U.K. Government Finally Admits It Can't Scan for Child Porn Without Violating Everybody's Privacy
A surveillance authority in the country’s troubling Online Safety Bill won’t be enforced, officials say. But for how long?
Internet
Do the Proud Boys Deserve To Be in Prison Forever?
Plus: A listener question concerning porn verification laws.
In Scathing Rulings, Federal Courts Block Arkansas and Texas Age Verification Laws
Plus: Meta revises controversial "dangerous organizations" policy, a win against civil asset forfeiture in Detroit, and more...
Protecting Kids on Social Media Act Cloaks Attack on Privacy Behind Concern for Children
There are already people responsible for regulating children’s online activity: parents and guardians.
Review: Wonder Boy Chronicles the Life and Death of Former Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh
A new book handles the ill-fated CEO's story with respect.
A Ruling Against a Man Arrested for a COVID-19 Joke Highlights the Influence of a Pernicious Analogy
A federal judge compared Waylon Bailey’s Facebook jest to "falsely shouting fire in a theatre."
Google Isn't Intentionally Biased Against Republicans, Says Court
Plus: The real message behind DeSantis' abortion anecdote, midwives sue over Alabama regulations, and more…
Talking About Sex Online Shouldn't Be Illegal
Porn sites and other online spaces with adult content are fun; they’re also important sources of community and information.
TikTok Woos Republicans With Debate Commercials
The video site took out ads touting social media's benefits.
U.S. Emulates Communist China in New TikTok Draft Agreement
Plus: Americans vote too much, Indiana abortion ban to take effect, and more...
Fun, Silly Anti-Tax Ballad 'Rich Men North of Richmond' Goes Viral for Some Online Reasons
If you don't take Oliver Anthony's surprise hit song too seriously, it's a lot of fun. Regrettably, a lot of people are taking the song much too seriously indeed.
Why Stripping Fox's Broadcast License Is a Terrible Idea
Plus: A listener inquires about the potential positive effects of ranked-choice voting reforms.
Google Will Go to Trial Over Preloading Apps and Search Engine on Phones
Plus: Ohio Issue 1 defeated, Supreme Court pauses order vacating gun regulations, and more...
Why Kamala Harris Won't Be Asked About the Suicide of a Newspaperman She Persecuted
When it comes to conflicts with people engaged in unpopular or disfavored speech, too many journalists side with the feds.
A Ham-Handed Bill Attacks the First Amendment in the Name of Protecting Minors From Online Harm
The Kids Online Safety Act imposes an amorphous "duty of care" that would compromise anonymous speech and restrict access to constitutionally protected content.
Have We Lost Track of the Trump Indictments Yet?
Plus: Why don't journalists support free speech anymore?
Alex Winter: Is The YouTube Effect Good or Bad on Balance?
A new documentary film argues that the second-largest website on the planet is flooded with misinformation. Is that right?
Online Privacy at Risk from Awful U.K. Internet Regulation Bill
The legislation is also terrible on free speech and poses global risks.
Is YouTube Bad for Us?
Join Reason on YouTube and Facebook at 1 p.m. Eastern this Thursday for a discussion with director Alex Winter about his new documentary The YouTube Effect.
Backpage Founder, Alt-Weekly Entrepreneur, and Free Speech Warrior James Larkin Has Died
Larkin, 74, took his own life on Monday, just a little over a week before he was slated to stand trial for his role in running the web-classifieds platform Backpage.
The Democratic Governor Who Wants Drug Legalization and Free Markets
"Government in general does a lot of things that aren't necessary," says Jared Polis.
Studies Keep Finding That Social Media Algorithms Don't Increase Polarization. Why Is the Press So Skeptical?
New research on Facebook before the 2020 election finds scant evidence to suggest algorithms are shifting our political views.
Jean Twenge and Elizabeth Nolan Brown: What Do Millennials Want?
A boomer, a Gen Xer, and a Millennial discuss the causes and conflicts of today's generational gaps.
E.U. Law Threatens Free Speech, Online Groups Say
The E.U.’s Digital Services Act will encourage censorship around the world and even in the U.S.
Elizabeth Warren and Lindsey Graham Will Break the Internet
The senators say they're creating an "independent, bipartisan regulator charged with licensing and policing the nation's biggest tech companies." What could go wrong?
Nearly 200 School Districts Are Suing Social Media Platforms
Plus: court strikes down Arizona law against filming cops, GOP candidates want to cut Social Security for young people, and more...
Mike Rowe on Well-Paying Dirty Jobs, Nonprofit Whiskey, and Male Decline
The country's favorite blue-collar champion calls attention to the 'skills gap' and asks why young men spend so much time online.
Federal Officials Can Keep Pressing Tech Platforms To Remove Content for Now, Court Says
Plus: GOP candidate defends “limited role of government” in parental decisions for transgender kids, some common sense about Diet Coke and cancer, and more…
A Win for the First Amendment, and a Loss for Partisans Who Want to Weaponize Censorship
One thing is clear about Missouri v. Biden: The decision cannot be understood by viewing it through a polarized lens.
Some Critics of the Ruling Against Biden's Censorship by Proxy Have a Beef With the 1st Amendment Itself
"Disinformation" researchers alarmed by the injunction against government meddling with social media content admire legal regimes that allow broad speech restrictions.
Attack of the Twitter Clones
Plus: Groups ask Supreme Court to say public officials can't block people, latest jobs report shows openings down, and more...
Do D.C. and Rhode Island Really Need $200 Million for Broadband Access?
How not to distribute federal funds
Kevin Kelly: Excellent Advice for Living From the World's Leading Optimist
Wired's "senior maverick" on his new book of accumulated wisdom, backlash against tech, and why the future still looks bright.
Biden's $42 Billion Broadband Boondoggle
More than 90 percent of Americans already have access to high-speed internet.
Is TikTok Really To Blame for Titanic Conspiracy Theories?
The New York Times tries to blame social media for conspiracy theories that have been around for decades. Don't fall for it.
Why Is So Much of Reddit Dark Right Now?
When your business relies on volunteer moderators and user-generated content, angry denizens can threaten the whole enterprise.
New Test Data Show That COVID School Closures Rapidly Accelerated U.S. Learning Losses
Nearly two years after most children returned to the classroom, educational losses continue to grow.
It Takes 6 Clicks To Cancel Amazon Prime and the FTC's New Lawsuit Says That's Too Many
The ideal number of clicks to cancel an online subscription may be four or five instead of six, but we don't need government to make that decision.
Small Porn Producers Will Be Hurt Most by New Age Verification Laws
New mandates in states like Utah and Virginia will lock in large incumbents like PornHub while discouraging positive trends and self-regulation in the industry.
Online Learning During COVID-19 Linked With Lower Test Scores
A new study has found that the more schools kept kids online, the worse their pass rates on state standardized tests were.
E.U.'s Digital Services Act Threatens Americans' Free Speech
Online platforms should resist binding us all to the rules of censorship-happy jurisdictions.
YouTube Abandons Election Misinformation Policy That Censored Political Speech
"We find that while removing this content does curb some misinformation, it could also have the unintended effect of curtailing political speech."
The Economics of Prohibition Doom Plans To Reduce Drug Use by Busting Online Dealers
A study suggests that "selectively targeting large-scale drug vendors" on the dark web can succeed where all previous enforcement efforts have failed.
California Lawmakers Want To Make Tech Companies Subsidize News Media
Plus: Debt ceiling deal passes House, Congress wants to childproof the internet, lactation consultant licensing law is unconstitutional, and more...
Childproofing the Internet
How online “child protection” measures could make child and adult internet users more vulnerable to hackers, identity thieves, and snoops.
Not Every Study on Teen Depression and Social Media Is Bad. Only Most of Them.
The few good studies on teen depression and social media undercut attempts to establish causal connections between the two.
How Ron DeSantis, Tucker Carlson, and Elon Musk Will Change the Section 230 Debate
Expect the very foundations of the internet to come under attack from politicians and the mainstream media.
