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Facebook’s Militia ‘Mistake,’ FCC’s Speech Police, and TikTok’s Secret Sauce

The never-ending battle over content moderation is only intensifying as we get closer to the 2020 elections and beyond. We’re trying out new formats to round up and summarize developments in this space—both in the interest of everyone’s sanity and to allow more time for the ramifications and context of the outcomes of various screaming…

Internet Tom McKay Sep 4

Bill Barr Is About to Blow Up the Antitrust Case Against Google: Report

Several interested parties in the U.S. government have been looking to put Google’s head on a spike, and while undoubtedly there’s been some degree of jockeying between them for which will ultimately get the credit, they’ve been proceeding with care and caution in the interest of building an ironclad case against a particularly canny opponent.…

Politics Avery Ellis Sep 3

Duh: FBI Warned Doorbell Cams Can Also Tip Suspects Off to Approaching Cops

The FBI warned in a November 2019 bulletin that smart video doorbells, such as Amazon’s Ring or Google’s Nest Hello cameras, could tip off suspects that police are coming for them, according to a Monday report in the Intercept. The nine-page document is part of the hundreds of gigabytes of leaked documents in the BlueLeaks…

Privacy & Security Tom McKay Aug 31

Waze Drivers, Welcome to the Batmobile

Waze, Google’s driving and traffic app, is letting users drive with Kevin Conroy, the best Batman voice, as their personal navigator beginning today. According to DC Comics and Waze’s official Twitter, until October 31 drivers will be able to select the Batman: The Animated Series protagonist (Conroy) or the Batman: Arkham-era Riddler (Wally Wingert) as…

io9 Jody Serrano Aug 31

Predicting Big Tech’s Antitrust Outcome With Oregon Trail Ended Miserably—But No One Died

I downloaded a Mac OS 8 emulator a few weeks ago—not just because it looked cool, but because I had a serious hankering for some classic Oregon Trail. The app itself is pretty neat. It’s made by the same Slack developer, Felix Rieseberg, who also made a Windows 95 emulator. It’s not a fully functioning…

Tech News Joanna Nelius Aug 31

Google Failed to Remove Misleading Ads About Voting By Mail Because of a Technicality. Blegh.

Google reportedly took five days to review misleading ads from an organization that echoes the president’s crock about voting by mail, and then declined to take them down essentially because of a technicality. According to a Washington Post report this week, the ads aimed to discourage voters from using the U.S. Postal Service, which President…

Politics Alyse Stanley Aug 29

Lawmakers Mull Whether Depression-Era Laws Could Break Up Big Tech

Last month’s marathon tech antitrust hearing was half the circus that some of us were anticipating, and half cogent arguments that solidified just how desperately the tech giants need to be reigned in. But the one thing that both parties seemed to agree on was that tech CEO’s are terrible liars that have created some…

Tech Policy Shoshana Wodinsky Aug 27

Even Google Employees Found Google’s Privacy Settings Confusing

By 2018, Google mastered the art of obscuring privacy settings to the degree that even some Google employees didn’t know how location privacy settings worked, according to an Arizona consumer fraud lawsuit (now with fewer redactions) shows. As the Arizona Mirror first noticed, the complaint contains messages between Googlers venting that the company’s privacy settings…

Tech News Whitney Kimball Aug 26

Google’s Upcoming Pixel 4a 5G Gets Leaked

Last week, new leaks for Google’s Pixel 5 hit the net. Now, new pics and info about Google’s other upcoming fall handset release—the Pixel 4a 5G—have surfaced, giving us a better idea of how Google’s two upcoming phones really compare. In new highs-res renders based on the Pixel 4a 5G’s rumored dimensions, created as a…

Tech News Sam Rutherford Aug 24

Mods? MODS!?: Facebook’s QAnon Ban Is Too Little Too Late

Content and moderation decisions by tech companies are increasingly the focus of unending kicking and screaming—to the point where it’s now essentially a campaign plank for at least one of the U.S.’s major political parties. The likes of Facebook, Twitter, and Google are also trying to convince the public how well they’re dealing with the…

Internet Tom McKay Aug 21

New Leaked Pixel 5 Renders Depict an Upgraded But Still Humble Midrange Phone

After finally releasing the Pixel 4a earlier this month, Google has shifted focus to the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5G, and now, new leaks for the latter have arrived. The new images show some notable, but not game-changing, upgrades for Google’s upcoming mainstream device. The latest info comes in the form of high-res renders…

Tech News Sam Rutherford Aug 21

Google’s Limiting Third-Party Camera Apps on Android 11 to Keep Their Mitts Off Your Location Data

With Android 11, Google’s forcing all apps to use the device’s built-in camera app—as opposed to whatever third-party camera app you may have set as your default—when snapping photos or taking video in order to better protect users’ location data, a company rep told the Verge on Thursday. The Android engineering team first mentioned the change…

Tech News Alyse Stanley Aug 20

Google Rolls Out New Features to Stay Safe From Wildfires

While the news cycle might make things feel like we’re caught in an ever-growing dumpster fire, for certain states across the country, those flames are anything but metaphorical. This week, 15 different states were hit with dozens of massive, roaring wildfires that scorched hundreds of thousands of acres of land while putting tens of millions…

Earther Shoshana Wodinsky Aug 20

Zoom Is a Dirty Bandaid On Remote Learning’s Gaping Wound

Zoom is one of those programs that none of us are particularly fond of, but that we’re all kind of stuck with—especially if you’re one of the students or teachers that’s going to be stuck in remote-learning hell this coming semester. Now it looks like the platform’s about to become even more inescapable: earlier today,…

Tech News Shoshana Wodinsky Aug 19

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 Is the Android Smartwatch I’ve Been Waiting For

Samsung’s latest flagship smartwatch is stylish, functional, and ambitious while fixing previous issues in the lineup.

Accessories & Wearables Victoria Song Aug 19

Google Maps Just Got a Colorful New Update

Google Maps is getting a colorful new update in the coming weeks, adding terrain and street-level granularity to its UI that, after 15 years, was in desperate need of a makeover. To do this, Google’s using computer vision to analyze landscape features in its extensive library of satellite imagery and add color-coding based on the…

Tech News Alyse Stanley Aug 18

Google’s Planned Updates for Wear OS Are Underwhelming

Google’s smartwatch platform, Wear OS, doesn’t get as much love—or regular updates—as its rivals, but today we got a nice surprise: Google detailed some new updates coming to the platform this fall. That said, don’t crack open the champagne just yet. Most of these updates are of the small, maintenance-focused variety. In the Android Developers…

Tech News Victoria Song Aug 17

The Best Ways to Back Up Your Smartphone

These are some of the precautions you should to take in case of the worst situation happening.

Gadgets David Nield Aug 17

What Does Epic Games Hope to Gain From Its Lawsuit Against Apple and Google?

In what could possibly be described as a brilliant antitrust set-up, Epic Games is suing Apple and Google for removing its Fortnite game from the iOS App Store and Google Play store, respectively. While Epic’s lawsuits are nothing more than complaints until the matter actually goes to court and a ruling is handed down, it’s…

Tech News Joanna Nelius Aug 14

These Browser Extensions Will Show You Exactly Who’s Tracking You on the Web

Get a detailed breakdown of the tracking technologies embedded in a webpage and do something about it.

Gadgets David Nield Aug 14

Facebook’s Militia ‘Mistake,’ FCC’s Speech Police, and TikTok’s Secret Sauce

Bill Barr Is About to Blow Up the Antitrust Case Against Google: Report

Duh: FBI Warned Doorbell Cams Can Also Tip Suspects Off to Approaching Cops

Waze Drivers, Welcome to the Batmobile

Predicting Big Tech’s Antitrust Outcome With Oregon Trail Ended Miserably—But No One Died

Google Failed to Remove Misleading Ads About Voting By Mail Because of a Technicality. Blegh.

Lawmakers Mull Whether Depression-Era Laws Could Break Up Big Tech

Even Google Employees Found Google’s Privacy Settings Confusing

Google’s Upcoming Pixel 4a 5G Gets Leaked

Mods? MODS!?: Facebook’s QAnon Ban Is Too Little Too Late

New Leaked Pixel 5 Renders Depict an Upgraded But Still Humble Midrange Phone

Google’s Limiting Third-Party Camera Apps on Android 11 to Keep Their Mitts Off Your Location Data

Google Rolls Out New Features to Stay Safe From Wildfires

Zoom Is a Dirty Bandaid On Remote Learning’s Gaping Wound

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 Is the Android Smartwatch I’ve Been Waiting For

Google Maps Just Got a Colorful New Update

Google’s Planned Updates for Wear OS Are Underwhelming

The Best Ways to Back Up Your Smartphone

What Does Epic Games Hope to Gain From Its Lawsuit Against Apple and Google?

These Browser Extensions Will Show You Exactly Who’s Tracking You on the Web

Two Songs We Really Wish Were the Anime Outros for ‘Steel Ball Run’

AI Training Data Giant Mercor Is Reportedly Looking to Buy the Work You Did at Your Old Job

Utah Is Giving Dr. AI the Power to Renew Drug Prescriptions

Here’s the Perfect Excuse to See ‘Project Hail Mary’ Again

US Airlines Are Hiking Bag Fees Amid Iran War Oil Crisis

This Ridiculously Simple Trick Might Stop Gulls From Nabbing Your Lunch

‘Starfleet Academy’ Season 3 Could Have Done the ‘Voyager’ Sequel Episode of Robert Picardo’s Dreams

Judge Kills Lawsuit Against Infamous Study That Might Have Increased Teen Suicides

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

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