Flock’s ALPR (automated license plate reader) tech spread from HOAs to police departments at an alarming rate of speed. What was once a toy for the over-privileged soon became the go-to source of license plate images. Flock became the Ring of ALPRs, to mix a metaphor. And that’s when the bad news began to roll […]

Back in 2014 you might remember there was a giant, two-year, manufactured news cycle where Republicans pretended to be outraged that the then Obama White House had openly supported the FCC’s efforts to impose some modest net neutrality rules (designed to protect consumers and competition from telecom monopoly abuse of power). At the time, major […]

The past 18 months have seen a significant number of health issues, perhaps crises, arise in America. Measles, cyclosporiasis, whooping cough, and more have all been in the news. RFK Jr. is either stroking his pet conspiracy theories alongside Trump, or else he’s completely out to lunch. In the meantime, Kennedy is also continuing to […]

This story was originally published by ProPublica. Republished under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 license. It was late March when Joe Teirab, the second-in-command at Minnesota’s U.S. attorney’s office, received an urgent email from Washington. The federal government was scrambling to find criminal cases to back up President Donald Trump’s claims that illegal voting by noncitizens was tipping the scales in […]

Sure, the town’s insurance will pay most of this, but it’s probably fair to say most of this small county’s population (11,823 at last count) wasn’t supportive of local law enforcement’s decision to violate as much of the First Amendment and Fourth Amendment as possible in the apparent hopes of making one local business owner […]

Even as the wider EU was grinding through a long, drawn-out process to figure out which regulatory levers to pull on kids’ safety online, France decided to YOLO it earlier this summer by jumping at the chance to ban all social media for kids under 15. This kind of thing has become popular with out […]

memoryOS is a gamified mobile app designed to significantly improve your memory through short, interactive lessons. Guided by two-time World Memory Champion Jonas von Essen, the software teaches proven mnemonic techniques alongside spaced-repetition schedules. It features a digital library of 3D “Virtual Mind Palaces,” which allows users to easily visualize, organize, and store complex information […]

Things used to be normal. We used to be doing alright here in the United States, limiting ourselves to catching people at the borders or picking up migrants with criminal charges or convictions with detainers at local jails. Now, it’s just a constant swarm all day, every day. “Worst of the worst” has long been […]

Back in June, Trump FCC boss Brendan Carr announced he’d be reviewing the FCC E-Rate program with an eye on “reforms.” Generally, when Brendan Carr promises “reforms,” usually what he means is either “I’m going to destroy this program,” or “I’m going to illegally make changes to this congressionally-mandated program that ensures telecom giants like AT&T get more money […]

This Buc-ee’s vs. the Beaver’s Mini-Mart is just not going to go away. While Buc-ee’s has made quite the name for itself as a trademark bully over the past several years, it may have finally run into a combination that is more than the corporation can handle. Between John Oliver’s continued coverage of this lawsuit, […]

Over in our Insider Chat, someone recently pointed out a tiered “REAL Rating” five-tier scale designed to replace the fairly blunt and misleading question of “did you use AI on that?” with something a bit more nuanced. As someone who believes the discussion about AI could use a lot more nuance, I’m all for the […]

MAGA, the GOP, and the Trump administration don’t really care about the victims of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking. The MAGA GOP made a lot of noise during Biden’s single term because they were sure the files would show a Pizzagate’s-worth of Democratic political figures engaged in the ritual abuse of underage girls. Once Trump was […]

After years of feckless capitulation, ABC is clearly developing something vaguely resembling a backbone. The company has filed a new lawsuit against Brendan Carr and the FCC (pdf), (correctly) claiming that the agency has been engaged in a coordinated campaign of harassment that violates the First Amendment and tramples the company’s free speech rights. The […]

The Hypergear 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Dock is meticulously engineered to reduce the cable clutter and streamline your daily routine. Featuring 2 dedicated wireless charging surfaces, you can power up your phone and AirPods easily. In addition, you can charge your Apple Watch with the built-in charger mount. Stylish and compact, the dock is perfect for […]

Words used to mean things. The MAGA GOP strategy lately seems to be pulling a page from the 1980s playbook (a Trump specialty) and declaring anyone they don’t like to be “communist.” The whole thing is laughable. Even if you disagree with some of the policy positions of far left groups like the Democratic Socialists […]

Paramount bosses Larry and David Ellison aren’t having much fun in the wake of a 12 state antitrust lawsuit that risks derailing their $111 billion attempt to dominate what’s left of U.S. corporate media. There’s been a certain creeping desperation apparent the last month or two; whether it’s the company’s top lawyer claiming that critics […]

A couple of months back, we discussed how screwworm infections had reappeared in Texas for the first time in decades. The foreign surveillance program designed to keep this from occurring in partnership with countries south of the border dissipated after losing funding as a result of the DOGE bros deciding it just wasn’t worth it. […]

A few years ago a California appeals court produced the unfortunate Liapes v. Facebook decision. In this decision, it gave the go-ahead to age discrimination claims under California’s Unruh Act resulting from ads not being served to users of certain ages. It’s a nonsensical application of anti-discrimination law, because ads are not themselves the goods […]

Flock Safety has spent a few years building a massive network of ALPR (automated license plate reader) cameras. Flock’s cameras are a step ahead of competitors. They not only grab plate/location info, but they provide searchable tags/images that cover everything from car make/model to specific vehicle features. These photos also include images of the drivers […]

This ruling came out a week and a half ago at this point and I’ve been so annoyed with it that I kept putting off writing about it, but it’s so bad that it requires a discussion. A federal district court in San Jose denied motions from a bunch of the big tech companies seeking […]

The Complete Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and ESP32 Bundle has 14 courses covering what you need to get started on building out your own smart home. After learning the basics, courses show you how to create a weather monitoring system, a smart home security system, a plant watering system, and more. Courses also cover getting familiar […]

Two murders in less than a week. That’s how the surge went in Minneapolis — a city targeted because the city and state were run by members of the opposing party. It was political persecution pretending to be a public safety effort. Trump and his administration buddies amplified accusations of government funding fraud. Trump himself […]

The Trump administration’s anti-Chinese protectionism is routinely a disastrous, xenophobic mess that mostly just injects chaos, cronyism, and higher prices into U.S. tech markets under the pretense of protecting privacy and national security. All propped up by bumbling Democrats and a corporate press incapable of highlighting that the emperor is buck-ass naked. Four years of […]

This week, our first place winner on the insightful side is MrWilson with a comment about Fauci’s Senate hearing and the weaponization of conspiracy theories: The MAGA audience needs its two minutes hate and Fauci is a recurring Emmanuel Goldstein for them to collectively froth at. All the chuds who were upset they couldn’t go […]

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We’ve talked a great deal about the Stop Killing Games movement and those discussions have typically traveled along two paths of importance. On the one hand, the movement is very important to those of us that care about the preservation of video games. A huge problem with allowing developers and publishers to simply shutdown backend […]

There have now been dozens of stories of bad lawyers using AI results in filings, most of which show up in the form of fake case citations. That’s old hat at this point. But how about prompt injections in court filings? There have been a few people warning that it’s coming. A year ago, Louisiana […]

Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast about the latest news in online speech, from Mike Masnick and Everything in Moderation‘s Ben Whitelaw. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Pocket Casts, YouTube, or your podcast app of choice — or go straight to the RSS feed. To get extended episodes with additional coverage, support us on […]

This is why having a case dismissed with prejudice is important. Trump’s cronies/donors — who were paid millions to do a job they’d never done before — failed to bring the Lincoln Reflecting Pool up to spec by July 4th, preventing Trump from taking sole credit for everyone else’s hard work while turning the nation’s […]

The Ultimate Unity Game Development Bundle has 44+ hourse of video training designed for aspiring developers. Dive deep into Unity Engine and C# fundamentals, master player physics, and polish your creations with pro-level animations and post-processing. With multi-platform deployment training, it’s everything you need to kickstart a portfolio. It’s on sale for $25. Note: The […]