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Ah, Monster Energy. For regular readers of Techdirt, the name of the company alone is enough to get your eyes rolling harder than a teenager at a rave. Posts on the company’s trademark bullying ways are so legion that I dare not even begin listing them; if you’re unfamiliar with them, click the link and […]

We’ve certainly been talking a lot about the “AI Doomers” who insist that AI is all too likely to destroy humanity. However, even people who aren’t fully on board with the existential threat of AI do often say that, at the very least, it’s going to destroy jobs for most people, potentially creating huge problems. […]

Technically we’ve posted this analysis before, when we posted our entire amicus brief submitted to the Supreme Court in the Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith case, along with a summary of what we had written in it. But that summary also included other arguments, and a very condensed version of this one, that the First […]

For a few years now, the EU Commission has been pushing legislation that would undermine, if not actually criminalize, end-to-end encryption. It’s “for the children,” as they say. To prevent the distribution of CSAM (child sexual abuse material), the EU wants to mandate client-side scanning by tech companies — a move that would necessitate the […]

These MaxLight mini flashlights are designed to fit in your backpack or pocket. They are super bright and strong enough to be used in emergencies when you need reliable illumination. The 4 modes let you switch from super bright, medium, low, and strobe modes. These flashlights have a carabiner, kickstand, long-lasting rechargeable battery, magnetic base, […]

Elon Musk has insisted that “transparency is the key to trust” in rebuilding Twitter in his image. He says it all the time. But, of course, under Musk, Twitter has been significantly less transparent, choosing to skip its transparency reports, and generally close itself off. But one of the key methods for transparency on Twitter […]

We’ve noted repeatedly that as the streaming sector grows and consolidates, it’s revealing many of the same problems we saw inherent in traditional, shitty, cable TV. As in the need to provide Wall Street improved quarterly returns at any cost has them doing the sort of things common in the traditional cable sector they used […]

Here we go again. We’ve talked several times in the past about game publishers and studios going out of their way to shut down fan-run servers for online play. The excuses for doing so mostly amount to either claims that intellectual property laws require this sort of policing action (it doesn’t), that the publisher needs […]

The EU is currently proposing a plan to tax Big Tech companies, and throw that money at Big Telecom companies. For no coherent reason. The proposal is part of the EU’s efforts to craft digital policies for the next few decades. While this is purportedly for “broadband expansion,” it’s not… really. Both EU and U.S. telecoms […]

For years, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department has had a gang problem. And for just as many years, sheriff after elected sheriff have refused to address this problem. It’s not simply a matter of taking a hands-off approach to discipline. It’s been a matter of flat-out denial from sheriffs that deputies are forming gangs seemingly […]

While U.S. consumer protection is generally a hot mess, one promising bright spot continues to be the bipartisan traction seen on right to repair issues. For decades, tech giants across numerous sectors have attempted to monopolize repair, making it harder and more expensive to repair things you own due to repair center consolidation, annoying DRM, […]

Cops keep letting us know who they really are. They can’t seem to help themselves. They demand to be viewed as good guys, but far too often, they align themselves with fascists, racists, and opportunistic politicians who align themselves with fascists and racists. When the latest presidential election delivered a loss to Donald Trump, his […]

There are, certainly, all sorts of questions about what is generally referred to today as AI, and what it will do, and if it needs to be regulated, but it would help if we had law makers who had the slightest clue what they were talking about. Senator Rand Paul is upset about AI and […]

For as long as the FBI has had access to NSA collections under its Section 702 authority, the FBI has abused this access. Section 702 allows the NSA to collect content and communications via “upstream” channels. It’s a powerful dragnet and one that is supposed to be foreign-facing, so as not to violate the rights […]

xTiles is the simplest way to visualize your workflows, projects, and ideas. Visual search and real-time collaboration enable you to make your work life more efficient. xTiles allows you to collaborate and build off ideas by sharing notes, links, and media in a second. Whether you’re brainstorming your work and personal projects or just trying […]

It’s no secret that Twitter isn’t paying many of its bills, including the rent for its headquarters. That was rumored last fall, but became much more clear when the landlords sued the company in January. Now a new lawsuit, filed last week by six former employees, provides a lot more details on Elon’s view of, […]

Guess who doesn’t want to police themselves. If you guessed “police,” you win nothing but more years of zero accountability. Everybody seems to know cops don’t want to be held responsible for their actions, but those capable of forcing cops to be accountable for their actions seem willing to let the status quo remain in […]

There’s that old saying: the coverup is always worse than the crime. There appears to be something of a corollary to that: the freak-out over a leak is always worse than the leak itself. Let’s call that Geigner’s Law, because why the hell not? You should recall that Nintendo has been in full freak-out mode […]

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is on strike again. Given how much writers contribute to the entire entertainment ecosystem—every satisfying cinematic moment begins its life on the written page—the WGA is asking studios to grant professional writers a reasonable slice of Hollywood’s huge profit pie: a higher minimum wage across all media, higher contributions […]

For many months now, Elon has been promising encrypted DMs. And, indeed, we’ve pointed out that he’s absolutely correct that this is an important feature, and one that social media services should offer. The fact that he’s brought it up a bunch and it seemed to be a priority was definitely a good thing, and […]

JBL Live Free NC+ TWS earbuds deliver JBL Signature Sound with supreme comfort. Stay in the groove all day long without noise or any distractions thanks to Active Noise Canceling, while TalkThru and Ambient Aware keep you in touch with your friends and surroundings. Up to 21 hours of battery life and in-case wireless charging […]

Play Moderator Mayhem in your browser » Today, we’re excited to announce the launch of our newest game in partnership with Engine. Moderator Mayhem is a mobile, browser-based game that lets you see how good a job you would do as a front line content moderator for a growing technology company that hosts user-generated content […]

Satellite TV provider Dish Network isn’t having much fun. Despite oodles of direct government assistance during the Trump era, the company’s attempt to pivot from mediocre satellite TV provider to modern streaming service and wireless giant has been a hot mess. The company lost another 552,000 pay TV subscribers during the last quarter. In part […]

And here we go. Fresh after Nintendo got a pie in its face when, by intent or by confused retailers, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom leaked early, you just knew that the company would completely wig out. At first the company took the sort of useless actions it always takes in the face of leaks: […]

The Indian government really is showing the world what government censorship is all about lately. The country used to be somewhat better about speech issues online, but for years now we’ve been following the country’s descent towards censorship. Things really ramped up with the Modi government, where he seems ridiculously thin-skinned and unable to deal […]

First off, full disclosure: I live in this state. It’s one of those upper Midwestern states no one seems to live in and yet they do. I continue to endure the Trump-loving antics of our current governor, Kristi Noem, who somehow managed not to kill off a large percentage of the state’s population with her […]

Last month there was a lot of attention paid to Frank Ocean’s performance at Coachella, which has been described as “so bizarre.” Apparently there was supposed to be an elaborate ice rink involved in the set, which was scrapped at the last minute, and then everything about the actual performance, including that it was difficult […]

A rather strange prosecution of a former Uber executive finally comes to an end. And the first tech company executive to be convicted of criminal acts related to a data breach won’t be going to prison, as Joseph Menn reports for the Washington Post. Former Uber chief security officer Joe Sullivan avoided prison Thursday as […]

Get the most out of your devices with this powerful, compact charging station. This 7-in-1 charging dock has universal compatibility that works with most iPhones, iPads, and many other devices throughout your home. It also features a super-speed 30W Fast PD port and intelligent identification technology to keep the device safe and healthy. With its […]

Over the last few years we’ve covered a number of different very, very questionable civil lawsuits brought against internet companies under FOSTA. We had predicted that there would be these vexatious lawsuits, looking to hold companies liable in a sort of cash grab, where people would just go after the companies with the deeper pockets, […]

During the COVID crisis, the FCC launched the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB program), giving lower income Americans a $50 ($75 for those in tribal lands) discount off of their broadband bill. Under the program, the government gave money to ISPs, which then doled out discounts to users if they qualified. But (and I’m sure this […]

Last summer, we discussed a fairly silly trademark suit brought by Harpo Inc., Oprah Winfrey’s production company, against Roulette Productions, responsible for the “Oprahdemics” podcast. While the name of the podcast is obviously a nod to its main subject matter, Oprah, it’s also the case that the podcast is a journalistic endeavor covering the history […]

Analysts had been quietly noting for a while that Starlink satellite broadband service would consistently lack the capacity to be disruptive at any real scale. As it usually pertains to Musk products, that analysis was generally buried under product hype. A few years later, and Starlink users are facing obvious slowdowns and a steady parade of price […]

We’ve been swamped with some big projects lately, and that put a bit of a dent in our podcast schedule. We’ve got a whole bunch of fresh new episodes lined up to record, so you can expect lots of original content soon — but to tide you over until then, this week we’ve got a […]

Content moderation at scale is impossible to do well. And, contrary to what most people believe, a huge part of content moderation is not “we have to suppress this content that scares us,” but just an attempt to “stop people from being jerks to others.” Unfortunately, too many people get confused, and think that “free […]

The UK government still hopes to bend the internet to its will, but it’s constantly finding out it won’t be as easy as just declaring a bunch of stuff illegal. Tech companies from all over the world would be affected by its “Online Safety Bill” (originally more proactively titled the “Online Harms Bill“). Negatively affected. […]

The All-Inclusive Adobe CC Training Bundle has 15 courses to help you become an Adobe power user. You’ll learn about Lightroom, XD, Spark, and After Effects. You’ll also learn Premier Pro, Photoshop, and Illustrator, and more. The bundle is on sale for $50. Note: The Techdirt Deals Store is powered and curated by StackCommerce. A […]

Last week, Utah’s “porn license” age verification law went into effect, and the largest (by far) adult content company on the internet, Mindgeek (which runs Pornhub and a bunch of other sites), had all of its sites go dark for any Utah-based IP address. If someone visited from those sites, they got a video explaining […]

Despite oodles of regulatory favors and millions of dollars in spectrum sales, Sinclair Broadcasting is shuttering what passes for local “news” in another five markets, continuing a wave of layoffs making an already bad problem worse. You might recall that Sinclair’s long been under fire for heavily consolidating a very broken local news sector, often […]

When Putin decided to show the world that his government is so wildly incompetent that it turned what was supposed to be a weeks long takeover of Ukraine into a prolonged conflict in which Russian victory of any kind is very much an open question, he also attempted to keep the truth from reaching Russians. […]

BE THE TERRORISM YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD. FBI motto (ca. 2001) The FBI’s penchant for self-ownership dates back to its reinvention as a counter-terrorism agency, a move that followed a bunch of power and budget expansions for any federal agencies that might help George W. Bush avenge his father’s loss in the […]

There have been numerous stories about the new generation of AI chatbots lying when asked questions. This is rightly perceived as a big issue for the technology if it is to become routinely used and trusted by members of the public, as some intend. But in China, the problem is not that chatbots lie, but […]

To hear the recording industry tell the story, copyright is the only thing protecting musicians from poverty and despair. Of course, that’s always been a myth. Copyright was designed to benefit the middlemen and gatekeepers, such as the record labels, over the artists themselves. That’s why the labels have a long history of never paying […]

The internet has revolutionized communications, sales, and information distribution, and has enabled historic levels of porn consumption. These are all unequivocally good things. (Fight me.) What it has also done is revolutionize court precedent. Prior to internet ubiquity, courts were sometimes more receptive to plaintiffs attempting to hold third parties responsible for content generated by […]

Companies big and small count on project managers to ensure their initiatives arrive on time and on budget, which is why these professionals routinely earn six figures for their services. From setting up projects in JIRA to streamlining pipelines with Agile and Scrum, the Complete Project Management Bundle boasts 11 courses to get you up […]

It remains kind of shocking just how badly Elon Musk has screwed up Twitter. He drove away somewhere between 40% and 70% of the advertisers on the site before he took over. And the advertisers have been pretty blunt that the problem is that Elon Musk himself is a real liability. He’s made advertising on […]

Microsoft has apparently realized that it’s just good business sense to get itself on the right side of history, and the right side of the growing “right to repair movement.” The company has increasingly been urging lawmakers to support the Washington State Fair Repair Act, which would ensure that consumers and indie repair shops have […]

This week, our first place winner on the insightful side is Thad with a comment simply highlighting one of the details in the story about Elon Musk threatening to give away NPR’s Twitter account: In an email sent at 2:19 a.m. EST after the story was originally published, Musk wrote a message without any text […]

Five Years Ago This week in 2018, we took a closer look at how the sex trafficking statistics used to justify FOSTA/SESTA were made up. Epic was doubling down on its legal crusade against a 14-year old who cheated in a video game, Microsoft was defending putting a computer recycler in jail, and the FTC […]

There have always been panics. And those panics are often the result of government entities deciding now is the time to be alarmed by things someone claimed they saw on social media. All panics are overblown. What government officials declare to be the next threat to public safety is often something most social media users […]