' racist, sexist, and abhorrent behavior on social media does a big favor to racist, sexist, and abhorrent politicians.
Should Facebook and Twitter Censor Themselves? A Debate.
What should the culture of free speech, free expression, and ownership look like on our social media platforms?
Facebook Supported 'Sex Trafficking' Law FOSTA to Cozy Up to Republican Critics: Reason Roundup
Plus: Trump endorses sentencing reform and Bitcoin's value continues to fall.
D.C. Unfriends Silicon Valley
Social media execs did themselves no favors by becoming so closely identified with the Democratic Party.
Are We in a New Era of Political Violence?: Podcast
Are we all just living through Elon Musk's dystopian simulation?
Ready to Get Off Facebook? Reason Reviews 5 Alternative Social Networks.
Facebook, Twitter, and other mainstream social networks have their issues. Are these 5 platforms viable alternatives?
Gab Dumped by Tech Companies Over Synagogue Shooter Posts but Twitter, Facebook, and Other Social-Media Giants Get a Pass: Reason Roundup
Plus: Brazil's worrisome new president, the long-tail of the housing crisis, and Brett Kavanaugh's replacement
Mail Bomber Cesar Sayoc Threatened Me on Facebook
How it happened and what (if anything) we can learn from such cases.
Facebook Slams Independent Voices With Latest Political Purge
It's time to move beyond the social media giants to a more decentralized world that's harder to control
After Police Detention for National Anthem Disrespect, Chinese Online Star Admits She 'Hurt Your Feelings'
Under Chinese law, disrespecting the national anthem is punishable by up to 15 days in jail.
Libertarian and Police Accountability Pages Deleted in Facebook Purge
Hundreds of pages and accounts have been purged over accusations that they were "inauthentic." The page operators disagree.
Facebook Hack Another Warning Sign Against Online Centralization
The bigger the company, the bigger the target.
Twitter Implementing European-Style Hate Speech Bans
Will it stop toxic behavior or just encourage more demands for censorship?
Twitter Should Punish Marco Rubio for Doxing a Miami Steakhouse Owner
Inviting followers to harass this man violates the platform's terms of service.
Brett Kavanaugh Fans Try to Attack His Accuser, Go After the Wrong Christine Ford
The perils of poorly sourced stories
E.U. Passes Censorship-Inducing Online Copyright Regulations
Online platforms will be subjected to a costly, easily-abused system that will likely pull down legal content.
British Lawmaker Wants to Ban Your Private Facebook Groups Because She Worries You're Using Hate Speech
Bill also calls for holding forum moderators legally liable for extreme speech.
ThinkProgress Accuses Facebook of Censorship After Conservative Factchecker Correctly Points Out an Error
"Brett Kavanaugh said he would kill Roe v. Wade last week." Except he didn't.
Beware the Press's Self-Serving Calls to Regulate Social Media
Demands for government oversight hide opportunism amid rhetoric about safety.
Who's Ready for an Obama Lecture About Trump?: Podcast
Critiquing an ex-president's warnings about anti-media rhetoric, non-voting, and unelected bureaucrats
Twitter Can Ban Alex Jones, But That Won't Stop Us from Talking About Him
Conspiracy theorist banned for "abusive behavior."
Regulators Want to Know: Are Social Media Companies 'Intentionally Stifling' Conservatives?
The Department of Justice plans to look into whether social media platforms are "hurting competition and intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas."
