Technology
Should the Government Break Up Companies Like Amazon and Facebook? A Soho Forum Debate
Law professors Tim Wu and Richard Epstein went head to head at a live event.
Should the Government Break Up Big Tech? A Soho Forum Debate
Tim Wu vs. Richard Epstein on whether antitrust laws should be applied to firms like Amazon and Facebook.
The EARN IT Act Is the New FOSTA
The new bill takes aim at internet freedom and privacy under the pretense of saving kids.
COVID-19 Reminds Us: Social Media Is Good, Actually
Will coronavirus help rehabilitate tech's rep?
Senators Push Sneaky Anti-Privacy Bill
The EARN IT is an attack on encryption masquerading as a blow against underage porn.
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.
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.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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
Can Jack Dorsey Reinvent the Internet by Making Twitter More Like Email?
The case for a technical free speech fix
Thanks to Late-Stage Capitalism, You No Longer Need To Leave Your House
It's the end of the decade, and groceries, birth control, and weed can all be delivered straight to your door.
Right To Be Forgotten
Sharyn Rothstein's sharp new play is a smart and timely look at how to balance free speech and privacy in a wired age.
If You Want To Defend Free Speech Against a New Wave of Attacks, Support Reason Today!
Today's censors are using tech policy and social-media outrage to attack your right to think and say what you believe.
Ro Khanna Hopes This Bill Will Pave the Way to Repealing FOSTA
Since FOSTA passed in 2018, "sex workers have faced increased violence" and "have been forced onto the streets," the California congressman says.
Here's What Happens When a Government Demands a 'Fake News' Label on Social Media
Singapore ordered Facebook to attach a "false information" message to a news story written by a government critic.
Massachusetts Police Test Out Robot Dogs. Is Dystopia on Its Way?
Don’t be afraid of the robopups, but make sure we leash law enforcement to keep officers from misusing them.
How Can Our Dumb Infrastructure Accommodate Smart Cars?
We’re going to need a lot more sensing equipment—and fast. Here’s how to do it.
Does It Matter That Impeachment Enthusiasts Are Lousy on Foreign Policy?
The Reason Roundtable panelists ask: Why so many hawks in the anti-Trump clump?
Sacha Baron Cohen's Anti-Facebook Rant at the ADL Summit Was Pure Moral Panic
The comedian thinks misleading information on social media is ruining society. That's a bit rich, coming from him.
Doorbell Surveillance Networks Have Arrived. Should We Be Scared?
Cops can now request access to videos recorded by Ring, bypassing that pesky step of obtaining a search warrant first.
Andrew Yang's 'Department of the Attention Economy' Is Why Libertarians Don't Trust Democrats
The answer to real and imagined problems is always spend more, regulate more.
Andrew Yang Proposes Making Social Media Algorithms Subject to Federal Approval
The presidential hopeful on Thursday released a plan to regulate tech giants.
Joe Biden Has Officially Joined the Misguided Crusade Against Online Free Speech
In comments to CNN on Monday night, Biden expressed a willingness to smash Section 230 in order to settle a feud his campaign is having with Facebook. That's a terrible idea.
Regulators on Both the Right and Left Are Wrong About Big Tech
People need to stop blaming their problems on Facebook and Twitter.
