GOG’s New Plan To Weaponize Its Community’s Wishlist Of Games To Pressure IP Holders
I’ll give the folks over at Good Old Games (GOG) credit: they’re certainly doing what they said they were going to do. We’ve been talking about GOG a fair amount lately, mainly since the platform announced it was pivoting back to focus on its initial raison d’etre: bringing retro, DRM-free games back to a public […]
Poland’s Justice Minister Arrested For Illegal Use Of NSO Group Malware
After several months of pretending this sort of thing just didn’t happen there, the Polish government finally admitted some of its members had abused powerful smartphone malware it had purchased from Israeli spyware firm, NSO Group. This came to light following an investigation that found someone in the government had illegally targeted a Polish government […]
Musk Shows Us What Actual Government Censorship On Social Media Looks Like
For years, we’ve watched self-proclaimed “free speech warriors” hyperventilate about imaginary government control of social media content moderation. Mysteriously, as I pointed out last fall, these warriors developed sudden laryngitis when social media platform owners Elon Musk and Donald Trump actually took over the US government. Anyone with a functioning brain knew this would eventually […]
A Coup Is In Progress In America
A coup is underway in the United States, and we must stop pretending otherwise. The signs are unmistakable and accelerating: in just the past 48 hours, Elon Musk’s DOGE commission has seized control of Treasury payment systems and gained unauthorized access to classified USAID materials, while security officials who followed protocols were removed. Career civil servants […]
https://www.techdirt.com/2025/02/03/a-coup-is-in-progress-in-america/
Musk’s Takeover Of The Government’s Computer Systems Needs To Be Understood As A Cyberattack, Or Worse
People sometimes think that cybersecurity is just about defending computer systems from remote adversaries. But it’s broader than that; cybersecurity has always been about protecting computer systems more generally from any sort of misuse, no matter how the adversary might access them. So that Elon Musk and his minions have managed to walk right into […]
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https://www.techdirt.com/2025/02/03/daily-deal-rosetta-stone-all-languages-5/
The Twitter Files Playbook Comes For The US Government
Remember the Twitter Files? That carefully orchestrated “exposé” where incredibly gullible hand-picked journalists were given selective access to internal documents to manufacture misleading outrage about Twitter’s content moderation? Get ready for the government edition. If you want to predict what’s coming next in Elon Musk’s governmental power grab, look no further than his Twitter takeover […]
https://www.techdirt.com/2025/02/03/the-twitter-files-playbook-comes-for-the-us-government/
Big Telecom Again Begs Trump Supreme Court To Kill State Laws Requiring They (Gasp) Provide Affordable Broadband To Poor People
During peak COVID lockdowns in 2021, New York State passed a law requiring that big ISPs (with over 20k users) offer low-income residents 25 Mbps broadband for $15. It wasn’t a huge ask; it costs major ISPs little to nothing to provide that speed over modern fiber networks, but the broadband industry sued anyway. Without […]
SCOTUS Tells Steve King To Go Away In ‘Success Kid’ Case Over Legal Fees
Ah, Steve King. Not the famed author of horror fiction, of course. I’m talking about the former representative from Iowa who authored all kinds of political horror, instead. This fucking guy was perhaps best known for wanting a fence on our southern border to be of the electrified variety, for keeping a Confederate flag on […]
Sonos Executives Pay The Price For Company’s Shitty, Anti-Consumer Policies
You might remember that Sonos was the golden child of “smart,” internet-connected home hardware a decade or so ago. But that reputation has been steadily tarnished by a long line of bone-headed decisions, ranging from their 2020-era choice to brick still useful speakers and hardware, to their choice last year to release an app update […]
Trump Continues To Gut Meaningful Gov’t Oversight, Fires At Least 15 Inspectors General
The Trump Administration is apparently going to be a law unto itself. There have been plenty of people put up against the wall in recent days, but the weekend concluded with Donald Trump — perhaps illegally — firing at least 15 Inspectors General. This mass firing leaves the Defense Department, State Department, Department of Veterans […]
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https://www.techdirt.com/2025/01/27/daily-deal-edu-unlimited-by-stackskills-2/
Empowering Users, Not Overlords: Overcoming Digital Helplessness
Disclosure: I’m on the board of Bluesky, so feel free to take as many grains of salt as you want in reading it, though all of it applies equally to other decentralized social media ecosystems. The internet was supposed to liberate us. Instead, it’s left us feeling helpless, waiting for billionaires, governments, and tech giants to save […]
https://www.techdirt.com/2025/01/27/empowering-users-not-overlords-overcoming-digital-helplessness/
Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt
This week, both our winners on the insightful side come in response to our post about the meteorologist who was fired for criticizing Elon Muk’s nazi salute. In first place, it’s Maura with a reaction to the whole ridiculous situation: I hate that Elon Musk’s fans are using his autism diagnosis to excuse his behavior. […]
https://www.techdirt.com/2025/01/26/funniest-most-insightful-comments-of-the-week-at-techdirt-145/
There’s One Week Left In The Public Domain Game Jam
Despite all that has happened (and boy does it seem like too much), the fact is we’re still less than one month into 2025 — and that means there’s still time to enter the latest edition of our public domain game jam, Gaming Like It’s 1929! The jam is open through January 31st, and you […]
https://www.techdirt.com/2025/01/25/theres-one-week-left-in-the-public-domain-game-jam/
DC Appeals Court: Compelling Fingerprint Production To Unlock Phones Violates Fifth Amendment
Well, well, well: let’s get this circuit split started! In completely unexpected news, the DC Court of Appeals has ruled [PDF] that compelling someone to unlock a device using their finger is a violation of Fifth Amendment protections that disallow forcing someone to testify against themselves. (h/t Gabriel Malor on Bluesky) Most courts have ruled […]
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https://www.techdirt.com/2025/01/24/daily-deal-the-complete-pmp-training-bundle-7/
Brendan Carr, Trump’s ‘Free Speech’ Warrior, Wastes No Time Violating Trump’s New Free Speech Executive Order
Back in November, I explained in great detail how Trump’s new FCC chair Brendan Carr was signaling loud and clear that he intended to be Trump’s top censor. This was in contrast to both his and Trump’s declaration that Carr was some sort of “free speech warrior.” Instead, he has given every indication that he’s […]
New York Law Requiring Cheap $15 Broadband Takes Effect
After King Trump’s dutiful Supreme Court recently refused to hear the case, a New York State law has taken effect requiring that ISPs provide low-income, state residents affordable $15 broadband. It’s a big win for digital equity activists and consumer groups that have long argued that America’s heavily monopolized (and barely competitive) broadband industry results […]
https://www.techdirt.com/2025/01/24/new-york-law-requiring-cheap-15-broadband-takes-effect/
Cops Are Still Bypassing Facial Recognition Controls To Build Cases Based On Bad Matches
The Detroit PD has made this sort of thing its unofficial brand. It has even shelled out at least $300,000 to ensure people most often think of the Detroit PD when discussing false arrests aided and abetted by facial recognition tech. But there are plenty of others in the US law enforcement industrial complex vying […]