Germany Willing to Fine U.S. Companies to Censor What People Say Online
Facebook may be forced to evaluate whether content complies with laws; huge costs if they get it wrong.
Technology
Denmark Proves We Don't Need the FCC
By nearly eliminating their equivalent of the Federal Communications Commission, Danes now enjoy some of the best IT and telecom services on earth.
Guns, Privacy, and Freedom Benefit From New Tech Tools
A wave of new technologies is making it easier for us all to flip the bird to regulators and prohibitionists.
Proposed Tweak to Internet Law Could Spur Seismic Shifts in Web as We Know It
A bill related to sex trafficking and Section 230 could have far-reaching consequences for web content, publishers, and apps.
6 Cool Innovations That Are Making the World a Better Place, Vol. 2
Reason's choice of SXSW's 2017 innovator awards
From Newspaper Hoaxster to Twitter Hoaxster
A bridge between Old Media fake news and New Media fake news
Is That GIF You're About to Post on Twitter a 'Deadly Weapon'?
Man faces possible prison time for triggering a journalist's seizure.
Facebook Tells Police to Stop Using Them to Spy on Folks
Coincidentally, a panel at SXSW today is about social media surveillance
Meet Your New Robot Workmate: Flippy, the Burger-Cooker
Don't fear automation. It's what makes us human - and richer, too.
New Study Blames Instagram for Food Waste. Seriously.
New studies blame Instagram and gluttony as causes of food waste.
What Do You Call a Tool to Help Uber Avoid Gov't Stings? A Good Start.
Company used a secret method of getting around regulators trying to shut them down. If only the rest of us were so lucky.
Why Is Twitter a For-Profit Platform, Anyway?
The idea that Twitter should be run by the federal government is silly. But perhaps the platform isn't best operated as a for-profit public corporation.
Moral Outrage Is Self-Serving, Say Psychologists
Perpetually raging about the world's injustices? You're probably overcompensating.
Facebook Has No First Amendment Right to Send Unauthorized Texts, Says Court
The company argued that it had a free-speech right to text users unauthorized birthday reminders.
Does Digital Literacy Require More Gatekeepers?
Or does power need to be more dispersed?
Why We Don't Need a Department of Technology Policy
Let's focus on overturning existing government policies that undermine security.
Incompetence and Cronyism Plague U.S. Attempts to Counter ISIS Online
WebOps, the U.S. online counter-propaganda program, appears to employ Arabic analysts who barely speak Arabic.
NYPD is Developing an Algorithm to Measure Police-Community Relations
'Sentiment meter' would help law enforcement understand where and how to improve cooperation with the public.
Director of Anti-Sex Trafficking Doc I Am Jane Doe Doesn't Understand the Laws She's Trying to Reform
Watch Elizabeth Nolan Brown discuss the film with director Mary Mazzio, who aims to overhaul Backpage and federal law in the name of sex-trafficked teens.
How the IRS Could Cripple Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency startup Coinbase has been scrupulously compliant with government demands, until the IRS asked for millions of innocent customers' records.
Is the Real Housewives of ISIS Skit Really Sparking a Controversy?
Online outrage may not necessarily mean there's a controversy.
3 Technologies Will Utterly Transform Your World in the Next Decade
Blockchain, CRISPR, and Machine Learning
How Much Do You Really Know About the State of the World?
Take Hans Rosling's Test Your World Knowledge quiz and find out
Lithium Mining, Formulaic Reporting, and The Washington Post
Missing the fact that governments, not mining companies, are the real villains
Interview: Penn Jillette
Loses 100 pounds, doubles down on libertarianism, and gets replaced by a robot
Trump Derangement Syndrome, a Libertarian Response to Aleppo, Will 2017 Be Better? Reason Podcast
Matt Welch, Katherine Mangu-Ward, and Nick Gillespie chew through the news of the day and get heartburn.
Venezuelans Don't Believe in Bitcoin. They Need Bitcoin.
Pragmatism trumping ideology is a positive sign for cryptocurrency.
How Long Before This Tool to Censor Images from Terrorists Gets Misused?
Amid European calls for speech crackdown, social media companies introduce tool for easier deletions.
Why It's a Good Thing That Driverless Cars and Trucks Are Going To Take Decades…
...to become fully operational. Tech change, like social change, is more evolutionary than we think, allowing society to adjust.
The Future of Free Speech on Social Media Looks Grim
Social-media platforms have not so much "disrupted" the old media gatekeepers as they have introduced a watered-down version of the same concept.
So This Is (Your Annual War on) Christmas
Maybe Santa should just put everybody on the 'naughty' list and be done with it.
Record Temperatures and Record Grain Yields
Climate model projections of wheat yields are just stupid
Ending Energy Poverty vs. Climate Change Mitigation: New at Reason
Ending energy poverty should be prioritized over efforts to prevent climate change
Obama, Merkel Blame Social Media For Being Politically Disruptive
Merkel suggests finding the right kinds of policies that would control that.
This Professor's List of 'Fake News' Sites Goes Predictably Wrong
How did sites like Breitbart and Red State get included?
Policing 'Fake News' Is Our Own Responsibility, Not Facebook's
Calling for the social media outlet to censor things, even completely made up stories, can end up in bad places.
A Tech Agenda for the Trump Administration
How Donald Trump can make America innovate again
Stop Sharing News That Trans Teen Suicides Spiked Post-Election—It's Not Just Wrong, But Dangerous to LGBT Youth
This false epidemic going viral could drive real suicide attempts among struggling teens.
Riots in Portland on Third Night of Protests
Trump returns to Twitter to complain about "unfair" protests "incited" by media.
Against Shaming 'White Women' and 'Female Misogynists' for 2016 Election Results
Who, exactly, are these impassioned social-media screeds supposed to sway?
