Politics

The History of Comcast As Told By Google Autofill

The other day I googled Comcast for a story about the internet. The Google Autofill results were…intriguing. People are curious about how Comcast does many things, namely things that are evil. The searches revealed a specific and sort of sultry history of Comcast, one that highlights both its triumphant rise to telecom dominance and its…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes

The DOJ Is Sneaking in a Policy That’d Crap All Over the 4th Amendment

The rules for how the Department of Justice tracks down criminals in the digital age are woefully arcane, but the DoJ’s recent proposed changes to update those rules go way too far, using vague terms to grant sweeping remote search powers that would take a torrential horse piss on the Fourth Amendment. Under the auspices…

Privacy & Security Kate Knibbs

The Secret Service Wants to Build a Replica White House

The Secret Service hasn’t been doing an awesome job guarding the White House lately, so Joseph Clancy, its director, plans to ask the House Appropriations Committee for $8 million so that president’s guard can build a replica White House on the Secret Service training grounds in southern Maryland. Not the whole house, of course. The…

Privacy & Security Adam Clark Estes

Yep, That Anti-Robot Protest At SXSW Was A Marketing Stunt [UPDATED]

When a group of plucky students organized a protest at SXSW against the rising threat of artificial intelligence, they got a ton of attention. Including interviews on NPR and the BBC. A grassroots anti-robot protest seemed almost too good to be true. And it’s looking like maybe it was. [Updated!] Top image via Stop The…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders

Most Americans Aren’t Protecting Themselves Against Surveillance

As we inch up on the two-year anniversary of the Snowden leaks, it’s important to think about how the Earth-shattering revelations about America’s intelligence-gathering have affected Americans. We’re all using Tor and DuckDuckGo and PGP and protecting ourselves against surveillance now, right? LOL, no. Not even close actually. A new Pew study reveals that the…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes

How Police Body Cameras Were Designed to Get Cops Off the Hook

In the wake of protests over police violence against black men, many civil rights activists are calling for a high-tech solution: strapping wearable body cameras to cops. The idea is to hold police accountable for unnecessary violence. But the history of police body cams reveals that the devices have often had the opposite effect. On…

Tech News Mario Aguilar

U.S. Post Offices Have Installed Hidden Spy Cameras to Film Customers

Did you know that the United States Postal Service has its own police force? It’s true. While the U.S. Postal Inspection Service is typically tasked with looking into mailbox vandalism and mail fraud, an investigation in Denver reveals that they’re also installing hidden cameras at post offices and spying on Americans. This postal surveillance program…

Privacy & Security Adam Clark Estes

Hillary Clinton Didn’t Encrypt Her Secretary of State Emails For Months

New details have emerged about exactly how Hillary Clinton secured the homebrew private email servers she used as Secretary of State. The punchline? Clinton didn’t encrypt her emails or use a certificate for her first three months running the State Department. While the future presidential candidate was dodging reporters’ questions and complaining about the inconvenience…

Privacy & Security Adam Clark Estes

Read the FCC’s Net Neutrality Rules Here

This is it. This is the day that your overly specific and impressively skeptical questions about the Federal Communications Commission’s new net neutrality rules can finally be answered. The agency just released the full text of the policy that will protect the open internet. The full 400 pages of the FCC’s policy and research on…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes

Hillary Clinton: I Used Personal Email Because Carrying Two Phones Sucks

In a press conference at the United Nations, Hillary Clinton just admitted that the initial reasoning behind her using a personal email account for official business as secretary of state was simple: She didn’t want to carry around two phones. “I thought it would be easier to carry one device for my work,” she said.…

Privacy & Security Adam Clark Estes

Why America’s Internet Is So Shitty and Slow

You may have heard that the internet is winning: net neutrality was saved, broadband was redefined to encourage higher speeds, and the dreaded Comcast-Time Warner Cable megamerger potentially thwarted. But the harsh reality is that America’s internet is still fundamentally broken, and there’s no easy fix. An Economy Built on Wires When I say “fundamentally…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes

Senator on Internet Policy Subcommittee Has “Never Sent an Email”

US Senator and delicate southern flower Lindsey Graham has, in his own words, never sent an email in his life. He also just so happens to be a member of the Senate Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law. Naturally. The bizarre statement was made during Graham’s appearance on Meet the Press earlier this morning,…

Tech News Ashley Feinberg

Have You Ever Been Banned From An Internet Community?

Have you ever been banned from an online community? Tell us everything. I’m still surprised over something that happened earlier today. An article I submitted on Reddit’s /r/politics was rejected unread by a bot. I’m not going to go into the entangled histories of Gawker Media and Reddit; you can go googling if you’re really…

Tech News Kaila Hale-Stern

Why Hillary Clinton’s Homebrew Email Is a Political Nightmare

You’ve probably heard: Hillary Clinton used a private, personal email addressfor all of her official business as Secretary of State. She didn’t even have a State Department email address. As a result, her email was far from secure — and that is a big problem, but it’s not the only one. The security issue is…

Privacy & Security Adam Clark Estes

How Much Is Your Arm Worth? Depends On Where You Work

Each state determines its own workers’ compensation benefits, which means workers in neighboring states can end up with dramatically different compensation for identical injuries. At the time of their accidents, Jeremy Lewis was 27, Josh Potter 25. The men lived within 75 miles of each other. Both were married with two children about the same…

Health Michael Grabell and Howard Berkes - ProPublica and NPR

Hillary Clinton Exclusively Used Personal Email While Secretary of State

Hillary Clinton’s burgeoning presidential campaign is off to a rocky good start. Just a day after papers reported that the former Secretary of State would make a bid for the nation’s highest office in April, The New York Times reports that Hillary Clinton used only her personal email address while serving as Secretary of State.…

Privacy & Security Adam Clark Estes

The Lamest Official Reactions Against Net Neutrality

Let’s all agree on one thing: The Federal Communications Commission passing the strongest net neutrality rules in America’s history is a step in the right direction. But that didn’t stop an army of naysayers from crowing about an imaginary government takeover of the internet or how the new plan would slash their profits. Some chose…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes

FCC Passes Strongest Net Neutrality Rules In America’s History

The open internet finally got the protection it deserves from profit-hungry cable companies. The FCC just approved the strongest set of net neutrality rules in this country’s history, punctuating a years-long battle for this future of the internet. However, the war’s not yet over. https://gizmodo.com/net-neutrality-wins-what-now-1688183094 The new rules largely resemble the open internet rules that…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes

Watch the FCC Vote on Net Neutrality Live, Right Now

Over at the FCC, the regulatory agency is voting on Net Neutrality — and they are streaming the vote live from 10:30 AM EST onward. Go watch it! The result of this vote will determine whether the internet remains a democratically-controlled common carrier, or becomes more like television, whose broadcasts are largely controlled by a…

Tech News Annalee Newitz

Philip K. Dick On Fine-Tuning Your B.S.-Meter To Spot “Pseudo-Realities”

How can you tell what’s real, in a world where huge industries, governments and religions are all trying to force-feed you manufactured realities? Philip K. Dick sums up the challenges of detecting reality in a world that resembles Disneyland, in this great 1978 quote. It was always my hope, in writing novels and stories which…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

The History of Comcast As Told By Google Autofill

The DOJ Is Sneaking in a Policy That’d Crap All Over the 4th Amendment

The Secret Service Wants to Build a Replica White House

Yep, That Anti-Robot Protest At SXSW Was A Marketing Stunt [UPDATED]

Most Americans Aren’t Protecting Themselves Against Surveillance

How Police Body Cameras Were Designed to Get Cops Off the Hook

U.S. Post Offices Have Installed Hidden Spy Cameras to Film Customers

Hillary Clinton Didn’t Encrypt Her Secretary of State Emails For Months

Read the FCC’s Net Neutrality Rules Here

Hillary Clinton: I Used Personal Email Because Carrying Two Phones Sucks

Why America’s Internet Is So Shitty and Slow

Senator on Internet Policy Subcommittee Has “Never Sent an Email”

Have You Ever Been Banned From An Internet Community?

Why Hillary Clinton’s Homebrew Email Is a Political Nightmare

How Much Is Your Arm Worth? Depends On Where You Work

Hillary Clinton Exclusively Used Personal Email While Secretary of State

The Lamest Official Reactions Against Net Neutrality

FCC Passes Strongest Net Neutrality Rules In America’s History

Watch the FCC Vote on Net Neutrality Live, Right Now

Philip K. Dick On Fine-Tuning Your B.S.-Meter To Spot “Pseudo-Realities”

Trump Says He’ll Sign Order to Pay TSA

Deadpool Will Deface ‘Magic: The Gathering’ Classics for a New Secret Lair

Apple’s Siri Isn’t Just Going to Use One Chatbot. It’s Going to Use All of Them

Why ‘For All Mankind’ Season 5 Is the Key to the Rest of the Series

ASUS ZenScreen 15.6-Inch Portable Monitor Is Now Cheaper Than Black Friday in Amazon’s Big Spring Sale

Early Wildfires Are Surging Across the US—and Trump’s New Fire Agency Isn’t Ready

INIU Brings Another Power Bank to the Spring Sale as SnapGo Keychain Portable Charger Drops to Its Lowest Price

Attorney Hit With Historic Fine for Citing AI-Generated Cases

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

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

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

Let us help find what you are looking for...

Politics

The History of Comcast As Told By Google Autofill

The DOJ Is Sneaking in a Policy That’d Crap All Over the 4th Amendment

The Secret Service Wants to Build a Replica White House

Yep, That Anti-Robot Protest At SXSW Was A Marketing Stunt [UPDATED]

Most Americans Aren’t Protecting Themselves Against Surveillance

How Police Body Cameras Were Designed to Get Cops Off the Hook

U.S. Post Offices Have Installed Hidden Spy Cameras to Film Customers

Hillary Clinton Didn’t Encrypt Her Secretary of State Emails For Months

Read the FCC’s Net Neutrality Rules Here

Hillary Clinton: I Used Personal Email Because Carrying Two Phones Sucks

Why America’s Internet Is So Shitty and Slow

Senator on Internet Policy Subcommittee Has “Never Sent an Email”

​Have You Ever Been Banned From An Internet Community?

Why Hillary Clinton’s Homebrew Email Is a Political Nightmare

How Much Is Your Arm Worth? Depends On Where You Work

Hillary Clinton Exclusively Used Personal Email While Secretary of State

The Lamest Official Reactions Against Net Neutrality

FCC Passes Strongest Net Neutrality Rules In America’s History

Watch the FCC Vote on Net Neutrality Live, Right Now

Philip K. Dick On Fine-Tuning Your B.S.-Meter To Spot “Pseudo-Realities”

Trump Says He’ll Sign Order to Pay TSA

Deadpool Will Deface ‘Magic: The Gathering’ Classics for a New Secret Lair

Apple’s Siri Isn’t Just Going to Use One Chatbot. It’s Going to Use All of Them

Why ‘For All Mankind’ Season 5 Is the Key to the Rest of the Series

ASUS ZenScreen 15.6-Inch Portable Monitor Is Now Cheaper Than Black Friday in Amazon’s Big Spring Sale

Early Wildfires Are Surging Across the US—and Trump’s New Fire Agency Isn’t Ready

INIU Brings Another Power Bank to the Spring Sale as SnapGo Keychain Portable Charger Drops to Its Lowest Price

Attorney Hit With Historic Fine for Citing AI-Generated Cases

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

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

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

Let us help find what you are looking for...

Have You Ever Been Banned From An Internet Community?