Texas Newspaper Traces Racist ExTwitter Account To An ICE Prosecutor
I realize that using the word “racist” to describe an ExTwitter account is pretty much redundant at this point, but there’s something more to this story. It’s not that a racist is using ExTwitter to make racist posts. It’s that a prosecutor working for ICE is, and has been, posting racist content for years on […]
The UK Government Just Made Everyone Less Safe As Apple Shuts Down iCloud Encryption
In a stunning display of government overreach, the UK has effectively forced Apple to disable its iCloud encryption for British users. Earlier this month, we wrote about the UK wielding the Investigatory Powers Act — aka “The Snooper’s Charter” — to demand Apple create a backdoor in its iCloud encryption for all users globally. Despite […]
Lawyer Who Doesn’t Understand Defamation Law Sends C&D To Newspaper For Reporting On Court Documents
It really doesn’t seem like too much to ask that legal representatives who are specifically trained to handle legal work actually know what the fuck they’re doing when they engage in legal representation. While I understand that not every lawyer’s competence will be equal, I don’t believe we should be expected to put up with […]
Daily Deal: DevDojo Pro, Premium Content, Tools, and Courses for Devs
This DevDojo Pro subscription gives you access to a set of tools to help you build your next great idea. Start with the Page Creator, where you’ll find Tailwind CSS Page Builder, a tool for crafting beautiful landing pages. Then, move on to Wave SAAS Starter Kit, where you’ll learn how to build your Software […]
US Attorney Ed Martin Undermines DOJ Defense While Cosplaying As President’s Personal Counsel
Last Friday brought two seemingly unrelated stories: the Associated Press suing White House officials over retaliatory press access restrictions, and Trump’s interim DC US Attorney Ed Martin launching what appears to be a personal intimidation campaign against Trump/Musk political rivals — precisely the kind of unconstitutional “lawfare” that Trump and Musk themselves have previously denounced. […]
Another Startup Implosion Set To Brick $700 ‘AI Pins’
We have been talking about the problem of ownership in the modern world for some time, particularly as it revolves around how digital or internet-reliant products are sold. It’s become such a prevalent problem that there’s something of a generic mantra for it: You don’t actually own the thing you bought. There’s a spectrum to […]
https://www.techdirt.com/2025/02/24/another-startup-implosion-set-to-brick-700-ai-pins/
Buzzfeed CEO Aims To Solve AI Slop Problem With More AI Slop
You might recall Buzzfeed CEO Jonah Peretti as the guy who gutted Buzzfeed’s talented news division and fired oodles of human beings back in 2023. As part of that transition, Peretti heavily embraced half cooked ‘AI’ technology in the form of generative and interactive AI chatbots he insisted would dramatically boost the site’s traffic and […]
https://www.techdirt.com/2025/02/24/buzzfeed-ceo-aims-to-solve-ai-slop-problem-with-more-ai-slop/
John Oliver’s Content Moderation Episode Isn’t Just Funny — It’s Absolutely Accurate
Here was a fun surprise last night. John Oliver just delivered what might be the most accessible and accurate mainstream takedown of content moderation myths we’ve seen yet. The latest episode of “Last Week Tonight” tackled content moderation head-on, while systematically dismantling Mark Zuckerberg’s increasingly dubious justifications for Meta’s policy changes. In this era where […]
Mississippi Judge Goes Full Prior Restraint, Allows City To Demand Removal Of Op-Ed Criticizing It
Blithely ignoring decades of jurisprudence, Mississippi Chancery Judge Crystal Wise Martin issued a temporary restraining order directing a small local paper, the Clarksdale Press Register to remove an op-ed that criticized the city for holding a meeting that was supposed to public without notifying the public about the upcoming meeting. This order was crafted and […]
Musk’s Big Accomplishment This Weekend Was Apparently Throwing The Entire Federal Government Into Chaos
Look, there are different ways to manage people. You could, for instance, have regular performance reviews, set clear expectations, and provide constructive feedback. Or… you could send an email late on a Saturday to the entirety of the federal government workforce (even those outside the executive branch) demanding that everyone list five things they did […]
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https://www.techdirt.com/2025/02/24/daily-deal-du-unlimited-by-stackskills/
ARPA Is Quietly Funding Cheap ($50-$65 A Month) Community-Owned Gigabit Fiber Access To Long Neglected Neighborhoods
The 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) continues to quietly help fund a number of extremely popular community-owned, open access fiber deployments that are challenging entrenched U.S. monopoly power, and driving super cheap, community-owned and operated fiber networks into long neglected towns. New York State, for example, just leveraged ARPA funds to give a $26 […]
This Week In Techdirt History: February 16th – 22nd
Five Years Ago This week in 2020, the fight around Section 230 was heating up with Mark Zuckerberg suggesting it should go away, Tom Wheeler disappointingly getting it all wrong, and the News Media Alliance coming out against it, while Ron Wyden stepped up to explain why modifying it would give more censorship power to […]
https://www.techdirt.com/2025/02/22/this-week-in-techdirt-history-february-16th-22nd/
Trump’s DC US Attorney Launches “Project Whirlwind” To Investigate Critics For Their Speech
The Trump DOJ retribution tour has begun, as Ed Martin, Trump’s interim US Attorney for the District of Columbia, launches a series of politically motivated investigations targeting critics of Trump and Elon Musk. Martin, a former talk radio host and “Stop the Steal” supporter with no prosecutorial experience, is transforming what should be an independent […]
Associated Press Sues Trump Officials After Ban Over ‘Gulf Of Mexico/America’ Nonsense
The Trump administration’s dumbest saga so far just got a bit more serious, thankfully. For the past couple of weeks, we have been talking about how, after Donald Trump ordered the government to change the name of the continental shelf extending from American land be renamed from the all-encompassing “Gulf of Mexico,” as the whole […]
Profiles In Cowardice: The Nobody Saw This Coming Brigade
Republican senators have seen the mass graves. They’ve met Zelensky. They’ve walked through bombed cities and witnessed firsthand the evidence of Russian atrocities. Yet now, faced with Trump’s embrace of Putin and denunciation of Ukraine, they can’t even muster the courage to state simple truths they know from direct personal experience. While Trump openly declares the Ukrainian […]
https://www.techdirt.com/2025/02/21/profiles-in-cowardice-the-nobody-saw-this-coming-brigade/
Yes, You Have The Right To Film ICE
Across the United States, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has already begun increasing enforcement operations, including highly publicized raids. As immigrant communities, families, allies, and activists think about what can be done to shift policy and protect people, one thing is certain: similar to filming the police as they operate, you have the right to film ICE, as […]
https://www.techdirt.com/2025/02/21/yes-you-have-the-right-to-film-ice/
While Democracy Burns, Democrats Prioritize… Demolishing Section 230?
While an unelected tech billionaire is effectively orchestrating a coup of the US government, violating federal law with apparent impunity, and disclaiming all responsibility for the chaos he’s causing, the Democrats have identified their top priority: repealing Section 230. You might think — in a moment when democracy itself seems to be unraveling and the […]
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https://www.techdirt.com/2025/02/21/daily-deal-the-2025-graphic-design-for-beginners-bundle-2/
Utah GOP Lawmaker Pushes Bill That Bans Pride Flags While Allowing Nazi Flags To Be Displayed
Utah state Rep. Trevor Lee is not going to like this headline. Too bad. It’s accurate, even if he’d like to pretend it isn’t. Trevor Lee is again pushing a bill that would ban government agencies from displaying pride flags, but would allow Nazi and Confederate flags to be displayed in classrooms, so long as […]