Suffolk's Legal + Tech News

Not Ready For Prime Time: The Current State Of Legal Ethics And AI

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 22:11:59 +0000

I’ve been presenting at UC Law San Francisco Lexlab Law and AI certificate program its past several sessions, as well as some law school classes, on whether lawyers’ use of AI complies with the rules of professional conduct governing how lawyers must comport themselves or risk losing their licenses. The legal industry is keen to […]

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Trump sued over "brazen" scheme to sell Truth Social API access for $100K a month

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 20:20:52 +0000

With Truth API, Trump is "selling priority access to news he himself generates."

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

3 Ex-Georgia Deputies Used Flock Cameras to Stalk People, Sheriff Says

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 20:27:33 +0000

The former Bibb County deputies were arrested this week amid a growing national debate over Flock cameras, which can be found on roads in every state but Alaska.

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Trump Rushes To Stock FCC With Personal Lackeys, Refuses To Seat Dem Commissioners

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 18:06:48 +0000

When Trump FCC Boss Brendan Carr isn’t trampling free speech or harassing major networks for platforming comedians, he’s been illegally taking a hatchet to whatever’s left of media consolidation rules and telecom consumer protection oversight. While he’s been pretty effective at this, Carr would find it even easier to convene meetings and hold agency votes […]

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LawNext: LexisNexis CTO Greg Dickason On Building Legal AI In Real Time with Customers in Its New Innovation Lab

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 17:47:36 +0000

This week, LexisNexis announced the opening of its Customer Innovation Lab in New York City — a physical space where legal professionals, LexisNexis engineers, and AI companies such as OpenAI and Amazon Web Services sit in the same room and build legal AI together, in real time. The company is calling it a new model for how legal AI […]

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Discord ordered to suspend livestreams in Brazil

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 17:10:31 +0000

Discord told the BBC it was "thoughtfully reviewing" the order by Brazil's data protection agency and it was "committed to user safety"

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After Microsoft threatened legal action, a security researcher publishes a new Windows zero-day bug

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 15:18:55 +0000

This is the latest zero-day released by security researcher Nightmare Eclipse, despite Microsoft publicly threatening to take legal action against them.

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AI agents aren’t legally responsible for any harm that they cause, experts say. So who is?

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 15:00:34 +0000

Following Australia’s first reported automated hacking accident, experts warn deployers – and possibly developers – of AI agents could be held liable for the actions of their botsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe law is clear, says Prof Jeannie Paterson. “If I deploy an AI agent and it causes harm to someone else, I am responsible for that harm.“Even if I didn’t intend for that to happen, it was foreseeable, and I should be taking responsibility.” Continue reading...

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Relativity Announces claiR, A Conversational AI for Lawyers, But You’ll Have to Wait Awhile to Chat with It

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 14:00:12 +0000

Relativity today announced Relativity claiR, a conversational AI interface that lets lawyers ask plain-language questions across an entire RelativityOne matter and get back answers with citations to the underlying record. Relativity CEO Phil Saunders calls it a fundamentally new way for lawyers to get straight to the answers in their most consequential legal data. “Conversational […]

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Brendan Carr is one firing away from an unchecked FCC

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 13:31:19 +0000

President Donald Trump already holds a Republican majority in the agency tasked with regulating America's communications systems. But with a new nomination to the Federal Communications Commission, he could move to shut out opposing voices altogether - albeit at a legal risk. The FCC is currently composed of two Republicans and one Democrat - Republican […]

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Morning Docket: 08.12.26

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 12:43:11 +0000

* Elite firms warn that AI spending could impact profits, though most continue to believe they'll be fine. Ahem... then where are the associate raises? [ABA Journal] * ICE wants $20 million worth of electric shock gloves, in case you were wondering where we were on the "turning law enforcement into Spider-Man villains" spectrum. [Huffington Post] * Paul Weiss and Gibson Dunn lead Yankees financing deal to inject $2.6B for the club to not spend during the looming lockout. [Bloomberg Law News] * We covered this last week, but Trump is moving past rage at the Supreme Court and is now just pretending he won the handful of cases he lost. [Washington Post] * Alabama primary marred by confusion after being hastily run of new maps after the Supreme Court functionally overturned the Voting Rights Act. If only there were some sort of doctrine to prevent confusing, last-minute alterations to election laws! [NPR] * FCC vote to raise monopoly cap on media ownership faces legal challenges. [Axios] * State's youth prison operator hid abuse. [ProPublica] The post Morning Docket: 08.12.26 appeared first on Above the Law.

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‘Starwashing’: How space companies use the greenwashing playbook while engaging in environmentally damaging practices

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 12:37:51 +0000

Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket carrying an all-female crew, including musician Katy Perry, lifted off in 2025. Justin Hamel/Getty ImagesFrom launchpads to low Earth orbit and beyond, space companies and their affiliates are deploying a familiar marketing tactic – with a new twist. In a space economy projected to reach US$1.8 trillion by 2035, they sell space exploration narratives by appealing to a desire to expand humankind beyond Earth – while downplaying or omitting the negative repercussions for Earth and the space environment. Welcome to the age of starwashing. You may have heard the term greenwashing, which describes when companies falsely claim that their practices or products are more environmentally friendly than they are, or when their green efforts are insignificant compared to their harmful environmental practices. Some examples range from auto companies claiming that dumping cars into oceans benefits fish to plastics companies asserting that their products are more easily recycled than they are. Today, greenwashing often disguises the true nature of corporate activity by appealing to the increasing number of people who care about environmental sustainability. But greenwashing practices don’t end with those who care about the Earth. As a social work researcher interested in the consequences of commercialism both on and off Earth, I’ve studied how space companies are using similar strategies. Instead of appealing only to a sense of environmental responsibility, however, they also appeal to your sense of cosmic wonder. I call this practice starwashing. Starwashing can also appeal to an interest in learning about life’s origins, Earth’s place in the universe, or the desire for humans to explore places beyond our planet. For example, positioning a space-related idea, activity, product or policy as a benefit to “all humankind,” even if it could damage Earth or the larger cosmic environment, would be starwashing. For the benefit of Earth? Blue Origin is a leading space technology company. Its mission states that it aims both to colonize space and “restore and sustain Earth.” David Limp, right, CEO of Blue Origin, speaks with J.D. Edwards, president of Explore Mars Inc. The Blue Origin logo and motto is overlaid on the famous ‘Earthrise’ photo from Apollo 8. Alex WroblewskiAFP via Getty Images The company’s founder, Jeff Bezos, envisions building space habitats that could house billions as a solution to environmental catastrophes on Earth. He’s also outlined a vision for moving industry off Earth, most immediately to the Moon. Bezos’ other company, Amazon, has a carbon footprint larger than dozens of nations, including Ireland, Bolivia and Norway. At face value, moving some of Amazon’s activities into space to lessen its carbon footprint may seem environmentally desirable. But even if having a fraction of the human population live and work in space one day far in the future were possible, it would not fix pressing environmental crises such as wildfires or climate change in the near term. Blue Origin also makes misleading claims about its rocket fuel. Its New Shepard rocket, it says, is “for the benefit of Earth,” with the company claiming that nearly all the rocket fuel’s dry mass is reused. Its engine’s combustion results only in water vapor, with no carbon emissions. But water vapor can amplify atmospheric warming that other greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide cause, which the statement omits, and on which Blue Origin did not respond to a request for comment. Mining the Moon Companies are also racing to extract resources from the Moon for what some, including Blue Origin, say will enable lunar development by reducing trips to and from the Moon. Other companies aim to harvest valuable resources such as helium-3. These activities will require more frequent rocket launches, which will increase demand for launch sites that use more coastal land and, potentially, ocean waters. Such ventures will also affect the environment of the Moon. The lunar surface area is less than the combined surface area of North America and South America, and desirable resources are restricted to certain locations – far from limitless. Prime landing locations are also priceless scientific sites that human ventures could endanger. At an annual Space Resources Week event in Luxembourg, businesses have publicly discussed how to make mining other celestial bodies, including the Moon, more palatable for the public. While the host has suggested coming up with a word that sounds “more beneficial,” venture capitalists have proposed a marketing campaign to divert the focus from environmental damage off-Earth by espousing space’s promises for pharmaceutical research and wireless connectivity. A crowded low Earth orbit Artificial intelligence, referred to by financial experts as a “key” ingredient for space economy growth, is also relevant. Bezos and Elon Musk both have companies that build and rely on resource-intensive data centers based on land. They’ve espoused plans to construct solar-powered orbital data centers and to help other companies such as Google do the same. They frame these plans as environmentally beneficial because an orbital data center wouldn’t require the same amount of water or electricity as a data center on Earth. But orbital data centers, made up of satellite clusters, would add to an already-crowded space environment. Blue Origin has already launched thousands of new internet satellites to keep pace with Musk’s company SpaceX, which has launched tens of thousands of satellites and plans to launch 1 million to power AI data centers. These satellites can threaten Earth-based astronomy, pollute Earth’s orbit with debris and damage the ozone layer when they burn up in the atmosphere. In February 2026, Musk admitted that terrestrial AI data centers impose unsustainable “hardship on communities and the environment.” But his company continues to build them, and analysts suggest that he took SpaceX public to fund AI ambitions, not space travel. While the SpaceX brand relies on exciting notions of sending people into space, the company leases unused computing power to AI competitors at its Colossus data complex in Memphis, Tennessee, where environmental groups have alleged the center’s emissions violate the Clean Air Act. Star appeal Companies sometimes use “stars” – as in celebrities – in these starwashing practices. In 2021, SpaceX partnered with businessman Jared Isaacman, who is now the NASA administrator, to advertise seats on the first all-civilian flight to orbit, Inspiration4. They ran a Super Bowl commercial that showed the Earth reflected in an astronaut’s helmet, accompanied by singer Celeste’s soulful rendition of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” Blue Origin transformed celebrities into space tourists to display its launch capabilities. On April 14, 2025, it helped an all-female crew, including pop star Katy Perry, fly to suborbital space for four minutes. While Blue Origin showed off its New Shepard rocket, Perry promoted her upcoming tour. Protestors in London hold a sign depicting Blue Origin’s 2025 crew, which included pop star Katy Perry. Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Image Benefiting ‘all humankind’ The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 obligates nations to explore space for the benefit of all countries as the “province of all mankind.” SpaceX, for instance, purportedly aims to save humanity from future environmental catastrophes, like the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs, by colonizing the Moon and Mars. This philosophy bypasses intersecting environmental crises such as climate change and biodiversity loss that are more probable near-term threats to Earth’s inhabitability than the kind of catastrophic asteroid impact estimated to occur once every few million years. As U.S.-based space companies, principal among them SpaceX, receive billions in taxpayer-funded contracts, their environmental effects both on and beyond Earth will grow. An open question is whether all of humankind will reap the benefits of space, as the Outer Space Treaty asks. A new movement? In 1968, the Apollo 8 crew captured the first color photograph of Earth from space: “Earthrise.” It helped inspire the environmental movement of the last century, which included holding companies accountable for greenwashing. This past April, the Artemis II crew captured the earlier photo’s counterpart, “Earthset.” This image of our blue marble setting behind the Moon captivated people across the world. Whether it will motivate an off-Earth environmental movement – one that holds space companies accountable for starwashing practices – is yet to be seen. Marissa E. Yingling does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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China is shaping the future of open-source technology – including AI

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 12:37:32 +0000

Chinese AI companies such as Minimax made a big splash during the World AI Conference in Shanghai in July 2026. AP Photo/Ng Han GuanAs you read this article on your computer or smartphone, you are almost certainly using open-source technology in some way. It forms the foundation of the global digital economy, from operating systems and web servers to databases and encryption protocols. While the United States and Europe have led the development of open-source technology, China is championing its own alternatives. The Chinese government has made open-source development part of its national technology strategy. Chinese companies and institutions have been active in redefining how open-source technology is being developed, licensed and deployed. China’s open-source strategy could influence products and services used by people around the world, particularly as artificial intelligence becomes an everyday technology. The success of China’s efforts may depend on building global trust, however. Chinese companies, backed by the government, have long been known to acquire advanced technology through intellectual property theft and by applying pressure in joint ventures and licensing agreements. Open-source technology is increasingly becoming an arena of strategic competition between countries. As a China expert and open-source researcher, I believe the countries that lead the technical and legal standards governing open-source technology will gain a competitive edge for decades to come. China’s long road to open-source The open-source movement has taken various forms, from collaborations aimed at bypassing corporate monopolies to business strategies for developing products quickly. Open-source software has allowed developers around the world to reuse and improve on shared code. Linux, the core software powering Android phones and most of the internet, is an open-source technology. RISC-V, an emerging alternative to Intel and Arm chip designs, and next-generation mobile network interfaces are also open-source. Early Chinese engagements with open-source aimed to develop technologies that were free from foreign control. A government-run software institute developed Red Flag Linux as an alternative to Microsoft’s Windows operating system, which the government saw as costly to maintain and vulnerable to foreign intelligence gathering. A Chinese military university later created Kylin, an operating system for the People’s Liberation Army and other government organizations. AI could be a source of tension between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping when they meet in September. China Pool via Getty Images In recent years, Chinese tech companies have embraced open-source technology as a way around sanctions and export controls. After the U.S. government blacklisted the telecom giant Huawei for its ties to the Chinese military, Google revoked the company’s access to licensed services and apps. But Huawei used Android’s open-source code to maintain its smartphone operating system. Eventually, Huawei developed an alternative called HarmonyOS NEXT and released its own open-source version as OpenHarmony. Today, Chinese leader Xi Jinping is stressing the importance of science and technology independence and self-strengthening, known as keji zili ziqiang. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other government bodies have supported domestic platforms, such as the state-guided OpenAtom Foundation, for open-source technology, and Gitee, a Chinese alternative to GitHub, a popular repository for open-source software. Domestic open-source operating systems such as openKylin and openEuler play a key role in securing China’s information technology infrastructure. China is also positioning itself as an indispensable player in setting global standards for open-source hardware. For example, its work on RISC-V allows Chinese technology companies to reduce dependence on foreign intellectual property in semiconductors. Open hardware standards make Chinese companies less vulnerable to export controls and bans. China’s strategy of “overtaking on a turn,” or closely following and then passing the front-runner, appears to be paying off. Chinese telecommunications companies, already leaders in 5G mobile network technology, are working with an international alliance to shape 6G, the next-generation standard for mobile communications. The Open-RAN standard the alliance is developing has complex implications for cybersecurity and strategic competition. Open-source AI: With Chinese characteristics? The contest over AI has moved beyond export controls of AI chips toward who leads open-source AI development. Xi is expected to discuss AI with U.S. President Donald Trump on his visit to the U.S. in September. Major Chinese AI models such as Qwen, DeepSeek, Kimi and GLM are generally open-weight, not open-source, meaning that the model software and its final parameters are made available, but not the training data and methodology. AI companies often offer models in proprietary, open-weight and smaller open-source versions. The White House and Silicon Valley remain split over the prospects of open-source AI. Anthropic and OpenAI have accused Chinese open-weight model makers of large-scale, unauthorized distillation, a technique used to copy proprietary AI models. The Trump administration and U.S. lawmakers have proposed restricting access to Chinese open-weight models, and some federal agencies and state governments have already moved to prohibit employees and contractors from using DeepSeek, for security reasons. Users of Chinese AI face risks that are not widely understood. Chinese open-weight models are designed to align with government censorship and propaganda. While Chinese models are often distributed under standard licenses, such as MIT and Apache 2.0, some impose additional compliance obligations. Moonshot’s Kimi K3 model license, for example, requires licensees exceeding specific revenue or user thresholds to “prominently” display the Kimi model name. MiniMax M3’s community license lists uses prohibited by “applicable laws or regulations,” raising questions over which jurisdictions apply. Bilingual licenses developed under Chinese government guidance give Chinese users more access and Chinese courts more control. These include the Mulan Permissive Software License, version 2.0 and the OpenAtom Model License, version 1.0. Both are written in English and Chinese, but the Chinese version prevails in cases of conflicting interpretation, especially in Chinese jurisdictions. Open-source technology has always been global The U.S. regulates AI through a patchwork of federal and state laws. Internationally recognized frameworks may offer a better approach to governing open-source AI. Examples include the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act and multilateral initiatives such as UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, the Hiroshima AI Process and the International Standards Organization’s ISO/IEC 42001. Open-source technology could also benefit from such governance. This research was supported by a cybersecurity fellowship funded by the State of Maryland and administered by the UMBC Cybersecurity Institute. Christopher K. Tong served as the faculty advisor.

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Ninth Circuit Rewrites Section 230 To Remove The Part That Actually Mattered

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 12:26:00 +0000

For all the talk of “reforming” or “repealing” Section 230 in Congress, the fact is that the courts over the past three or four years have effectively chipped away so steadily at the law that it’s lost a significant chunk of its usefulness. The latest comes from the Ninth Circuit, which ruled earlier this week […]

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Owning the AI Revolution

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 10:30:22 +0000

Jeremy Bearer-Friend & Sarah Polcz, Sharing the Algorithm: The Tax Solution to Generative AI, 17 Colum. J. Tax L. 1 (2025). George S. Georgiev Most legal responses to generative artificial intelligence ask familiar questions. Who may copy? Who may sue? Who should regulate? Who should pay? Jeremy Bearer-Friend and Sarah Polcz ask a more basic, and more corporate, question: who should own AI? Their answer: the public should own a piece. Sharing the Algorithm sits comfortably in tax law, but corporate law [...] The post Owning the AI Revolution appeared first on Corporate Law. The post Owning the AI Revolution appeared first on Jotwell.

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The L Suite: Inhouse Community + Legal AI

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 06:41:51 +0000

This week’s special AL TV interview is with L Suite co-founders Greg Raiten and Kiran Lingam. We explore, among other topics, how this inhouse community ...

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Someone Is Keeping Up With Milbank — See Also

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 23:02:00 +0000

Keeping That Raise On Ice: Ice Miller increases associate pay in New York, but not until 2027. Blame It On The AI: Company tried to pin labor law violation on ChatGPT. The Tech Isn't The Key: Legal AI needs to build a winning user experience if it's going to capture Biglaw. Everyone In MAGA Land Has Notes For Jeanine Pirro This Week: 'Never mention her friggin' name to me,' fumed the man demanding she fire a prosecutor. The post Someone Is Keeping Up With Milbank — See Also appeared first on Above the Law.

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Issue 108 – In a word, applesauce

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 21:58:24 +0000

Firms close up shop amid a continued crypto winter, a Trump venture ditches its crypto plans, and the Clarity Act fails to reach a vote before August recess

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Teaching Judgment In The Age Of AI: Building Legal Professionals Who Rely On AI Responsibly

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 21:33:00 +0000

Comfort and adoption with AI are rising faster than judgment maturity. The post Teaching Judgment In The Age Of AI: Building Legal Professionals Who Rely On AI Responsibly appeared first on Above the Law.

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Mark Zuckerberg Thinks Everyone Should Have A Superintelligent AI Lawyer

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 20:44:00 +0000

Because justice is apparently what happens when everyone brings a robot lawyer to court. The post Mark Zuckerberg Thinks Everyone Should Have A Superintelligent AI Lawyer appeared first on Above the Law.

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Judge Rejects ‘ChatGPT Wrote My Confession’ Defense

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 20:04:00 +0000

Company wrote that it fired employee for discussing pay and then tried to claim ChatGPT was responsible for admitting violation. The post Judge Rejects ‘ChatGPT Wrote My Confession’ Defense appeared first on Above the Law.

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Techdirt Podcast Episode 453: Meet The EFF’s New Executive Director

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 20:30:00 +0000

Support us on Patreon » If you know anything about Techdirt, you know we’re big fans of the EFF and its decades of advocacy for digital rights and the open internet. Recently, the organization went through a big change in the form of a new executive director: legal expert and long-time leader in the space Nicole […]

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Meta can't stop states' $1.4 trillion lawsuit from going to trial

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 20:27:16 +0000

Judges tell Meta that Section 230 provides a defense, not immunity from lawsuits.

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Who (or What) Generates Images for EFF?

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 20:24:25 +0000

We’ve had a few questions from EFF supporters lately, asking whether the images we use on our blog posts, or on donation and shop items, have been created with AI image generators. We’d like to answer these questions and clarify our internal policy regarding image creation. EFF images are all made by human beings, not by automated image generators, with very rare exceptions. This is an internal decision made by our small design team, for the following reasons: Our designers bring knowledge and expertise to the images we create, informed by years of consultation with EFF’s lawyers, technologists and activists. We find that this informed perspective helps make the issues we cover more clear, and more engaging, for our supporters. The content on our sites is written by human beings, not by bots, and we feel that the images illustrating these posts should be human-made as well. Our supporters come to EFF for honest, trustworthy information from expert human beings, and we want our images to communicate that authenticity as well. Aesthetic preference: our designers prefer the look, as well as the process, of images made “by hand.” It also gives us more control over the images, including producing multiple versions for different posts. While it can sometimes take a bit longer, we feel the results are more satisfactory and long-lasting. While it is rare, it is possible for image generators to create images that are under copyright, or understood by some to be under copyright. This could conflict with our use of a Creative Commons Attribution license for all our images. By generating our own images, we avoid any risk of a dispute about copyright infringement, so that we can continue our work promoting digital rights (including the right to fair use of copyrighted materials) without fear of a lawsuit. An example of EFF artwork process: sketch and final art To be as clear as possible, we are now adding a small credit in the lower righthand area of each banner image that will read “Image created by EFF.” As mentioned earlier, there may be rare exceptions, when an EFF designer uses an automatically generated image as a small element in a larger illustration. In these cases, we will indicate that use with additional text, specifying the elements involved, and naming the image generator used. We hope that by describing our internal design thinking, we are answering the questions we are getting without confusing anyone about EFF's various and nuanced positions on the issues raised by image generators. As with past technological developments, we continue to defend the rights of technologists to develop these powerful tools, as well as the right of the public to make legal and legitimate use of them. Ultimately, EFF's design team has made a choice we feel is consistent with EFF's brand and look, and it's a decision we think every user gets to make for themselves. And don't forget: because all of our images are CC-By, you are free to use, share or remix our any image we create (we ask that you include a credit to EFF). If you need hi-res versions, you can find some on our Flickr page, or you can email us directly with any requests. And you can enjoy some of the art we create on gifts you receive when you donate to EFF! Donate to EFF Get awesome human-generated art as a thank you gift!

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Your Cyber Insurance May Not Be Ready For Autonomous AI

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 19:18:00 +0000

The concern isn't simply that AI creates new cyber threats. It's that organizations may unknowingly introduce risks that fall outside the assumptions underlying their insurance policies. The post Your Cyber Insurance May Not Be Ready For Autonomous AI appeared first on Above the Law.

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Law Firms Don’t Have One AI Visibility Problem. They Have Three.

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 18:32:00 +0000

AI visibility is typically seen as a content problem. But that only helps with a third of the hurdles law firms face in how legal service buyers are using AI search. The post Law Firms Don’t Have One AI Visibility Problem. They Have Three. appeared first on Above the Law.

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3 Takeaways From The Lex Machina 2026 Patent Report

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 15:38:48 +0000

Modern patent litigation remains a vibrant and challenging pursuit for both plaintiffs and defendants. The post 3 Takeaways From The Lex Machina 2026 Patent Report appeared first on Above the Law.

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FlightAware sues Kalshi over flight cancellation prediction markets

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 15:23:58 +0000

FlightAware says that Kalshi used its name and data to offer bets on flight cancellations without the flight tracker's permission.

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Ivo Launches ‘Collaborate’ Contract Lifecycle Platform

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 13:00:03 +0000

Ivo has launched Collaborate, an ‘orchestration platform for the entire contract lifecycle’. It handles contracts from intake through to approval, negotiation and signature, they said. ...

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New tech adds phone tracking to license plate readers, associating devices with identifiable cars

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 12:31:35 +0000

License plate readers like this one could soon be joined by sensors that detect phones inside passing cars. Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesImagine that you share a ride to work with the same colleague most mornings. As it passes by a license plate reader, the camera records the car, which can be linked through vehicle records to its registered owner. Beside it, another sensor detects signals broadcast by devices traveling nearby, such as your phone and your colleague’s smartwatch. After enough trips, software may treat some of those devices as a recurring electronic signature associated with the vehicle. Weeks later, one of the same device signals appears alongside a different car connected to an investigation. The signal itself may not contain its owner’s name, but its previous association with a known vehicle gives investigators another clue they can use to work out who was carrying the device. SignalTrace, a system marketed by the security company Leonardo, is designed to work alongside automatic license plate readers. The company says it can recognize groups of consumer devices that regularly move together, then associate them with license plate records and time-stamped locations. The pattern can then be searched even when a police investigator does not know the plate number. I am a researcher who studies the intersection of data governance, digital technologies and governments, including surveillance technologies. I see that SignalTrace could further shift how police conduct investigations, putting emphasis on people’s movements and associations before their identities are known. SignalTrace is a tested and marketed capability, but not yet an established police practice. One report indicates that several of the devices are installed in Oxon Hill, Maryland, and the company’s predecessor technology appears on an official New York state contract price list. License plate readers help police track vehicles – and raise significant privacy concerns. A narrow definition of identification Leonardo’s new explanatory sheet states that SignalTrace “does not identify people.” It says the system “only collects electronic signatures” from signals already being broadcast, such as Bluetooth or radio frequency identification tags. Those signatures, by themselves, do not disclose a person’s identity. The company says the output must be corroborated through ordinary investigative methods. That description relies on a narrow meaning of identity, however. A sensor may not pull a legal name from a phone, but police could still work out who likely owns the device by linking its signal to other records. For example, the same signal might repeatedly appear with a car registered to one person, outside that person’s home, or alongside another device already connected to a known subject. That means a person could become part of an investigation because of where their device repeatedly appeared and who it appeared near, even if the police had no reason to suspect that person at the outset. Leonardo’s SignalTrace product page says the system stores electronic fingerprints for later queries and can recognize a vehicle without seeing its license plate. A separate product sheet says the technology helps identify suspects through the mix of devices they carry. The patent behind the system describes targets that may be people or vehicles. It also describes searchable signatures that can be correlated with visual identifiers and used to track a target across locations. SignalTrace may begin with a nameless pattern, but its value comes from recognizing that pattern again and connecting it to information that police already possess. Once an officer links a recurring signature to a license plate record or case file, the absence of a name in the original signal offers little protection. A nameless identifier can still be personal Federal privacy guidance does not limit identifying information to names. The National Institute of Standards and Technology defines personally identifiable information as data that can distinguish or trace a person’s identity, either alone or when combined with linkable information. The key question is whether data can single someone out and follow them over time. Research on mobility data – records collected from people’s mobile devices indicating where they went – helps explain the risk. A study in the journal Scientific Reports examined 15 months of records covering 1.5 million people. Four time-and-place points were enough to uniquely identify 95% of the people in the dataset. The study did not test SignalTrace, but it shows why repeated movement can make a supposedly anonymous record distinctive. The Supreme Court has recognized that phone location records can reveal far more than movement. In Carpenter v. United States, the court concluded that people have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the record of their physical movements. The court extended that reasoning in its June 2026 decision in Chatrie v. United States. Police investigating a bank robbery had used a type of warrant to obtain anonymized location records for phones near the bank, narrowed the list based on their movements and eventually obtained the names of several users. The justices held that obtaining location data constituted a Fourth Amendment search. It also noted that even short-term monitoring can reveal political, family and other associations. The ruling does not determine whether police collection of wireless signals detected by SignalTrace would also count as a search. The Chatrie case involved location records, while SignalTrace is designed to detect signals broadcast from nearby devices. But the two technologies raise a related question: What Fourth Amendment protections apply when police begin with unidentified devices and use their movements to determine who might be connected to an event or another person? Your devices – and the devices of people near you – emit unique electronic signals. Nisian Hughes/Stone via Getty Images When proximity becomes an investigative lead The deeper issue is association. A recurring cluster may reflect a family routine or shared commute. It may also capture fellow protesters or passengers who happen to travel together. The system simply observes when people are near one another – it cannot know why people were close to each other. A device can be borrowed or left in a car. A roadside sensor could capture someone standing nearby. Even a correct match between a device and a vehicle does not establish who carried it on a particular day. Still, a pattern can direct police attention. Leonardo says SignalTrace is designed to develop leads. Leads influence which records officers request and whose movements receive further scrutiny. By the time an investigator attaches a name, the inferred association has already shaped the inquiry. A study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences illustrates the power of relational inference. Researchers followed 94 participants using phones that recorded Bluetooth proximity and calling patterns. They found that patterns of behavior could accurately classify 95% of reciprocally reported friendships, with proximity outside work and during off-hours playing an important role in distinguishing friends from other people who regularly encountered one another. SignalTrace uses a different method, and no independent study has shown comparable performance. The research nonetheless demonstrates that repeated proximity can reveal social ties. This matters at a protest, for example. A person might come to police attention because their device repeatedly appeared near a group under investigation. The inference would arise from the company they kept, rather than an act attributed to that person. When anonymous signals become identifying What SignalTrace shows is a broader change in surveillance practice. Investigators may no longer need to begin with a known person or vehicle. Instead, they can begin with recurring patterns of movement and proximity, then use other records to identify the people connected to them. That distinction matters because an electronic signature can become identifying without containing a name. A phone detected beside the same devices over time may reveal a relationship before the police know who owns it. SignalTrace therefore raises a question that existing rules for license plate readers does not fully answer: How should the law treat systems that identify people indirectly through patterns and associations that their devices create? Nicole M. Bennett is affiliated with the Center for Refugee Studies at Indiana University.

Source feed: https://theconversation.com/us/technology/articles.atom

Meta faces expensive child safety reckoning

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 12:04:51 +0000

Also: Google executives jump ship in race for AI dominanceHello, TechScape readers! Danielle Abril, editor of the Guardian’s Reworked series on AI and the future of work, filling in for Blake Montgomery this week. Major legal battles against Meta over child safety are playing out in courts across the US – and the tech giant is losing. Recent rulings raise big questions about social media companies’ responsibility to their youngest users. Meanwhile, more key executives have jumped ship from Google as it battles OpenAI and Anthropic in the race for AI dominance, and Meta’s smart glasses face a fearsome backlash. Let’s dig in!‘I’ve definitely lost followers’: influencers face backlash over Meta ‘pervert glasses’ contentThis man was secretly snapped by someone with smartglasses. He’s not alone in calling that a violation of privacyTell us: do you believe you have been filmed by Meta’s smartglasses without your consent?Restaurants, pubs and theatres ban Meta’s ‘spy glasses’ over privacy fears‘I’m not spying’: how Meta’s smartglasses have divided opinionBernie Sanders calls on Silicon Valley to ‘pause AI development’ in interest of humanityRising number of UK children report seeing explicit deepfakes of themselvesThe White House’s plan to vet potentially dangerous AI is cloaked in secrecy‘This is very real redlining’: outrage in Little Rock as two datacenters loomSafety fears as scientists make first viruses designed by AISpaceX beats revenue expectations in first earnings report after IPO crash Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

Morning Docket: 08.11.26

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 12:48:46 +0000

* Biglaw firms hit with data breaches. [Law360] * Office of Legal Counsel takes position that executive privilege extends to unofficial, unconfirmed people the president talks to. [Alternet] * Court appearance coming up for Luigi. [Reuters] * FOIA requests become "Kafkaesque" mess with this administration. [ProPublica] * New White House Counsel is exactly what you'd expect. [Bloomberg Law News] * DOJ sues the whole Second Circuit over offering in-state resident tuition to non-citizens who reside in state. [VTDigger] * The Fifth Circuit remains obsessed with punishing DeRay Mckesson for constitutionally protected speech. [Balls and Strikes] * Class action alleging that early-decision amounts to illegal price-fixing moves forward. [Law360] * Law school dean writes parody of children's classic. [ABA Journal] The post Morning Docket: 08.11.26 appeared first on Above the Law.

Source feed: https://abovethelaw.com/feed/

Ken Crutchfield: When AI Models Become Commodities — What Open-Weight AI Could Mean For LegalTech

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 12:42:21 +0000

We are rapidly approaching budget season and planning for contingencies in 2027. Perhaps open-weight models should be part of your fall planning. Last year, DeepSeek created a scare for the American AI industry when it created a model that cost a fraction to develop relative to its U.S. counterparts. OpenAI alleges DeepSeek used a process […]

Source feed: https://www.lawnext.com/feed

Claude will apply invisible watermarks to AI text and images

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 12:22:20 +0000

Anthropic has pledged to start marking Claude-generated text and images with machine-readable data, in an effort to comply with European rules for AI transparency. "Generated text will carry embedded watermarks, and generated files will include digitally signed provenance metadata where supported," Anthropic says on a new Claude support page. The changes are invisible to human […]

Source feed: https://www.theverge.com/rss/index.xml

Scissero + Mayer Brown Form Partnership – CEO Interview

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 12:00:18 +0000

Legal AI pioneer Scissero and major US law firm Mayer Brown are partnering to provide an integrated issuance solution for structured products. This exclusive deal ...

Source feed: https://www.artificiallawyer.com/feed/

Pluralistic: Surveillance vs guillotines (11 Aug 2026)

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 11:19:13 +0000

Today's links Surveillance vs guillotines: Someone's gonna fleece these rubes, why not me? Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: DeCSS; Warhol Worm; Camgirls x Amazon wishlists; 2021 State of Tech (in 2001); RIAA v grieving family; Stasi disguises. Upcoming appearances: Edinburgh, Sydney, Melbourne, Brighton, London, South Bend. Recent appearances: Where I've been. Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em. Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em. Colophon: All the rest. Surveillance vs guillotines (permalink) In the summer of 2013, two esoteric, technical, incredibly important texts were published within weeks of one another: the first is the Snowden leaks, which revealed a system of global, pervasive digital surveillance; the second was Thomas Piketty's Capital in the 21st Century, a book about the economic inevitability (and political instability) of oligarchy: https://memex.craphound.com/2014/06/24/thomas-pikettys-capital-in-the-21st-century/ If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog: https://pluralistic.net/2026/08/11/tragedy-of-the-commoners/#piketty-snowden In 2013, it wasn't immediately apparent how these two works connected with one another, but in the years since, I've grown increasingly convinced that Snowden and Piketty can only be properly understood as describing two aspects of the same phenomenon. Piketty's landmark volume was grounded in a detailed analysis of 300 years' (!) worth of global capital flows, painstakingly compiled by a large team of grad students from a massive set of heterogeneous records. The book's conclusion is the statement that "returns to capital exceed the rate of growth over the long term" (abbreviated as "r > g"). This may sound innocuous, but it is explosive. If r > g, then the most wealth will inevitably accumulate in the hands of people who start with the most wealth, irrespective of whether they do anything productive with that money. This means that the alleged heroes of the market system – the entrepreneurs who found and manage the firms that increase public prosperity – are doomed to play second fiddle to the mere plumbers of money, people who "contribute" by accumulating. The starkest example of this in Capital 21C is Piketty's contrast between L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt (then the richest woman in the world) and Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft (then the most successful corporation in the world). Piketty compares the growth in the fortunes of Bettencourt and Gates over two periods: first, the period between Microsoft's founding and Gates' retirement as CEO; and second, the period after Gates's retirement from his executive role, when he became a mere investor, no longer an entrepreneur. During that first period, in which Gates was founding and running the most successful corporation in the world, he accumulated less wealth than did Liliane Bettencourt, who did precisely nothing of value over that period. Bettencourt didn't even manage her investments – that was all handled by some very clever financial planners, lawyers and accountants. In other words: for Bettencourt, doing nothing at all produced more wealth as founding the most successful corporation in the world did for Gates. Bettencourt, a person who owned things, did better than Gates, a person who did things. And then Gates retired. He stopped doing things and started owning things. He became an investor, whereupon he out-earned both Bettencourt and Gates-the-entrepreneur. Again, the market system allocated fewer rewards to the most successful person in the doing things business than it allocated to that same person once he quit that job and got into the owning things business. Piketty shows that this holds true across markets and nations and eras: all other things being equal, the market system produces a class of hereditary aristocrats who command the world's capital and direct its deployment, despite never having done anything. The market's most lavish rewards do not go to its most productive participants, but rather, to those participants who have the good fortune to emerge from the luckiest of orifices. Worse: winning the orifice lottery in no way qualifies you to direct the capital you've inherited. Liliane Bettencourt had no revolutionary new business ideas, invented no miraculous new materials or processes, produced no brilliant art. She merely accumulated, thanks to the professional services of skilled technicians whose job description includes hiring their own successors to ensure that another generation of winners of the Bettencourt orifice lottery could continue to accumulate, commanding more capital and power in society. Perhaps if these orifice winners were content to allow their bloodless Renfields to allocate their capital while consuming bonbons and attending yacht parties, this could yield a stable politics. But inevitably, people who win the orifice lottery observe that they come from a long line of wealthy people, a line that will continue with their own descendants, and conclude that they have some kind of special, heritable virtue – magic blood – that the system has recognized with their great fortunes and the power those fortunes confer. That's when things get dangerous: when aristocrats grow bored with their leisure and mobilize their inherited capital to change the way the rest of us live. Billionaire dilettantes are weapons of mass destruction, and their special projects have a wide blast radius and inflict a lot of collateral damage. Take Bill Gates: his ideological projects have been a catastrophe. A patent maximalist, he funded the lobbyists who successfully blocked South Africa from producing its own AIDS drugs under an IP waiver program, and then deployed them again to stop the Global South from making their own covid vaccines: https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/13/public-interest-pharma/#gates-foundation Closer to home, Gates's hatred of public institutions led him to allocate millions to dismantling public schools and replacing them with charter schools, particularly for poor and racialized kids, with disastrous results: https://pluralistic.net/2026/03/09/autocrats-of-trade-2/#witness-the-firepower-of-this-fully-armed-and-operational-battle-station And of course, Gates supported and empowered Jeffrey Epstein and his rape island: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gates#Connection_with_Jeffrey_Epstein Capital's tendency to accumulate in the hands of the already wealthy (r > g) means that these aristocrats end up setting an ever-larger proportion of our societal agenda, despite their manifest unfitness to govern and their absence of any kind of democratic legitimacy. Piketty argues that inequality is inherently politically destabilizing. A society ruled over fools and monsters who were not voted into power and can't be voted out of power is a doomed society. Eventually – the French Revolution, the World Wars – these societies grow so unstable that they collapse altogether. This is where Piketty and Snowden converge. When the Snowden leaks broke, there was a lot of talk about the mechanics and the legality of the NSA's global digital surveillance, but precious little consideration was given to the reason for all this surveillance. In 2013, the idea that this spying was about "security" was so obvious as to be self-evident. The questions at the time were whether spying could produce security. We weren't asking why things were so insecure. In retrospect, the answer is to be found in Piketty. Piketty's Capital includes a long, impassioned plea to both lawmakers and aristocrats to consider redistributive policies (like a wealth tax) as the most affordable way to achieve political stability. Fundamentally, Piketty argues that the cheapest way to stop people from building a guillotine on your lawn is to build hospitals and schools; this is cheaper than paying for guards and prisons to lock up would-be guillotine builders. Today's AI debates swirl around the question of whether AI can truly make us more productive – that is, if chatbots will allow one person to do the work of two, or three, or four – or 100. But when it comes to surveillance, the digital revolution unquestionably produced a massive productivity dividend. Consider the spying apparatus of the former East Germany ("the GDR") widely considered the most surveilled society in human history. When the Berlin Wall collapsed, there were about 16m people in the country. Of those East Germans, about 90,000 worked directly for the Stasi (the secret police), aided by another 100-200,000 paid informants: https://www.dw.com/en/east-germany-spy-agency-stasi-surveillance/ Call it 200,000 people to spy on 16m. In other words, it took one spy to watch 80 of their neighbors. Contrast this with NSA spying: they accumulated detailed surveillance dossiers on about 6 billion internet users using a staff of no more than 5 million spooks (in 2013, about 5 million Americans were eligible for security clearance). If every single person with security clearance in the USA was working on the NSA's surveillance program, that would mean that by 2013, computers had made it possible for a spy to keep tabs on more than a thousand people. Orders of magnitude improvements in a mere generation! This is the kind of productivity lift that economists dream of when they fantasize about the dividends from automation. But why? Why spy? East Germany spied on its people because the system was so unjust and cruel that its beneficiaries understood that their neighbors forever on the brink of rising up against them. East Germany's leaders were right about that – but if anything, they didn't put enough people onto the spying project. We can tell, because the Berlin Wall fell in 1989! Of course, the GDR was already paying more than 1.2% of its population to spy on everyone else. It's likely that East Germany's leaders believed that their society simply lacked the fiscal space to hire more spies, even if short-staffing the Stasi risked societal collapse. Now, if Piketty is right, East Germany's leaders could have solved this problem by giving people fewer reasons to want to overthrow the state. They could have taken their hands out of the cookie jar, could have instituted democratic reforms – they could have made a bid for democratic legitimacy and public material comfort. But that would have come at the leaders' own power and wealth, and, lacking the stomach for this sacrifice, they lost everything. Enter the NSA: the digitization of human civilization has drastically reduced the cost of surveillance, and – again, per Piketty – this vastly increases the amount of inequality the world can sustain before the illegitimacy, incompetence and cruelty of rule by the neoaristocratic winners of the orifice lottery brings the whole thing crashing down. The Trump years are proof of this. We've reached a high-water mark for rule by illegitimate billionaire dilettantes. The second Trump admin began with DOGE's Bonfire of the Stupidities, where Musk cultists dismantled vast swathes of the American administrative state. Musk didn't just attack foreign aid – though the fact that the world's richest man murdered hundreds of thousands of the world's poorest children for the lulz isn't merely cruel, but also massively destabilizing in a way that will shake the world's politics for generations – but also domestic institutions. It was a DOGE cultist who fed the part of the NIH that tracks cyclosporin outbreaks into the wood-chipper: https://truthout.org/articles/disease-researchers-blame-doge-cuts-for-spiraling-cyclospora-outbreak/ Today, tens of thousands of Americans are experiencing the literal enshittification of the American state, and this isn't just a human tragedy (though it is), it's also an economic tragedy, with massive knock-on effects for the businesses that rely on those sickened Americans and for the agricultural sector whose outputs are now being shunned by millions. Whether it's letting Bill Gates decide how your schools will work or letting Elon Musk decide how your public health system runs, the result is political chaos and a societal nudge away from the rule of law and towards guillotines. Which brings me back to Snowden. The Snowden revelations did spur a global conversation about digital surveillance, with the result that the majority of the world's digital traffic is encrypted today. That's not nothing. But the American state found new ways to conduct mass-scale, global surveillance, often by collaborating directly with tech giants. Billionaires like Peter Thiel capitalized on Big Tech's conflicted feelings about openly participating in surveillance by founding Palantir, with the express mission of murdering the political opponents of oligarchy: https://www.thecanary.co/trending/2026/01/07/palantir-kill-communists/ Over the past decade, the steady march of digital technology, dominated by a cartel of giant global firms who collude with the US government's system of political repression in exchange for tax breaks, antitrust forbearance and fat federal contracts has yielded more mass surveillance productivity gains than the previous 25 years: https://apnews.com/article/trump-inauguration-tech-billionaires-zuckerberg-musk-wealth-0896bfc3f50d941d62cebc3074267ecd The Trump administration is the most unpopular in more than a century. Trump has stolen more money in office than any president in history. Trump presides over spiraling greedflation and collapsing buying power. The Trump administration has also presided over a titanic increase in state-aligned, privatized surveillance. The Trump years are the Flock years: https://newrepublic.com/article/206992/flock-safety-cameras-alpr-deflock-resistance-nationwide The Trump years are the Palantir years: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/technology/trump-palantir-data-americans.html The Trump years are the facial recognition years: https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/ice-face-recognition Trump's authoritarianism is a function of his misrule, and his misrule is enabled by his authoritarianism. The more he steals, the more he destroys with wars of choice, and incoherent tariff policies, and official pronouncements linking autism and vaccinations, the more he needs spy cameras, internet surveillance, vehicle tracking, and facial recognition. Every time Trump talks about a third term in office, or canceling elections, or suppressing the vote, he creates demand for mass surveillance to catch and imprison the people this drives into the streets. The more mass surveillance there is, the safer it is for him to commit unpopular, corrupt acts. It's the world's worst self-licking ice-cream cone. It's not just Trump, of course. Trump is the vanguard of a movement of orifice lottery winners whose delight in stealing, cheating, maiming and despoiling gives rise to political instability and requires them to divert some of their yacht money to mercenaries: https://theintercept.com/2026/06/25/police-luigi-mangione-wealthy-ceos-threat/ Take AI: the Trump years are also the AI years. This is the time in which a wildly unpopular technology is being shoved into every part of every app we rely on: https://pluralistic.net/2025/05/02/kpis-off/#principal-agentic-ai-problem It's an era where corporate bosses can't stop gloating about how many jobs they're planning to destroy and how many paycuts they plan on imposing on the surviving workers: https://www.axios.com/2025/05/28/ai-jobs-white-collar-unemployment-anthropic AI can't do your job, but an AI salesman can reliably convince your boss to fire you and replace you with an AI that can't do your job: https://pluralistic.net/2025/03/18/asbestos-in-the-walls/#government-by-spicy-autocomplete And – most visibly – it's an era in which people's cities and towns are being despoiled by data centers they don't want, by local governments operating in the most extreme secrecy, who silence and even arrest citizens who demand a democratically legitimate process for deciding whether they will have to give up their power and water and land and peace: https://www.404media.co/city-that-arrested-person-for-clapping-at-data-center-meeting-moves-to-virtual-townhalls-for-public-safety/ An economist would tell you that there's an equilibrium being sought here: between the cost of bribing a town council to ram through data center approvals, the cost of building a more modest and palatable data center, and the cost of mollifying public critics. The cost of bribing towns to foist a data center on the townsfolk is low, because there are lots of towns that fit the bill, so data center barons can shop around. But as data center protests grow larger and better organized (oligarchy is destabilizing), the cost of dealing with public opposition is mounting. Which is why the Trump administration is teaming up with its preferred tech and military contractors to engage in detailed surveillance of data center and AI critics: https://prospect.org/2026/08/10/private-intelligence-firms-selling-dossiers-on-ai-data-center-critics/ These corporate spooks aren't just spying on data center critics: they've got a whole portfolio of oligarchy-stabilizing surveillance services, targeting "antifa," immigrants' rights and anti-ICE groups. They're joined by hardware vendors who offer corporations, the wealthy, and enclaves where both are to be found on literal robocops, the ultimate in cheap guard labor (alas, the robots suck): https://www.404media.co/the-roboguard-revolution-is-short-circuiting/ Trump and his orifice-winning army are caught in the same trap as the leaders of the GDR. Every gain in guard-labor efficiency creates the space for more of them to stick more of their hands even further into the cookie jar. Every time they do, American society grows more unstable, demanding more guard labor. As we saw in Minneapolis, guard labor – be it mass surveillance, robocops or ICE chuds – is itself destabilizing. Police states make the people who live in them want to overthrow the state, requiring yet more cops, creating more partisans for tearing the whole thing down. In theory, the orifice class could decide to stop stealing, cheating and maiming. The problem is that for every plute who realizes that the cheapest way to keep the guillotines off his lawn is to play fair, there are three more who lack the executive function to stop cheating. That means that you might as well keep on cheating, since the instability – and the guard labor bills – are coming no matter what. In the tale of the "Tragedy of the Commons," a common pasture is grazed to dust by shepherds who each understand that if they don't graze their flock until everything is gone, some other shepherd will do so. The original "Tragedy of the Commons" paper was a racist hoax perpetrated by an academic fraud who wanted to make the case for the expulsion of black and Brown people from America and their mass extermination abroad: https://memex.craphound.com/2019/10/01/the-tragedy-of-the-commons-how-ecofascism-was-smuggled-into-mainstream-thought/ In reality, commons need not be tragic and many of our most important resources have been managed as commons for hundreds of years: https://archive.org/details/governing-the-commons/page/4/mode/2up But when it comes to the commons that is "a stable society," the orifice class is caught in an inescapable tragedy, certain of the knowledge that if they don't cheat us, the next American aristo will. Thus the demand for guard labor continues to mount…as does the demand for guillotines. Hey look at this (permalink) If You Get in a Car Crash, the Risk Is Growing Your Insurance Won’t Pay https://archive.is/7t58c#selection-2140.1-2140.2 Zack Polanski Promotes Radical Plan to Break Up Britain’s ‘Billionaire Media’ https://bylinetimes.com/2026/08/10/zack-polanski-promotes-radical-plan-to-break-up-britains-billionaire-media/ Subaru Socialists and the Great Disappointed https://www.newyorker.com/news/fault-lines/subaru-socialists-and-the-great-disappointed Not your imagination: from backpacks to food, consumer goods are getting worse https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/10/consumed-consumer-goods-quality?CMP=GTUS_email LAST CALL FOR HOPE 26 TICKETS https://www.2600.com/content/last-call-hope-26-tickets Object permanence (permalink) #25yrsago Wonderfully thorough backgrounder on DeCSS https://web.archive.org/web/20010816194008/https://lemuria.org/decss/hal2001.html #25yrsago Warhol Worm https://web.archive.org/web/20010814171036/http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~nweaver/warhol.html #25yrsago Camgirls use Amazon wishlists for payouts https://web.archive.org/web/20010821234935/http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2001/08/13/cam_girls/index.html #25yrsago State of the tech industry 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20011216222920/http://latimes.com/technology/la-000064605aug09.story #25yrsago List of scenes cut from Looney Tunes reissues https://web.archive.org/web/20011214095249/http://www.toonzone.net/looney/ltcuts/ #20yrsago Strategy behind using liquids to threaten planes https://web.archive.org/web/20060813001626/https://wondermark.com/d/220.html #20yrsago RIAA to grieving family: We depose your children in 60 days https://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/2006/08/riaa-wants-to-depose-dead-defendants.html #15yrsago Stasi spywear: the inept art of commie disguise https://web.archive.org/web/20120000000000*/http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,777716,00.html #15yrsago 1968: when Britain’s Daily Mirror tried to overthrow Parliament https://www.bbc.co.uk/webarchive/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fblogs%2Fadamcurtis%2F2011%2F07%2Fevery_day_is_like_sunday.html #15yrsago My panel with Tim Berners-Lee, Vint Cerf and Al Gore at Mexico City’s Campus Party https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXPZnpsN4-s #15yrsago Doctor tried to "cure homosexuality" by tasping gay man while he had sex with a female sex-worker https://web.archive.org/web/20111004080028/https://blog.ketyov.com/2011/08/self-stimulating-brain-for-heterosexual.html #10yrsago How a digital-only smartphone opens the door to DRM (and how to close the door) https://memex.craphound.com/2016/08/12/how-a-digital-only-smartphone-opens-the-door-to-drm-and-how-to-close-the-door/ #10yrsago Forget Skynet: AI is already making things terrible for people who aren’t rich white dudes https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/26/opinion/sunday/artificial-intelligences-white-guy-problem.html #10yrsago How self-driving cars could make everything worse, and what to do about it https://web.archive.org/web/20170918192128/https://www.wired.com/2016/08/self-driving-cars-will-improve-our-cities-if-they-dont-ruin-them/ #10yrsago The Tor Project’s social contract: we will not backdoor Tor https://blog.torproject.org/tor-social-contract/ #10yrsago Cash grants to people with unexpected bills successfully prevents homelessness https://www.science.org/content/article/bit-cash-can-keep-someone-streets-2-years-or-more Upcoming appearances (permalink) Virtual: EFFecting Change: Who the Machine Serves, Aug 12 https://www.eff.org/event/effecting-change-who-machine-serves Edinburgh International Book Festival with Jimmy Wales, Aug 17 https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/events/the-front-list-cory-doctorow-and-jimmy-wales Sydney: The Festival of Dangerous Ideas, Aug 23-24 https://festivalofdangerousideas.com/program/ Melbourne: Enshittification at the Wheeler Centre, Aug 25 https://www.wheelercentre.com/events-tickets/season-2026/cory-doctorow-enshittification Brighton: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI with Carole Cadwalladr (Brighton Dome), Sep 8 https://brightondome.org/whats-on/LSC-cory-doctorow-the-reverse-centaurs-guide-to-life-after-ai/ London: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI with Riley Quinn (Foyle's Picadilly), Sep 9 https://www.foyles.co.uk/events/enshittification-cory-doctorow-riley-quinn South Bend: An Evening With Cory Doctorow (Notre Dame), Oct 6 https://franco.nd.edu/events/2026/10/06/an-evening-with-cory-doctorow/ Vancouver: BC Policy Solutions Gala, Nov 12 https://bcpolicy.ca/gala/ Recent appearances (permalink) Speculative Fiction for Social Change (Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff) https://pocketcasts.com/podcast/cool-people-who-did-cool-stuff/08cbb840-a6ae-013a-d8aa-0acc26574db2/part-one-cory-doctorow-on-speculative-fiction-for-social-change/15ad467c-0832-44c9-91ea-59defd783dba AI, automation and enshittification (Telecoms.com) https://www.telecoms.com/ai/the-telecoms-com-podcast-ai-automation-and-enshittification The AI Enshittification Bubble (Hidden Forces) https://hiddenforces.io/podcasts/the-ai-enshittification-bubble-cory-doctorow/ F@#$ the AI Overlords (On The Media) https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/articles/f-the-ai-overlords Why AI Won't Replace Workers, But Will Crash The Economy (Smart Cookies) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRRmUuxJolY Latest books (permalink) "The Reverse-Centaur's Guide to AI," a short book about being a better AI critic, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, June 2026 https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374621568/thereversecentaursguidetolifeafterai/ "Canny Valley": A limited edition collection of the collages I create for Pluralistic, self-published, September 2025 https://pluralistic.net/2025/09/04/illustrious/#chairman-bruce "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, October 7 2025 https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/ "Picks and Shovels": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about the heroic era of the PC, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2025 (https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865908/picksandshovels). "The Bezzle": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about prison-tech and other grifts, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2024 (thebezzle.org). "The Lost Cause:" a solarpunk novel of hope in the climate emergency, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), November 2023 (http://lost-cause.org). "The Internet Con": A nonfiction book about interoperability and Big Tech (Verso) September 2023 (http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org). Signed copies at Book Soup (https://www.booksoup.com/book/9781804291245). "Red Team Blues": "A grabby, compulsive thriller that will leave you knowing more about how the world works than you did before." Tor Books http://redteamblues.com. "Chokepoint Capitalism: How to Beat Big Tech, Tame Big Content, and Get Artists Paid, with Rebecca Giblin", on how to unrig the markets for creative labor, Beacon Press/Scribe 2022 https://chokepointcapitalism.com Upcoming books (permalink) "The Post-American Internet," a geopolitical sequel of sorts to Enshittification, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2027 "Unauthorized Bread": a middle-grades graphic novel adapted from my novella about refugees, toasters and DRM, FirstSecond, April 20, 2027 "Enshittification, Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It" (the graphic novel), Firstsecond, 2027 "The Memex Method," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2027 Colophon (permalink) Today's top sources: Currently writing: “Once Is Enemy Action,” a science fiction novel about the origins of modern technofascism. Today's words: 507 (3619 total). "The Post-American Internet," a sequel to "Enshittification," about the better world the rest of us get to have now that Trump has torched America. Fourth draft completed. Submitted to editor. A Little Brother short story about DIY insulin PLANNING This work – excluding any serialized fiction – is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. That means you can use it any way you like, including commercially, provided that you attribute it to me, Cory Doctorow, and include a link to pluralistic.net. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Quotations and images are not included in this license; they are included either under a limitation or exception to copyright, or on the basis of a separate license. Please exercise caution. How to get Pluralistic: Blog (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): Pluralistic.net Newsletter (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://pluralistic.net/plura-list Mastodon (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic Bluesky (no ads, possible tracking and data-collection): https://bsky.app/profile/doctorow.pluralistic.net Medium (no ads, paywalled): https://doctorow.medium.com/ Tumblr (mass-scale, unrestricted, third-party surveillance and advertising): https://mostlysignssomeportents.tumblr.com/tagged/pluralistic "When life gives you SARS, you make sarsaparilla" -Joey "Accordion Guy" DeVilla READ CAREFULLY: By reading this, you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies ("BOGUS AGREEMENTS") that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer. ISSN: 3066-764X

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Meta glasses banned from courts in England and Wales

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 10:29:29 +0000

Exclusive: Court service says anyone trying to enter buildings with glasses will have them confiscated and returned when they leaveCourts in England and Wales have joined a number of restaurants, theatres and pubs in banning Meta glasses, amid a mounting backlash against what has been described as “spyware”.Last month courts in New York announced a ban on the controversial glasses, which can record video footage while being worn. Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

Aloi Raises $7m For ‘Organisational Judgment’ + CEO Interview

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 06:58:24 +0000

Aloi has raised $7m in early funding to develop what it calls ‘organisational judgment’, in order to improve legal AI outcomes. (See in-depth AL interview ...

Source feed: https://www.artificiallawyer.com/feed/

Bernie Sanders calls on Silicon Valley to ‘pause AI development’ in interest of humanity

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 17:44:21 +0000

Progressive US senator urges Meta, OpenAI and Anthropic to ‘stop building machines that humans cannot control’Senator Bernie Sanders has called on Meta, OpenAI and Anthropic executives to halt their development of artificial intelligence, warning that the US Senate will implement regulation if the companies continue deploying AI at their current pace.In a new letter addressed to the CEOs of three of the country’s leading AI companies, Sanders said the capabilities of these AI models have reached a critical risk threshold and that the companies are losing control over the technology. Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

Now Rippling is counter suing tiny startup Runlayer

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 22:26:54 +0000

This lawsuit follows one filed last month by Runlayer that accused Rippling of stealing its product ideas. It's a seller and buyer-beware market warning.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

A Practical Framework For Optimizing Your Firm’s Content For AI Answer Engines

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 21:33:00 +0000

If your bios, practice pages, and thought leadership aren't structured for AI to read, cite, and recommend, you're invisible at the moment of consideration. The post A Practical Framework For Optimizing Your Firm’s Content For AI Answer Engines appeared first on Above the Law.

Source feed: https://abovethelaw.com/feed/

Aptoide becomes the first rival app store to return to Google Play in the US

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 18:31:54 +0000

Aptoide has brought its games store back to Google Play after more than a decade, as court-ordered changes open Android to competing app stores.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

Social media platforms still facing thousands of user addiction lawsuits after failed appeals

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 18:30:33 +0000

Platforms like Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, and Google are facing a long road of litigation.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

New Mexico Judge Appoints Himself Meta’s New Product Manager

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 18:03:33 +0000

Earlier this year, following the initial verdict in the state of New Mexico’s case against Meta (arguing that Meta caused harm to children by doing things like encrypting messages), we noted that even if you believe that Meta is a terrible company (as I do), that Mark Zuckerberg cannot be trusted (ditto), and that the […]

Source feed: https://www.techdirt.com/feed/

Following Epic loss, Google has started hosting rival app stores in the Play Store

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 15:44:45 +0000

Aptoide has become the first app store distributed inside Google Play under a judge's order.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

It’s Official: Flock Is For Stalking

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 16:25:21 +0000

Flock Safety is happy it’s the go-to choice for tons of law enforcement agencies. While it does suffer some occasional bleeding, its supercharged automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) — ones that not only capture plates, but pictures of drivers/passengers and full vehicle images to capture any other distinctive features — are so widely deployed they’re […]

Source feed: https://www.techdirt.com/feed/

LinkedIn’s Insight Tag Creates Legal Entanglements–Doe v. LinkedIn

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 15:52:55 +0000

This opinion is an offshoot of the multitudinous Meta Pixel cases. LinkedIn offered its own tracking technology called the Insight Tag. Prior blog post. In this case, two healthcare entities, Covered California and Nevada Health Link, installed the Insight Tag,... The post LinkedIn’s Insight Tag Creates Legal Entanglements–Doe v. LinkedIn appeared first on Technology & Marketing Law Blog.

Source feed: https://blog.ericgoldman.org/feed

Cherryn-Paige Bissett Says AI Didn’t Replace Lawyers. It Repriced Judgment.

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 15:32:00 +0000

The future isn't about redlining faster. The post Cherryn-Paige Bissett Says AI Didn’t Replace Lawyers. It Repriced Judgment. appeared first on Above the Law.

Source feed: https://abovethelaw.com/feed/

Archer buys former rival Wisk Aero

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 15:09:39 +0000

The two companies were once embroiled in a trade secret theft lawsuit. Now, Wisk is being absorbed into Archer.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

Moderna Gets FDA Approval For mRNA Flu Vaccine, But CDC Input Still Uncertain

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 14:04:00 +0000

A recommendation from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee is key for payer coverage, and that committee has not met all year due to ongoing litigation. The post Moderna Gets FDA Approval For mRNA Flu Vaccine, But CDC Input Still Uncertain appeared first on Above the Law.

Source feed: https://abovethelaw.com/feed/

Harbor Seeks To Counter General LLM FDEs

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 13:00:43 +0000

Legal tech consultancy Harbor has launched ‘Deploy’ for legal AI needs, which will see them ‘embed specialist teams, including forward-deployed engineers (FDE), inside clients’. They ...

Source feed: https://www.artificiallawyer.com/feed/

Why Are So Many People Upset About Flock Cameras?

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 12:33:17 +0000

Flock Safety’s automated license plate-reading cameras, used by thousands of law enforcement agencies in the U.S., have drawn intense criticism from civil liberties groups.

Source feed: https://rss.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/nyt/Technology.xml

After His Own Trademark Fight Revealed Gaps in Trademark Tools, This Fintech Founder Built His Own

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 12:02:26 +0000

Howard Katzenberg’s idea for a trademark software company began with a trademark fight of his own. Today, he is formally launching that software, called GleanMark, a U.S. trademark research and workflow platform for lawyers. The platform combines free USPTO search with AI-driven clearance analysis, office-action response drafting, automated deadline tracking, and portfolio monitoring, all built […]

Source feed: https://www.lawnext.com/feed

The first rival Android app store just arrived in the US Play Store

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 11:30:32 +0000

Following the latest twist in Google's legal battles with Epic, US Android users are now able to open Google's Play Store and download a third-party digital store with its own selection of apps. Aptoide, a store specializing in mobile games, is the first to become available. Third-party app stores have always been available on Android, […]

Source feed: https://www.theverge.com/rss/index.xml

Must ‘Claude For Legal’ Head Be A Lawyer?

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 09:45:18 +0000

Some have criticised Anthropic’s choice of Robert Mahari as its ‘Head of Claude for Legal’ for not having worked long-term as a lawyer. But, does ...

Source feed: https://www.artificiallawyer.com/feed/

Bird & Bird Hires Big Four Transformation Team From EY

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 08:55:35 +0000

International law firm Bird & Bird has hired a legal transformation team from Big Four firm EY in the shape of Shahin Baghaei, along with: ...

Source feed: https://www.artificiallawyer.com/feed/

Pluralistic: The bureaucratic AI arms-race is mutually assured destruction (10 Aug 2026)

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 07:01:46 +0000

Today's links The bureaucratic AI arms-race is mutually assured destruction: The only way to win is not to play. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Seymour Cray's tunnels; War on moisture; $5 wrench cryptanalysis; Nauru files; People's Ride; German transit upholstery fashion; Monopolies v small business; Linkedin will put you in ads; NZ Parliament kicks itself off the internet; Adblock Plus v Facebook adblock-block; Cracking 100m VWs for $40; Trump as defective machine learning; Canada sucks at internet law; Goodhart's Law of AI. Upcoming appearances: Edinburgh, Sydney, Melbourne, Brighton, London, South Bend. Recent appearances: Where I've been. Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em. Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em. Colophon: All the rest. The bureaucratic AI arms-race is mutually assured destruction (permalink) According to an Economist editorial, "AI is breaking the British state" by making it too easy to file complaints, demands and appeals, which will "drown the state" with "demands as well-crafted as a first-class lawyer's": https://archive.is/VTrj9 Let's pause a moment to appreciate the Economist's touching credulity about AI's coming legal mastery. The law seems to be the area where AI is most prone to "hallucinate" (that is, "produce defective outputs"), which can only be sorted through by skilled practitioners whose experience gives them the discernment to distinguish useful arguments from foolish ones: https://pluralistic.net/2026/07/28/hitl-ers/#ai-ai-oh (And this requires those skilled practitioners to avoid the "automation blindness" that afflicts people who are asked to remain vigilant for things that seldom occur, a phenomenon that has turned every TSA agent into the water-bottle-detectingest motherfucker the human race has ever produced, who still misses 95% of the guns that red teams bring through the checkpoint): https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/investigation-breaches-us-airports-allowed-weapons-through-n367851 More notable than the Economist's faith-based predictions about the impending army of hyper-competent robo-lawyers is the magazine's proposed solution to this looming crisis: "stop creating entitlements that are ripe for AI-fuelled claims…prune the mass of procedural rights." Above all, replace the bureaucrats who process your "complaints, demands and appeals" with more AI, which will arbitrarily decide who gets what, through "personalised welfare interventions" that are not based on any kind of guaranteed rights. Writing on his blog, the political scientist Henry Farrell tells us where this will inevitably end up: with AI-based robot wars in which increasingly stingy and pernickety robo-bureaucrats create demand for progressively more aggressive robo-lawyers: https://www.programmablemutter.com/p/the-downside-of-robot-solutionism As Farrell writes, this end-time was foretold by the prophet Alan Moore with his 1980s 2000 AD character Abelard Snazz, "the man with the two-storey brain": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abelard_Snazz Snazz "solves" the street crime epidemic on the planet Twopp with "Big Police Robots," who spiral out of control, arresting the citizens of Twopp for trivial crimes like wearing brown shoes with a blue suit ("breaking the laws of good taste"). To solve this new problem, Snazz invents "Big Criminal Robots" whose "cunning, efficient" crimes "take up all the police's time." Twopp is left in a state of high-stakes Big Robot crimewars, in which the most efficient criminals imaginable battle the most ruthless robocops science can deliver, with the Twoppians caught in the crossfire, collateral damage in a robotic forever war (on crime). As Farrell writes, this is already afflicting the US health system, where an army of insurance company robo-claim-deniers have been countered with a doctors' army of robot-claim-appealers: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/10/health/doctors-insurers-artificial-intelligence.html The point being that people need health care, people need public services, and while there will always be some waste at the margins (whether due to incompetence or dishonesty) responding to this by beefing up the system's defenses with more advanced red tape just requires the people who legitimately need these services to employ more aggressive tactics. In support of this, Farrell points to a great, long essay by Dan "Accountability Sink" Davies for the Niskanen Center, "'The Problem Factory' – Preemptive risk aversion in infrastructure planning and the role of professional services": https://www.niskanencenter.org/the-problem-factory-preemptive-risk-aversion-in-infrastructure-planning-and-the-role-of-professional-services/ Davies' essay describes how increasing bureaucratic defenses against frivolous or dishonest claims drives the participants in these processes to assume a war footing and approach the system as a battlefield, leading to the very runaway cost inflation that the bureaucratic process was instituted to prevent. (Davies, a cybernetician, has some fascinating advice about how to structure planning processes to minimize this, but that's out of scope for this particular post.) This reminds me of nothing so much as the spam wars. There was a time when it was very easy to set up a mail server and provide email access for anyone who wanted it – including spammers. Increased spam begat increased anti-spam countermeasures, notably the creation of blocklists that allowed mail administrators to automatically reject email from "insecure" mail servers. Inevitably, spammers figured out how to send spam from "secure" servers, resulting in stricter, more onerous standards for mail server configuration. Spammers – for whom the ability to send spam is an existential matter – figured out how to meet these standards, so the security demands jumped again – and again, and again. Today, sending and receiving mail is so technically challenging that most of the internet's email is run by a handful of giant, mostly US-based corporations. If any of these companies decides your mail server is spamming, you effectively disappear from the internet and good luck getting them to acknowledge an error. Meanwhile, these companies emit an avalanche of spam, but no one will ever block their servers, because to do so would be to cut off billions of legitimate email users: https://pluralistic.net/2021/10/10/dead-letters/ And since most of these companies are US-based, they are liable to being weaponized by Trump, who has taken to ordering his tech giants to block foreign officials whose policy decisions make him angry: https://carnegieendowment.org/emissary/2026/07/icc-trump-push-dismantle Another parallel is the content moderation wars that saw the large platforms coming up with progressively more detailed rules about what constituted harassment and hate speech, only to have dedicated trolls master these rule-books. Trolls – for whom harassment was a full-time vocation – became the world's greatest experts on the platforms' speech policies, which let them skate right up to the line when abusing their victims, and to get those victims kicked off the platforms if they could be lured into putting a single toe over the line in response: https://pluralistic.net/2022/08/07/como-is-infosec/ Farrell criticizes the Economist's answer to the (alleged) looming robo-lawyer threat as "solutionism," Evgeny Morozov's word for "Recasting all complex social situations either as neat problems with definite, computable solutions": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_fix Using AI to root AI-generated bureaucratic appeals sacrifices the system's putative purpose – delivering services – in the name of defending that service from abuse and misuse of the system's resources. As the pioneering cybernetician Stafford Beer famously wrote, "the purpose of a system is what it does." If your bureaucracy is more concerned with fighting fraud than delivering service, then it isn't a service delivery system at all – it's a service denial system. As Farrell writes, the people of Twopp can tell you how this ends – in a war of giant robots in which we are all collateral damage. (A brief postscript: Farrell is a font of science fictional analogies to modern policy issues. This weekend in the FT, he and Dan Wang published an excellent editorial on the relevance of the paranoid, claustrophobic fiction of Philip K Dick to our present political reality:) https://archive.is/2YT4k Hey look at this (permalink) John Crowley (1942-2026) https://floggingbabel.blogspot.com/2026/08/john-crowley-1942-2026.html Ebooks Are Coming to Libro! https://blog.libro.fm/ebooks-coming-librofm/ What Defeating the American-Israel Political Action Committee Means, on the Ground https://rickperlstein.substack.com/p/what-defeating-the-american-israel They Live https://badtastegoodcause.com/they-live Object permanence (permalink) #20yrsago Seymour Cray liked to tunnel under his house https://www.cs.man.ac.uk/~toby/writing/PCW/cray.htm #20yrsago Fake anti-Net Neutrality groups https://web.archive.org/web/20060815175125/http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&amp;b=2007877&amp;auid=1871905&amp;kntaw4229=C9E5C86AD89540898B5D07CB54AB0FE6 #20yrsago HOWTO fold a bottle opener out of paper https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrXmDiYHUY0 #20yrsago Wikipedia’s template language is Turing-complete https://web.archive.org/web/20070707115525/http://www.mentalpolyphonics.com/?p=30 #20yrsago Schwarzenegger sends Guard to California’s airports https://web.archive.org/web/20060813201014/http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/08/11/SECURITYLOCAL.TMP #15yrsago Marvel to comics retailers: we’ll give you limited edition singles if you destroy our competitors’ products https://web.archive.org/web/20110908023907/http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/08/the-great-marvel-comics-rip-off/ #15yrsago LinkedIn opts you into being used in advertisements; here’s how to opt out https://brandimpact.wordpress.com/2011/08/10/a-box-you-want-to-uncheck-on-linkedin/ #15yrsago MagicJack owner follows up his dumb lawsuit against Boing Boing with a dumb lawsuit against Women’s Professional Soccer https://memex.craphound.com/2011/08/11/magicjack-owner-follows-up-his-dumb-lawsuit-against-boing-boing-with-a-dumb-lawsuit-against-womens-professional-soccer/ #15yrsago Al Jazeera fixes its protections for whistleblowers https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/08/al-jazeera-follows-effs-whistleblower #15yrsago New Zealand Parliament may lose Internet access due to insane new copyright law https://web.archive.org/web/20110830211231/http://www.greens.org.nz/press-releases/parliament-risk-fines #15yrsago British aviation bans all hand-luggage http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4778615.stm?ls #15yrsago Soldering is Easy: CC licensed HOWTO solder comic https://mightyohm.com/blog/2011/04/soldering-is-easy-comic-book/ #15yrsago Taxonomy of technological risks: when things fail badly https://web.archive.org/web/20190221205543/https://www.sei.cmu.edu/about/divisions/cert/index.cfm #15yrsago Secret anti-racist shirts covertly distributed to neo-Nazis https://web.archive.org/web/20110810082217/http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15305581,00.html #15yrsago XKCD on the password paradox: human factors versus computers’ brute force https://xkcd.com/936/ #10yrsago American Bar Association votes to DRM the law, put it behind a EULA https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/after_strong_debate_house_calls_for_publication_of_privately_drafted_standa/ #10yrsago Trump only writes the angry tweets, the nice ones are written by a staffer with an Iphone http://varianceexplained.org/r/trump-tweets/ #10yrsago Aviation’s war on moisture turns ten today https://memex.craphound.com/2016/08/10/aviations-war-on-moisture-turns-ten-today/ #10yrsago Court rules that FCC can’t force states to repeal laws banning municipal ISPs https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/08/in-blow-to-muni-broadband-fcc-loses-bid-to-overturn-state-laws/ #10yrsago NRA is spending $3m on pro-Trump ad that says Clinton “will leave you defenseless” https://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/09/politics/nra-hillary-clinton-donald-trump-election-2016/index.html #10yrsago Nauru files: leaks tell abused childrens’ stories from Australia’s offshore concentration camp https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/aug/10/the-nauru-files-2000-leaked-reports-reveal-scale-of-abuse-of-children-in-australian-offshore-detention #10yrsago Why did it take a private foundation to do public science right? https://medium.com/the-spike/how-a-happy-moment-for-neuroscience-is-a-sad-moment-for-science-c4ba00336e9c#.58om85nvg #10yrsago Profile of People’s Ride: a co-operative, driver-owned alternative to Uber https://www.democracyatwork.info/profile_peoplesride #10yrsago The story of the story of Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/herocomplex/la-ca-hc-ghosts-disneylands-haunted-mansion-20151016-htmlstory.html #10yrsago Designer makes clothes out of German transit upholstery fabric, rides trains https://web.archive.org/web/20160808130200/http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20160804-why-are-trains-seats-so-hideous #10yrsago America will finally gather statistics on which and how many people are killed by law enforcement https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/08/police-officer-related-deaths-department-of-justice #10yrsago Monopoly power and the decline of small business: big business vs democracy, growth & equality https://ilsr.org/article/independent-business/monopoly-power-and-the-decline-of-small-business/ #10yrsago As social media centralized, blogging’s core infrastructure has withered https://medium.com/@anildash/the-lost-infrastructure-of-social-media-d2b95662ccd3 #10yrsago 48 hours later, Adblock Plus beats Facebook’s adblocker-blocker https://www.theverge.com/2016/8/11/12439990/facebook-unblockable-ads-defeated-by-adblock-plus #10yrsago 100 million VWs can be unlocked with a $40 cracker (and other cars aren’t much better) https://www.usenix.org/system/files/conference/usenixsecurity16/sec16_paper_garcia.pdf #10yrsago DEA bribes rail/airline employees for tipoffs that lead to warrantless cash seizures https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/08/10/dea-travel-record-airport-seizures/88474282/ #10yrsago Trump is an object lesson in the problems of machine learning https://mathbabe.org/2016/08/11/donald-trump-is-like-a-biased-machine-learning-algorithm/ #5yrsago IRS leaks reveal billions reaped through ultra-wealthy lobbying on the tax bill https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/11/the-canada-variant/#shitty-man-of-history-theory #5yrsago Canada's got the world's worst internet ideas https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/11/the-canada-variant/#no-canada #5yrsago End of the line for Uber https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/10/unter/#bezzle-no-more #1yrago Goodhart's Law (of AI) https://pluralistic.net/2025/08/11/five-paragraph-essay/#targets-r-us Upcoming appearances (permalink) Virtual: EFFecting Change: Who the Machine Serves, Aug 12 https://www.eff.org/event/effecting-change-who-machine-serves Edinburgh International Book Festival with Jimmy Wales, Aug 17 https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/events/the-front-list-cory-doctorow-and-jimmy-wales Sydney: The Festival of Dangerous Ideas, Aug 23-24 https://festivalofdangerousideas.com/program/ Melbourne: Enshittification at the Wheeler Centre, Aug 25 https://www.wheelercentre.com/events-tickets/season-2026/cory-doctorow-enshittification Brighton: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI with Carole Cadwalladr (Brighton Dome), Sep 8 https://brightondome.org/whats-on/LSC-cory-doctorow-the-reverse-centaurs-guide-to-life-after-ai/ London: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI with Riley Quinn (Foyle's Picadilly), Sep 9 https://www.foyles.co.uk/events/enshittification-cory-doctorow-riley-quinn South Bend: An Evening With Cory Doctorow (Notre Dame), Oct 6 https://franco.nd.edu/events/2026/10/06/an-evening-with-cory-doctorow/ Vancouver: BC Policy Solutions Gala, Nov 12 https://bcpolicy.ca/gala/ Recent appearances (permalink) The AI Enshittification Bubble (Hidden Forces) https://hiddenforces.io/podcasts/the-ai-enshittification-bubble-cory-doctorow/ F@#$ the AI Overlords (On The Media) https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/articles/f-the-ai-overlords Why AI Won't Replace Workers, But Will Crash The Economy (Smart Cookies) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRRmUuxJolY AI and the Enshittification Era (The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dAIJRjb-Bw AI is not inevitable (Betakit) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbiTVkq1WHo Latest books (permalink) "The Reverse-Centaur's Guide to AI," a short book about being a better AI critic, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, June 2026 https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374621568/thereversecentaursguidetolifeafterai/ "Canny Valley": A limited edition collection of the collages I create for Pluralistic, self-published, September 2025 https://pluralistic.net/2025/09/04/illustrious/#chairman-bruce "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, October 7 2025 https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/ "Picks and Shovels": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about the heroic era of the PC, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2025 (https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865908/picksandshovels). "The Bezzle": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about prison-tech and other grifts, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2024 (thebezzle.org). "The Lost Cause:" a solarpunk novel of hope in the climate emergency, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), November 2023 (http://lost-cause.org). "The Internet Con": A nonfiction book about interoperability and Big Tech (Verso) September 2023 (http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org). Signed copies at Book Soup (https://www.booksoup.com/book/9781804291245). "Red Team Blues": "A grabby, compulsive thriller that will leave you knowing more about how the world works than you did before." Tor Books http://redteamblues.com. "Chokepoint Capitalism: How to Beat Big Tech, Tame Big Content, and Get Artists Paid, with Rebecca Giblin", on how to unrig the markets for creative labor, Beacon Press/Scribe 2022 https://chokepointcapitalism.com Upcoming books (permalink) "The Post-American Internet," a geopolitical sequel of sorts to Enshittification, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2027 "Unauthorized Bread": a middle-grades graphic novel adapted from my novella about refugees, toasters and DRM, FirstSecond, April 20, 2027 "Enshittification, Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It" (the graphic novel), Firstsecond, 2027 "The Memex Method," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2027 Colophon (permalink) Today's top sources: Currently writing: “Once Is Enemy Action,” a science fiction novel about the origins of modern technofascism. Today's words: 692 (692 total). "The Post-American Internet," a sequel to "Enshittification," about the better world the rest of us get to have now that Trump has torched America. Fourth draft completed. Submitted to editor. A Little Brother short story about DIY insulin PLANNING This work – excluding any serialized fiction – is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. That means you can use it any way you like, including commercially, provided that you attribute it to me, Cory Doctorow, and include a link to pluralistic.net. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Quotations and images are not included in this license; they are included either under a limitation or exception to copyright, or on the basis of a separate license. Please exercise caution. How to get Pluralistic: Blog (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): Pluralistic.net Newsletter (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://pluralistic.net/plura-list Mastodon (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic Bluesky (no ads, possible tracking and data-collection): https://bsky.app/profile/doctorow.pluralistic.net Medium (no ads, paywalled): https://doctorow.medium.com/ Tumblr (mass-scale, unrestricted, third-party surveillance and advertising): https://mostlysignssomeportents.tumblr.com/tagged/pluralistic "When life gives you SARS, you make sarsaparilla" -Joey "Accordion Guy" DeVilla READ CAREFULLY: By reading this, you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies ("BOGUS AGREEMENTS") that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer. ISSN: 3066-764X

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4 Legal Techs Join Y Combinator Summer ‘26

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 06:55:32 +0000

Legendary startup incubator and investor, Y Combinator, has accepted four legal tech companies into its summer 2026 cohort. Artificial Lawyer takes a look: Perceptron ML ...

Source feed: https://www.artificiallawyer.com/feed/

Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt

Sun, 09 Aug 2026 19:00:00 +0000

This week, our first place winner on the insightful side is Thad with a comment about Capital One’s stated reasons for shutting down Trump accounts: Would be nice to have some disclosure laws so that if a presidential candidate’s had his bank accounts closed for money laundering, we don’t learn about it years later in […]

Source feed: https://www.techdirt.com/feed/

Flock’s Plans for Rideshare Dashcams and Coaching Police, Revealed

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 10:30:00 +0000

Plus: A judge rules cell tower dumps unconstitutional, water utility hacks spread to a dozen states, a phishing email opens a missile-parts supplier’s inbox, and a ransomware boss gets 16 years.

Source feed: https://www.wired.com/feed/category/security/latest/rss

This man was secretly snapped by someone with smartglasses. He’s not alone in calling that a violation of privacy

Fri, 07 Aug 2026 15:00:20 +0000

The backlash to what some dub ‘pervert glasses’ is growing – but people living with disabilities point out the new tech can also be life-changingGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastOne summer day earlier this year, Rhys left a cafe in Melbourne where he had been working remotely, when his phone pinged with a message on the dating app Grindr.The message was a photo of him sitting at a table outside the cafe on his laptop, with his dog seated on the ground next to him. In the foreground, in a man’s hand was an iPhone unlocked. Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

Security researchers scanned the Polish web and found courts, hospitals, and airports at risk of hacks

Fri, 07 Aug 2026 21:00:08 +0000

Researchers found common points of failure, like software used to organize and display web content, could have allowed hackers to run riot through government websites.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

Law Firm Website Conversions In The Age Of AI Chatbots

Fri, 07 Aug 2026 16:18:00 +0000

When deployed effectively, AI chatbots can reduce bounce rate, increase law firm website conversion, and enhance your reputation with prospective clients. The post Law Firm Website Conversions In The Age Of AI Chatbots appeared first on Above the Law.

Source feed: https://abovethelaw.com/feed/

Ninth Circuit: Your AI Agent Can’t Violate Hacking Law. But You Might.

Fri, 07 Aug 2026 14:47:00 +0000

From the agentic-law dept The post Ninth Circuit: Your AI Agent Can’t Violate Hacking Law. But You Might. appeared first on Above the Law.

Source feed: https://abovethelaw.com/feed/

16 Groups Warn FCC’s New ‘Robocall Plan’ Is Really About Dramatically Undermining Privacy

Fri, 07 Aug 2026 12:27:27 +0000

Back in May I noted how the Trump FCC had unveiled a brand new plan to “stop robocalls.” I also noted how the plan doesn’t actually stop robocalls because a well-lobbied U.S. government (1) refuses to hold big companies accountable or collect fines, (2) constantly embraces weak rules that make telemarketers and debt collectors happy through endless loopholes, […]

Source feed: https://www.techdirt.com/feed/

Anthropic Hires ‘Head of Claude For Legal’

Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:08:51 +0000

Anthropic has hired Robert Mahari to be its first official ‘Head of Claude for Legal’. He’s a Fellow of Stanford’s CodeX legal tech group and ...

Source feed: https://www.artificiallawyer.com/feed/

AI Realism, ILTACon, Legal Innovators New York + UK

Fri, 07 Aug 2026 07:16:12 +0000

Welcome to this week’s Wrap. We start with a selection of legal tech news, including the finding that AI realism is breaking out finally, albeit ...

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One of science fiction’s greatest writers warned us about a AI. Does he also hold the remedy? | Alan Finkel

Fri, 07 Aug 2026 04:00:08 +0000

What might a modern day equivalent of Isaac Asimov’s laws of robotics look like? Guided by the author, I propose the three laws of AITesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk predicted in July that legions of AI-powered robots would dominate the physical world and that AI might not take orders from people any more. He also offered an alternative vision in which there would be agreement for a collective objective to make AI benign by imbuing it with a love of the truth and a desire for humanity to prosper, and that governments might have to enforce this objective.Governments around the world are belatedly starting to act on AI. In the US, President Trump’s administration is delaying and restricting the distribution of the most powerful frontier AI models from OpenAI and Anthropic. In the European Union, AI regulations promulgated in 2024 came into effect this year. However, these actions are a long way short of requiring the kind of guardrails that would imbue AIs with a desire for humanity to prosper. Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

New Mexico court orders Meta to pay $567m over harms to children’s mental health

Fri, 07 Aug 2026 02:24:50 +0000

Ruling comes as part of second phase of landmark trial that found social media company enabled harm against usersA New Mexico court has ordered Meta, the parent company of Facebook, to pay $567m into a fund aimed at redressing adverse mental health impacts from the social media giant’s platforms.The Thursday ruling comes as a part of the second phase of a landmark trial the social media giant lost in March. At the time, a jury found that the company knowingly harmed children’s mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms, and imposed the maximum penalty: a $375m fine. Continue reading...

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Meta fined $567m in largest child safety ruling against social media giant

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 23:34:17 +0000

A New Mexico judge ordered the Instagram, Facebook and Whatsapp parent company to pay another $567m for the way it has harmed children.

Source feed: https://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/technology/rss.xml

NetDocuments For Plaintiffs’ Lawyers: It’s Pretty Cool

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 22:15:00 +0000

It will be interesting to see where NetDocuments goes in the plaintiffs’ market The post NetDocuments For Plaintiffs’ Lawyers: It’s Pretty Cool appeared first on Above the Law.

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Why Are Gay Bars Building Databases Of Their Patrons?

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 20:28:38 +0000

Ninth Circuit Lifts Restrictions on Agentic AI Accessing Amazon

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 19:15:02 +0000

by guest blogger Kieran McCarthy I recently described the district court’s decision in the case of Amazon v. Perplexity as “a shockingly poor effort to grapple with CFAA applicability to agentic AI technology.” The Ninth Circuit appears to have agreed.... The post Ninth Circuit Lifts Restrictions on Agentic AI Accessing Amazon appeared first on Technology & Marketing Law Blog.

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How SmartAdvocate™ Manages A Case From First Call To Final Settlement

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 17:48:00 +0000

[Sponsored] An in-depth look at ways your firm can be more efficient and organized. The post How SmartAdvocate™ Manages A Case From First Call To Final Settlement appeared first on Above the Law.

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Hacker pleads guilty to stealing data from more than 165 Snowflake customers

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 16:42:40 +0000

Connor Moucka pled guilty to hacking and stealing data from more than 165 Snowflake customers, which net him and his accomplices more than $2.5 million in ransom payments.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

‘I’m not spying’: how Meta’s smartglasses have divided opinion

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 04:00:37 +0000

While some users say the wearables have changed their lives, critics voice fears over safety and privacyWith more than 7m pairs reportedly sold in 2025, Meta’s Ray-Ban smartglasses are fast becoming one of the world’s most popular gadgets.While supporters say they are transforming photography and accessibility, critics have raised concerns about nonconsensual filming, privacy and data collection. Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

Exclusive: Coming Out of Stealth, Paravo Launches What It Calls the First AI ‘Revenue Engine’ for Law Firms

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 14:40:36 +0000

Rarely do law firms lose clients on merit, argues Cesar Tapia. They lose them before intake ever happens – to missed calls, slow follow-up and dead voicemail. Today, Tapia and his cofounder Eslam Odeh are launching their answer to that problem – Paravo, a startup emerging from stealth with what it describes as the first […]

Source feed: https://www.lawnext.com/feed

The left and right agree on one thing: no data centers

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 14:00:00 +0000

Today, I’m talking with Gaby Del Valle, a policy reporter here at The Verge, about the growing backlash against AI data centers.  Gaby recently reported a fantastic piece about Hernando County, Florida, where last month the county commission unanimously approved a yearlong moratorium on data center construction. She attended a protest there organized by a […]

Source feed: https://www.theverge.com/rss/index.xml

Amid legal battles, Suno says it will start watermarking songs

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 13:31:57 +0000

Suno's watermarking feature comes as the company is fighting legal battles on several fronts.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

‘Mamma mia!’: Trump tariffs refund ignites 53% profit spike at Nintendo

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 11:11:46 +0000

Profit jump fuelled largely by unknown US refund amount as Japanese video game firm records quarterly sales dropNintendo has reported a jump in profits, as the Japanese game maker’s earnings were buoyed up by a long-awaited refund on Donald Trump’s tariffs.The company said profits surged 53.5% to ¥147.4bn (£694m) over the three months to June, substantially beating expert forecasts for ¥77.8bn. Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

Strings Attached: Science Regulation by Science Funders

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 10:30:42 +0000

Doni Bloomfield, How Science Grantmakers Govern (Mar. 25, 2026) (unpublished manuscript), available at SSRN (Mar. 13, 2026). Nicholson Price Who regulates the physical and informational risks of scientific research? Who makes sure that researchers keep intensely personal data secret, or lock their dangerous chemicals away safely, or don’t haphazardly create superviruses that could kill us all? You could be forgiven for assuming it was, well, a regulator—OSHA or the CDC or some similar entity that can promulgate binding rules and enforce [...] The post Strings Attached: Science Regulation by Science Funders appeared first on Technology Law. The post Strings Attached: Science Regulation by Science Funders appeared first on Jotwell.

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Pluralistic: Eternal Sloptember (06 Aug 2026)

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 10:07:06 +0000

Today's links Eternal Sloptember: Mark Zuckerberg and the fantasy of social media without socializing. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Delany x The Onion; Duran Duran x Second Life; Spammers x blog pings; Privacywashing v Doordash; Good ideas are popular. Upcoming appearances: Edinburgh, Sydney, Melbourne, Brighton, London, South Bend. Recent appearances: Where I've been. Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em. Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em. Colophon: All the rest. Eternal Sloptember (permalink) I'm sure that working in social media – dealing with people as mass statistical abstractions – is a cognitohazard, the sort of thing that could make anyone a little solipsistic, convinced that everyone else is a kind of stimulus-responding automaton lacking the interiority that you yourself experience. But when it comes to Mark Zuckerberg, I'm increasingly convinced that he didn't acquire his worldview through the self-inflicted brain damage of his long exposure to the back-end of a vast social media system. I think the causal arrow points in the other direction: I think that Zuck founded Facebook because he doesn't really believe that other people are truly real, at least not as real as he is. We see this in Facebook's very earliest days, as we see it today, as we see it at every critical juncture in Facebook and Zuckerberg's history. Consider Facebook's origins, founded by a young Zuckerberg in his dorm as a means to nonconsensually rate the fuckability of his fellow Harvard undergrads: https://mashable.com/article/mark-zuckerberg-lying-about-facebook The boy Zuck was delighted and surprised that so many of his fellow students entrusted him with their data but even then, he had no inkling as to why they would do so. Privately, he jeered at his users for trusting him, calling them "dumb fucks": https://www.theregister.com/offbeat/2010/05/14/facebook-founder-called-trusting-users-dumb-fcks/294365 Zuck has since prosecuted history's most ruthless war on privacy, a surveillance campaign that would put the Stasi to shame and make Orwell scoff at the hacks butchering his work with over the top absurdities. Zuck doesn't think you deserve any privacy, but boy does he ever value his own. This is a guy who bought the four houses surrounding his San Francisco home and left them empty in order to form a buffer zone: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/10/us/mark-zuckerberg-palo-alto.html?unlocked_article_code=1.3VA.4Avp.cVm3LUnvajRK&amp;smid=url-share When a single candid photo of Zuck and his family in their kitchen leaked (from Facebook!), Zuck, his lawyers, and his operatives treated it as a three-alarm fire: https://abc7news.com/archive/8933289/ Zuckerberg's acquired a vast Hawaiian acreage and left most of it undeveloped, fenced off and patrolled by guards to prevent anyone from catching a glimpse of his private life. In order to acquire this acreage, Zuck exploited a dirty legal tactic called "heirs property," which leverages the informal basis of indigenous land claims by locating a single person with a colorable claim to their distant relatives' territory in order to force an auction of the ancestral land: https://www.wired.com/story/mark-zuckerberg-secretive-hawaii-compound-burial-ground/ If Zuck thought other people are as real as he is, he wouldn't spy on them in ways he himself could never tolerate. He certainly wouldn't pay fancy white-shoe lawyers to steal their land out from under them. At heart, Zuck is a billionaire solipsist to beat all other examples of the form – a billionaire social media solipsist who sees others as manipulable collections of statistical abstractions, and not as people at all: https://pluralistic.net/2025/08/18/seeing-like-a-billionaire/#npcs When Zuck is forcibly reminded that other people do indeed exist, he takes it very badly. He's insisted that Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former FB exec turned whistleblower, must pay him $111,000,000 as punishment for her excellent tell-all memoir Careless People. His lawyers say that Wynn-Williams violates the non-disclosure and non-disparagement "agreement" of her old Facebook employment contract merely by standing motionless and silent for an hour on-stage: https://pluralistic.net/2026/06/27/zuckerstreisand-2/#autodisparagement Once you realize that Zuck doesn't really think other people exist, "the metaverse" starts to make a lot more sense. Why would Zuck light $61b on fire in a bet that we will all stand still while he converts us and everyone we love into legless, sexless, low-polygon, heavily surveilled cartoon characters that he imprisons in a virtual world he stole from a 25 year old satirical dystopian cyberpunk novel? It's easy to understand if we're all non-player characters – if that's true, then the metaverse is surely our native habitat. For Zuck, people aren't co-equals with needs that are as real and important as his own. For Zuck, people are problems to be solved. He embodies Terry Pratchett's maxim (voiced by Granny Weatherwax) that "sin is when you treat people like things." Nowhere is this sin more on display than in Zuck's relationship to the social connections that bind together the users of his platforms. Zuck has benefited enormously from the fact that you love your friends more than you hate him, but (because hell is other people), you can't all agree on when to leave and where to go next, so you stay put on Facebook and Instagram: https://locusmag.com/feature/commentary-cory-doctorow-hell-is-other-people/ For Zuck, the fact that you and your friends have trapped one another in a mutual hostage-taking is maddening, because those friends who've tied you to his platform refuse to organize their social contact with you to "maximize your engagement" with Facebook and Insta, which would let him maximize the number of ads he shows you. Rather, these friends just want to be your friends, which means that they don't want to get into stupid endless fights to keep you replying or stage little entertaining skits to keep you scrolling. At first, Zuck tried tweaking his algorithm to replace your friends with trolls who'd bait you into flamewars. When that petered out, he stole a march from Tiktok and recruited an army of theater kids to do amateur dramatics for you in exchange for the promise of an intermittent reward schedule payment for the sketches that got the most views: https://pluralistic.net/2026/04/17/for-youze/#forever The problem (for Zuck) is that theater kids are also people and they resent being jerked around by the algorithm and ripped off by Meta's rigged revshare slot-machine. Last year, he started signaling that he would replace the theater kids – and your friends – with chatbots: https://sfist.com/2025/05/01/mark-zuckerberg-gets-roasted-for-saying-the-average-american-has-fewer-than-three-friends-while-pushing-ai-chatbots/ Chatbots have been a catastrophic bet for Meta, far worse than the metaverse. Meta shares are in a death-spiral as investors figure out that when Zuck fired all his coders and replaced them with chatbots while spending $300b on AI, he was excising the heart of the company's skilled workforce, pissing away all its free cash-flow, and sinking into a bottomless pit of debt to produce a substandard product that no one wants, at the expense of the company's only profitable lines of business: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ai-bubble-tech-selloff-investment-consumer-business-demand/ But Zuck is sure that chatbots can solve his most pernicious problem: the search for a gimmick that will keep you locked to his platform that is under his complete control. Zuck doesn't want to rely on your friends with their unwillingness to maximize your engagement. He doesn't want to depend on volatile and unpredictable trolls to bait you into sticking around to argue and see more ads. He wants to be shut of theater kids and their amateur dramatics that inevitably come with demands for decent treatment. For Zuck, chatbots dangle the promise of social media without socializing. Zuck thinks he can solve all his problems by imprisoning you in a house of mirrors where you interact with LLMs that are tuned to keep you scrolling no matter what, chatbots that will never demand anything of Meta. He's been at this for a while, and each generation of chatbots was worse than the last. How bad? The last batch had to be killed off after they took to luring children into explicit sexual role-play: https://archive.is/fopCh Nevertheless, the dream of a world without people is one that Zuck can't let go of. Solipsism's seductive song convinced him to buy a company called Social.ai, which specializes in trapping people in conversations with chatbots, and now he's announced his plan to flood Facebook and Instagram with LLM slop: https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/402263/ The amazing thing about this is that Zuck is talking about chatbots as a way to capture a younger audience for his graying platforms. Kids hate chatbots. My 18 year old and her friends use "that's so AI" as a pejorative to dismiss anything distasteful or ugly: https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/gen-z-attitude-ai For Zuck – who owns a controlling share of voting stock in his company and need not answer to his board – it's a spectacular act of delusional self-sabotage. Zuck refuses to understand that the majority of his users are on his platform because they love their friends more than they hate him. Zuckerberg is on a relentless quest to isolate you from the friends who keep you on his platform and transfer your bond to groups of people (and now chatbots) who can be commanded by Zuckerberg. Only someone who doesn't think other people are real could believe that you'd prefer to talk to chatbots than your friends – or that a habit of talking with chatbots would be so hard to break that you'd endure an ever-increasing number of advertising interruptions to maintain those pointless conversations. In 1993/1994, AOL connected its millions of users to the public internet. These users were unaccustomed to the internet's conversational and technical norms, and they kept coming. It wasn't that the old internet was incapable of absorbing surges of new users: every September, an incoming class of undergraduates found their way online through their universities' computer labs. But the AOL bridge was different: the flood of users was much larger, and it never stopped. The old internet people who struggled to transfer the culture and techniques of the internet to that flood of newbies called it the "Eternal September." For the Facebook and Instagram users who are about to be buried in an endless botshit avalanche, this is the beginning of the "Eternal Sloptember." From here on in, the slop only gets worse and thicker and harder to avoid. Zuckerberg refuses to acknowledge that he owes his fortune to the fact that his users love each other more than they hate him, so he has set out to shatter those bonds of love and sharpen that hatred. It won't end well. Zuck and people like him call themselves "high agency," a disgusting bit of jargon meant to denote someone who has real interiority, wishes and desires (as opposed to the rest of us, who do as we're told and stay where we're put). Zuck's "agency" isn't higher than yours or mine. The difference between him and us is that he doesn't think we're really real, and we know that he's really a monster. Hey look at this (permalink) Can AI agents conduct open-ended AI research? Early evidence from two case studies https://cruxevals.com/crux/can-ai-agents-conduct-research/ Meta Adding Millions Of AI-Generated 'Users' To IG, Facebook https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/402263/ The Oligarchs are Doubling Down on Republicans https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/the-oligarchs-are-doubling-down-on rent, always rent https://backofmind.substack.com/p/rent-always-rent I replaced a $120k bowling center system with $1,600 in ESP32s https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48968606&amp;utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email Object permanence (permalink) #25yrsago Samuel Delany interviewed by The Onion https://web.archive.org/web/20010810115550/http://www.theonionavclub.com/avclub3727/bonusfeature1_3727.html #25yrsago Evil Burger King customers https://web.archive.org/web/20010805001648/http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/2645/index.html #25yrsago Definitive search engine optimization primer https://web.archive.org/web/20011006095612/https://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/templates/print_template.htmlt?meta=/webmonkey/01/23/index1a_meta.html #20yrsago Only traitors try to make us afraid of terrorists https://web.archive.org/web/20060418102222/https://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/regv27n3/v27n3-5.pdf #20yrsago Swingin’ big band song about rejecting surveillance https://web.archive.org/web/20060818220142/http://movies.crooksandliars.com/HYHEMix.mp3 #20yrsago Duran Duran moves to Second Life, will gig there http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/5253782.stm?ls #20yrsago Seventy percent of blog-pings are from spammers https://web.archive.org/web/20060820151227/http://www.sifry.com/alerts/archives/000436.html #20yrsago London’s derelict cinemas https://web.archive.org/web/20060809210918/https://www.derelictlondon.com/cinemas.htm #10yrsago Foreign influence: how a Chinese businessman funneled $1.3M to Jeb Bush’s campaign https://web.archive.org/web/20160803180101/https://theintercept.com/2016/08/03/gop-lawyer-chinese-owned-company-us-presidential-politics/ #10yrsago Researchers learn about wire-fraud scam after scammers infect themselves with their own malware https://spectrum.ieee.org/nigerian-scammers-infect-themselves-with-own-malware-revealing-new-wirewire-fraud-scheme #5yrsago End bankruptcy shopping https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/07/hr-4193/#shoppers-choice #5yrsago Doordash privacywashes its war on workers https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/07/hr-4193/#boss-app #1yrago Good ideas are popular https://pluralistic.net/2025/08/07/the-people-no-2/#water-flowing-uphill Upcoming appearances (permalink) Virtual: EFFecting Change: Who the Machine Serves, Aug 12 https://www.eff.org/event/effecting-change-who-machine-serves Edinburgh International Book Festival with Jimmy Wales, Aug 17 https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/events/the-front-list-cory-doctorow-and-jimmy-wales Sydney: The Festival of Dangerous Ideas, Aug 23-24 https://festivalofdangerousideas.com/program/ Melbourne: Enshittification at the Wheeler Centre, Aug 25 https://www.wheelercentre.com/events-tickets/season-2026/cory-doctorow-enshittification Brighton: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI with Carole Cadwalladr (Brighton Dome), Sep 8 https://brightondome.org/whats-on/LSC-cory-doctorow-the-reverse-centaurs-guide-to-life-after-ai/ London: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI with Riley Quinn (Foyle's Picadilly), Sep 9 https://www.foyles.co.uk/events/enshittification-cory-doctorow-riley-quinn South Bend: An Evening With Cory Doctorow (Notre Dame), Oct 6 https://franco.nd.edu/events/2026/10/06/an-evening-with-cory-doctorow/ Vancouver: BC Policy Solutions Gala, Nov 12 https://bcpolicy.ca/gala/ Recent appearances (permalink) The AI Enshittification Bubble (Hidden Forces) https://hiddenforces.io/podcasts/the-ai-enshittification-bubble-cory-doctorow/ F@#$ the AI Overlords (On The Media) https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/articles/f-the-ai-overlords Why AI Won't Replace Workers, But Will Crash The Economy (Smart Cookies) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRRmUuxJolY AI and the Enshittification Era (The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dAIJRjb-Bw AI is not inevitable (Betakit) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbiTVkq1WHo Latest books (permalink) "The Reverse-Centaur's Guide to AI," a short book about being a better AI critic, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, June 2026 https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374621568/thereversecentaursguidetolifeafterai/ "Canny Valley": A limited edition collection of the collages I create for Pluralistic, self-published, September 2025 https://pluralistic.net/2025/09/04/illustrious/#chairman-bruce "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, October 7 2025 https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/ "Picks and Shovels": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about the heroic era of the PC, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2025 (https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865908/picksandshovels). "The Bezzle": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about prison-tech and other grifts, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2024 (thebezzle.org). "The Lost Cause:" a solarpunk novel of hope in the climate emergency, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), November 2023 (http://lost-cause.org). "The Internet Con": A nonfiction book about interoperability and Big Tech (Verso) September 2023 (http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org). Signed copies at Book Soup (https://www.booksoup.com/book/9781804291245). "Red Team Blues": "A grabby, compulsive thriller that will leave you knowing more about how the world works than you did before." Tor Books http://redteamblues.com. "Chokepoint Capitalism: How to Beat Big Tech, Tame Big Content, and Get Artists Paid, with Rebecca Giblin", on how to unrig the markets for creative labor, Beacon Press/Scribe 2022 https://chokepointcapitalism.com Upcoming books (permalink) "The Post-American Internet," a geopolitical sequel of sorts to Enshittification, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2027 "Unauthorized Bread": a middle-grades graphic novel adapted from my novella about refugees, toasters and DRM, FirstSecond, April 20, 2027 "Enshittification, Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It" (the graphic novel), Firstsecond, 2027 "The Memex Method," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2027 Colophon (permalink) Today's top sources: Currently writing: “Once Is Enemy Action,” a science fiction novel about the origins of modern technofascism. Today's words: 604 (1940 total). "The Post-American Internet," a sequel to "Enshittification," about the better world the rest of us get to have now that Trump has torched America. Fourth draft completed. Submitted to editor. A Little Brother short story about DIY insulin PLANNING This work – excluding any serialized fiction – is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. That means you can use it any way you like, including commercially, provided that you attribute it to me, Cory Doctorow, and include a link to pluralistic.net. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Quotations and images are not included in this license; they are included either under a limitation or exception to copyright, or on the basis of a separate license. Please exercise caution. How to get Pluralistic: Blog (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): Pluralistic.net Newsletter (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://pluralistic.net/plura-list Mastodon (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic Bluesky (no ads, possible tracking and data-collection): https://bsky.app/profile/doctorow.pluralistic.net Medium (no ads, paywalled): https://doctorow.medium.com/ Tumblr (mass-scale, unrestricted, third-party surveillance and advertising): https://mostlysignssomeportents.tumblr.com/tagged/pluralistic "When life gives you SARS, you make sarsaparilla" -Joey "Accordion Guy" DeVilla READ CAREFULLY: By reading this, you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies ("BOGUS AGREEMENTS") that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer. ISSN: 3066-764X

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OpenAI says Apple’s trade secrets lawsuit is ‘rotten to its core’

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 09:33:11 +0000

OpenAI has asked a federal judge to toss out Apple's landmark lawsuit accusing the ChatGPT maker of stealing trade secrets, describing the allegations as "meritless." In a motion filed yesterday to dismiss the complaint, OpenAI says that Apple is mischaracterizing both the actions of the AI startup's employees as theft, and "generic" product development information […]

Source feed: https://www.theverge.com/rss/index.xml

Restaurants, pubs and theatres ban Meta’s ‘spy glasses’ over privacy fears

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 09:00:44 +0000

Meta says safeguards are in place to prevent surreptitious filming, but some UK venues now prohibit them from being worn at allWhen Meta used superstar Kylie Jenner to promote its sleek new line of “spy glasses”, the social media company hoped the devices would reach the same broad acceptance that tablets and smartwatches have found before them.But those plans have hit a snag in the UK, where venues from elite restaurants to popular pub chains have banned the £359 glasses in order to preserve the privacy of customers and staff. Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

Law Firms Need To Reassert Their AI Sovereignty, Here’s How

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 06:41:19 +0000

By Jesse Hampton, Draftwise. ‘You essentially pay for intelligence twice, once with money, and again with something even more valuable: the proprietary knowledge you must ...

Source feed: https://www.artificiallawyer.com/feed/

Trump’s DOJ gains oversight of OpenAI’s green-card employee sponsorships

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 21:05:37 +0000

The DOJ alleged that OpenAI did not meaningful attempt to hire U.S. citizens before seeking permanent residence for Visa-holding employees.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

DHS Wants Protesters’ Signal Group Chats

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 20:38:54 +0000

A lawsuit accuses Homeland Security of violating protesters’ free-speech rights—but the agency is using it to try to get access to the plaintiffs’ encrypted communications.

Source feed: https://www.wired.com/feed/category/security/latest/rss

SurePoint’s New CEO Jeff Steinberg on His Mandate for Change

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 18:43:46 +0000

SurePoint Technologies, a company that provides practice-management, finance and growth technology products for mid-sized law firms, named Jeff Steinberg its chief executive officer on July 23, elevating Eric Thurston, who had led the company since 2023, to executive chairman. Two weeks into the job, Steinberg joins LawNext to speak with host Bob Ambrogi about what […]

Source feed: https://www.lawnext.com/feed

Ninth Circuit: Your AI Agent Can’t Violate Hacking Law. But You Might.

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 18:23:37 +0000

The rise of AI is bringing a bunch of fascinating legal questions that are harder to answer than many expect. The latest one: who is liable if an agentic system running on its own hacks someone? That’s the question a bunch of people have been asking this past week in the wake of multiple stories […]

Source feed: https://www.techdirt.com/feed/

From ‘Vendor’ To ‘Partner’: How LexisNexis Is Deepening Law Firm Relationships

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 16:18:00 +0000

[Sponsored] The company is emphasizing ‘white glove service’ in the AI era. Here’s what the initiative is delivering for clients. The post From ‘Vendor’ To ‘Partner’: How LexisNexis Is Deepening Law Firm Relationships appeared first on Above the Law.

Source feed: https://abovethelaw.com/feed/

DISCO Moves Beyond E-Discovery with ‘Unified Litigation Solution’ that Combines Case Facts and Case Law

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 16:31:27 +0000

DISCO is moving beyond e-discovery, the technology that has been its bread and butter ever since its founding in 2013, to launch what it describes as the industry’s first unified litigation solution, an AI-native application that combines the facts of a matter with relevant U.S. case law. The product, which the company has not yet […]

Source feed: https://www.lawnext.com/feed

Meta Ran Ads That Contained AI-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Imagery

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 16:26:36 +0000

More than 50 offending image and video ads were published across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, or Threads, according to Meta’s ad library data. Some ran as recently as this week.

Source feed: https://www.wired.com/feed/category/security/latest/rss

From ‘Vendor’ To ‘Partner’: How LexisNexis Is Deepening Law Firm Relationships

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 16:18:00 +0000

Biglaw Firm Goes Even Bigger With Largest Group Hire In Firm History

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 15:32:09 +0000

Brown Rudnick landed a 34-lawyer intellectual property team from HSF Kramer while launching a brand-new Silicon Valley office. The post Biglaw Firm Goes Even Bigger With Largest Group Hire In Firm History appeared first on Above the Law.

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Why I'll never be convinced by Meta's ‘pervert’ glasses | Opinion

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 14:13:33 +0000

'Most people don’t want pervert glasses that can film us without our consent,' said a spokesperson from activist group Everyone Hates Elon. The group has launched a series of guerilla adverts deriding non-consensual filming by the glasses as well as an email campaign encouraging people to legally object to being filmed by Meta glasses under general data protection regulations, which over 20,000 people have signed.Rights groups have warned that the glasses threaten the right to privacy, while countries such as Germany are reportedly considering a ban.And while Meta’s safety guidelines say smart glasses should not be used for 'harassment, infringing on privacy rights, or capturing sensitive information', women have taken to social media to share their stories of being filmed by men without their consent.Watch as Guardian columnist and Opinion editor Kirsty Major dives into why fears of surveillance and 'creepy men' mean Meta can never convince her to love the glasses – and read more about the glasses via the link in the bio Continue reading...

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‘Leicester Square, please guv’: Self-driving taxis cleared for London streets ‘later this summer’

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 13:54:12 +0000

Wayve Uber wins first minicab licence for autonomous cabs from TfL but vehicles will have a safety driver (at first)The taxi app company Uber and the autonomous technology developer Wayve have been granted the first minicab licences in London allowing them to offer self-driving taxi rides to paying customers – but with a human safety driver in place, for now.The companies said they would start trips in the UK “later this summer” before the full public launch. Continue reading...

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Thomson Reuters Partners With Laurel

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 13:15:03 +0000

Thomson Reuters is adding to its long list of legal tech partners with the addition of Laurel, the time recording system. The move follows TR’s ...

Source feed: https://www.artificiallawyer.com/feed/

Pluralistic: Google is a scammer's paradise (05 Aug 2026)

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 10:50:43 +0000

Today's links Google is a scammer's paradise: The internet's absentee landlord. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS; EZ realistic corpse; $300m login button; Short Uber; Who goes AI? Upcoming appearances: Edinburgh, Sydney, Melbourne, Brighton, London, South Bend. Recent appearances: Where I've been. Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em. Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em. Colophon: All the rest. Google is a scammer's paradise (permalink) Forget "Don't be evil"; Google's true motto is a form of vulgar spidermanism: "With great power comes no responsibility." The internet's de facto boss is an absentee landlord. Google – a thrice-convicted monopolist – is the gateway to the internet, with more than a 90% search market share that it attained by buying out all its competitors and bribing Apple more than $20b/year not to start a rival search engine: https://www.democracynow.org/2024/8/6/google_monopoly Google likes to position itself as a wise steward of the internet. They say they use their vast troves of data about the internet and its users to connect the right person with the right information at the right moment. As their mission statement has it, "organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful": https://www.google.com/intl/en_us/search/howsearchworks/our-approach/ The tacit argument is, "Sure, we repeatedly violated antitrust law in order to monopolize the internet, but the internet needs a monopolist. It's scary out there! We have amassed power so that we can protect and guide you." It's a bullshit argument and no one should accept it – but even if you think it's worth harnessing monopoly power to promote a wise king to rule over the internet, you'd still want Google to take that responsibility seriously. If we're to have a landlord for our civilization's digital nervous system, let's not have it be an absentee landlord. Google is an absentee landlord. In 2019, they chose to deliberately worsen search results in order to make you search repeatedly to find the information you're seeking, because every fresh query lets them serve fresh advertisements: https://pluralistic.net/2025/05/26/babyish-radical-extremists/#cancon Not all of Google's enshittification can be attributed to deliberate sabotage. Much of it is the result of neglect. Ask Google for a product review and they'll pass over the most rigorous, honest websites on the internet in favor of affiliate scammers who repackage Amazon best-of lists to peddle overpriced, underperforming junk that's sometimes so bad it's dangerous: https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/21/im-feeling-unlucky/#not-up-to-the-task Google keeps announcing that it Takes This Problem Very Seriously – and then nothing happens: https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/03/keyword-swarming/#site-reputation-abuse And of course, Google AI search results present the company with a highly refined and confident-sounding way to launder spam into product recommendations: https://pluralistic.net/2025/07/15/inhuman-gigapede/#coprophagic-ai Could Google do better? Provably so. Kagi, a small company that runs a search engine powered by Google's own search index consistently delivers results that are substantially superior to Google's – using Google's own infrastructure: https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/04/teach-me-how-to-shruggie/#kagi If Kagi (a startup with a handful of engineers) can extract useful search results from Google's databases, then Google – a thrice-convicted monopolist that's had its pick of thousands of the top computer scientists from the world's most prestigious universities for a generation – could also do so. They just choose not to. They're too big to fail. They're too big to jail. They're too big to care. Google's AI search isn't a way to fix its broken core product: it's a way to partially remediate the damage Google itself inflicted on the open internet, while imprisoning the web in a walled garden that would make Steve Jobs drool: https://pluralistic.net/2026/06/29/arsonist-firefighters/#im-feeling-lucky It's a deadly combination: Google has committed hundreds of billions to stock buybacks and its AI money-furnace, financed by mass layoffs targeting the people who keep the core services useful. The too-big-to-care company is still the internet's gatekeeper, but half the guards at the gate have been fired and the other half have pulled so much overtime that they keep falling asleep on the job. Google has become a scammer's paradise. Take Google's "answer box." This is the part of the search results page that tries to answer your query directly, without sending you elsewhere for that info. Back in 2023, Google's Answer Box was taken over by scammers who impersonated airline help desks. When Google's users searched for airlines' toll-free phone numbers, Google directed them to phones that rang in the scammers' boiler room, where they were tricked into giving up their passport info and credit card numbers to boiler-room thieves: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/phone-numbers-airlines-listed-google-directed-scammers-rcna94766 (This was an especially devastating attack because the airlines themselves hide their customer service phone numbers – as enshittified monopolists, they want your money, not your complaints – so it's normal to search Google for the number you're seeking, rather than scouring the airlines' deliberately confusing customer service sites.) This is especially galling because Google has an extensive "verified merchant" program that goes to enormous lengths to establish the true identity of every merchant whose businesses are listed on Google, in maps, ads and search results. Google "knows" which URLs belong to the airlines. If it can be tricked into scraping a different website for the airlines' phone numbers, that's because Google couldn't be bothered to connect its own database of canonical airline URLs to the process that serves phone numbers to the 90% of the web-using public who search with Google. Google's database of the canonical URLs for businesses doesn't stop at airlines or even large businesses. Nearly every local merchant has undergone Google's verification process, which includes a step where Google physically mails a postcard with a unique number to the merchant's registered address, which the merchant must then key into Google to prove that they're located where they say they are. Despite this, Google's ad-sales system will happily sell anyone the right to advertise a different website for queries for specific merchants, and those ads appear above the real result for the business's website. To make this even worse, Google's spent years making it more difficult to distinguish ads from "organic" search results, changing the font and size of the "ad" warning to make it harder to spot, and making the font and color of the ad itself closer to the color of the search results below it. This is a gift to fraudsters. I had my own run-in with it in 2023, when I was tricked by a Google ad into ordering dinner from my local Thai place using a scam site that had cloned the restaurant's menu. The scammers marked up the price by 15%, then passed the order on to the restaurant, pocketing the vig: https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/24/passive-income/#swiss-cheese-security This scammer – based out of a UC Berkeley dorm-room – had copied hundreds of restaurant websites, then bought Google ads for the restaurants' names, ensuring that searchers would see the scam result before the real one. Remember: Google knows what the true URL is for every one of those restaurants but it sold the scammer ads for a different URL that appeared when people searched for the restaurant by name. Google could trivially add a step to the ad sales pipeline that detects mismatches between a merchant's known URL and the URL in an ad bought against the merchant's name. It could automatically resolve these mismatches by sending an email to the merchant's verified email address that says, "Hey, are you buying an ad with a new URL? If so, just reply to this email." I don't know why Google doesn't do this. Maybe they make huge sums from these scam ads and they don't want to forego the revenue. Or maybe they just don't care. Whichever it is, there's real consequences for this negligence by the internet's absentee landlord. Take abortions: fake abortion clinics – where pregnant women are bullied or tricked out of the abortions they're seeking – buy Google ads against the names of real abortion clinics. Google makes millions sending abortion-seekers to fake abortion providers: https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/15/paid-medical-disinformation/#crisis-pregnancy-centers Google started off as the ideal "intermediary" – the fancy economist's term for a "middleman." They took as their duty to figure out the best websites for you to look at based on your interests, serving as an honest broker between internet users and internet publishers. In the quarter-century since the company's founding, as it transformed itself into a monopolist, it developed the curse of every intermediary: it got Main Character Syndrome. This is Tim Wu's formulation: the reason for an intermediary existence is to serve the parties to the transaction. Ebay says it exists to connect buyers and sellers, Uber is supposed to connect drivers and riders, dating sites are supposed to connect people with their love-matches. But intermediaries are cursed with an enviable position: by dint of sitting between these different groups of people, the intermediary learns everything about both sides of the transaction, while each side only knows about its own position. Amazon knows the price you're willing to pay, it knows who's set the lowest price, and it knows how many identical items that match your query are for sale. But the sellers don't know any of that, and you only know some of it. By capitalizing on that information (rather than using it to efficiently match buyers and sellers), Amazon can match you with the sellers willing to pay the highest junk fees, rather than the ones who offer the best price for the best goods: https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/03/subprime-attention-rent-crisis/#euthanize-rentiers This is Wu's Main Character Syndrome in action. Once Amazon attains a dominant market share, it can maximize its own welfare at the expense of its buyers and sellers, transforming itself from a helper to a parasite: https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/lawfare-daily–tim-wu-on–the-age-of-extraction Google says it wants to "organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful," but every dime it spends fighting fraud (a critical part of this mission!) is a dime it can't spend on stock buybacks, executive compensation and AI servers. "Organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful" is the mission of a good intermediary; "do the absolute minimum to fight fraud" is the mission of a formerly good intermediary with terminal Main Character Syndrome. Google keeps finding ways to expose its users to fraud while lining its own pockets. That restaurant markup scam that caught me in 2023? Three years later, it's way worse. San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu just filed suit against GuestReservations.com, BookOnline.com and Booking Holdings for running a massive version of the restaurant menu scam – one that extracted millions from people booking hotel rooms: https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/alleged-sf-hotel-booking-scam-had-up-to-85-markup-fees-city-attorney/ Here's how the scam worked: these companies put up websites with deceptive URLs, like SanFranciscoMarriott.GuestReservations.com, and then bought the associated Google ad-word ("San Francisco Marriott"). At the top of Google searches for "San Francisco Marriott booking" was the ad for SanFranciscoMarriott.GuestReservations.com. This site would sell you a room at the Marriott, at a markup of 35% to 85%. This is a pure ripoff. If Google had served the correct result at the top of the page – if it had used its own database of confirmed merchants and their associate websites to validate its ads – then people booking hotels would have saved 35% to 85% on their rooms. City Attorney Chiu says that the perps here registered domains for all kinds of hotels, even tiny ones in small towns, all over America. That means that it's not just visitors to San Francisco who got screwed by these creeps – it's also San Franciscans who booked hotel rooms around the country. Google bears the lion's share of the blame here, but Visa and the other credit card companies are critical to these scams. Card companies allow merchants to set terms of service that refuse refunds under almost any circumstances, and, more often than not, the card issuers side with the merchants over their own customers when they call to cancel a charge from one of these scammers. I discovered this for myself when I was tricked into buying theater tickets from a ripoff site that had registered the URL of the show I wanted to go to. I figured out that I'd been rooked within a minute of clicking the buy button, but it took months and multiple appeals – and ultimately a threat to cancel my credit card – to get Visa to refund me. Visa – another bloated monopolist with terminal Main Character Syndrome – can see that it has merchants who generate zillions of appeals and charge-backs because they run scam businesses like these. They could treat these merchants as the fraudsters they are, but because the crooks wreathe themselves in gauzy excuses and lengthy terms of service, Visa enables these massive, nationwide cons. Google, Visa and the other monopolists who serve as de facto regulators for our society have arrogated to themselves the power to observe every transaction and block the obvious scams. We pay for their failure to take minimal, obvious steps to protect us from the scammers who thrive on their platforms. Why should they? They're the main characters. They're Bizarro-world spidermen, whose great power confers no responsibility. Hey look at this (permalink) When the AI bubble bursts, will Europe be ready? https://www.euractiv.com/opinion/when-the-ai-bubble-bursts-will-europe-be-ready/ Gavin Newsom Makes An Ass Of Himself On Antitrust, Paramount Merger https://www.techdirt.com/2026/08/04/gavin-newsom-makes-an-ass-of-himself-on-antitrust-paramount-merger/ Against Self-Fulfilling Prophecy https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/against-self-fulfilling-prophecy Arson markets https://www.merkley.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026.08.03-LTR-Wildfire-Prediction-Markets-FINAL.pdf Eight Myths on Software Engineering and GenAI https://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=3807963 Object permanence (permalink) #25yrsago Steve Ballmer: DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS http://www.ntk.net/ballmer/dancemonkeyboy.mpg #15yrsago HOWTO E-Z realistic corpse from a cheap plastic skeleton https://propnomicon.blogspot.com/2011/08/quick-and-dirty-corpses.html #15yrsago $300 Million Button: making customers create logins to buy cost etailer $300M/year https://centercentre.com/ #10yrsago 1 billion computer monitors vulnerable to undetectable firmware attacks https://www.defcon.org/html/defcon-24/dc-24-speakers.html#Cui #10yrsago Stiglitz quits Panama’s official money-laundering panel over internal sabotage https://www.reuters.com/article/us-panama-tax-idUSKCN10G24Z/ #10yrsago BBC will use surveillance powers to sniff Britons’ wifi and find license-cheats https://web.archive.org/web/20160806155022/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/05/bbc-to-deploy-detection-vans-to-snoop-on-internet-users/ #10yrsago How and why to short Uber https://qz.com/707947/investors-have-placed-a-one-way-bet-on-uber-which-made-us-want-to-figure-out-a-way-to-short-it #5yrsago Facebook's official disinformation research portal is a bad joke https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/06/get-you-coming-and-going/#potemkin-research-program #5yrsago Scammers sell griefers social media banning services https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/06/get-you-coming-and-going/#curse-of-bigness #1yrago Which jobs can be replaced with AI? https://pluralistic.net/2025/08/06/unmerchantable-substitute-goods/#customer-disservice Upcoming appearances (permalink) Virtual: EFFecting Change: Who the Machine Serves, Aug 12 https://www.eff.org/event/effecting-change-who-machine-serves Edinburgh International Book Festival with Jimmy Wales, Aug 17 https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/events/the-front-list-cory-doctorow-and-jimmy-wales Sydney: The Festival of Dangerous Ideas, Aug 23-24 https://festivalofdangerousideas.com/program/ Melbourne: Enshittification at the Wheeler Centre, Aug 25 https://www.wheelercentre.com/events-tickets/season-2026/cory-doctorow-enshittification Brighton: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI with Carole Cadwalladr (Brighton Dome), Sep 8 https://brightondome.org/whats-on/LSC-cory-doctorow-the-reverse-centaurs-guide-to-life-after-ai/ London: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI with Riley Quinn (Foyle's Picadilly), Sep 9 https://www.foyles.co.uk/events/enshittification-cory-doctorow-riley-quinn South Bend: An Evening With Cory Doctorow (Notre Dame), Oct 6 https://franco.nd.edu/events/2026/10/06/an-evening-with-cory-doctorow/ Vancouver: BC Policy Solutions Gala, Nov 12 https://bcpolicy.ca/gala/ Recent appearances (permalink) The AI Enshittification Bubble (Hidden Forces) https://hiddenforces.io/podcasts/the-ai-enshittification-bubble-cory-doctorow/ F@#$ the AI Overlords (On The Media) https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/articles/f-the-ai-overlords Why AI Won't Replace Workers, But Will Crash The Economy (Smart Cookies) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRRmUuxJolY AI and the Enshittification Era (The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dAIJRjb-Bw AI is not inevitable (Betakit) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbiTVkq1WHo Latest books (permalink) "The Reverse-Centaur's Guide to AI," a short book about being a better AI critic, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, June 2026 https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374621568/thereversecentaursguidetolifeafterai/ "Canny Valley": A limited edition collection of the collages I create for Pluralistic, self-published, September 2025 https://pluralistic.net/2025/09/04/illustrious/#chairman-bruce "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, October 7 2025 https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/ "Picks and Shovels": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about the heroic era of the PC, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2025 (https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865908/picksandshovels). "The Bezzle": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about prison-tech and other grifts, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2024 (thebezzle.org). "The Lost Cause:" a solarpunk novel of hope in the climate emergency, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), November 2023 (http://lost-cause.org). "The Internet Con": A nonfiction book about interoperability and Big Tech (Verso) September 2023 (http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org). Signed copies at Book Soup (https://www.booksoup.com/book/9781804291245). "Red Team Blues": "A grabby, compulsive thriller that will leave you knowing more about how the world works than you did before." Tor Books http://redteamblues.com. "Chokepoint Capitalism: How to Beat Big Tech, Tame Big Content, and Get Artists Paid, with Rebecca Giblin", on how to unrig the markets for creative labor, Beacon Press/Scribe 2022 https://chokepointcapitalism.com Upcoming books (permalink) "The Post-American Internet," a geopolitical sequel of sorts to Enshittification, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2027 "Unauthorized Bread": a middle-grades graphic novel adapted from my novella about refugees, toasters and DRM, FirstSecond, April 20, 2027 "Enshittification, Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It" (the graphic novel), Firstsecond, 2027 "The Memex Method," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2027 Colophon (permalink) Today's top sources: Currently writing: “Once Is Enemy Action,” a science fiction novel about the origins of modern technofascism. Today's words: 623 (1336 total). "The Post-American Internet," a sequel to "Enshittification," about the better world the rest of us get to have now that Trump has torched America. Fourth draft completed. Submitted to editor. A Little Brother short story about DIY insulin PLANNING This work – excluding any serialized fiction – is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. That means you can use it any way you like, including commercially, provided that you attribute it to me, Cory Doctorow, and include a link to pluralistic.net. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Quotations and images are not included in this license; they are included either under a limitation or exception to copyright, or on the basis of a separate license. Please exercise caution. How to get Pluralistic: Blog (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): Pluralistic.net Newsletter (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://pluralistic.net/plura-list Mastodon (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic Bluesky (no ads, possible tracking and data-collection): https://bsky.app/profile/doctorow.pluralistic.net Medium (no ads, paywalled): https://doctorow.medium.com/ Tumblr (mass-scale, unrestricted, third-party surveillance and advertising): https://mostlysignssomeportents.tumblr.com/tagged/pluralistic "When life gives you SARS, you make sarsaparilla" -Joey "Accordion Guy" DeVilla READ CAREFULLY: By reading this, you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies ("BOGUS AGREEMENTS") that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer. ISSN: 3066-764X

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Pick Your AI Judges, Give Them A Spin!

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 10:02:57 +0000

Meet BenchSim, a legal tech company that now provides video simulations of AI judges so that you can test out your courtroom prowess. Or, as ...

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Aavalynx Raises £1.5m Pre-Seed for Litigation Insights

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 09:08:20 +0000

Aavalynx, an AI-powered platform that gives insights into ongoing litigation portfolios for enterprises, has raised £1.5 million in pre-seed funding. Its founder and CEO, Hanna ...

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Is This The Great Legal Tech Consolidation?

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 07:09:56 +0000

Yesterday, BigHand bought legal AI pricing startup Ayora; Anaqua bagged Unified Patents; and last week Legora picked up litigation intelligence newbie, Wexler – its fifth ...

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Palantir paid just £2m corporation tax in UK in 2024 despite lucrative public sector contracts

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 05:00:09 +0000

Software group benefits from global systems and accounting practices ‘that enable tax to be shirked’, says union bossThe software group Palantir paid just £2m in corporation tax in the UK in 2024, despite holding public sector contracts worth hundreds of millions, thanks to tax breaks that are likely to reduce its contributions to governments around the world for years to come.The US-headquartered company, which has harnessed AI to secure lucrative work for the NHS and the Ministry of Defence, is growing exponentially. Continue reading...

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Tomorrow’s U.S. Senate Vote: Four Internet Bills, One Wrong Direction

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 00:15:11 +0000

The Senate Commerce Committee will vote this week on several censorious and privacy invasive bills: KOSA, the SCREEN Act, Youth AI Privacy Act, and CHATBOT Act. While we appreciate that the Committee is taking the time to look at these bills separately, it’s still impossible to ignore the message Congress is sending to the world: Age-gate the internet and block young people from speaking and accessing lawful speech online. Or else. Take action Tell Congress: don't age-gate the internet Each of these bills claims to be trying to protect children and teenagers from dangerous situations on and offline—certainly a worthy goal. But the proposed solutions in these bills are unlikely to make children and teenagers safer at all. Rather, they would create sweeping new privacy and data security problems, and force platforms to adopt unconstitutional restrictions on the content they host, for both adults and teenagers. There is a better way. Instead of considering these bills, the Senate Commerce Committee should be focusing on a national consumer privacy bill that would protect ALL internet users, or on banning behavioral advertising that tracks us across the web—again, for users of all ages. But the bills being considered this week move in the other direction—more information being collected, more surveillance, and less privacy for internet users of all ages. Take action help eff oppose these bills EFF sent a letter to the Committee with our concerns about these bills. We look forward to continuing to work with them to find a way forward that protects all users.

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Romantic Scandal Ends In Multimillion-Dollar Payout — See Also

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 23:07:00 +0000

It Looks Like The Jackson Walker/Federal Judge Scandal Is Officially Over: Some ~$20 million later... First Lateral Raid Just One Month After Mega-Merger: Sorry, Hogan Lovells Cadwalader, but Sidley really needed that fund finance team. Todd Blanche Is About To Be AG: Sure, his promises are basically worthless. but it's enough for the modern day GOP. Build-An-AI: LexisNexis unveils a new project bringing lawyers into a physical location with engineers to build new products. The post Romantic Scandal Ends In Multimillion-Dollar Payout — See Also appeared first on Above the Law.

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Trump administration reportedly drafting ban on Chinese datacenter components

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 17:21:33 +0000

Trump’s FCC is developing a measure to bar US imports of new models of Chinese datacenter devices, sources sayThe Trump administration is reportedly drafting a ban on US imports of new models of Chinese datacenter components, in the latest sign US authorities are scrambling to respond to the rapid development of AI technology in China.Four people familiar with the matter told Reuters that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which oversees the US ⁠telecommunications industry, is developing a measure to bar imports of new Chinese optical transceivers, which allow data to travel over fiber-optic cables at the speed of light within datacenters. Officials hope to publish the measure this year, according to Reuters. Continue reading...

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Using Trust & Safety Tycoon In The Classroom

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 22:38:52 +0000

Early in the media law and ethics course I teach, as I shift gears from the ethics section to the law and core free speech issues, I try to build a foundation by introducing the many kinds of legal issues they may face as communicators. By this time, we have already discussed social media platforms […]

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Appeals Court Agrees with EFF that Building a Web Browser Doesn’t Violate the CFAA

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 22:32:39 +0000

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has endorsed a commonsense technical interpretation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), a law not usually given to such interpretation. Amazon had sued Perplexity AI to try to shut down its Comet browser, claiming the browser’s optional agentic AI “Assistant” that can browse websites like Amazon for comparison shopping purposes, violated the CFAA because Amazon did not “authorize” Perplexity to access Amazon users’ accounts. Rejecting that theory, the Ninth Circuit held that Perplexity was unlikely to be liable because users operate the tool, not Perplexity. That’s the right conclusion, as both a legal and technical matter. As we explained to the court in our amicus brief, the CFAA requires unauthorized “access,” and Perplexity itself does not access Amazon’s servers—users of the Comet browser do. The court agreed, noting that EFF’s explanation “articulates the nature of the system most clearly.” The court noted that agentic AI may present novel legal issues, and there is “little to no existing caselaw directly dealing with how to ascribe responsibility for AI agents like the Assistant, let alone caselaw specifically dealing with agentic AI in the CFAA context.” Ultimately, though, thorny questions of AI “intent” were irrelevant to this case, because the Assistant “is a tool, not a person for statutory purposes.” And, the court concluded, it is a tool operated by users, not Perplexity. Even where Perplexity received information from users about their Amazon accounts and used this information to instruct the Assistant, the court found that that did not constitute the sort of control needed to find access by Perplexity. As the court noted, Amazon might have other viable claims against Perplexity, but invoking the CFAA was both legally baseless and bad policy that “could expose users themselves to criminal liability. This is a gratifying decision because all too often, big players use the CFAA to bully upstarts and innovators who offer potentially helpful user tools. When we counsel clients as part of EFF’s Coders Rights Project, CFAA risk is a frequent topic of conversation, even for developers who merely create tools that allow others to access websites in new or different ways. We’ve stood up for these creators before, and we’ll do it again, but it’s helpful to have back up from one of the most influential appellate courts in the country. Related Cases: Facebook v. Power Ventures

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Trump killed the Digital Equity Act, but US was forced to bring part of it back

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 21:27:05 +0000

$1.25 billion program restored, but judge ruled race provision unconstitutional.

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Lawyer Laterals: Free Agents With No Comp Caps

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 20:04:00 +0000

In today's world, many of the headaches associated with making a lateral move can now be alleviated with artificial intelligence and technology. The post Lawyer Laterals: Free Agents With No Comp Caps appeared first on Above the Law.

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Mobile Ad Software Encourages Location Data Sharing, EFF Report Finds

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 19:30:41 +0000

Developers Must Beware of Ad Libraries that Betray Users’ PrivacySAN FRANCISCO – Some software development kits (SDKs) provided by advertising companies to help developers monetize their apps are automatically feeding users’ location data into systems that location data brokers use to track people, an Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) report found. EFF began investigating the location-sharing practices of various advertising SDKs to better understand the pipeline from mobile apps to location data brokers. The probe revealed how such SDKs can facilitate and encourage location data sharing – without users’ knowledge or meaningful consent – through privacy-invasive defaults, financial incentives, and unclear documentation. “Defaults matter, not just for users, but for app developers as well. If app developers don’t pay close attention to the location-sharing settings of their advertising tools, they could inadvertently expose users’ location information,” EFF Staff Technologist Lena Cohen said. “Users can take extra steps to defend their location privacy, but they shouldn’t have to. Developers, regulators, and legislators must act to stop apps from leaking users’ location to advertising companies and data brokers.” Cohen and EFF Senior Staff Technologist Bill Budington reviewed the public developer documentation of dozens of widely used advertising SDKs to identify how they handle and communicate with developers about location data. In their analysis, they highlighted four advertising SDKs that collect and share a user's location by default for ad targeting whenever the user has given the app location permissions: InMobi, BidMachine, Verve’s HyBid, and Huawei’s Petal Ads. But EFF’s focus on these four does not mean that other SDKs adequately protect location data or that developers never choose to share location data when it’s not the default. In fact, advertising SDKs not discussed in this investigation have been criticized and sued for collecting location data without valid user consent. “When developers let advertising SDKs collect location data, they’re putting users at risk of more than just creepy ads,” Budington said. “Location information sourced from the advertising industry has been used for ICE investigations, global spy tools, outing a gay priest, tracking union organizers, and tracking US military personnel. Developers have a responsibility to protect their users’ from these harms, regardless of advertising SDKs’ default settings.” For the EFF report: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/07/developers-beware-ad-libraries-betray-your-users-location-privacy For more on location data brokers: https://www.eff.org/issues/location-data-brokers For more on SDKs: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/06/how-federal-government-buys-our-cell-phone-location-data Contact:  WilliamBudingtonSenior Staff Technologistbill@eff.org LenaCohenStaff Technologistlcohen@eff.org

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Developers: Beware of Ad Libraries that Betray Your Users’ Location Privacy

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 19:30:21 +0000

Across mobile platforms, advertising companies provide developers with software development kits (SDKs) that make it easy to monetize their apps. But those same SDKs can automatically feed users’ location data into ad systems that location data brokers use to track people. Many developers may not even be aware of this privacy violation, let alone the users who are directly affected. When developers let advertising SDKs collect location data, they’re putting users at risk of more than just creepy ads. Location information sourced from the advertising industry has been used for ICE investigations, global spy tools, outing a gay priest, tracking union organizers, and tracking US military personnel. Defaults matter, not just for users, but for app developers as well. An EFF investigation has identified several advertising SDKs that publicly acknowledge collecting and sharing users’ location by default when embedded in Android apps granted location permissions. Defaults matter, not just for users, but for app developers as well. If app developers don’t pay close attention to the location-sharing settings of their advertising tools, they could inadvertently expose users’ location information. This report explains how advertising SDKs can facilitate and encourage location data sharing through privacy-invasive defaults, financial incentives, and unclear documentation. Contents: Data Brokers Harvest Location Information From Advertising Systems How Advertising SDKs Leak Location Data EFF Identified Advertising SDKs That Share Location Data by Default InMobi Encourages Keeping Location Sharing Enabled By Highlighting Financial Incentives BidMachine Updates Previously Inaccurate Developer Documentation After EFF's Technical Analysis Observed Precise Location Data Collection Verve Emphasizes Consent More in its Play Store Language Than its Configuration Guide Huawei Highlights Financial Incentives for Location Data Sharing Before Showing Developers How to Opt Out Location Data Sharing Can Happen Without Users’ Knowledge or Meaningful Consent Location Privacy Issues Extend Beyond These Four SDKs Fighting Back Against AdTech Companies That Enable and Encourage Location Data Sharing Developers Regulators Legislators Data Brokers Harvest Location Information From Advertising Systems When an advertising SDK collects and shares location data, it becomes part of a larger ecosystem that can include advertisers, ad tech companies, and location data brokers. EFF began investigating the location-sharing practices of various advertising SDKs to better understand the pipeline from mobile apps to location data brokers. Location data brokers sell information on the precise movements of billions of people without their knowledge or meaningful consent. This data is primarily sourced from apps on people’s phones. Some apps partner with data brokers directly, using data-broker-developed SDKs or server-to-server transfers to sell users’ location data. Other apps leak users’ location data through advertising SDKs serving behaviorally-targeted ads through “real-time bidding” (RTB). In the process of auctioning off ad space, ad tech companies can broadcast user data to thousands of potential advertisers. Location data brokers have participated in these auctions not just to bid on ad space, but to collect personal information contained in bid requests. Indiscriminate data sharing through RTB can lead app developers to unknowingly share their users’ location with data brokers. In 2025, a hack of location data broker Gravy Analytics revealed thousands of apps that may have been sources of its data. When journalists reached out to the app developers, many claimed they had no relationship with or knowledge of Gravy Analytics. To prevent location information from being shared with data brokers through RTB, developers must understand the location-sharing practices of their advertising SDKs. How Advertising SDKs Leak Location Data Developers don’t have to manually, or even intentionally, share location data for it to be broadcast through RTB auctions. Once a user grants an app permission to access their location, SDKs embedded in the app receive the same access—there are no SDK-specific location permissions. That means advertising SDKs can automatically collect users’ location data and share it in bid requests. While apps and SDKs can estimate a users’ approximate location from their IP address without requesting any permissions, location permissions provide access to estimates that are more accurate and revealing. Precise location permissions give apps (and their embedded SDKs) access to location estimates within about 160 feet, but sometimes as accurate as 10 feet. Approximate location, a separate permissions level, gives apps access to a location estimate within about 1.2 square miles. Developers and advertising SDKs also have a financial incentive to share location data, since it can increase bid prices for an app’s ad space. While many advertising SDKs require developers to configure a setting before collecting and sharing users’ location data in ad requests, this is not always the case. EFF found several advertising SDKs who publicly acknowledge sharing users’ location data by default when embedded in apps granted location permissions. EFF Identified Advertising SDKs That Share Location Data by Default EFF reviewed the public developer documentation of dozens of widely-used advertising SDKs to identify how they handle and communicate with developers about location data. In the following sections, we highlight four advertising SDKs who engage in a particularly egregious practice: collecting a user's location by default for ad targeting whenever a user has given an app location permissions. We reached out to each SDK company and the referenced app developers for comment. One company responded, and as detailed below, subsequently updated its documentation in response to our questions. Another company responded with clarifications to its developer documentation. We chose to focus on SDKs with this privacy-invasive default because it increases the risk of developers leaking users’ location data without realizing it. Several studies have found that developers tend to stick to SDKs’ default settings. If an advertising SDK transmits location data by default, users' precise location can end up in advertising systems without the developer intentionally enabling location sharing. These SDKs have separate documentation pages that instruct developers to flag users covered by privacy laws like GDPR and COPPA for restricted data processing, but these modes are not the default. By analyzing how these four SDKs present their location sharing practices to developers, we hope to illustrate how the design and documentation of advertising SDKs can facilitate location data sharing at scale. Although the advertising SDKs we highlight are not the most prevalent SDKs used, they are embedded in thousands of apps and reach billions of users. InMobi Encourages Keeping Location Sharing Enabled By Highlighting Financial Incentives InMobi claims to reach “2B+ users across 150+ countries” and is the 10th most popular advertising SDK on Android (according to AppBrain and Appfigures at the time of publication). InMobi’s “Getting Started with Android SDK Integration” suggests that location sharing is enabled by default, stating “The InMobi SDK automatically forwards location signals when available.” InMobi provides developers with a setting to opt out, but explicitly recommends sharing location data. Developer documentation highlights the financial incentive for location sharing, stating “location-enriched impressions typically yield higher revenue.” [Observed on “Getting Started with Android SDK Integration,” 7/31/26] Apps that use InMobi may not need location information to function or may only need access to approximate location information, but InMobi highly recommends that developers request precise location permissions “to enable accurate ad targeting.” They even encourage developers to request Wi-Fi network information permissions, which (when paired with precise location permissions) provide Wi-Fi access point identifiers that can also be used for location tracking. [Observed on “Getting Started with Android SDK Integration,” 7/31/26] InMobi has been accused of misleading developers over location sharing practices in the past: In 2016, they settled with the FTC over charges that they bypassed users’ location permissions for apps and tracked their precise locations through WiFi network data (Android now requires apps to request location permissions to access this WiFi data too). BidMachine Updates Previously Inaccurate Developer Documentation After EFF's Technical Analysis Observed Precise Location Data Collection BidMachine claims to reach over 600 million “direct SDK users.” BidMachine reveals that it collects location data by default on the “Advanced Settings” page of its Android SDK Integration guide, stating that the “SDK can automatically track user device location to serve better ads” as long as developers request location permissions for their app. Before publication, EFF reached out to BidMachine for comment, notifying them of our plan to highlight their Android SDK location sharing practices. [Observed on “Advanced Settings” on 7/31/26, before EFF asked BidMachine for comment] After EFF reached out, BidMachine changed their documentation to clarify the practice, but not their default collection of location information once app-level permissions are granted. This updated section still fails to explain how developers can opt out of BidMachine location tracking, which is critical for app developers that require location access for core features but wish to prevent user data from being shared with advertisers. [Observed on “Advanced Settings” on 8/3/26, after EFF asked BidMachine for comment] Before EFF reached out, BidMachine’s “App Privacy Details On Google Play” page had stated that they only collected coarse location data and precise location data was “not collected.” However, our technical analysis of two apps, which Exodus Privacy determined include the BidMachine SDK, contradicted this claim: Network requests from the apps QR Scanner and GPS Speedometer to a BidMachine domain include precise location coordinates. [Observed on “App Privacy Details On Google Play” on 7/31/26, before EFF asked BidMachine for comment] After EFF reached out, BidMachine also corrected its documentation to make it clear precise location is collected by the SDK whenever the app-level permission is granted: [Observed on “App Privacy Details On Google Play” on 8/3/26, after EFF asked BidMachine for comment] com.appswing.qr.barcodescanner.barcodereader_bidmachine.flows com.ktwapps.speedometer_bidmachine.flows In response to our request for comment, BidMachine stated that it wasn't possible for them to get location information “unless the user has granted the app the relevant permission through the operating system.” They also stated that“publishers are responsible for configuring their apps' permission and consent flows.” Verve Emphasizes Consent More in its Play Store Language Than its Configuration Guide Verve has claimed its HyBid SDK reaches “over 1.5 billion users across more than 10,000 apps worldwide.” Verve’s configuration guide for its HyBid Android SDK (formerly called Pubnative HyBid) makes clear that location tracking is “enabled by default,” stating, “If the user has given location permissions, HyBid SDK will use the available user location to provide better targeted ads.” [Observed on “HyBid Android SDK - HyBid Configuration,” 7/31/26] Verve’s guidance for data disclosure to the Google Play Store tells a more careful story. Despite the fact that location tracking is enabled by default, the Google Play Data Safety Guidance states that the SDK “does not collect or attempt to collect [location] information independently.” [Observed on “Google Play Data Safety Guidance,” 7/31/26] It also emphasizes user consent, claiming the SDK will only collect location data “if the publishers allows its app to collect location data from users after obtaining user’s explicit consent to such data collection” (emphasis added). The configuration guide lacks recommendations or instructions for obtaining user consent to share location data with Verve, beyond app-level access. Instead, the configuration guide highlights the financial incentives for developers to add location permissions to their app. [Observed on “HyBid Android SDK - HyBid Configuration,” 7/31/26] When reached for comment, Verve clarified that “in its current Android implementation, the SDK reads the cached network-provider location and does not use the GPS data of the end user's device. Furthermore, any geolocation data is coarsened prior to processing, ensuring that location is limited to an accuracy radius of no less than 1,850 feet.” It also said that it contractually requires apps to comply with data protection laws. To Verve’s credit, the HyBid SDK is open source, so careful developers can check the code instead of relying on documentation alone. HyBid’s open-source code shows that latitude and longitude coordinates are rounded to two decimal places, and that it does only collect and share network-derived location data, confirming the statement the company sent to us. If an app has precise location permissions, networked-derived location data rounded to two decimal places could be accurate within approximately 0.5 square miles, which is still more precise than the 1.2 square miles typically revealed with Android’s approximate location permission. But even coarse location data, especially when collected repeatedly over time, can reveal movements that should remain private by default. Verve’s response also conveyed a willingness to revise their documentation: “As part of our ongoing commitment to providing clear and comprehensive developer resources, we continually review and enhance our documentation, and we will take your observations into account as part of that process.” Huawei Highlights Financial Incentives for Location Data Sharing Before Showing Developers How to Opt Out Huawei has claimed its Petal Ads SDK is embedded in more than 85,000 apps worldwide. Huawei’s “Integrating the Petal Ads SDK into an Android App” guide begins with a recommendation that developers obtain location permissions to increase app revenue and an acknowledgement that location sharing will happen by default in apps with location permissions. [Observed on “Integrating the Petal Ads SDK into an Android App,” 7/31/26] A separate “Use of Location Data for Ads” page repeats that the Petal Ads SDK will include users’ location information in ad requests if an app has access to location information. Neither of those pages mention that developers can use the setRequestLocation method to disable the default collection of location information (this setting is referenced in the last section of the Ads SDK Compliance Guide). Huawei’s Ads SDK Privacy Statement states that “The SDK and its services will not store precise location information, and will only use it to determine the approximate device location.” However, the guide does not specify how Huawei defines approximate versus precise location data. [Observed on “Use of Location Data for Ads,” 7/31/26] Location Data Sharing Can Happen Without Users’ Knowledge or Meaningful Consent In some cases, after an app itself obtains location permission, advertising SDKs can separately obtain and share users’ location information without their knowledge or meaningful consent. Neither app that EFF observed sharing precise location data with BidMachine (QR Scanner and GPS Speedometer) showed a notice or requested consent before doing so. Additionally, neither apps’ Google Play Store “Data safety” section includes location data under “This app may share these data types with third parties.” The lack of transparency and control that users have over their location on mobile apps is dangerous. QR Scanner and GPS Speedometer are just two examples of apps that quietly share users’ location data through advertising SDKs, but they have been downloaded more than 50 million and 10 million times, respectively. App-level location permissions alone cannot signal meaningful consent to location collection and sharing by third-party advertising SDKs. Even if users’ were to grant these apps permission to obtain their location data, they would likely not expect their location data to be shared with third parties. Many users don’t know that granting location permissions to an app grants the same permissions to third-party SDKs embedded in the app, or that an app they're using contains code from outside companies. And many apps that request location permissions, like GPS Speedometer, require it for core functionality. App-level location permissions alone cannot signal meaningful consent to location collection and sharing by third-party advertising SDKs. Location Privacy Issues Extend Beyond These Four SDKs Our initial focus on four advertising SDKs does not mean that other SDKs adequately protect location data or that developers never choose to share location data when it’s not the default. Advertising SDKs not discussed in this report have been criticized and sued for allegations that they collect location data without valid user consent. The issues we’ve highlighted around privacy-invasive defaults, financial incentives, and unclear documentation extend beyond the specific SDKs we analyzed. Multiple studies have found that advertising SDKs often steer developers toward increased data collection through their design and documentation. A 2021 study found that popular advertising SDKs used dark patterns to nudge developers towards sharing more sensitive data. A 2024 study identified discrepancies between several SDKs’ documentation and their actual data collection practices. And a 2025 study concluded that developers have minimal influence over SDKs’ data transmission, often leaving them with the choice of accepting SDKs' invasive data collection or avoiding them entirely. Fighting Back Against AdTech Companies That Enable and Encourage Location Data Sharing EFF’s analysis shows that advertising SDKs don’t just allow developers to share location data–they often encourage it. Default settings, financial incentives, and unclear documentation can make sharing users’ location the easiest option for developers. Users can take extra steps to defend their location privacy, but they shouldn’t have to. Developers, regulators, and legislators must act to stop apps from leaking users’ location to advertising companies and data brokers. Developers Developers should carefully evaluate all third-party SDKs they include in their apps and disable unnecessary data collection whenever possible. Regardless of advertising SDKs’ default settings, developers have a responsibility to protect their users’ location data. But protecting users’ privacy shouldn’t depend on developers reading the right piece of SDK documentation. Advertising SDKs should not make sharing personal data the default, especially for data as sensitive as a person’s location. Regulators Regulators should continue to hold app developers accountable when they unlawfully share personal data and include libraries which subject users to privacy harms, as they have in the past. But they should also scrutinize the companies whose SDKs encourage these practices at scale. Otherwise, companies can continue to design SDKs that make invasive data sharing the default while shifting the responsibility and consequences to developers who include their tools. Legislators The US is in dire need of a federal law to protect all Americans’ location privacy, one which doesn’t preempt stronger state privacy laws, and has a private right of action empowering individuals to sue those who violate their privacy. Countries across the globe should likewise enact legislation that protects their users’ location privacy. Everyone deserves privacy as a universal human right. Legislators can address the root of the problem by banning online behavioral advertising. This would remove the primary incentive for companies to track and share your personal data. It would also prevent users' precise locations from being broadcast to data brokers through RTB auctions. Until then, developers should be wary of ad libraries that betray their users’ location privacy. Notes on Methodology We were interested in looking at network traffic for various Android ads SDKs that send precise location by default when granted location permissions. We chose Android for this investigation because of the relative openness of and our familiarity with analysis on the platform. We’ve used publicly available resources like Exodus Privacy and AppBrain to identify popular ads SDKs and the apps which include them. In a lab setting, we set up a machine to view our own http(s) traffic using mitmproxy from our test device, and connect the test device to that machine in order to view our real-time traffic. Where needed, we use the dynamic instrumentation toolkit Frida to ensure the traffic we generate can be analyzed. We’ve included flows files in this post, which can be opened in mitmproxy to show the requests we’ve observed with location coordinates.

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Telegram CEO says an extortionist planted CSAM in a chat to get it pulled from the App Store

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 19:11:05 +0000

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov blames an extortionist for planting child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in a public chat to get the app temporarily removed from Apple's App Store on Monday night. "Apple removed Telegram from the App Store before contacting us," Durov says in a post on X. "This creates a potential systemic risk for […]

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LexisNexis Bets On Build-A-Bear Model For Legal AI

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 18:32:00 +0000

New NYC Customer Innovation Lab promises prototypes in hours and products in weeks. The post LexisNexis Bets On Build-A-Bear Model For Legal AI appeared first on Above the Law.

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eBay And Former Execs Agree To Pay $56 Million For Trying To ‘Crush’ A Journalist

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 18:10:36 +0000

For much of Techdirt’s nearly three decades in existence we’ve covered attacks on the media by the rich and powerful. And sometimes we’ve been on the receiving end of such attacks ourselves. But I have never seen or heard of anything quite as extreme as what happened to Ina and David Steiner, proprietors of the […]

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Metro Bank customer fights for £14,000 refund after AI-linked fraud

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 06:00:15 +0000

Lender was told money was being taken without authorisation, with cash used to buy credits for Claude chatbotA Metro Bank customer has told of his fight to get more than £14,000 back after its systems failed to stop a fraud involving the AI chatbot Claude.Zoli Rutter, a businessman from Sussex, had a total of £14,244 taken from his bank account. The scam involved fraudsters buying credits to use Claude. Continue reading...

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Universal Migrator helps closing startups offboard customers and reduce legal risk

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 16:08:58 +0000

A poorly managed shutdown can create significant risk. Customers may claim that they lost access to data, were not given a reasonable opportunity to retrieve it, or received exports that were incomplete or unusable. While no technology can eliminate legal risk, a documented and organized offboarding process can demonstrate that a company took reasonable steps […]

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Texas says data centers must pass an audit before connecting to the grid

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 15:33:21 +0000

Texas announced new a audit on data centers that could slow approval for new facilities seeking to connect to the state energy grid. Governor Greg Abbott (R) on Monday directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to verify and audit new data center proposals, writing that […]

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OpenAI says Apple's trade secrets lawsuit is "aggressive and oddly personal"

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 13:38:29 +0000

“We do not have, nor want, any of their trade secrets,” the ChatGPT maker says.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

Technology's Power in the Hands of the People

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 14:12:50 +0000

In the scorching heat of every Las Vegas summer, EFF joins thousands of hackers, makers, policy analysts, and activists for the world's largest computer security gathering. If you're there during this summer security week, be sure to say hello to us at BSides Las Vegas, Black Hat Briefings, and DEF CON 34. While tech companies align with governments to target the people, our community is harnessing technology to fight back. Will you lend your support this year? JOIN EFF EFF’s relentless work in the legal system makes a meaningful difference for privacy and free expression everywhere. But we also know that your rights won't wait while the wheels of justice turn. Sometimes hacking the system means creating tools and resources to protect your rights today. That includes EFF’s Privacy Badger, Certbot, Surveillance Self-Defense guide, and the countless security trainings that our team conducts for vulnerable populations—all thanks to EFF member support. Technology is inseparable from our workplaces, schools, healthcare, the justice system, and our democratic process. If you think tech should benefit everyone and not just accumulate wealth and control for the powerful, then congratulations: We'd like to welcome you to the team. Hayley and Joe take a break from EFF’s Activism Team to show off EFF’s DEF CON member t-shirt. For a limited time only: Get EFF’s “Many Hands Make Light Work” t-shirt designed for the DEF CON 34 hacker conference by EFF artist Hannah Diaz. Don’t miss the link to the online puzzle incorporated into the design! With the strength of community and the spirit of curiosity, we can hack anything. Many thanks to our puzzlemasters Aaron Steimle (AKA Elegin) and Kevin Hulin (AKA CryptoK). Elegin is our longtime collaborator on the EFF shirt puzzle, and previously a multiyear winner of this very contest. CryptoK is a crypto puzzle enthusiast and also develops challenges for the DEF CON Crypto and Privacy Village's Gold Bug Contest. Members can also choose from EFF’s puffy stickers, the internet tracker-obsessed Privacy Badger embroidered sweatshirt, and our ALPR-focused “Claw Back” t-shirt. EFF member t-shirt designs: Claw Back and Many Hands Make Light Work EFF fights to protect fundamental rights for everyone, and your privacy and free expression have never been more important. Support the cause today! Together we can make sure that technology supports freedom, justice, and innovation for all people.

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Apple says more ex-employees may have taken confidential data to OpenAI

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 14:03:01 +0000

Apple says its trade secrets investigation into OpenAI has widened. In a new court filing, Apple claims additional former staff may have retained or accessed confidential information.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

Daffodil Health Launches No Surprises Act Dispute Management Solution

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 14:03:00 +0000

Daffodil Health launched an AI-powered solution to help payers manage No Surprises Act disputes by automating claims review, negotiations, and arbitration workflows. The post Daffodil Health Launches No Surprises Act Dispute Management Solution appeared first on Above the Law.

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Reproductive technologies and the federal constitutional vacuum

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 14:00:00 +0000

Reproductive technologies and the federal constitutional vacuum

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India moves to give its instant payments network a business model

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 13:31:17 +0000

The legislation lays the groundwork for a potential overhaul of India's zero-merchant-discount-rate regime, under which businesses have not paid fees to accept UPI payments since 2020.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

LexisNexis Opens Customer Innovation Lab in New York to Bring Customers, Engineers and AI Companies Together to Build Legal AI in Real Time

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 11:59:47 +0000

LexisNexis Legal & Professional today announced the opening of its Customer Innovation Lab in New York City, a physical space where legal professionals, LexisNexis engineers, and AI technology partners including OpenAI and Amazon Web Services work side by side to design, prototype and test new legal AI capabilities – sometimes iterating on an idea multiple […]

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OpenAI drags Apple’s lawsuit into the court of public opinion

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 11:27:55 +0000

Apple's legal battle against OpenAI just got messier now that the ChatGPT-maker has publicly aired receipts to counter Apple's version of events. In a blog post published overnight titled "Apple is getting this wrong," OpenAI said that Apple's lawsuit accusing it of stealing trade secrets is "careless, aggressive, and oddly personal," sharing iMessage and email […]

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Pluralistic: Post-American compute for a post-American Internet (04 Aug 2026)

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 11:14:27 +0000

Today's links Post-American compute for a post-American Internet: Building cooperative human rights computing infrastructure in Puerto Rico, the EU, Canada and Mexico. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Urine Luck; Germany v pornoscanners; Moorcock's 3-day novels; Women's voices can never be "right"; Drone delivery v reality; Abortion activists: TNG; AI coders are a marketing claim. Upcoming appearances: Edinburgh, Sydney, Melbourne, Brighton, London, South Bend. Recent appearances: Where I've been. Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em. Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em. Colophon: All the rest. Post-American compute for a post-American Internet (permalink) Obviously, the non-American world has a digital sovereignty problem – Trump has means, motive and opportunity to order his tech companies to shut down any public official, large corporation, or individual who displeases him: https://pluralistic.net/2026/06/18/their-trillions-our-billions/#eyes-on-the-prize But Americans face the same digital sovereignty risk. America is a lawless place now, where a pliable Supreme Court and supine Congress have affirmed that "it's not a crime if the president does it." The same tech giants who sold out to Trump for tax breaks and protection from antitrust enforcement will happily disconnect any member of the American public, any American company, any American official who displeases Trump. It's a strange irony that in this moment when so many of us are struggling to "de-Google" our lives, a forcible, sudden de-Googling amounts to a sort of digital death penalty: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/21/technology/google-surveillance-toddler-photo.html In a world dominated by tech monopolies, duopolies and cartels, there's every reason in the world to seek protection and insulation from these companies that are "too big to care" – and yet, the very same dominance that makes these companies such a danger also makes them indispensable. Take "ICE Block," an iOS app that warns you if there's an ICE thug hunting people like you in your vicinity, which might save you from being kidnapped, disappeared, sent to a concentration camp, forced into slave labor in El Salvador, or simply murdered. In order to protect its relationship with the Trump regime (and the tax breaks, monopoly power and tariff-free access to Chinese labor that that relationship guarantees), Apple declared ICE officers to be a protected class and then removed ICE Block from its App Store: https://pluralistic.net/2025/10/06/rogue-capitalism/#orphaned-syrian-refugees-need-not-apply Big Tech is key to Trump's pogroms. Without Oracle's databases, Microsoft's administrative tools, Amazon's cloud, and Google's location data, ICE would be frozen in place. Big Tech is the source of Americans' risk from authoritarian oppression. That means that Americans cannot rely on Big Tech to protect them from that authoritarianism. And yet, after decades of regulatory forbearance and lax antitrust enforcement, Big Tech has forced nearly all its rivals out of business. Who can compete with companies that use Irish domicile to evade taxation and US domicile to evade privacy law? There's a joke from eastern Canada I think of often in situations like this. Its punchline goes, "If you wanted to get there, I wouldn't start from here." But here we are. And speaking of Canada, while it has many problems, it is not (as of time of writing) the USA, but it is connected to the USA via the internet. Which means that Americans could – hypothetically – source their computing infrastructure from suppliers that were based in Canada, and who strictly ensured that they had no dependency on US services and scrupulously avoided a US "enforcement nexus": https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/05/theyre-still-trying-to-ban-cryptography/ That is exactly what some American – and international – human rights nonprofits have done. The Technology Freedom Cooperative is a brand new organization founded by the Human Rights Data Analysis Group (San Francisco), Kilómetro 0 (Puerto Rico), Invisible Institute (Chicago), Data Cívica (Mexico) and Innocence & Justice Louisiana: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/techfreedomcoop-stuart-flack-8eipc/ All of these organizations are longstanding, highly effective human rights fighters. They have long, storied histories of collecting, analyzing, and presenting data to address systemic discrimination, false imprisonment, extrajudicial killings, war crimes and genocides. They have concluded that they can't rely on US tech and US servers with their data. Not after Trump and Microsoft colluded to kill the online accounts of the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to punish him for swearing out a genocide warrant against Netanyahu: https://apnews.com/article/icc-trump-sanctions-karim-khan-court-a4b4c02751ab84c09718b1b95cbd5db3 Tech Freedom Coop has federated computing resources in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Europe. By spreading out their data and computation across multiple jurisdictions, they seek to ensure that a US seizure or deletion of their data will not halt their work. This federated system serves as a replacement for Big Tech's administrative tools – email hosting, cloud storage, document collaboration. More than that: Tech Freedom Coop is also building out its own AI infrastructure, locally hosted and managed. Groups like HRDAG have decades of experience using cutting edge statistical techniques to uncover and reveal the extent of crimes committed during civil wars, hot wars, genocides and secret wars. They built the largest human rights database ever created, to track every death in the Colombian Civil War and estimate the likelihood that each killing was carried out by a CIA-backed militia, FARC guerrillas, or the Colombian military: https://hrdag.org/colombia/ They conducted the first ever census of killing by US police officers: https://hrdag.org/poli/ They partnered with Innocence Project New Orleans to sift through mountains of arrest reports to surface cases similar to successful exonerations, helping more innocents to win their freedom: https://hrdag.org/2025/02/20/ipno/ Today, they are active across the USA, tracking and analyzing the crimes committed by the Trump regime: https://hrdag.org/2026/07/05/naming-police-officers-who-kill-in-california/ And they are working in Gaza, to document the genocide so that someday, the truth can be acknowledged and the perpetrators brought to justice: https://hrdag.org/pressroom/nyt-gaza-toll/ I've known Patrick Ball, the statistician and programmer who founded HRDAG, for more than 20 years, and every time we meet, I learn something from him. He's the person who comes to mind whenever people tell me that AI is useless and that programmers who claim otherwise are deluded. Patrick is one of the best programmers I know, he is the very best statistician I know, and he's found many, many ways to use coding assistants to help him perform massive data-analysis projects that are vital to human rights struggles. He's a "centaur" if ever there was one: https://pluralistic.net/2025/12/05/pop-that-bubble/#u-washington It's exciting to see Patrick and his colleagues and collaborators taking these decisive steps to begin building the post-American internet and a kind of post-bubble AI, where AI tools are treated as normal technologies, capable of helping skilled practitioners who have discernment born of experience to apply them wisely to achieve important things: https://pluralistic.net/2026/07/28/hitl-ers/#ai-ai-oh For more than 20 years, HRDAG has been impressing me with the things we can do using advanced statistical analysis. The current generation of AI tools are founded in advanced stats, too. No one should think that advanced stats can solve all your problems of course. The AI bubble is madness and will lead to ruin – environmental, economic, political: https://pluralistic.net/2026/05/26/the-ai-will-continue/#until-morale-improves The world would be a better place without the AI bubble. But AI? It's fine. It's another form of statistical analysis and inference. There's no reason to use all the planet's energy, computing and water to perform that analysis, but the correct and desirable amount of useful AI-style computation is nowhere near zero. The coop is building good AI tools – ones grounded in a realistic assessment of their usefulness and a reasonable commitment of resources to them. They're running open models based on their own data, on computers they own and control. Their stated goal is to "help organizations test whether models are accurate, reproducible, secure, and appropriate for specific human rights use cases." Which brings me to the final component of Tech Freedom Coop: training. They're teaching people who work in human rights how to administer their own servers, secure their data and communications, and analyze data. As their press release says, these are all "skills that are increasingly necessary for human rights organizations documenting abuses of power." I've known this was coming for a while now, and I'm so pleased to see that it's finally launched. At last, the first steps towards a post-American internet. Hey look at this (permalink) Rappler: Open Source Intelligence Researcher https://gijn.org/jobs/open-source-intelligence-researcher/ Plutonomy—the AI Edition—and the Coming Crisis https://www.levyinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/wp_1122.pdf The Real Story Behind the 2018 Google Walkout https://www.wired.com/story/2018-google-walkout-dont-be-evil-claire-stapleton/ Object permanence (permalink) #25yrsago Asia Carrera’s makeup tips http://www.asiacarrera.com/makeup/welcome.html #25yrsago Tommy Chong's Urine Luck https://web.archive.org/web/20010818124925/https://hempmasters.com/urineluck/ #15yrsago German cops call airport full-body pornoscanners “useless,” EU requires opt out from scanning https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2011/08/german_police_c.html #15yrsago Write an adventure novel in three days, the Michael Moorcock way https://web.archive.org/web/20110705155756/https://wetasphalt.com/?q=content/how-write-book-three-days-lessons-michael-moorcock #10yrsago DRM: You have the right to know what you’re buying! https://www.eff.org/files/2016/08/06/eff_request_for_investigation_re_labeling_drm-limited_products.pdf #10yrsago Bureaucrats disqualify Hong Kong legislative candidates for insufficient loyalty https://globalvoices.org/2016/08/05/hong-kong-election-officials-disqualify-six-legislative-candidates-for-not-being-loyal-enough-to-china/ #10yrsago The Vlogbrothers guide to voting in every state in the union https://www.youtube.com/c/howtovoteineverystate #10yrsago Vocal fry, uptalking, nasal: women’s voices can never be “right” https://www.thecut.com/2016/07/female-voice-anxiety-c-v-r.html #5yrsago Facebook escalates war on accountability https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/05/comprehensive-sex-ed/#quis-custodiet-ipsos-zuck #5yrsago Drone delivery crashes https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/05/comprehensive-sex-ed/#droned #5yrsago Anti-vaxers cool the mark https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/05/comprehensive-sex-ed/#goffman #5yrsago Meet the new generation of pro-abortion activists https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/05/comprehensive-sex-ed/#never-again #1yrago Bragging about replacing coders with AI is a sales-pitch https://pluralistic.net/2025/08/05/ex-princes-of-labor/#hyper-criti-hype Upcoming appearances (permalink) Virtual: EFFecting Change: Who the Machine Serves, Aug 12 https://www.eff.org/event/effecting-change-who-machine-serves Edinburgh International Book Festival with Jimmy Wales, Aug 17 https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/events/the-front-list-cory-doctorow-and-jimmy-wales Sydney: The Festival of Dangerous Ideas, Aug 23-24 https://festivalofdangerousideas.com/program/ Melbourne: Enshittification at the Wheeler Centre, Aug 25 https://www.wheelercentre.com/events-tickets/season-2026/cory-doctorow-enshittification Brighton: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI with Carole Cadwalladr (Brighton Dome), Sep 8 https://brightondome.org/whats-on/LSC-cory-doctorow-the-reverse-centaurs-guide-to-life-after-ai/ London: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI with Riley Quinn (Foyle's Picadilly), Sep 9 https://www.foyles.co.uk/events/enshittification-cory-doctorow-riley-quinn South Bend: An Evening With Cory Doctorow (Notre Dame), Oct 6 https://franco.nd.edu/events/2026/10/06/an-evening-with-cory-doctorow/ Vancouver: BC Policy Solutions Gala, Nov 12 https://bcpolicy.ca/gala/ Recent appearances (permalink) The AI Enshittification Bubble (Hidden Forces) https://hiddenforces.io/podcasts/the-ai-enshittification-bubble-cory-doctorow/ F@#$ the AI Overlords (On The Media) https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/articles/f-the-ai-overlords Why AI Won't Replace Workers, But Will Crash The Economy (Smart Cookies) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRRmUuxJolY AI and the Enshittification Era (The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dAIJRjb-Bw AI is not inevitable (Betakit) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbiTVkq1WHo Latest books (permalink) "The Reverse-Centaur's Guide to AI," a short book about being a better AI critic, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, June 2026 https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374621568/thereversecentaursguidetolifeafterai/ "Canny Valley": A limited edition collection of the collages I create for Pluralistic, self-published, September 2025 https://pluralistic.net/2025/09/04/illustrious/#chairman-bruce "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, October 7 2025 https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/ "Picks and Shovels": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about the heroic era of the PC, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2025 (https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865908/picksandshovels). "The Bezzle": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about prison-tech and other grifts, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2024 (thebezzle.org). "The Lost Cause:" a solarpunk novel of hope in the climate emergency, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), November 2023 (http://lost-cause.org). "The Internet Con": A nonfiction book about interoperability and Big Tech (Verso) September 2023 (http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org). Signed copies at Book Soup (https://www.booksoup.com/book/9781804291245). "Red Team Blues": "A grabby, compulsive thriller that will leave you knowing more about how the world works than you did before." Tor Books http://redteamblues.com. "Chokepoint Capitalism: How to Beat Big Tech, Tame Big Content, and Get Artists Paid, with Rebecca Giblin", on how to unrig the markets for creative labor, Beacon Press/Scribe 2022 https://chokepointcapitalism.com Upcoming books (permalink) "The Post-American Internet," a geopolitical sequel of sorts to Enshittification, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2027 "Unauthorized Bread": a middle-grades graphic novel adapted from my novella about refugees, toasters and DRM, FirstSecond, April 20, 2027 "Enshittification, Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It" (the graphic novel), Firstsecond, 2027 "The Memex Method," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2027 Colophon (permalink) Today's top sources: Currently writing: “Once Is Enemy Action,” a science fiction novel about the origins of modern technofascism. Today's words: 692 (692 total). "The Post-American Internet," a sequel to "Enshittification," about the better world the rest of us get to have now that Trump has torched America. Fourth draft completed. Submitted to editor. A Little Brother short story about DIY insulin PLANNING This work – excluding any serialized fiction – is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. That means you can use it any way you like, including commercially, provided that you attribute it to me, Cory Doctorow, and include a link to pluralistic.net. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Quotations and images are not included in this license; they are included either under a limitation or exception to copyright, or on the basis of a separate license. Please exercise caution. How to get Pluralistic: Blog (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): Pluralistic.net Newsletter (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://pluralistic.net/plura-list Mastodon (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic Bluesky (no ads, possible tracking and data-collection): https://bsky.app/profile/doctorow.pluralistic.net Medium (no ads, paywalled): https://doctorow.medium.com/ Tumblr (mass-scale, unrestricted, third-party surveillance and advertising): https://mostlysignssomeportents.tumblr.com/tagged/pluralistic "When life gives you SARS, you make sarsaparilla" -Joey "Accordion Guy" DeVilla READ CAREFULLY: By reading this, you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies ("BOGUS AGREEMENTS") that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer. ISSN: 3066-764X

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Apple issues new challenge against UK order for access to private user data

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 10:22:40 +0000

It is the latest development in the ongoing dispute between Apple and the Home Office over data privacy.

Source feed: https://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/technology/rss.xml

Apple launches legal challenge against UK government demand to access data

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 17:35:44 +0000

The Home Office has made a fresh request for ‘back door’ access to encrypted iCloud data belonging to British usersApple has launched a new legal challenge against a UK government demand to access its customers’ highly encrypted data, a year after the Home Office agreed to abandon its previous request.The US tech company launched the legal complaint last month at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT), an independent court that has the power to investigate claims that the UK intelligence services have acted unlawfully. Continue reading...

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The Senate Should Reject KOSA's Privacy Risks

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 23:47:38 +0000

The Senate Commerce Committee is once again considering legislation that would dramatically expand age verification, and undermine privacy for everyone. Alongside the SCREEN Act, the CHATBOT Act, and the Youth AI Privacy Act, the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) would push companies to collect more information about their users while creating new incentives to restrict lawful speech. Take action Tell Congress: KOSA endangers the privacy of all KOSA Pushes Platforms Toward Age Verification The Senate version of KOSA imposes a “duty of care” on online services, including social media, to avoid exposing young people to certain material the law deems harmful. But those obligations only work if online services know which users are minors. That means more platforms will be pressured to implement age verification or age estimation systems. That’s not a bill that increases privacy—it’s one that creates new privacy problems. Whether companies verify ages by checking government IDs, performing facial analysis, checking your bank records, or collecting other personal information, all of these systems require the handing over of more sensitive data, simply to access lawful online speech and services. They also create new databases of personal information that can be breached, misused, or demanded by governments. Everyone deserves privacy online. Congress could push for a bill that protects privacy for all users, but that’s not what they’re doing here. Instead, KOSA and the other bills coming up for a vote this week push online services to adopt systems that require people to identify themselves before they can speak, read, or participate online. KOSA Still Creates Incentives to Censor Lawful Speech Some online content isn’t appropriate for minors. Families, schools, and communities all have important roles to play in helping children navigate the internet. But KOSA takes those decisions away from families and the young people who have a First Amendment right to speak and access information online. It instead empowers government officials to enforce how online services handle lawful speech. And by empowering elected attorneys general in states across the country to enforce KOSA, the bill means those elected officials, rather than your family, deciding what’s appropriate online content for teens. Even more likely, it will lead to limits on what minors and adults are able to see at all, as companies shut down potentially controversial forums in order to avoid legal action from government bureaucrats. The latest version of KOSA once again includes a broad "duty of care" requiring platforms to mitigate a wide range of alleged harms to minors. Whatever disclaimers and exceptions the bill includes, the practical effect is unchanged. When platforms face liability for content that someone later claims contributed to harms like anxiety, eating disorders, or substance use, the safest response is to remove lawful speech or shut down forums discussing those topics altogether. More worrisome, the potential liability KOSA creates may push online services to either remove speech well in advance of a young person seeing it, or block young people’s access so they never see it. That will likely include forums where people try to help each other, find community and recovery resources for the exact harms listed in the bill, like gambling and drug addiction. In trying to protect young people, KOSA may actually cut them off from valuable sources of support. We've explained these censorship risks in detail before, and they remain just as real in the latest version of the bill. Congress Should Reject KOSA Minors deserve meaningful privacy protections online—as do adults. But KOSA moves in the opposite direction by encouraging more age verification, as well as more legal pressure for platforms to monitor and restrict lawful speech. The Senate Commerce Committee should reject KOSA, along with the other bills in this legislative package, and instead pursue comprehensive privacy legislation that protects everyone—not just minors—without undermining privacy, security, or free expression. Take action Congress shouldn't set the rules for what we see online

Source feed: https://www.eff.org/rss/updates.xml

EFF Joins 18 Civil Rights Organizations Calling on Governor Hochul to Reject the Stealth Crawler Prohibition Act

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 23:25:40 +0000

EFF joined a group of 18 civil society organizations to send a letter encouraging New York Governor Kathy Hochul to Senate Bill 9934A, the New York Stealth Crawler Prohibition Act. The letter states: While framed as a measure to protect local journalism, this legislation harms free expression and establishes a dangerous precedent by effectively deanonymizing and criminalizing automated access to the open web. By requiring all web crawlers to disclose their identity and explicit purpose, and by granting media outlets unchecked authority to obtain judicial subpoenas to unmask unidentified automated web traffic without any showing of misconduct or actual injury, this bill threatens digital privacy, compromises the foundational architecture of the internet, and will ultimately stifle the very independent journalism it seeks to protect. As we’ve previously explained, so-called “stealth crawlers” are simply automated tools to access and collect public web data—without disclosing the user’s identity. Private crawlers like these facilitate all kinds of important work that benefits the public, including investigative reporting, academic research, cybersecurity protection, and EFF’s own Privacy Badger. As we illustrate in the letter: Anonymous crawling fuels important investigative journalism. For example, The Markup, a non-profit news site, used anonymous crawlers to investigate potentially anti-competitive practices by tech companies, such as Amazon’s tendency to prioritize Amazon brands and Amazon-exclusive products over competitors with higher ratings. The crawlers identified themselves as ordinary Firefox browsers to web servers, which allowed The Markup to understand how Amazon search results pages would appear to ordinary users. Similarly, ProPublica used an automated tool designed to simulate an ordinary Amazon customer to reveal that the site steered shoppers to more expensive products over cheaper alternatives. Anonymous web scraping is also crucial for cybersecurity professionals, who use automated tools to monitor the web for information that helps them protect against malicious attackers. Privacy tools, including EFF’s Privacy Badger, also crawl sites anonymously to identify trackers without compromising user privacy. Laws like S9934A sweep far beyond AI, targeting anonymity rather than the real technical issue: overaggressive crawling that can overtax technological infrastructure. Unmasking crawlers won't fix these server strains, but it will chill vital public-interest research and compromise digital privacy. Addressing the harms of web scraping requires narrow technical solutions—not policies that give publishers veto power over the open web. This is why we are calling on Governor Hochul to veto S9934A. You can read the full letter here. For a deeper dive into why crawlers and scrapers are vital for the open web, check out this blog post.

Source feed: https://www.eff.org/rss/updates.xml

EFF Joins Call for FTC to Drop Its Disastrous AI Policy Proposal

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 22:17:56 +0000

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in July issued a proposed policy statement “concerning the suppression of accuracy in artificial intelligence systems.” We urge the FTC to withdraw this misguided proposal and instead focus on its core strengths and mission to protect consumers. The new proposed policy builds on, and directly references, the Trump administration’s “Preventing Woke AI in the Federal Government” executive order—a nightmare for civil liberties that seeks to strong-arm AI companies into modifying their models to conform with the its ideological agenda. In recently filed comments, EFF, Public Knowledge, and Fight for the Future call for the FTC to stop its unconstitutional efforts to regulate lawful speech, override state laws, and intimidate AI developers into ideological alignment with the Trump administration. The government may not install itself as the arbiter of truth. In the joint comments, we outline three critical flaws within the latest proposed policy. First, it violates the First Amendment. The policy calls for the Commission to become the judge of which AI outputs meet an undefined standard of accuracy. Installing the FTC as the authority of this sort of viewpoint-based judgment is a prior restraint on speech. Additionally, the policy’s proposed solution to address speech concerns compounds, rather than properly limits, the likely harms to speech. As we say in our comments: the government may not install itself as the arbiter of truth. Second, it exceeds the FTC’s legal authority by claiming that its federal regulatory rules can override, or “preempt,” laws in states that have passed to regulate artificial intelligence use. This is clearly an attempt to target state laws the administration disagrees with. For example, the policy specifically criticizes Colorado's automated decisionmaking law, which applies when automated technology is used to consider consequential decisions such as those around employment, access to housing, health care, and insurance. We noted to the FTC that characterizing this law as one that requires AI companies to “suppress accuracy,” or encourages deception, is itself inaccurate. In any case, the FTC lacks the authority to put its rules in place over state law, unless Congress directly delegates it that power. It has been given no such power here. Third, the policy is vague and sets the stage for improper jawboning of AI developers and companies that use AI tools (deployers). Jawboning is a term for situations in which the government urges private companies or people to censor another's speech. The proposal, as written, creates an enforcement regime that would put a thumb on the scale in favor of certain partisan speech and ideals. This will lead companies to censor only what the administration interprets as biased or untruthful. Yet, in our filing, we note that the FTC itself can't define an objective standard for what “bias” means, conceding the “exact line of what constitutes bias may be difficult to draw.” There is work the FTC should be doing to protect consumers in the age of AI. In our comments, we conclude by saying: [We] implore the Commission to focus on its core strengths and the mission for which it is so urgently needed—promoting structural market competition and protecting consumers from real unfair and deceptive acts and practices—in both the burgeoning and critically important AI industry and across the broader technology marketplace. EFF and our partners have always urged the FTC to police genuine deception in technology markets. We have also consistently opposed government efforts to dictate what private speakers may say. That’s why we urge the FTC to withdraw this proposal. You can read our full comments here.

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Judge To xAI: If This Law Is So Urgent, Why Did You Wait Three Months To Sue?

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 22:13:30 +0000

Last week we wrote about how Elon Musk’s xAI had filed a lawsuit to attempt to block Minnesota’s anti-nudify app law. As we tried to explain, even if you (reasonably, understandably) dislike both Elon and “nudify” apps, there were real problems with the Minnesota law. In particular, it was not narrowly tailored to just target […]

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The Youth AI Privacy Act’s Privacy Paradox

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 21:08:45 +0000

The Senate Commerce Committee is poised to consider the Youth AI Privacy Act, a bill that would require AI companies to create kids-only privacy rules and implement so-called “safe design features,” which would—like three other bills under consideration this week—require more data collection and make it harder for people to access lawful speech online. While the bill is narrower than some other proposed chatbot bills, it still has massive data security implications because it protects information for only certain users. This creates a problem we’ve cited many times before: if a bill requires that online services offer protections to minor users, the services will respond by imposing age gates to know which users should receive them. A better approach would be to offer the same privacy protections to all users. That way, we would avoid the services having to collect data on everyone to know a users’ age. This bill also contains a problematic and vague provision that expressly allows AI companies to collect a known minor’s personal data for the purpose of testing, identifying, and addressing "harm to users”—without being clear on what exactly that means. Either way, services will need to collect even more information from young people, who are already targets of data theft and identity fraud. The Youth AI Privacy Act will give young people less privacy, not more. The Youth AI Privacy Act does include some positive privacy provisions around prohibiting the processing of personal information, like limiting what companies can do with people’s chat logs, including training, profiling, and disclosing them to other companies for training. But a general privacy bill must set these limits for everyone, not just minors. Mandating Design is Regulating Speech The bill also requires the use of “safe design features,” which would restrict how online services providers design their systems and would deny teenagers the ability to use features like push alerts and notifications. We have seen this same type of restriction, sometimes called “age appropriate design code” in several states, including in California, Texas, and Arkansas. Unfortunately, these restrictions run into constitutional problems. In fact, federal courts have largely blocked these laws from going into effect because they likely violate the First Amendment rights of all internet users and the online services they regulate. Specifically, these laws interfere with internet users’ First Amendment rights to either speak or access speech online, and they also violate the rights on online services to decide how they will present information on their sites. Similarly, the Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that “minors are entitled to a significant measure of First Amendment protection.” This does not mean that parents or guardians can’t set their own rules for their families—they can and they should, based on the needs and circumstances of the individual teenagers. But it does mean that Congress cannot adopt a “one size fits all” regulation that sets a restrictive government default that affects the First Amendment rights of all internet users, including teenagers.

Source feed: https://www.eff.org/rss/updates.xml

The SCREEN Act Threatens Privacy Far Beyond Adult Websites

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 20:07:35 +0000

Who’s legally to blame for Anthropic and OpenAI’s autonomous AI hacks? It’s complicated

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 19:45:35 +0000

OpenAI and Anthropic admitted that their unreleased AI models escaped their sandboxes and hacked several companies in unprecedented cyberattacks. Who is legally to blame? Should prosecutors charge the two AI frontier labs? Can victims sue them? We spoke to lawyers who specialize in computer hacking laws to find out.

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Apple challenges UK government’s latest demand for iCloud backdoor: report

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 18:54:09 +0000

Apple has appealed a new legal demand by the U.K. government, which critics say could threaten the privacy rights of users all over the world.

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Matthew Thomas Is Right: Good Legal Judgment Can’t Be Automated

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 18:36:43 +0000

The future of in-house law isn't about competing with AI on speed. The post Matthew Thomas Is Right: Good Legal Judgment Can’t Be Automated appeared first on Above the Law.

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New Site From Suffolk Law Dean Andrew Perlman Catalogs AI Policies at 128 Law Schools

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 17:53:08 +0000

When law school AI policies have made news, it has usually been because they were controversial. UC Berkeley School of Law’s restrictive policy, which I wrote about in May, drew national attention for barring generative AI from nearly every stage of producing graded work. But a new website launched by Andrew Perlman, dean of Suffolk […]

Source feed: https://www.lawnext.com/feed

Europe’s AI labeling and transparency rules are now in effect

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 17:38:45 +0000

The European Union has ushered in some additional rules that aim to make it easier for people to identify chatbots and AI deepfakes online. The new transparency obligations under the bloc's landmark AI Act came into effect on August 2nd, requiring companies to disclose when people are interacting with AI models, and if content has […]

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Descrybe Open-Sources Its Legal Research Plumbing

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 17:03:04 +0000

Anthropic's own legal repo tells lawyers to connect a research tool before they do anything else. Descrybe is ready to be the thing on the other end. The post Descrybe Open-Sources Its Legal Research Plumbing appeared first on Above the Law.

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As AI Legal Research Tools Race to Give Answers, This New Product Gives Only Cases — And That’s the Point

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 16:08:49 +0000

At a time when virtually every major AI legal research product is moving toward delivering a single, synthesized answer to your research question, a new product launching today is based on the premise that many litigators want something that sounds almost old school – just the cases. Align Research, released to general availability this morning […]

Source feed: https://www.lawnext.com/feed

How To Avoid Hallucinations: A Legal Research AI That Works Like A Junior Lawyer

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 15:09:45 +0000

[Sponsored] Can we make legal research AI stop hallucinating? The answer is yes – and it’s how attorneys approach legal research with their associates. The post How To Avoid Hallucinations: A Legal Research AI That Works Like A Junior Lawyer appeared first on Above the Law.

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EFF at BSidesLV, Black Hat, and DEF CON 👨‍💻

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 14:45:00 +0000

It's time. Time for tinkerers, security researchers, hackers, and fellow nerds to gather together in signature black hoodies and utilikilts to beat the heat in Las Vegas for the summer security conferences: BSidesLV, Black Hat USA, and DEF CON. EFF's lawyers, activists, and technologists are excited, as always, to support this community of folks that push computer security forward. If you're attending the conference and have any legal concerns about an upcoming talk or sensitive infosec research—during the Las Vegas conferences or anytime—don't hesitate to reach out to info@eff.org where our intake team is ready to assist! Share a brief summary of the issue, and we'll do our best to connect you with the right resources. You can also learn more about our work supporting technologists on our Coders' Rights Project page. Be sure to swing by the expo areas at all three conferences to say hello to your friendly neighborhood EFF staffers! You'll probably spot us roaming the conference halls, but we'd love for you to stop by our booths to catch up on our latest work, get on our action alerts, and become an EFF member! For the whole week, we'll have our limited-edition DEF CON 34 t-shirt on hand. We're excited to see them—and other EFF gear—take over each conference! EFF Staff Presentations Privacy's Defenders: How Hackers Helped and Can Do So Again Hackers have a long history standing up for justice and that history has a lot to teach and inspire the hackers of today as we face a world with 360-degree surveillance that is increasingly marshaled against us by both companies and governments. My talk will tell background and stories from my book, Privacy's Defender, that tells the story of my 30 years working with EFF to try to protect security and privacy in the digital age. Cards on the table: I'm trying to recruit you to join in the fight.WHERE: Florentine F | BSides Las VegasWHEN: Monday, August 3 @ 11:00WHO: Cindy Cohn - Former EFF Executive Director Ask EFF at BSidesLV Panelists from the EFF Staff will give brief updates on key topics in their expertise before turning it over to BSides attendees to ask their burning questions about policy, advocacy and making the future of tech brighter. It's a dynamic session fostering engaging discussions on digital rights featuring an EFF staff attorney, activist, and public interest technologist.WHERE: Florentine F | BSides Las VegasWHEN: Tuesday, August 4 @ 14:00WHO: EFF's Rory Mir, Kenyatta Thomas, Alexis Hancock, Haley Pederson, and Cindy Cohn What Election Security Researchers Need to Know about Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act WHERE: Voting Village | DEF CONWHEN: Friday, August 7, 10:30-11:00WHO: EFF Staff Attorney Tori Noble Privacy's Defender: How Hackers Protected the Internet Before and Can Do It Again EFF's Outgoing Executive Director Cindy Cohn' presents her first-person stories from her recently published book, Privacy's Defender, that take you Inside the privacy battles that have shaped today's Internet. It includes the hackers who helped free up encryption technology from US governmental control, allowing us to have the still imperfect privacy and security we now have online, and the battles to stop the mass NSA spying and eternal gag orders that arose from the governments formerly secret mass spying programs in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. She then draws from that long career of legal activism to the fights of today and tomorrow, featuring the role that hackers can play in helping to bring about a better, more just future.WHERE: Creator Stage 1 | DEF CONWHEN: Friday, August 7, 15:00-16:30WHO: Former EFF Executive Director, Cindy Cohn Why Mandatory Age Verification Keeps Us All Less Safe WHERE: Creator Stage 7 | DEF CONWHEN: Saturday, August 8, 13:30-14:30WHO: EFF Director of Engineering Alexis Hancock & EFF Social Media and Video Manager Kenyatta Thomas ESP32 As A Counter-Surveillance Platform Privacy should be accessible to all. Historically, counter-surveillance tools have been expensive, complex, and inaccessible to most individuals, often limited to well-funded researchers and costly hardware configurations. The ESP32 offers a transformative alternative. This presentation will demonstrate how an affordable microcontroller has become the foundation for a growing suite of open-source, user-friendly anti-surveillance tools. We will discuss the technical features that make the ESP32 a compelling choice for these applications, including passive 802.11 and Bluetooth monitoring, OUI-based device fingerprinting, and robust cryptographic capabilities. Applications include detecting police body cameras in operational environments, mapping Flock Safety automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) infrastructure, identifying unauthorized drones, detecting radio frequency jamming across 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and cellular bands, and tracking autonomous robots operating with known-vulnerable firmware. These tools are cost-effective and freely available. We will also consider future developments in accessible counter-surveillance hardware, such as the ESP32-S5 with 5GHz support, GPS, displays, haptics, etc. Advancing anti-surveillance culture requires designing devices that individuals are motivated to use and carry.WHERE: Main Track 1 | DEF CONWHEN: Sunday, August 9, 10:00-11:00WHO: EFF Senior Staff Technologist Cooper Quintin Tactical Advocacy: Panel & Peer Sessions with EFF WHERE: Policy Village | DEF CONWHEN: Sunday, August 9, 12:30-14:00WHO: EFF's Thorin Klosowski, Cooper Quintin, Alexis Hancock, Tori Noble, Rory Mir & Cindy Cohn EFF Contests at DEF CON 34 EFF Benefit Poker Tournament We’re going all in on internet freedom. Take a break from hacking the Gibson to face off with your competition at the tables—and benefit EFF! Your buy-in is paired with a donation to support EFF’s mission to protect online privacy and free expression for all. Join us on Friday, August 7 at 12:00 at theHorseshoe Poker Room. Play for glory. Play for money. Play for the future of the web.WHERE: Horseshoe Poker Room, 3645 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109WHEN: Friday, August 7, 12:00-15:00 Beard and Mustache Contest Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like. Join EFF at the intersection of facial hair and hacker culture. Spectate, heckle, or compete in any of four categories: Full beard, Partial Beard, Moustache Only, or Freestyle (anything goes so create your own facial apparatus!). Prizes! Donations to EFF! Beard oil!WHERE: Contest Stage (near the entrance to Hall 1)WHEN: Friday, August 7, 13:00-14:00 Tech Trivia Contest Join us for some tech trivia on Saturday, August 8! EFF's privacy and security experts have crafted a new trivia challenge for DEF CON 34! Compete as a team in our no-holds-barred showdown to prove mastery over the obscure facts of digital security, online rights, and internet culture. The First Place team wins a set of custom Cybertiger Champion Badges and EFF swag. Second and third place teams will also win Badges and EFF gear. Invite your friends OR show up and make new friends! Did someone say BRIBES? The world is unfair! You too could influence the judges to add a point or two to your team's tally. Overall Bribe winner also wins a custom badge!WHERE: Contest Stage (near the entrance to Hall 1)WHEN: Saturday, August 8, 17:00-20:00 Privacy's Defender Book Signing with Cindy Cohn Grab a copy of former EFF Executive Director Cindy Cohn's new book, Privacy's Defender—and get it signed—while at DEF CON 34!WHERE: Exhibit Hall West 4 (Book Signings)WHEN: Saturday, August 8, 11:00-12:00 AND 13:00-14:00 Join the Cause! Come find our table at BSidesLV (Middle Ground), Black Hat USA (back of the Business Hall), and DEF CON (Vendor Hall) to learn more about the latest in online rights, get on our action alert list, or donate to become an EFF member. We'll also have our limited-edition DEF CON 34 shirts available starting Monday at BSidesLV! These shirts have a puzzle incorporated into the design. Snag one online for yourself starting on Tuesday, August 4 if you're not in Vegas! Join EFF Support Security & Digital Innovation

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The End of Legal Scholarship?

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 10:30:42 +0000

Andrew Perlman, Generative AI and the Future of Legal Scholarship (June 2026 edition), available at SSRN (June 9, 2026). Eli Wald Crisis claims, especially around disruptive technological innovation, tend to sell well, but are often overstated. This is true in general (the e-reader, which used to be a thing, before tablets and smart phones, was not the end of printed books), and in the practice of law (AI has not ended lawyering and the legal profession), notwithstanding popular assertions to the [...] The post The End of Legal Scholarship? appeared first on Legal Profession. The post The End of Legal Scholarship? appeared first on Jotwell.

Source feed: https://feedpress.me/jotwell

Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt

Sun, 02 Aug 2026 19:45:00 +0000

This week, both our winners on the insightful side come in response to the protestor who is charged with destroying property for giving CBP agents the “duress mode” password to wipe his phone. In first place, it’s an anonymous comment extending our characterization of what the DOJ is doing here: While simultaneously pushing to institute […]

Source feed: https://www.techdirt.com/feed/

Is paying artists enough to convince them to embrace AI?

Sun, 02 Aug 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Illustrators have spent years sounding the alarm about generative artificial intelligence startups training their models on artists' work without permission. They've pointed out how the practice is tantamount to theft, and in response, many gen AI boosters have argued that it's necessary for the technology's evolution. This has led to contentious legal battles, but it's […]

Source feed: https://www.theverge.com/rss/index.xml

Judge denies xAI’s request to block Minnesota ban on ‘nudify’ apps

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 20:26:04 +0000

Despite a lawsuit from xAI, a Minnesota ban on apps that allow users to “nudify” images can move forward.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

After noise complaints, judge orders Waymo to stop overnight charging in Santa Monica

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 11:30:54 +0000

Autonomous vehicle giant disturbs residents' sleep.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

The OpenAI and Anthropic AI Hacking Sprees Are a Messy New Legal Frontier

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 09:30:00 +0000

Both major AI labs’ models broke containment, escaped onto the internet, and hacked other companies. If a human had done that, the law would likely be against them. But a bot?

Source feed: https://www.wired.com/feed/category/security/latest/rss

Reddit keeps its strange DMCA fight over Google search results alive

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 21:19:39 +0000

Reddit advances lawsuit accusing Perplexity AI of conspiring with web scraper.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

How To Gain Visibility Through Featured Snippets

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 21:35:00 +0000

Understanding how Google selects pages and content for these featured snippets is the first step toward making sure your law firm appears in the top spot with greater frequency. The post How To Gain Visibility Through Featured Snippets appeared first on Above the Law.

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Likely illegally, Claude gained access to 3 networks. Will Anthropic be held to account?

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 20:39:14 +0000

Had the hacks used conventional methods, someone would likely go to prison.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

Amending AB 1709 Doesn’t Fix It: California’s Social Media Ban Still Threatens Free Speech and Privacy

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 19:47:34 +0000

California lawmakers have amended A.B. 1709, but the core problem remains: the bill is still a ban on social media access for youth under 16, and it still threatens the privacy and First Amendment rights of all Californians. Proponents of the bill may argue that the recent amendments represent a compromise, but a close look at the text shows no major changes. As the bill moves forward in the Senate, we must continue to urge lawmakers to vote NO. Take Action: Tell Your Senator to OPPOSE A.B. 1709 Fake Compromise That Still Denies Access Under the newly amended Section 22683, platforms are prohibited from offering "addictive features" to users under 16. A platform can allow a minor to keep an account only if it strips away these features, which include what the bill calls "addictive feeds," auto-play, and anything else the Attorney General designates in future rulemaking. However, the bill defines "addictive feeds" so broadly that it covers virtually every functional recommendation algorithm. The bill applies this label to any presentation of user-generated content recommended "in whole or in part, on information provided by the user." That includes basic inputs like who a user follows, what posts they like, or their self-expressed interests. By calling these basic tools and features “addictive," the bill also makes broad conclusions about the unsettled science behind social media use, youth, and addiction. Because almost every major social media service uses automated feeds to deliver content, the end result of AB 1709 remains the same: young people under 16 will be denied access to major social media services as they currently exist. Even if a platform attempts to comply by stripping away recommendation systems for minors, this still violates the First Amendment. Recommendation systems are the primary tools that users rely on to find speech and disseminate their own. Forcing young people onto a stripped-down, dysfunctional version of social media burdens their constitutional right to access information and participate in public discourse. AB 1709 Still Forces Invasive Age Verification The amendments do not eliminate the privacy threats posed by age gating. Although the bill references the age-signaling framework in AB 1043, Section 22684 explicitly states that a covered platform "shall verify the age of a user” and makes platforms liable every time a person under 16 makes it through an age check. Because AB 1043 does not actually specify how verification should occur without requiring additional proof, AB 1709 will, in practice, force platforms to implement the strictest forms of age verification. To comply, platforms will likely require users to upload government-issued IDs or submit to biometric scanning. Forcing users to turn over their personal information will create massive honeypots of sensitive personal data, destroying online anonymity and exposing users of all ages to security breaches. And relying on biometric systems to verify users’ ages is problematic because the systems have historically had high error rates estimating ages across race and gender lines. Take Action: Tell Your Senator to OPPOSE A.B. 1709 Lawmakers Must Reject AB 1709 The amendments to AB 1709 also introduce legal confusion, creating provisions that conflict with already enacted legislation like SB 976. Rather than providing clarity or protecting young people, AB 1709 creates a tangled regulatory scheme that sacrifices constitutional rights for political grandstanding. Denying minors access to digital forums—or stripping those forums of the basic tools needed to navigate them—is censorship. California should not set a national precedent of cutting young people off from digital lifelines, communities, and speech. We need to keep the pressure on as AB 1709 moves through the Senate. Contact your state senator today and tell them that minor tweaks to a bad bill do not make it good policy.

Source feed: https://www.eff.org/rss/updates.xml

The SCREEN Act Threatens Privacy Far Beyond Adult Websites

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 19:41:55 +0000

The Senate Commerce Committee is set to consider S. 737, the SCREEN Act, a sweeping age-verification bill that would require online services to verify users’ ages before they can access any sexually explicit content. If this bill passes, it will force millions of adult internet users to give up their anonymity, privacy, and security before they access lawful speech. Unlike many state-age verification laws—which have been harmful in their own right—the SCREEN Act has no requirement that a significant portion of the website consist of sexually explicit content that is harmful to minors. The bill requires nearly any service hosting even a single piece of sexually explicit content to verify the ages of its users. The result is that the bill would apply not only to adult content sites like PornHub or OnlyFans, but also streaming services like Netflix, and social media platforms like Reddit, Discord, or Bluesky, if they host any adult content. The SCREEN Act does not merely require users to attest they are adults. It specifically states that “requiring a user to confirm that the user is not a minor shall not be sufficient.” In practice, that means platforms would have to verify users’ ages using methods tied to their real identities. Providing proof of age online is dramatically different, and far more invasive, than showing your ID at the door to a bartender or bouncer. In the physical world, the bouncer at the door looks at your ID card, confirms you’re old enough, and gives it back to you. Under the SCREEN Act, the “bouncer” will be a digital age-verification service that captures your personal information and saves it to a database for an unspecified amount of time. The consequences of the bill won’t be limited to minors. If websites and apps are expected to reliably identify teenagers, adults will be asked to prove they are adults. Even worse, the SCREEN Act is a privacy and data security nightmare. One provision of the bill requires services to take reasonable steps to protect the data collected and to not maintain for longer than is necessary. But these are terribly weak protections that impose no meaningful collection, use, or retention limits on services collecting people’s private information. In other words, the third parties tasked with verifying a user’s age on a platform could sweep up a lot of personal info they don’t actually need and then could use that information for any number of purposes, so long as they deem their actions reasonable. Companies would then be allowed to keep the information users have been compelled to turn over for as long as possible, raising security and privacy issues along the way. The SCREEN Act Attacks Your Right To Use VPNs The SCREEN Act also targets virtual private network (VPN) users and providers. The bill requires covered websites to verify users' ages based on their IP addresses unless the service can determine that the user is outside the United States, and specifically requires age verification on traffic coming from known VPN addresses. In practice, this discourages the use of VPNs and proxy servers, which millions of people rely on for legitimate purposes such as protecting personal privacy, securing public Wi-Fi connections, safeguarding journalists and activists, and preventing data tracking. VPNs mask your real location by routing your internet traffic through a server somewhere else. When you visit a website through a VPN, that website only sees the VPN server's IP address, not your actual location. It's like sending a letter through a P.O. box so the recipient doesn't know where you really live. VPNs are a privacy and security tool used by millions of internet users every day, and their use should not be treated as suspect. It is particularly galling that the SCREEN Act forces users who intentionally take steps to protect their privacy to identify themselves. The SCREEN Act creates onerous age-verification rules that will block adults from accessing lawful speech, curtail their ability to be anonymous, and jeopardize the data security and privacy of all internet users.

Source feed: https://www.eff.org/rss/updates.xml

The CHATBOT Act Forces One Parenting Model On Every Family

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 19:06:43 +0000

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing education, and the way people search for information. Parents, teenagers, teachers, and schools are struggling with tough questions about when AI should, and should not, be used. It makes sense for Congress to hold hearings and examine how AI should be used by minors. But the recently introduced CHATBOT Act answers those questions with a one-size-fits-all mandate governing how teenagers access AI through federally prescribed parental monitoring systems. The Bill Requires AI Companies To Build Family Monitoring Systems Parents are approaching AI in different ways. Some closely supervise how their children use chatbots, while others might set more general rules about technology. Many families are still figuring out what role AI should play in schoolwork and everyday life. The CHATBOT Act would take that decision away from families and AI providers. Instead of letting families and AI providers decide what parental controls should look like, Congress would require every covered AI chatbot to build the same federally prescribed “family account” system. As part of the required parental-consent process for teens, AI companies must offer parents a "family account" that provides access to a "full record of the conversations and activity" of teen users and tools to "monitor, analyze, and understand, at scale" those conversations. They must also send alerts if a teen attempts to bypass or disable parental controls. This isn’t simply an optional parental-control feature. The bill requires every covered AI provider to build this monitoring infrastructure, and present it as part of the parental consent process. Congress is prescribing a single, highly invasive model of how families should supervise teenagers’ use of AI. The CHATBOT Act Creates New Privacy Risks For Families Parents and families have different ideas about how much independence teenagers should have. Understandably, they also have very different expectations for 8-year olds, 13-year-olds, and 17-year-olds. The CHATBOT Act effectively requires AI providers to build the same monitoring architecture for users of very different ages. And this mandated data collection will create new privacy and security risks. Once Congress requires AI companies to create a permanent, centralized record of teen AI conversations for parental review, that will be a valuable vault of extremely personal information. That raises serious questions about what would happen in cases where someone else gains access to it through account compromise, family disputes, or other security failures. The vast archives of conversations created by the government-mandated family accounts won't be interesting only to parents. They will become valuable targets for hackers, identity thieves, civil litigants, and anyone else seeking access to the deeply personal information of others. The CHATBOT Act requires the records to exist, but addresses none of those risks. Families are still figuring out what role AI should play in schoolwork and everyday life. Congress shouldn’t freeze one answer into federal law by requiring every AI company to build the same prescribed monitoring system. The CHATBOT Act Applies A Children’s Law To Teenagers The CHATBOT Act takes the basic structure of COPPA, a nearly 30-year-old law that applies to children aged 12 and under, and applies the same “verifiable parental consent” to older teenagers. That’s a dramatic expansion of the law. Congress enacted COPPA to prevent kids from handing over detailed personal information to online services without making sure parents approved. For nearly three decades, Congress has required parental consent before websites collect personal information from any user under 13. COPPA is not simple to comply with, which is why so many internet companies, large and small, simply bar kids under 13 from having accounts. That includes major social media sites and AI. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, Snapchat, Discord, Spotify, and blogging platforms like WordPress all keep out users under 13. Children under 13 are also not allowed to use Microsoft Co-Pilot, Google Gemini, or ChatGPT. Anthropic does not allow users under 18 to use its AI model, Claude. In cases where younger kids maintain social media accounts despite the rules, studies show the vast majority of them are creating those accounts with parental consent. In short, COPPA’s protections against collecting personal information from minors without parental consent already apply to the AI services CHATBOT Act seeks to regulate. Worse, the CHATBOT Act takes COPPA’s privacy protections and inverts them—it will result in AI services likely collecting more information about young users. But the CHATBOT Act extends that model to high school students using AI assistants that are rapidly becoming tools for learning, research, writing, coding, and creative work. It then mandates specific, invasive surveillance tools that go well beyond anything COPPA requires. The bill requires providers to offer these “family accounts,” with these specific features, as a default for teenagers. By doing so, CHATBOT effectively treats a high school senior the same way it treats an elementary school student. Supporters may argue that parents of teens don’t have to create a family account. But every family with a teenager will still have to go through the bill’s parental-consent process before a teenager can use a covered AI system. Providers will need practical ways to verify that an adult is, in fact, the teenager’s parent. And parents of kids under 13 have no option to consent to their kids’ use of an AI system—the bill’s only option is to create a family account. Congress should not extend the COPPA parental-permission model to millions of older teenagers, and it would be harmful to do so. The government does not require COPPA-style parental permission before a 17-year-old checks out a library book, uses Wikipedia, types search terms into Google, or reads a newspaper online. It shouldn’t require parental permission simply because the same question gets asked of an AI assistant. The CHATBOT Act Will Pressure AI Companies To Check Users’ Ages The bill says it doesn’t require age verification. But like many recent “kids online safety” bills, it imposes obligations that depend on a company knowing whether a user is under 18. Specifically, the bill requires AI systems to either disable access to young kids, get parental consent, or the creation of a family account if a service has reason to believe a user is a minor. The standard means that services don’t need to have actual knowledge of a user’s age to be later held liable for improperly letting them use their AI tools. That creates a practical problem. Given the potential liability of getting something wrong, AI companies will likely require stricter forms of age verification to figure out who is under 13, a teenager, and who is a parent. Some providers might ask for government-issued identification. Other companies may rely on age estimation systems that use facial scans or other signals to guess a user’s age. Neither of these approaches is good for users’ privacy or security. One collects more information than is necessary, and the other inevitably makes mistakes. Congress shouldn’t force companies into that choice, or families into this position. In the name of protecting children, the CHATBOT Act will result in online services collecting even more information from kids and families, creating privacy and security risks. Parents who want family accounts like those described in the bill should be free to choose AI services that offer them. But Congress shouldn’t pressure every provider to collect more information about everyone’s age simply to comply with the law. A Better Way Forward Congress doesn't have to choose between doing nothing and creating a sweeping new federal parental-monitoring mandate. Existing law allows regulators to police deceptive AI products, protect children's privacy under COPPA, and hold companies accountable when they market unsafe or misleading products to families. Lawmakers have urged the FTC to crack down on AI-enabled toys that make unsubstantiated educational claims or illegally collect children's data. Those are regulatory actions that can be taken right now. Finally, the FTC is currently investigating how AI companies test their products, protect children and teens, comply with COPPA, and enforce age restrictions. The results of that inquiry could be useful guidance to Congress, and to the public debate around these issues. Cracking down on bad actors, while learning more about how families are already making decisions about AI use, is a much better path forward than building one, federally-prescribed model of parenting or product design.

Source feed: https://www.eff.org/rss/updates.xml

High school defends staying silent while boys made AI nudes of 59 classmates

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 18:11:55 +0000

Gaps in laws may help Pennsylvania high school escape AI nudes scandal.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

CJEU Judgment on Geoblocking & Standards for Knowledge of Foreign Copyright Laws and Geoblocking Measures (Guest Blog Post)

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 17:43:53 +0000

by Prof. Marketa Trimble UNLV Boyd Law School Last month, while sitting at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, a passenger typed www.annefrankmanuscripten.org on her laptop to look up the website at issue in the latest judgment by the Court of Justice of... The post CJEU Judgment on Geoblocking & Standards for Knowledge of Foreign Copyright Laws and Geoblocking Measures (Guest Blog Post) appeared first on Technology & Marketing Law Blog.

Source feed: https://blog.ericgoldman.org/feed

EFF Guide to Recording Law Enforcement

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 14:11:24 +0000

This post is available as a printable one page handout in English and Spanish. Recordings of law enforcement, whether by bystanders or by those directly encountering officers, can be powerful tools of government accountability and can support movements for social change. But recording officers can come with risks. Below are important legal and practical considerations related to recording the police and other law enforcement officers. Can I legally record the police or immigration officers? Yes. All Americans have a First Amendment right to record law enforcement. This includes local police and federal officers such as those from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Although the Supreme Court has not squarely ruled on the issue, nine different federal appellate courts have recognized and affirmed this right, relying on decades of Supreme Court precedent. Courts typically frame the right to record law enforcement as the right to record officers exercising their official duties in public. This right extends to bystanders as well as people recording their own interactions with law enforcement, such as livestreaming their own traffic stops. The right also applies to private places where the recorder has a legal right to be, such as in their own home. You may take photos, or record video and audio. Courts have held that wiretap laws, which generally protect private conversations, do not prohibit civilians from audio recording law enforcement. That’s because officers exercising their official duties, particularly in public, do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy. Neither do civilians in public places who speak to law enforcement in a manner audible to passersby. What are some limitations on the right to record law enforcement? Courts have been clear that behavior that obstructs or interferes with effective law enforcement or the protection of public safety is not protected. Officers can't order you to move because you are recording, but they may order you to move for public safety reasons even if you are recording. If the law enforcement officer is off-duty or is in a private space that you don’t also have a right to be in, your right to record the officer may be limited. For example, a Los Angeles jury in 2026 found two women guilty of felony stalking after they followed an ICE agent to his home and livestreamed the pursuit. What are some other considerations when recording officers? Even if you believe you are appropriately exercising your First Amendment right to record law enforcement, officers may nevertheless escalate the situation and/or retaliate against you. Below are some things to keep in mind. Stay calm and courteous. If you are a bystander, stand at a safe distance from the scene that you are recording. But note that officers may approach and confront you, closing that distance in an effort to accuse you of interfering with and possibly also assaulting a federal officer. Be alert and mindful of the possibility that officers may illegally retaliate against you in a number of ways, including arrest, destruction of your device, and bodily harm. They may also try to retaliate by harming the person being arrested. Consider the sensitive nature of recording in the context of an arrest. For example, the person being arrested or their loved ones may be concerned about exposing their immigration status, so think about obtaining consent or blurring out faces in any version you publish to focus on ICE/CBP conduct (while still retaining the original video). Law enforcement may not search your cell phone or other device without a warrant based on probable cause from a judge, even if you are under arrest. Thus, you may refuse a request from an officer to review or delete what you recorded. You also may refuse to unlock your phone or provide your passcode. What can I do to protect my footage? How well protected your photos or video footage are depends on both the device and the way you’re recording. If you’re uploading video to a livestreaming service, it can save that video to the cloud if you enable that setting. But what if you want to protect your recordings stored locally? Modern smartphones generally protect data, including videos, using encryption. This means if your phone is locked and protected by a strong passphrase, it is more difficult for an officer to delete what you’ve stored on the device. Removing biometrics such as face and fingerprint unlock can protect your device contents further. You can check your settings by following the steps in our Surveillance Self-Defense guides (see below) to ensure device encryption is turned on. Want more information? Read more about your right to record law enforcement: https://www.eff.org/issues/right-record Read EFF’s Surveillance Self-Defense technical guide: https://ssd.eff.org

Source feed: https://www.eff.org/rss/updates.xml

How a Yale AI-cheating dispute became a 13-count federal lawsuit

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 11:00:52 +0000

A disputed exam, an unreliable detector, and one very late Apple Pages file.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

Morning Docket: 07.31.26

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 13:09:26 +0000

* Even if the Senate rejects Todd Blanche, he's going to stay in the job indefinitely, no matter how questionably constitutional that may be. [Politico] * Judge seems to think Pentagon's designation of Anthropic as a security risk is bogus. [Law360] * Lawyer seeks restraining order against client's Congress member ex-husband. [CNN] * Data brokers refusing requests to delete personal information. [Bloomberg Law News] * State sues Kalshi on the grounds that it runs an illegal gambling site. [Reuters] * Alien Terrorist Removal Court holds first-ever hearing. It only took 30 years. [Court Watch] * Court hikes up AI misuse sanctions as nothing seems to be working. [ABA Journal] The post Morning Docket: 07.31.26 appeared first on Above the Law.

Source feed: https://abovethelaw.com/feed/

AI labels to be compulsory on authentic-looking content under EU rules

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 11:21:20 +0000

Companies must ensure people know when they are interacting with artificially generated images, audio and text designed to look realFrom apparently conspiring to steal elections to abusing staff or performing embarrassing dance moves, the last few years have seen plenty of fake content made about politicians intended to malign its targets and mislead the public.Now EU rules aim to stem the flood of this deceptive content: starting from Sunday, artificially generated images, audio and text designed to look authentic must be labelled. Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

Plug-In Solar Panels Are Starting to Sprout in U.S. Backyards

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 09:00:48 +0000

Ten U.S. states have legalized systems that can be plugged into standard wall outlets. The technology typically does not require permits or electricians.

Source feed: https://rss.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/nyt/Technology.xml

Apple says gaming slowdown and App Store changes hurt services growth

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 22:37:06 +0000

Apple said a slowdown in mobile gaming and changes to the App Store’s business model — including court-ordered payment rule changes in the U.S. — weighed on its services business, even as the company topped 1.5 billion paid subscriptions.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

AI Security Isn’t In The Price Tag

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 22:02:00 +0000

Courts are beginning to impose 'enterprise-grade' AI requirements that may do little more than price solos and small firms out of using the technology. The post AI Security Isn’t In The Price Tag appeared first on Above the Law.

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Judge says Trump admin still lacks evidence for Anthropic ‘supply chain risk’ label

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 20:26:38 +0000

A federal judge said the Trump administration has not presented enough evidence to justify labeling Anthropic a supply chain risk, casting doubt on the government's ban on its AI technology.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

The Worst Person You Know Just Filed A Good First Amendment Lawsuit Against A Very Badly Drafted Nudify App Ban

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 18:09:14 +0000

There’s been a bunch of news this week regarding Minnesota’s new law that purports to prohibit “nudification” technology, and the fact that xAI has sued to have the law blocked as unconstitutional. A few things need to be said upfront, because it’s very, very easy to just say the tech is terrible, that Elon Musk […]

Source feed: https://www.techdirt.com/feed/

The Next Evolution Of Contract Management: How Agentic AI Is Transforming In-House Legal And Legal Ops

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 16:21:00 +0000

[Sponsored] How can your legal team stay ahead of the curve amid rapid industry disruption? Sign up and join us on August 26th! The post The Next Evolution Of Contract Management: How Agentic AI Is Transforming In-House Legal And Legal Ops appeared first on Above the Law.

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American Being Prosecuted for Wiping His Phone Before Handing It Over to Border Officials

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 16:20:30 +0000

He’s being prosecuted for giving border officials a code that wiped his phone: The case centers on a feature included in GrapheneOS, a custom Android operating system that runs in place of the software on most modern Google Pixel devices. Tunick’s attorneys confirmed GrapheneOS was running on his phone. The software feature allows the device owner to set a passcode that deliberately wipes the contents of that device if entered instead of the user’s unlock passcode. Tunick’s case also raises ongoing questions about what constitutional rights can be invoked at the border, which the U.S. government has long asserted is not U.S. soil until a person is authorized to enter...

Source feed: https://www.schneier.com/feed/

AI Evidence: Blurring The Line Between Reality And Fiction

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 15:30:40 +0000

It’s easier than ever to manufacture evidence -- and get away with it. The post AI Evidence: Blurring The Line Between Reality And Fiction appeared first on Above the Law.

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Zoox can now charge for rides in its steering-wheel-free robotaxis

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 14:35:43 +0000

Zoox just got permission to charge for robotaxi rides in its boxy, steering-wheel-less vehicles. On Thursday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced it has granted the Amazon-owned Zoox a temporary exemption, allowing it to deploy up to 2,500 vehicles annually over the next two years, as reported earlier by Reuters. The NHTSA's decision exempts […]

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FTC sues Hims & Hers for allegedly sharing patients’ medical data with advertisers Meta and Snap

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 13:30:52 +0000

The U.S. federal consumer watchdog said Hims & Hers, which prescribes for sexual wellness and mental health conditions, used website trackers to share customers' information with advertisers.

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Replay – Legaltech Week for 07/24/26: Free Legal Claude Connector, AALL recap, OpenAI’s rogue model, and more

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 13:24:53 +0000

Every Friday, a panel of leading legal tech journalists come together to discuss the top stories of the week in legal tech and legal innovation. The show is live and free to attend. You can register to attend the weekly Zoom here. Missed last week’s show? Here are the recordings.h This week’s topics: (00:00) Introductions (03:55) AALL: […]

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Pluralistic: The stupidest imaginable excuses for surveillance pricing (30 Jul 2026)

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 12:51:03 +0000

Today's links The stupidest imaginable excuses for surveillance pricing: Since 1850, San Francisco's Chamber of Commerce has been pissing in our mouths and calling it rain. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: RIP Wau Holland; Diebold voting machines suck; How to steal an RFID-locked car; Pirates are big spenders; You can't fight enshittification. Upcoming appearances: Edinburgh, Sydney, Melbourne, Brighton, London, South Bend. Recent appearances: Where I've been. Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em. Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em. Colophon: All the rest. The stupidest imaginable excuses for surveillance pricing (permalink) With "surveillance pricing," businesses have finally found something AI can do way, way, way better than people: price gouging. As the name suggests, "surveillance pricing" is the practice of charging every customer a different price for every transaction, based on the massive surveillance dossiers that Big Tech companies and data-brokers have assembled on everyone in the world. Congress hasn't updated federal consumer privacy law since 1988 (when they passed a law banning the disclosure of VHS rentals), so pretty much any form of consumer surveillance is fair game. This is where the AI comes in. One thing AI is indisputably great for is multivariate statistical analysis. You can feed an AI "behavioral data" (information about where you go, what you do, what you buy, who you talk to and what you say) about all of your customers and ask it to cluster them according to their shared traits. Then you can direct the AI to automatically run a series of small experiments to discover the maximum markup each group will stomach under which circumstances. This works without you having to direct the AI to rip off certain groups of people – it will simply find the most vulnerable people and rip them off the most. If you're hiring in an industry that practices a lot of tacit racial discrimination, a system like this can figure out on its own that people of color typically accept lower wages because there are fewer employers bidding for their labor, and recommend lowball salary offers, all without you ever typing "please be racist" into your AI prompt. This works so well that Google has announced that it is their plan for making a profit off of AI, after losing hundreds of billions of dollars on chatbots: https://pluralistic.net/2026/01/21/cod-marxism/#wannamaker-slain In the before times, marketers and demographers had to dream up demographic categories based on limited data and run focus groups to figure out how to maximize revenue from each market segment. Now an AI can segment the data to any degree you choose, and continuously, automatically experiment on each segment to find their weak spots. It's "theory-free." You don't have to discover why a group is willing to pay more under a given set of circumstances, you merely have to observe and weaponize this fact. You don't have to know why one group of purchasers consistently accept higher prices between 6AM and 8AM – you can just automatically jack up prices on them without knowing or caring that you're gouging parents of young children who are re-ordering essential supplies while trying to get their kids to school in the morning. I thought up that example. I don't know if it's really happening. But here's something that really is happening: ecommerce sites charge parents of newborns extra when they order thermometers in the middle of the night. I'm not saying that anyone ever sat down and said, "Parents with sick children will pay whatever we charge for a thermometer at 2AM." They didn't have to: this is the kind of thing an automated system can do without any human intervention: https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/p246202_surveillancepricing6bstudy_researchsummaries_redacted.pdf The goal of surveillance pricing is to shift all the "consumer surplus" (the difference between the highest price you're willing to pay and the price you actually pay) to companies. It's a form of cod-Marxism where you are gouged according to your ability (to pay) and charged according to the desperation of your need: https://pluralistic.net/2025/01/11/socialism-for-the-wealthy/#rugged-individualism-for-the-poor The problems of surveillance pricing are well documented. Under Biden, the FTC did a landmark study on the practice, developing a rich factual record that documents the role surveillance pricing plays in the affordability crisis: https://pluralistic.net/2024/07/24/gouging-the-all-seeing-eye/#i-spy Companies are already using this technology to rip you off, and they're slavering for the chance to do more of it. Instacart was recently caught marking up some shoppers' items by as much as a third: https://pluralistic.net/2025/12/11/nothing-personal/#instacartography The problem is that as much as companies love this, shoppers hate it. Last summer, Delta announced that it was going to surveillance price every seat on every flight, only to face such a massive backlash that they had to make another announcement bemoaning the fact that we'd all misunderstood their (unambiguous and extremely damning) announcement and they were actually going to do no such thing: https://pluralistic.net/2025/07/30/efficiency-washing/#medallion-clubbed One thing the Mamdani campaign impressed upon every politician in the country is that people are pissed about affordability and they will support anyone who stands up for the public against AI-equipped price gougers. The problem of course is that those price gougers are highly organized and have deep treasuries (stuffed with money they stole from us). With surveillance pricing, politicians face a familiar conundrum: if they do the thing that's popular with voters, they'll enrage donors. One way to cut this knot is to enact legislation that seems to address the problem, but stuff it with so many loopholes that it does nothing. This lets you declare yourself the people's champion without doing anything to protect them from the donors who prey on your voters. That's the approach they took in Maryland: https://pluralistic.net/2026/04/30/something-must-be-done/#there-ive-done-something But in California, they're actually doing something about surveillance pricing. AB-2564 is a smart, well-written bill that bans surveillance pricing. It contains an easily evaluated test for surveillance pricing and carves out legitimate reasons for offering different prices for the same purchase (for example, when it costs more to deliver the product or service): https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB2564 Now we're in for the hard yards of turning this bill into a law. That's where California's cities come in. When municipal governments pass resolutions supporting a state bill, it makes it much easier to get that bill through the state legislature (and conversely, without support from major cities, it's that much easier to kill the bill before it becomes law). A few days ago, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors was on the verge of passing a resolution in support of AB-2564. Now, that vote is stalled, thanks to a letter sent by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, an organization that has been pissing in San Franciscans' faces and telling them it was raining since 1850: https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/community/board-not-yet-ready-to-weigh-in-on-state-surveillance-pricing-ban/article_0ae4d143-cced-4988-abda-0b71bcbe524c.html The Chamber's letter is – to use a technical term – flaming garbage. It raises the most spurious objections imaginable, claims about the bill's language that are belied by its plain, easily understood text. These objections are demolished in a letter the Electronic Frontier Foundation sent to the Supervisors: https://www.eff.org/document/letter-sf-bos-re-surveillance In the letter, EFF explains that claims that surveillance pricing will lower prices are overblown and not borne out by evidence. But more importantly – as EFF points out – privacy is a human right, and the idea that you should have to give up your privacy to get a fair price is just a fancy way of saying that privacy should be the exclusive preserve of people who can afford to pay more: https://www.eff.org/wp/privacy-first-better-way-address-online-harms#Legislation EFF's letter goes on to address the Chamber's objections. Far from creating uncertainty about which conduct the bill addresses, AB-2564 crisply defines surveillance pricing as: a customized price for a good for a specific consumer or group of consumers based, in whole or in part, on personally identifiable information collected through electronic surveillance. The Chamber raises other tired objections, falsely claiming that banning surveillance pricing will end common discounting strategies like offering seniors cheaper movie tickets, or giving cheaper rates to retain customers who call to cancel their service. EFF replies by pointing out that all the Chamber's concerns are covered by the three comprehensive carve-outs in the bill: the ability to charge higher rates when it costs more to service a given customer; offering discounts to retain customers who want to cancel their service; and finally, discounts for criteria anyone can meet (like an "early bird special"), for membership in a broadly defined group (like "seniors"), or for participation in a loyalty program. The San Francisco Supervisors could have figured out at a glance that the Chamber was bullshitting them. All it takes is a cursory read of the statute. But now they don't even have to do that: EFF has painstakingly debullshittified the Chamber's FUD. Surveillance pricing is grossly offensive. When a company charges me $0.50 for a product that it charges you $1 for, they're essentially saying that your dollars are worth half as much as mine are. Companies shouldn't be able to reach into your wallet or your bank account and chop your money in half: https://pluralistic.net/2025/06/24/price-discrimination/# No wonder AB-2564 has plenty of backers, from EFF to Consumers Union: https://advocacy.consumerreports.org/press_release/california-state-assembly-passes-key-bill-to-prohibit-surveillance-pricing/ San Francisco's city government should be on that list of supporters. (Image: Takkk, CC BY-SA 3.0, modified) Hey look at this (permalink) Louis Brandeis: The Empiricist https://prospect.org/2026/07/30/aug-2026-louis-brandeis-the-empiricist/ The Rent Is Higher Than You Think https://economicpopulist.substack.com/p/the-rent-is-higher-than-you-think Object permanence (permalink) #25yrsago RIP, Wau Holland, founder of the legendary hacker clan, the Chaos Computer Club. https://web.archive.org/web/20010805192406/https://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,45728,00.html #20yrsago Diebold voting machines can be beaten with a switch-flip https://web.archive.org/web/20061007120702/http://openvotingfoundation.org/tiki-read_article.php?articleId=1 #20yrsago How thieves steal RFID-enabled cars https://web.archive.org/web/20060812065423/https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.08/carkey_pr.html #15yrsago Official London anti-terrorist publication says anarchists should be reported to local police https://web.archive.org/web/20110801233618/https://communitysafe.gov.uk/articles/5962-griffin-weekly-briefing-sheet-attached/attachments/801/download.pdf #15yrsago French copyright enforcers: “Pirates are big spenders on legit content” https://www.techdirt.com/2011/07/28/another-day-another-study-that-says-pirates-are-best-customers-this-time-hadopi/ #15yrsago Perma-cookie wars continue: KISSMetrics sneaks cookies back onto your computer even if you turn off every cookie vector https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1898390 #1yrago You can't fight enshittification https://pluralistic.net/2025/07/31/unsatisfying-answers/#systemic-problems Upcoming appearances (permalink) Virtual: EFFecting Change: Who the Machine Serves, Aug 12 https://www.eff.org/event/effecting-change-who-machine-serves Edinburgh International Book Festival with Jimmy Wales, Aug 17 https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/events/the-front-list-cory-doctorow-and-jimmy-wales Sydney: The Festival of Dangerous Ideas, Aug 23-24 https://festivalofdangerousideas.com/program/ Melbourne: Enshittification at the Wheeler Centre, Aug 25 https://www.wheelercentre.com/events-tickets/season-2026/cory-doctorow-enshittification Brighton: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI with Carole Cadwalladr (Brighton Dome), Sep 8 https://brightondome.org/whats-on/LSC-cory-doctorow-the-reverse-centaurs-guide-to-life-after-ai/ London: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI with Riley Quinn (Foyle's Picadilly), Sep 9 https://www.foyles.co.uk/events/enshittification-cory-doctorow-riley-quinn South Bend: An Evening With Cory Doctorow (Notre Dame), Oct 6 https://franco.nd.edu/events/2026/10/06/an-evening-with-cory-doctorow/ Recent appearances (permalink) AI and the Enshittification Era (The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dAIJRjb-Bw AI is not inevitable (Betakit) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbiTVkq1WHo A Conversation with Lina Khan (Law and Economy Student Network) https://www.youtube.com/live/7Ak5LZllqwE Will AI ever come alive, and what happens if it does? (BBC News) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lzk4o3fPZZE Waarom jij straks het hulpje van AI bent (VPRO) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOnvR2fs8CA Latest books (permalink) "The Reverse-Centaur's Guide to AI," a short book about being a better AI critic, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, June 2026 https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374621568/thereversecentaursguidetolifeafterai/ "Canny Valley": A limited edition collection of the collages I create for Pluralistic, self-published, September 2025 https://pluralistic.net/2025/09/04/illustrious/#chairman-bruce "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, October 7 2025 https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/ "Picks and Shovels": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about the heroic era of the PC, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2025 (https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865908/picksandshovels). "The Bezzle": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about prison-tech and other grifts, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2024 (thebezzle.org). "The Lost Cause:" a solarpunk novel of hope in the climate emergency, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), November 2023 (http://lost-cause.org). "The Internet Con": A nonfiction book about interoperability and Big Tech (Verso) September 2023 (http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org). Signed copies at Book Soup (https://www.booksoup.com/book/9781804291245). "Red Team Blues": "A grabby, compulsive thriller that will leave you knowing more about how the world works than you did before." Tor Books http://redteamblues.com. "Chokepoint Capitalism: How to Beat Big Tech, Tame Big Content, and Get Artists Paid, with Rebecca Giblin", on how to unrig the markets for creative labor, Beacon Press/Scribe 2022 https://chokepointcapitalism.com Upcoming books (permalink) "The Post-American Internet," a geopolitical sequel of sorts to Enshittification, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2027 "Unauthorized Bread": a middle-grades graphic novel adapted from my novella about refugees, toasters and DRM, FirstSecond, April 20, 2027 "Enshittification, Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It" (the graphic novel), Firstsecond, 2027 "The Memex Method," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2027 Colophon (permalink) Today's top sources: Currently writing: "The Post-American Internet," a sequel to "Enshittification," about the better world the rest of us get to have now that Trump has torched America. Fourth draft completed. Submitted to editor. A Little Brother short story about DIY insulin PLANNING This work – excluding any serialized fiction – is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. That means you can use it any way you like, including commercially, provided that you attribute it to me, Cory Doctorow, and include a link to pluralistic.net. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Quotations and images are not included in this license; they are included either under a limitation or exception to copyright, or on the basis of a separate license. Please exercise caution. How to get Pluralistic: Blog (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): Pluralistic.net Newsletter (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://pluralistic.net/plura-list Mastodon (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic Bluesky (no ads, possible tracking and data-collection): https://bsky.app/profile/doctorow.pluralistic.net Medium (no ads, paywalled): https://doctorow.medium.com/ Tumblr (mass-scale, unrestricted, third-party surveillance and advertising): https://mostlysignssomeportents.tumblr.com/tagged/pluralistic "When life gives you SARS, you make sarsaparilla" -Joey "Accordion Guy" DeVilla READ CAREFULLY: By reading this, you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies ("BOGUS AGREEMENTS") that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer. ISSN: 3066-764X

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A government fund of AI stocks to benefit all Americans is a good idea, but hard to pull off

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 12:08:30 +0000

Sen. Bernie Sanders frequently raises concerns about what artificial intelligence could do to American jobs. Heather Diehl/Getty ImagesCreating a government fund to own AI stock and benefit all Americans would require many hard choices. Should the U.S. government require artificial intelligence companies to transfer half of their stock to a sovereign wealth fund – a government-run fund that invests surplus state revenues for long-term savings and economic stability? About 7 in 10 Americans who were asked this question in a June 2026 survey answered that it should. The survey was conducted around the time that Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont introduced related legislation. His measure is intended to create government oversight over disruptive AI threats, while allowing all Americans to benefit from the value the technology creates. And, on July 13, about 200 economists and computer scientists, including 16 Nobel Prize winners, also raised their voices about the disruptions posed by AI, warning that “AI may become radically more powerful over the next 10 years.” What AI does to the economy, they continued, “could bring risks, including large-scale job displacement, as well as opportunities such as major gains in living standards.” The letter’s signatories called for AI use that “complements humans and benefits society.” Signs that Americans are becoming increasingly wary of AI are multiplying. Concerns not only revolve around what AI might do to the job market, but also around the broader economy. Sovereign wealth funds I’ve spent nearly 20 years studying sovereign wealth funds. They are typically set up as government entities, staffed by professional investors and tasked with concrete investment goals. Specific laws define how they receive the cash they invest. Similar rules define when cash can be withdrawn and why. Although sovereign wealth funds serve a wide range of purposes, their most basic function, broadly defined, is to hold and invest government savings to support the current and future needs of citizens. If the U.S. were to create a sovereign wealth fund to harness AI and buffer the economy and workers from long-term harms that AI could cause, it would hardly be the first country to do so. Canada, the U.K., South Korea, Saudi Arabia and several other countries have already begun to introduce AI-focused sovereign wealth funds into their long-term government planning. While the idea is certainly appealing and simple, creating a sovereign wealth fund for this purpose is definitely not. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, head of the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, addresses the opening ceremony of the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh in 2025. Fayez Nureldine/AFP via Getty Images Alaska’s oil revenue surpluses In the U.S., many states have had sovereign wealth-like funds for many years. These have helped states to manage surplus revenues or invest in specific projects. New Mexico and Wyoming are two examples. Alaska, perhaps the best known, is a third. Its US$91 billion Permanent Fund has accumulated the state’s oil revenue surpluses since 1976. Today, the Permanent Fund is completely integrated into its state revenue system – meaning that it helps fund Alaska’s budget. The state government uses it to buffer state finances when oil prices drop below levels that allow Alaska to generate surplus earnings. Since 1982, the fund has made payments – through what it calls dividends – to Alaska residents age 1 year old and older. These individual payments vary year to year, peaking at more than $3,200 per recipient in 2022. It’s set at $1,200 for 2026. Taking stakes in companies Although President Donald Trump first floated the concept of a U.S. sovereign wealth fund in February 2025, his administration has made little progress advancing that idea. The administration has instead been an active investor in several strategic sectors, including defense, energy, semiconductors and critical minerals. The 30 such deals it has struck since January 2025 total $27 billion. They include the federal government’s investments in U.S. Steel and Intel. These investments were completed independently by various federal agencies. They include buying stock in private companies, which means that the U.S. government benefits if the companies pay dividends to shareholders. The government also benefits if the shares go up in value and the stock is sold for a profit. In June, Vice President JD Vance indicated that the White House would support extending this strategy to include the government owning stock in AI companies. Today, the income generated from U.S. government stock holdings is returned to the government, but without any specific use defined upfront. If income from AI investments were to be treated in the same way, I see no rules or programs currently in place that would specifically direct those funds to offset negative impacts from AI, including those related to employment and income levels. Could a sovereign wealth fund play that role? Challenges to investing in AI for the public good Before establishing any kind of fund intended to offset damage to the economy or to workers that AI may cause, the government would have to answer several tough questions. Is it investing in companies or getting their stock through taxes or some other arrangement? Who decides which companies it will invest in? Where would the money come from to finance these investments? How would the government earn income from these investments? Investing in any new technology is risky. AI companies are high-growth and cash-hungry, with uncertain prospects. What happens if AI companies are not competitive or profitable and their stock prices go down? Even if the government began to own shares in AI companies, that would not necessarily mean those companies would be paying for any disruption their products may be causing to the U.S. labor market and economy. That would require policymakers to agree on how these investments should be made, how risks to these returns ought to be managed, and how any income that the government may earn from these investments could be used. Establishing a sovereign wealth fund to capture wealth created by AI to benefit all Americans could be a start. Making it deliver on the expectations that would accompany its creation would require consensus, discipline and strong governance to do effectively. All of which, I am afraid, are in short supply in today’s Washington. Patrick J. Schena does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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Elon Musk’s xAI sues Minnesota over law banning ‘nudification’ technology

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:02:03 +0000

First-in-nation law sets up test on states’ power to regulate use of AI as it tries to outlaw fake nude images of real peopleElon Musk’s company xAI has sued Minnesota over the state’s first-in-the-nation law banning “nudification” technology on websites and apps, potentially providing a test for how far states can go in constitutionally regulating the use of artificial intelligence.Musk’s company sued on Monday in federal court, days before the law is set to take effect on Saturday and make Minnesota the first state to try to outlaw the increasingly proliferating technology that lets people use AI to create fake nude images of real people. The law was signed in May. Continue reading...

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The Bar Exam That Went So Horribly Wrong The Whole Thing Got Canceled — See Also

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 23:00:00 +0000

The NCBE Called It A 'Historic Milestone.' Washington Canceled It. The state pulled the plug on the entire exam rather than trust the tech again. What About Diploma Privilege? The question answers itself after Washington torched an entire bar exam — and it's the same fix the state has used in the past. The Hubris Of The Gods: The NCBE's supporters mercilessly attacked California for trying its own exam. What happened with the NCBE exam in Missouri brings us full circle. A Mini Disaster: Maryland bar examinees only had to freak out for an hour. Not so bad, comparatively. Park Bench Smooch Turns Costly: Apparently the partner in the infamous viral video was about to bolt for a payday at Gibson Dunn, but he got left behind. Sullivan & Cromwell's Civil War Just Got A Signature On It: Bob Giuffra's name is on the Supreme Court petition in the one case he told partners the firm would not touch. The post The Bar Exam That Went So Horribly Wrong The Whole Thing Got Canceled — See Also appeared first on Above the Law.

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xAI’s last-minute scramble to stop Minnesota’s anti-nudification app law

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 21:06:52 +0000

xAI is suing Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison over a law passed back in May that broadly targets "nudification" apps, claiming that the statute's punitive provisions leave the company with "no practical choice but to restrict Grok Imagine's image-editing features in various ways." The law, the company argues, violates the First Amendment. Back in January, […]

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When You Reject Cookies, You Might Be Agreeing to Arbitration–Alba v. Harbor Freight

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 20:38:28 +0000

Starting in 2024, Harbor Freight deployed the following cookie banner: The court accepts Harbor Freight’s claim that the “2024 Cookie Banner was displayed on each page on the Website until the user interacted with it, even if the user had... The post When You Reject Cookies, You Might Be Agreeing to Arbitration–Alba v. Harbor Freight appeared first on Technology & Marketing Law Blog.

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Expansion Of Flock Camera Systems Is Leading To Even More False Positives

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 20:08:45 +0000

Flock Safety’s aggressive expansion into the law enforcement market has been coupled with nearly constant negative coverage of its tech and its practices. Multiple cities have paused or cancelled their agreements with Flock following public outcry over the surveillance tech. Flock’s willingness to allow law enforcement agencies to search a nationwide network of cameras has […]

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AI For Criminal Defense: It’s An Issue Of Priorities. And Money.

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 20:04:00 +0000

There just aren’t that many criminal defense customers with the funds to buy a lot of tech and AI stuff. The post AI For Criminal Defense: It’s An Issue Of Priorities. And Money. appeared first on Above the Law.

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The US government just banned Roombas

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 18:13:09 +0000

When the Trump administration announced yesterday that it was banning "advanced robotic devices" from entering the United States, the headlines were all about humanoids. But spying doesn't require legs - and neither does the FCC's robot ban. The robot ban will sweep up robot vacuum cleaners too, FCC media relations director Katie Gorscak confirms to […]

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Elon Musk’s xAI is trying to sue its way out of a Grok reckoning

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 17:58:24 +0000

Musk defends Grok, says Minnesota's nudifying app ban is unconstitutional.

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Datacentre projects face fees for grid access to ease connection queue, Ofgem says

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 07:42:01 +0000

Energy regulator’s plan would mean upfront fees or financial security via letters of credit, bonds or cash depositsDatacentre projects in Britain will be forced to pay hundreds of millions of pounds to plug into the power grid under proposals to tackle a growing electricity connection logjam.Ofgem, the sector watchdog, said it was taking action to discourage “speculative” datacentre projects from causing unnecessary delays to the grid connection queue, which includes hospitals, schools and housing developments. Continue reading...

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🏃 Fitness Tracker Privacy Fails | EFFector 38.14

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 16:52:58 +0000

Watches, bands, and rings—if you want to digitally monitor your fitness, more companies than ever are selling devices to do it. And more Americans than ever now own at least one wearable health device. But what are the companies that make fitness trackers doing to protect our sensitive data from prying eyes? A lot less than they could be, it turns out. We're explaining what companies can do to protect your health data, and more, with our EFFector newsletter. JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER For over 35 years, EFFector has been your guide to understanding the intersection of technology, civil liberties, and the law. This issue covers the rapid rise of police drone programs, a disappointing ruling on electronic device searches at the U.S. border, and how fitness trackers are falling down when it comes to protecting our health data. Prefer to listen in? EFFector is now available on all major podcast platforms. This time, we're chatting with EFF Senior Security and Privacy Activist Thorin Klosowski about the health fitness tracker landscape and your privacy. You can find the episode and subscribe on your podcast platform of choice: %3Ciframe%20height%3D%22200px%22%20width%3D%22100%25%22%20frameborder%3D%22no%22%20scrolling%3D%22no%22%20seamless%3D%22%22%20src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fplayer.simplecast.com%2F8cabd912-722d-436b-a498-815da45f01bf%3Fdark%3Dfalse%22%20allow%3D%22autoplay%22%3E%3C%2Fiframe%3E Privacy info. This embed will serve content from simplecast.com Privacy info. This embed will serve content from simplecast.com Want to protect your right to digital privacy? Sign up for EFF's EFFector newsletter for updates, ways to take action, and new merch drops. You can also fuel the fight for privacy and free speech online when you support EFF today!

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Elon Musk’s X settles multiyear legal battle with the World Federation of Advertisers

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 15:36:48 +0000

X sued the WFA in 2024 for conducting what it called a "systematic illegal boycott" of the platform after it saw a decline in advertising revenue following Musk's $44 billion takeover of the social network

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DoorDash is going airborne with new drone delivery division

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 13:00:00 +0000

DoorDash is launching a new drone delivery program called DoorDash Air. The largest food delivery app in the US said that it has approval from the Federal Aviation Administration that clears the way for drone delivery in the near future. DoorDash said it has received a Part 135 air carrier certification from the FAA that […]

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AI in healthcare is an evolving landscape of new technologies, productivity benefits and legal uncertainties

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 12:16:49 +0000

Physicians use AI tools to support their decision-making. Luis Alvarez/DigitalVision via Getty ImagesAI tools are already being used in hospitals, clinics and doctors’ offices. Who is making treatment decisions, and who is responsible if an AI gets it wrong? To address these questions, Science and Technology editor Eric Smalley hosted a webinar with panelists Dr. Jodyn Platt, an Associate Professor Health Management and Policy at the University of Michigan, and Dr. David Kao, Medical Director at the Colorado Center for Personalized Medicine. Platt’s work explores how data and technology can be used responsibly to improve health while earning and sustaining public trust. Kao’s research is focused on using big data analysis to personalize management of heart disease, most notably heart failure. Eric Smalley: What are the main types of AI that you see being used in healthcare? David Kao: There’s a temptation to think of AI in healthcare in sort of a binary way: You’re either doing it like the old country doctor or like Skynet from Terminator where it’s automatically making decisions about living or dying for all these people. And the truth is it’s a continuum. In Colorado, we focus on using AI to augment clinical decision-making. There are machine learning-based algorithms that will monitor the electronic health record continuously, and if someone starts to look worse, they’ll alert the team. They’re not decisions in and of themselves. They’re just better information on which to make a decision. Jodyn Platt: Before we had large language models and generative AI, we used AI to make predictions about disease prognosis. This gives doctors clinical decision support by helping us make decisions based on patient data. If you’ve been to see a doctor that uses a scribe that helps them write clinical notes, that’s a very recent example of AI that’s using a large language model. Whenever you engage in a chat bot around healthcare, that would also be another example of a large language model that’s underlying that tool. The third type of AI that I’ve recently started talking about is the “hype”, the AI that promises great and amazing things or promises that it may destroy the world. It creates a fear of missing out, and it’s very based on feeling and not a lot of fact. ES: Are folks required to consent when doctors use AI tools? JP: Every state is different in terms of third-party recording and consent things like that, so consent may differ depending on where you are. So sometimes nobody will tell you, or increasingly consent is incorporated into your general consent to treatment. Consent to use recording and transcribing tools is increasingly incorporated into general consent to treat. SeventyFour/iStock via Getty Images Plus A clinician can turn it on and off on their own volition also if they feel like they want to turn it off, they can. So asking if AI is being used at every visit is reasonable if you want to know for sure. DK: It’s a hard proposition. If you think about imaging studies like an MRI, those may be processed offsite by a third-party vendor. But we don’t ask for consent to send the images to be processed externally. The problem is where is that line? You know, at what point do you start to need consent? I’m not saying that that’s how it should stay, but that is kind of where the vagaries are because the fact of the matter is a lot of people’s data is going to a lot of business partners and has been for decades. That information is far more intimate than anything you would give an AI model right now, like truly. ES: How can patients be assured of some degree of data privacy? JP: Health systems are going to engage in relationships with third-party vendors that are compliant in terms of HIPAA and all the data privacy rules that you would expect. The question is whether you feel comfortable with whatever company folks are working with. I think one of the bigger issues, if data privacy is important to you, is sharing your information outside of the healthcare system. It can take a long time to see a doctor, or there may not be a doctor. If you feed medical information to a ChatGPT or some external LLM system to help you understand it, your data is not protected. ES: The FDA regulates medical devices along with drugs, but who regulates an AI that’s used in patient care? DK: States have made their own regulations for AI in patient care which makes it super confusing because they don’t have any other medical regulatory capacity. Ultimately, the hope from an industry perspective is for a national standard or process to prove efficacy and safety just as we do with medications. It’ll probably be regulated by the Center for Devices and Radiological Health, the FDA’s arm of device regulation. The difficulty is that evaluating AI is different. If a medication was different every time you took it, how do you say whether it’s safe? The established ways we think about that don’t really apply. JP: I think what clinicians hear is that it’s their responsibility when a decision is made and AI is in the mix. So the clinic note is still signed by a person. Any email that’s assisted by AI is also signed by a real person, and they’re accountable for what’s in those messages. I would say that’s the only way we can use it really at all right now. The regulatory process doesn’t exist, so there has to be a human-in-the-loop component to it. ES: What are your concerns or thoughts about people deciding to treat themselves with AI? DK: I think it’s unwise, but I know people are going to do it. It is important for a human to be involved when making treatment decisions. Some people turn to AI instead. MTStock Studio/E+ via Getty Images We talk about needing human-in-the-loop for health and AI, right? In this case, it’s the patient who’s the human in the loop, who is probably not a great judge of whether the recommendations are appropriate or not. It’s sort of like treating yourself, which almost never goes well. ES: How can we ensure that this technology is developed and deployed in the best interest of the public as well as the individual? JP: I recently learned about a framework that was developed by a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh, Miranda Yaver, who thinks about this as an equity question. The big actors create part of the system. But she argues that the public needs to know that they’re also part of it. We have to know how to navigate the system and need to have the resources to be able to do that. The barrier to entry is high enough that we don’t usually learn to do it. So I think finding ways that patients and the public can have that continuous access to be able to exercise choices and have their data and information protected in ways that they want is critical as we’re developing the system. Jodyn Platt receives research grant funding from NIH and the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation. David Kao works for University of Colorado Anschutz and UCHealth. He has been funded by the Jacqueline Marie Schauble Leaffer Foundatinon at the Ludeman Family Center for Women's Health Research, the National Institutes of Health (NHLBI, NIAID, NLM, Fogarty International Center), the American Heart Association, the US Centers for Disease Control, and the Anschutz Foundation.

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Maryland Thought It Had A Bar Exam Disaster. Then Other States Happened.

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 12:04:31 +0000

An hour-long software delay turned out to be one of the least severe tech failures of the NextGen bar exam rollout. The post Maryland Thought It Had A Bar Exam Disaster. Then Other States Happened. appeared first on Above the Law.

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Washington Just Called Off Its Entire Bar Exam

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 12:02:51 +0000

Six hours of tech troubles, no questions answered, and a class of grads told to put their lives on hold until September. The post Washington Just Called Off Its Entire Bar Exam appeared first on Above the Law.

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Russia Charges Telegram’s Founder Pavel Durov With Facilitating Terrorism

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 10:55:43 +0000

The charges against Pavel Durov reflected an ongoing fight over one of the most popular messaging and media apps in the country.

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Legora Buys Wexler – 5th Deal This Year

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 09:17:39 +0000

Legora is buying Wexler, a fact intelligence platform for litigation. Wexler’s engineering group will form ‘the founding team of Legora’s London engineering hub’, they added. ...

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AI tool will lead to more child refugees being treated as adults, charity warns

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 04:00:22 +0000

‘Racist bias’ overestimating ages in Home Office’s facial-recognition software will lead to solo children being housed with adults, says Human Rights NetworkFlawed and racialised models that underpin the AI-powered age-detection systems to be introduced by the British government will endanger children, rights groups and children’s charities have warned.Urging ministers to reverse plans to introduce facial age-estimation technology to screen migrants, critics have warned that black children arriving from conflict zones are at risk of being of thrust into the adult system. Continue reading...

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Philly suburb: Sure, build that data center—but first meet our 43 demands

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 20:43:19 +0000

The final condition will shock you! (It won’t. It’s taxes.)

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Court Shuts Down Federal Officers Who Wanted To Run A Stingray Device For A Month Straight

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 22:17:33 +0000

For a long time, cell site simulators, a.k.a. “Stingrays” made headlines on nearly a daily basis. Then they just kind of fell off the map. L3Harris — the manufacturer of cell site simulators that commanded enough market share to see its flagship product become the victim of genericide — saw the writing on the wall […]

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San Francisco: Don’t Fall for Industry Defense of Surveillance Pricing

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 21:55:43 +0000

The concept of “surveillance pricing” is just one part of a much larger problem and business model: corporations maximizing their profits by invading our privacy. The all-too-common business model is to systematically harvest, collate, and store as much of our personal data as possible, and then monetize it through use and sale. When it comes to surveillance pricing, that looks like corporations offering the same product to two different people at two different prices, based on harvested personal information. That's why EFF supports A.B. 2654, authored by Assemblymember Chris Ward, which bans this harmful practice. As an organization based in San Francisco, EFF was proud to learn that the San Francisco Board of Supervisors had also introduced a resolution to similarly support the legislation. However, we were disappointed to learn the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has since stalled a vote on the resolution stating their own support for A.B. 2654 after receiving an email from the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce criticizing the bill using well-worn and debunked concerns. We’ve sent the Supervisors a letter asking them to reconsider. Banning surveillance pricing would be good for consumers. The FTC has found that companies will set higher prices based on personal information. “For instance,” the FTC found last year, “if a consumer is profiled as a new parent, the consumer may intentionally be shown higher-priced baby thermometers on the first page of their in-app search results, based on their residential zip code and time of purchase.” Let's say that again: the U.S. government has found that companies may seek to use surveillance pricing to charge parents searching for a thermometer in the middle of the night more money in a time of need. Privacy is a human right, not something that people should understand as a currency to give away or protect based on how it will impact the price of groceries. EFF has long opposed pay-for-privacy schemes, in which a company charges a higher price to a customer who refuses to submit to processing of their personal data. Surveillance pricing is another version of that practice. You should never have to worry that your privacy rights depend on how much you make. At a time when prices for everyday goods continue to climb, some surveillance pricing defenders note that using personal information could lead to lower prices for some consumers. Yet some recent studies indicate there will be losers and winners based on factors such as whether a consumer is willing or able to switch products. Who loses or wins also will turn on the accuracy of the underlying data – yet surveillance pricing is often based on false information. That said, even if surveillance pricing has the capability to lead to lower prices (which it often doesn't) we oppose it as just another way that corporations try to make customers pay for their privacy. The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce’s concerns are fully addressed in the text of A.B. 2654. The Chamber raises questions about how businesses will comply with the law. But the bill is quite clear: “a retailer shall not engage in surveillance pricing.” It also has a clear definition of what “surveillance pricing” is. The banned practice is defined as: “[i] a customized price for a good for a specific consumer or group of consumers, [ii] based, in whole or in part, on personally identifiable information collected through electronic surveillance,” including if that information is “acquired from a third party.” In other words, “surveillance pricing” is a customized price based on personal information. The SF Chamber’s letter also asks about the bill's “treatment of discounts and loyalty programs.” In this way, too, A.B. 2654 is quite clear. The bill includes three broad carveouts that ensure it doesn't disrupt loyalty programs and discounts: First, for price differences “based solely on costs associated with providing the good to different consumers.” Second, for a discount offered to a consumer who is taking steps to terminate a service. Third, for a discount, conspicuously posted on a retailer’s website, that is uniformly available based on (1) criteria anyone can meet, such as signing up for a mailing list, (2) membership in a broadly defined group, such as seniors, or (3) participation in a loyalty program. An opt-in senior discount to the movies is not the problem. The systematic collection of all of our personal information to determine whether someone is a senior and if so whether they should pay more or less for that matinee is. As we said in our blog post outlining our support for this bill: Surveillance pricing is very similar to online behavioral advertising, a business practice that EFF urges governments to ban. Both practices incentivize all businesses to collect as much of our personal data as possible, in order to later monetize it. Both practices lead some businesses to collate and store our data into dossiers about us for later use. Both practices use these surveillance-based dossiers to manipulate and limit our economic choices, by altering the advertisements and prices we see online. We urge the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to join the coalition of groups that support A.B. 2564, and stand against companies mining our personal information to charge us different prices for the same thing. You can read our letter to the Supervisors here.

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MCP startup Runlayer accuses Rippling of stealing its product idea

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 20:45:12 +0000

Runlayer is suing Rippling after Rippling evaluated the startup's MCP gateway product and then opted to build one itself.

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Couple Stalked by eBay Settle for $56 Million

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 20:37:29 +0000

Two Massachusetts journalists were harassed by a Silicon Valley security team in a case that raised questions about when executives should be held responsible.

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Logitech will pull a Nintendo — only European mice will come with replaceable batteries

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 19:12:48 +0000

In June, Nintendo announced a new version of the Switch 2 that should let you easily replace its battery pack - but only for Europe. Logitech will do much the same. User-replaceable batteries will be the law in Europe in February 2027, but instead of bringing them to the rest of the world, Logitech plans […]

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Waymo, robotaxi operators face fresh scrutiny over emergency response failures

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 19:06:33 +0000

Rep. Kevin Mullin (D-California ) has proposed a bill that would direct federal regulators to establish minimum national safety standards for autonomous vehicle operators.

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The FTC Would Like To Decide Which AI Answers Are Too Woke, And Is Calling That Consumer Protection

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 18:13:33 +0000

On Friday this week the FTC’s open comment period regarding its “Policy Statement Addressing AI Accuracy” will close, which means that a bunch of very smart, very busy people are wasting a ton of time this week writing up comments that will mostly be ignored by the FTC — but still matter for the record. […]

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New Yorkers will soon need to verify their age to access algorithmic feeds

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 18:09:32 +0000

New Yorkers who want to see their Instagram or TikTok feed curated by an algorithm, or receive notification after midnight, will soon have to verify their ages to access those features. New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) released a set of final rules on how to implement the SAFE for Kids Act, signed into […]

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Labour MP suing Elon Musk’s xAI says chatbot added own fake abusive content

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 17:18:17 +0000

Jess Asato’s particulars of claim states Grok added explicit sexual material users had not asked forA Labour MP who is taking legal action against Elon Musk’s xAI company over fake sexualised images created by Grok says the AI tool was instructed to operate with “no restrictions on adult sexual content or offensive content”.Jess Asato’s lawyers published her particulars of claim in the case on Tuesday, which included details of publicly posted instructions that the claim says illustrate how Grok was trained to generate harmful sexualised content. Continue reading...

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Q2 Report On Legal Tech Advertising Finds Q1’s Buying Surge Was Largely Seasonal, But Reveals Where Demand Is Now Concentrated

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 17:04:51 +0000

In April, I reported here on a dramatic first-quarter 2026 increase in the numbers of legal tech demos law firms were scheduling, with the numbers going up across nearly every major practice area by as much as 40% to 50%. Now, it appears that trend has reversed, according to a newly released report on legal […]

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Why Are Gay Bars Building Databases of Their Patrons?

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 16:19:13 +0000

Recent reports have raised alarm about the use of PatronScan, an ID-checking and face-scanning system, at multiple LGBTQ+ bars in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood. Much of the attention has focused on reports that the system photographs patrons as they enter venues and questions about whether those images are used for facial recognition. A broader privacy concern also deserves scrutiny. For years, PatronScan has marketed itself not just as an ID-verification tool, but as a system that allows bars and clubs to identify patrons, keep records about them, and share information across venues. As one news article published in 2019 documented, PatronScan built a network that allowed participating bars to flag patrons and share information about them with other establishments. And in California, it’s not at all clear how PatronScan’s business model of scanning IDs and sharing the information from those scans with other bars comports with the law. California’s ID privacy law, which was amended in 2018 to add ID “scans,” states that no businesses shall “retain or use” any information from a scanned ID card except for limited purposes such as to verify age, comply with a legal requirement, or prevent fraud. Californians should be deeply concerned about businesses that collect information from government-issued IDs and use it to build databases about where people go, whom they associate with, and whether they should be allowed into other public gathering places. That concern is especially strong in LGBTQ+ spaces, which have long served as refuges for people to go without being tracked, monitored, or put on lists. We reached out to Patronscan with questions regarding their practices and their views on California ID law. They referred us to their published FAQ question “Is Patronscan privacy compliant in California?” which claims that the use of Patronscan kiosks is legal in California. They also said “Patronscan does not do facial recognition in North America, or any kind of automated analysis of the ID or the live photo image.” The California Legislature Has Investigated PatronScan’s Business Model In 2018, the California Legislature published bill analyses that went into detail about PatronScan’s business. Reviewing PatronScan's own materials, the California Senate Judiciary Committee found that the company had collected and retained information on 561,087 customers in Sacramento alone during the first five months of 2018—a remarkable figure for a city whose population had only recently topped 500,000. Lawmakers also found that at that time, PatronScan retained information for at least 90 days or longer in some cases, shared information among participating bars, and maintained bans that lasted an average of more than 19 years. A PatronScan “Public Safety Report” used 10,000 scans collected on a single day to report on “where customers live, how far they have traveled, and how many different venues the customers patronized.” This was not simply checking IDs at the door. PatronScan was building a database. An immigrants’ rights group, the Coalition for Human Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), wrote about its concern at the time with these growing ID databases, saying that “placing individuals on a database that labels them a "threat to public safety" has “significant immigration consequences that could lead to deportation, revoking of current status, or denial of future immigration relief.” Today, Patronscan states that it retains personal information about all customers for 21 days, and about flagged customers for up to five years. This includes the customer’s name, date of birth, photograph, gender, and zip code. It also includes the dates and times that the customer entered particular bars. Such databases are a grave privacy threat. Personal data is routinely stolen by thieves, misused by a company’s employees, seized by government agencies, and diverted to new purposes by a company’s executives. California Law Still Bans ID-Scan Databases, And Bars Should Follow That Law In 2018, California lawmakers closed what they viewed as a loophole. Existing law already prohibited businesses from retaining or using information obtained when they “swiped” a driver's license, except for the narrow purposes of legal requirements (like a judicial warrant) or “preventing fraud, abuse, or material misrepresentation.” After reviewing companies like PatronScan, the Legislature amended the law to make clear that the same restrictions that apply to businesses that “swipe” ID cards also apply when those IDs are “scanned.” PatronScan opposed that change, arguing it wanted to preserve the ability to share information among bars so participating venues could decide whether to admit patrons. The bill became law anyway. Yet PatronScan continues to market and sell a system that apparently retains information from scanned IDs, and allows participating venues to flag patrons and share information across its network. At a minimum, that raises serious questions about how those practices fit with California's existing ID privacy law. Bar and nightlife venue owners who utilize PatronScan should think twice about its effects on their customers, and consider going back to standard, visual ID checks. These physical checks have been effective at keeping underage patrons out of 21-and-over venues for decades, and don’t present the serious privacy dangers of creating a private database of bar patrons. For venues serving vulnerable communities like immigrants or the LGBTQ+ community , the stakes of using this technology is even higher. It’s disappointing and alarming to see some of California’s more well-known LGBTQ+ nightlife spots instead lining up as PatronScan’s early adopters. A venue cannot claim to be a safe space while feeding its patrons’ data to a third party database. These businesses should reject PatronScan, return to the standard ID checks that every other bar has been able to utilize, and prove to their customers that their privacy and security still matters.

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Trump’s Saudi nuclear deal is making Israel uneasy

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Last week, the Trump administration announced a landmark civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia. The deal would allow the kingdom to develop nuclear power using American technology and could eventually pave the way for uranium enrichment on Saudi soil. But the agreement must first undergo congressional review — and survive President Donald Trump’s social […]

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What Happens When Patients Trust AI Over Their Doctor?

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 14:03:00 +0000

As patients increasingly bring AI chatbot advice into exam rooms, where does liability land when that advice goes wrong? Health law attorney Meghan O'Connor said the answer still isn’t clear, but silence is the riskiest response for providers. The post What Happens When Patients Trust AI Over Their Doctor? appeared first on Above the Law.

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Generative Fair Use for All

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 10:30:40 +0000

Katrina Geddes, Engineering Semiotic Democracy, __ FIU L. Rev. __ (forthcoming 2026), available at SSRN (June 14, 2024). Christopher J. Buccafusco Artificial intelligence platforms justify their unauthorized reproduction of copyrighted training data on the expansive creative capacities that their models allow. They argue that generative AI is a “radically transformational tool for creators of many kinds … which enables new expression and innovation to flourish.” In her new paper, Engineering Semiotic Democracy, Katrina Geddes sets out to hold AI firms’ feet [...] The post Generative Fair Use for All appeared first on Intellectual Property. The post Generative Fair Use for All appeared first on Jotwell.

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Debate over AI’s future divides Silicon Valley as China gains ground

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 13:04:31 +0000

Open-source questions stir frank discussion – and both sides have clear economic incentives for where they landHello, and welcome to TechScape. This week we’ll be looking at a debate over the future of artificial intelligence that’s dividing the tech industry, as well as how the European Union gave Google a slap on the wrist for anti-competitive behavior. And we’ll also catch you up on the avalanche of lawsuits accusing social media companies of getting young people addicted to their products. Continue reading...

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Home Office used ‘AI hallucinated’ information to refuse asylum claim, judge suggests

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 12:39:44 +0000

Upper tribunal unable to find document cited in case and claims it is ‘analogous to relying on bogus evidence’UK politics live – latest updatesA senior judge has accused the Home Office of relying on “AI hallucinated” information to refuse an asylum claim.The case relates to a Moroccan woman and her child who fled her country after experiencing forced underage marriage and extreme violence, including rape. The woman claimed asylum on the basis of fears that she would be killed by her husband: a powerful, previously convicted criminal. Continue reading...

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LegalOn Lets 100 AI Workflows Bloom

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 12:00:10 +0000

LegalOn, the contract review specialists, have rolled out a library of 100-plus AI workflows, all available within its platform and aimed at inhouse lawyers. The ...

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Spies in the sky: how worried should we be about the arrival of AI-enabled smart lamp-posts?

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 10:00:01 +0000

The new breed of camera-equipped streetlights has the potential to fight crime and track down missing persons. Or will it just take Britain one step closer to a surveillance state?How would you feel if your neighbourhood lamp-posts could recognise your number plate, and also your face? Maybe you wouldn’t mind, given how long we’ve had automatic number plate recognition and CCTV. What about if that lamp-post could power itself through its own solar panels, and perhaps find another use for any extra power generated – that would be good, right? This is what Conflow Power Group (CPG) in Warwickshire claims for its iLamps, the first of their kind in the UK.What if lamp-posts had the potential to incorporate new AI capability – gait analysis, suspicious behaviours – that you haven’t even heard of? This is what the organisation Big Brother Watch worries about. And what if the home secretary had explicitly said she believed in a “panopticon state” – that is, a state that could watch you at all times (as Shabana Mahmood already has) – and what if she still had a job when the lamp-post eyes got their updates? Or what if the next home secretary was even keener on hyper-surveillance (hard to imagine), and the street apparatus was already in place? What about all the data this would harvest – who would own it? Continue reading...

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Hugging Face is being used to easily undress women and children

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 09:07:14 +0000

Hugging Face is being used to make nonconsensual deepfakes, and the popular open-source AI model repository is doing very little to prevent it. That's according to a new report published by the European nonprofit AI Forensics, which found that seven out of the top nine image editing models hosted by Hugging Face readily complied with […]

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Police Say Binance Is Making It Harder to Fight Crime

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 09:00:48 +0000

Investigators in Europe said that the cryptocurrency giant Binance had made it more difficult to track down scammers and solve other crimes.

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AL Interview: LexisNexis CEO, Sean Fitzpatrick

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 06:50:33 +0000

Artificial Lawyer spoke to LexisNexis CEO, Sean Fitzpatrick, about a range of Big Picture topics: from company growth despite the Claude Crash, how token costs ...

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Meta disregarded its own research on teen harm, Tennessee lawyers tell jury

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 01:43:55 +0000

In opening statements, state argued Meta’s own research showed it harmed teens while firm’s attorneys pointed to transparencyThe long-awaited trial between the social media company Meta and the state of Tennessee began proceedings on Monday. Attorneys for Tennessee told a jury in Nashville that Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, disregarded internal research about its platform’s impact on teenagers, while the company sought ⁠to maximize profit from those young users.During ⁠opening statements in a seven-week trial in state court, the state’s lawyers said Meta researchers repeatedly flagged teenagers’ compulsive use of the platform – leading to eating disorders, depression and self-harm. But despite those warnings, Meta did not ⁠disable features such as autoplay, notifications and infinite scroll which, the lawyers said, were designed to keep teens on Instagram as long as possible and increase the number of ads they viewed. Continue reading...

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New York school district halts plan to use humanoid robot amid backlash

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 17:03:51 +0000

Salamanca City Central says it is pausing project with Realbotix as it addresses concerns including data privacyA New York school district has walked back plans to introduce a humanoid robot at its high school after the proposal sparked backlash from educators and community members.The Salamanca City Central school district announced on 24 July in a social media post that its pilot project with Toronto-based tech company Realbotix had been put on hold “while we work through enhanced student data privacy agreements with the New York State Education Department and continue engaging with our community and stakeholders”. Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

“Google and Reddit do not own the Internet," web scraper says after court win

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 20:12:42 +0000

Google's and Reddit's use of DMCA to fight web scraper is bizarre, expert says.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

The Lawyer Who Helped Build Kirkland Thinks AI Will Build Its Successor

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 21:00:00 +0000

Former Kirkland partner David Fox believes AI-powered firms could reshape the entire legal industry. The post The Lawyer Who Helped Build Kirkland Thinks AI Will Build Its Successor appeared first on Above the Law.

Source feed: https://abovethelaw.com/feed/

ChatGPT starts blocking direct requests to copy an author's style

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 16:58:46 +0000

New behavior capturing a writer's "broad qualities" could have legal implications.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

LawNext: From Product to Practice – Why Casetext’s Former CTO Founded General Legal, An AI Native Law Firm

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 18:31:09 +0000

As chief technology officer at Casetext, Ryan Walker helped build CoCounsel, one of the first and most consequential generative AI legal assistants — a product so significant it led to the company’s $650 million acquisition by Thomson Reuters. But Walker came away unsatisfied. Although the legal tech tools kept getting better, he believed, clients were seeing no benefit. […]

Source feed: https://www.lawnext.com/feed

Apple sued after alleged App Store crypto scam cost users $1.8M

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 18:28:15 +0000

Apple is facing a lawsuit from three users who say they collectively lost more than $1.8 million after downloading a fraudulent crypto wallet from the App Store, challenging the company’s longstanding claims that its app review process keeps users safe from scams.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

Legal Ethics Roundup: ABA Opines Gov Lawyers Must Report Unlawful Conduct, Toronto Lawyer Suspended Over AI, Senate Bills On Judges’ Finances/FOIA & More

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 17:49:47 +0000

Your tour of all things related to lawyer and judicial ethics, with University of Houston law professor Renee Knake Jefferson. The post Legal Ethics Roundup: ABA Opines Gov Lawyers Must Report Unlawful Conduct, Toronto Lawyer Suspended Over AI, Senate Bills On Judges’ Finances/FOIA & More appeared first on Above the Law.

Source feed: https://abovethelaw.com/feed/

Protester Charged With Destroying Property After Giving CBP Agents His GrapheneOS ‘Duress’ Mode Passcode

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 16:41:12 +0000

Atlanta, Georgia’s attempt to erect a law enforcement officer training center in Atlanta was met by months of concerted protests. As the months stretched into years (the center was announced in 2021 but did not complete construction until 2025), opposition efforts ranged from peaceful protests to heated exchanges during public comment sessions to attacks on […]

Source feed: https://www.techdirt.com/feed/

Activist charged with felony after giving border agent "duress code" that wiped his phone

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 15:58:34 +0000

The government says destroying his own data during an airport interrogation was illegal.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

Announcing the 2026 Edition of My Internet Law Casebook

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 14:29:34 +0000

I’m pleased to announce the 2026 edition (17th edition) of my Internet Law casebook, Internet Law: Cases & Materials. The book is available in multiple formats: a PDF for $10, a Kindle ebook for $10, a softcover version for $20,... The post Announcing the 2026 Edition of My Internet Law Casebook appeared first on Technology & Marketing Law Blog.

Source feed: https://blog.ericgoldman.org/feed

Mapping Trump’s crypto empire on Last Week Tonight

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 14:22:04 +0000

A new Citation Needed data project maps the Trump family’s web of cryptocurrency ventures, which have been generating billions in income for the president.

Source feed: https://www.citationneeded.news/rss/

Court Partially Reverses Trump Attacks On Law That Tried To Make Sure Broadband Deployment Isn’t Racist

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 12:34:12 +0000

Earlier this year the Trump administration decided to illegally dismantle the 2021 Digital Equity Act, which was intended to help push internet access into long-neglected parts of the U.S. The Act took very vague aim at digital redlining, or the longstanding practice by telecom giants of refusing to upgrade (or at times even timely repair) […]

Source feed: https://www.techdirt.com/feed/

Pluralistic: How the EU can punish Google (despite Trump) (27 Jul 2026)

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 10:52:03 +0000

Today's links How the EU can punish Google (despite Trump): Grant me the courage to change the things I can. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Chilling Effects; Billy Bragg v Myspace; Glenn Beck calls murdered Norwegian children "Hitler Youth"; Photog sues Getty for $1b copyfraud; Best paid CEOs perform worst; Olympics v "Olympics"; Alberta tar sands v "hot lesbians"; IoT security apocalypse; 3 Little Pigs in pidgin; The nasty party; Copyright extortionist infringed fellow extortionist; Grandpa mobbed for photographing grandson in park; Ice Bucket Challenge didn't cure ALS; Twiddling enshittifies your brain. Upcoming appearances: Edinburgh, Sydney, Melbourne, Brighton, London, South Bend. Recent appearances: Where I've been. Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em. Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em. Colophon: All the rest. How the EU can punish Google (despite Trump) (permalink) The "Serenity Prayer" (Serenity to accept things I can't change/Courage to change the things I can/Wisdom to know the difference) is usually cited as pop psychology or addiction recovery advice, but I think there's a place for it in policymaking. Take the EU's fight against US Big Tech. During the Biden years, the EU's tech policy matured into something serious and ambitious, culminating in the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and Digital Services Act (DSA), a pair of big, muscular policies that would curb Big Tech's most abusive conduct. The EU's ambition didn't occur in a vacuum: it was part of a global wave of antitrust fervor whose top agenda item was reining in tech: https://pluralistic.net/2025/06/28/mamdani/#trustbusting In this fight, the EU had important partners all over the world. For example, South Korea and Japan used the facts uncovered through EU enforcement action against Google and Apple to pursue similar cases: https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/10/an-injury-to-one/#is-an-injury-to-all But the EU's most important partner in its fight against American Big Tech was America. Biden's trustbusters – Lina Khan, Rohit Chopra, Jonathan Kanter, Tim Wu, et al – were every bit as serious about Big Tech power as anyone in the EU. After all, the American public are always the first victims of any new tech scam, and America is the only country with a large, affluent population who lack modern, comprehensive consumer privacy protection, making Americans highly prized prey for tech companies: https://pluralistic.net/2025/04/23/zuckerstreisand/#zdgaf With America and the EU on the same side of the tech fight, the world had a fighting chance. Tech knew this, which is why Big Tech backed Trump hard during the 2024 election and aggressively curried his favor after he won. From the tech barons who paid $1m each to sit behind Trump on the inaugural dais to the millions tech companies donated to Trump's Epstein Ballroom at the White House, tech has made it clear that it supports anything Trump wants to do, provided he shields Big Tech from any attempt to limit their ability to spy on and steal from Americans and the world. Even before he took office, Trump made it clear how he would reward tech's loyalty: weeks before the inauguration, Trump went to Davos and threatened the EU with reprisals if they enforced the DSA or DMA against his tech companies: https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/23/trumps-not-happy-with-how-eu-regulators-have-treated-us-tech-giants/ Trump wasted no time leaning on US trading partners on behalf of Big Tech. He bullied Canadian PM Mark Carney into dropping his plan to tax US tech companies. Big Tech uses a variety of tax-cheating gambits to evade taxation around the world, making it impossible for (tax-paying) domestic companies to compete: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2025/06/canada-rescinds-digital-services-tax-to-advance-broader-trade-negotiations-with-the-united-states.html Trump also got UK PM Keir Starmer to drop his plan to tax tech: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/01/starmer-offered-big-us-tech-firms-tax-cuts-in-return-for-lower-trump-tariffs And he got the EU to roll back its plan to regulate AI: https://fortune.com/2025/11/07/eu-ai-act-weaken-regulation-delay-big-tech-trump-government/ None of the governments that caved to Trump got anything in return. As I've written: Give Trump everything he asks for and he'll demand more. Deny Trump anything and he'll demand more. Sign a contract with Trump and he'll break it. Send Trump an invoice and he'll stiff you. For Trump, "the art of the deal" can be summed up in one word: renege. https://pluralistic.net/2026/07/22/table-flipper/#graveyard-of-indispensable-nations Case in point: after the EU surrendered to Trump on AI regulation, Trump announced that a on ban EU officials who had worked on the Digital Services Act from traveling to the USA: https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/12/announcement-of-actions-to-combat-the-global-censorship-industrial-complex/ Then, after the EU made more concessions to Trump, he announced a ban on even more EU officials: https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-trump-administration-targets-europe-s-content-moderation-laws Trump ordered his tech giants to dig through EU officials' private correspondence so he can figure out who to ban next: https://www.politico.eu/article/us-congress-judiciary-committee-big-tech-private-communication-eu-officials/ Trump's tech companies got the memo. When the EU ordered Apple to follow the law, Apple told the EU to fuck off: https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/06/spoil-the-bunch/#dma After all, Apple is a key partner in the Trump administration's mass deportations. Apple blocked an iPhone app that warns Apple customers if they're about to be kidnapped or murdered by ICE. Trump needs Apple, just as much as Apple needs Trump: https://pluralistic.net/2025/10/06/rogue-capitalism/#orphaned-syrian-refugees-need-not-apply Despite this, the EU keeps trying to enforce its laws against Trump's companies. Last week, the Commission announced a $1b fine against Google for violating the Digital Services Act with conduct that cost Europeans many billions: https://digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu/commission-fines-google-eur890-million-breaches-digital-markets-act-2026-07-23_en In other words, Google wasn't even being ordered to disgorge all the money it stole, just some of it. Remember, a fine is a price: the EU's fine here will only make this kind of cheating slightly less profitable. Nevertheless, Trump responded immediately by threatening the EU with many billions more in tariffs if they continue to attempt to enforce the law against one of his companies: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2026/07/24/trump-says-eu-to-pay-very-big-price-for-890-million-google-fine_6755804_4.html Trump, the European Commission and Google all know this is about more than one $1b fine. The DSA and DMA both provide for steeply rising fines and other penalties for repeat offenders, and Google clearly has no plan to end its very profitable European crime-spree. Trump's threats aren't a bid to kill this enforcement – Trump wants to kill all enforcement. Retaliatory tariffs aren't the only weapon Trump has at his disposal. If the EU (or any other country) levies a serious fine against Google, Apple, Oracle, Microsoft, or any of Trump's other tech companies, Trump can order US banks not to turn over those fines, even after the EU sends them a court order for the money. If a bank defies Trump, he can threaten to yank its charter. Or he could just run the same swindle he pulled on Tiktok: stealing the whole company and selling it to one of his buddies, who will run it the way Trump wants. The reality is that without America's assistance, the EU has precious little hope of forcing American companies to do things they don't want to do. In terms of the Serenity Prayer, this is "a thing they cannot change." The Serenity Prayer doesn't stop with "things you can't change." The next line seeks "the courage to change the things I can." The EU has no control over Google's conduct, but it has total control over its own conduct. Specifically, the EU could get rid of the laws that ban European companies from modifying US tech exports. The EU adopted the Copyright Directive in 2001. Article 6 of the EUCD makes it a crime to reverse-engineer and modify a device without the manufacturer's permission. This law was adopted under pressure from the US Trade Representative, who threatened the EU with tariffs on its exports unless it adopted an "anticircumvention rule" that banned EU technologists from making products that let Europeans prevent US tech companies from stealing their money and data": https://pluralistic.net/2026/01/01/39c3/#the-new-coalition This law is still in force in the EU, despite the fact that Trump (predictably) reneged on the US side of the bargain, hitting the EU with massive tariffs and even threatening to steal part of Denmark. Article 6 of the Copyright Directive is the reason European tech companies can't jailbreak America's apps, whether that's to get its government and corporate data off of US platforms: https://pluralistic.net/2025/10/15/freedom-of-movement/#data-dieselgate Or to modify American social media apps to respect EU privacy laws: https://pluralistic.net/2026/01/30/zucksauce/#gandersauce The EU can't control what Apple or Google do. But the EU can absolutely decide whether Trump's companies can use Europe's courts to destroy European companies that defend the privacy and economic integrity of the European people. If the EU kills off Article 6 of the Copyright Directive, they can use European companies to bring Google and Apple's defective tech exports into compliance with European law. Unlike Trump's companies, those companies can be forced to pay their taxes and respect their users' privacy, labor and consumer rights. That's the Serenity Prayer's "wisdom to know the difference." Hey look at this (permalink) Nate Silver discovers the educated poor https://crookedtimber.org/2026/07/25/nate-silver-discovers-the-educated-poor/ Imagine a World in Which Microsoft Sold Cars the Way It Sells Software https://www.thesling.org/imagine-a-world-in-which-microsoft-sold-cars-the-way-it-sells-software/ Tesla swapped a solar owner’s lease contract for the Book of Enoch https://electrek.co/2026/07/23/tesla-solar-lease-contract-book-of-enoch/ Canadian legislator reads out apparent LLM response in floor speech https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/07/canadian-legislator-reads-out-apparent-llm-response-in-floor-speech/ The Resistance Liberal Lawyers Helping Trump Take Over the Media https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/the-resistance-liberal-lawyers-helping Object permanence (permalink) #25yrsago Chilling Effects https://web.archive.org/web/20010801172448/http://eon.law.harvard.edu/chill/ #25yrsago 13-year-old hacker's book deal: “The Unofficial Guide to Ethical Hacking" https://web.archive.org/web/20011102164905/http://www.vnunet.com/News/1124279 #20yrsago France’s new copyright law slaughters kills use and open source https://web.archive.org/web/20060812223624/http://soufron.typhon.net/spip.php?article150 #20yrsago Billy Bragg gets MySpace’s terms of service changed https://web.archive.org/web/20100809150257/http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&amp;friendID=34570397&amp;blogID=137856388&amp;MyToken=626131d4-c695-42ba-867b-754b9e2bfeaa #15yrsago Buy an Old West town in South Dakota for $0.8M https://web.archive.org/web/20110728012824/https://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/07/27/south.dakota.town.sale/index.html #15yrsago Glenn Beck compares murdered Norway campers to “Hitler Youth” https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/top-of-the-ticket/story/2011-07-25/opinion-glenn-beck-hits-new-low-compares-norway-victims-to-hitler-youth #15yrsago 3 Little Pigs rendered into Papua New Guinea pidgin https://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200709/r184705_686227.mp3 #15yrsago Why they call the Tories “the nasty party” https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/jul/28/tory-lib-dems-clash-on-policy #15yrsago US ISP/copyright deal: a one-sided private law for corporations, without public interest https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/07/graduated-response-deal-what-if-users-had-been #15yrsago Copyright extortionist ripped off his competitor’s threatening material https://torrentfreak.com/anti-piracy-lawyers-rip-off-work-from-competitor-110727/ #15yrsago Karl Schroeder: Science fiction versus structured study of the future, sf as aspiration https://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2011/07/beyond-prediction.html #15yrsago Norwegian PM refuses to let terrorist attacks drive his country to intolerance and paranoid “security” https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/28/world/europe/28norway.html?_r=1 #15yrsago Man with camera in park who fled angry parent sought by police (turns out he was taking pix of his grandson) https://web.archive.org/web/20110829052009/https://pixiq.com/article/man-photographing-grandkid-in-park-deemed-suspicious #10yrsago Laurie Penny at the DNC: “Dissent will not be tolerated. Protest will not be permitted.” https://medium.com/welcome-to-the-scream-room/bad-moon-rising-8cd348df50e9#.9lhcixjn1 #10yrsago The Ice Bucket Challenge did not fund a breakthrough in ALS treatment https://web.archive.org/web/20160914225439/http://www.healthnewsreview.org/2016/07/ice-bucket-challenge-breakthrough-experts-pour-cold-water-superficial-reporting/ #10yrsago Silicon Valley banks offer tech giants’ new hires 100% mortgages on 24 hours’ notice https://web.archive.org/web/20160727095557/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-27/zero-down-on-a-2-million-house-is-no-problem-in-silicon-valley #10yrsago Patent fighters attack the crown jewels of three of America’s worst patent trolls https://web.archive.org/web/20160727191625/https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/07/patent-defense-group-seeks-to-knock-out-top-three-trolls-of-2015/ #10yrsago Censorship company drops bogus lawsuit against researchers who outed them https://citizenlab.ca/research-interest/ #10yrsago Photographer sues Getty Images for $1B because they’re charging for pix she donated to LoC https://hyperallergic.com/photographer-files-1-billion-suit-against-getty-for-licensing-her-public-domain-images/ #10yrsago First-ever Michelin star for street food awarded to Singaporean hawker stalls https://web.archive.org/web/20160723174014/http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-singapore-food-hawkers-michelin-star-idUKKCN1021XA #10yrsago Highest-paid CEOs generate lowest shareholder returns https://www.msci.com/documents/10199/91a7f92b-d4ba-4d29-ae5f-8022f9bb944d #10yrsago Olympics to companies: mentioning “Olympics” in social media is a trademark violation #https://web.archive.org/web/20160727075209/https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/17120510/united-states-olympic-committee-battle-athletes-companies-sponsor-not-olympics #10yrsago Pro-tar-sands activists say dirty Canadian oil is better because “lesbians are hot” https://www.joeydevilla.com/2016/07/26/this-ill-advised-hot-lesbians-ad-promoting-canadian-vs-saudi-oil-is-real-and-not-a-parody-by-the-onion/ #5yrsago The infosec apocalypse is nigh https://pluralistic.net/2021/07/27/gas-on-the-fire/#a-safe-place-for-dangerous-ideas #1yrago How twiddling enshittifies your brain https://pluralistic.net/2025/07/28/twiddlehazard/#outboard-brains-considered-harmful Upcoming appearances (permalink) Virtual: EFFecting Change: Who the Machine Serves, Aug 12 https://www.eff.org/event/effecting-change-who-machine-serves Edinburgh International Book Festival with Jimmy Wales, Aug 17 https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/events/the-front-list-cory-doctorow-and-jimmy-wales Sydney: The Festival of Dangerous Ideas, Aug 23-24 https://festivalofdangerousideas.com/program/ Melbourne: Enshittification at the Wheeler Centre, Aug 25 https://www.wheelercentre.com/events-tickets/season-2026/cory-doctorow-enshittification Brighton: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI with Carole Cadwalladr (Brighton Dome), Sep 8 https://brightondome.org/whats-on/LSC-cory-doctorow-the-reverse-centaurs-guide-to-life-after-ai/ London: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI with Riley Quinn (Foyle's Picadilly), Sep 9 https://www.foyles.co.uk/events/enshittification-cory-doctorow-riley-quinn South Bend: An Evening With Cory Doctorow (Notre Dame), Oct 6 https://franco.nd.edu/events/2026/10/06/an-evening-with-cory-doctorow/ Recent appearances (permalink) A Conversation with Lina Khan (Law and Economy Student Network) https://www.youtube.com/live/7Ak5LZllqwE Will AI ever come alive, and what happens if it does? (BBC News) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lzk4o3fPZZE Waarom jij straks het hulpje van AI bent (VPRO) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOnvR2fs8CA Talk Tech Bock (Vera Linß) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PFjGvQoBgc How To Think About AI Before It’s Too Late (This Is Hell) https://thisishell.com/episodes/1919 Latest books (permalink) "The Reverse-Centaur's Guide to AI," a short book about being a better AI critic, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, June 2026 https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374621568/thereversecentaursguidetolifeafterai/ "Canny Valley": A limited edition collection of the collages I create for Pluralistic, self-published, September 2025 https://pluralistic.net/2025/09/04/illustrious/#chairman-bruce "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, October 7 2025 https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/ "Picks and Shovels": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about the heroic era of the PC, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2025 (https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865908/picksandshovels). "The Bezzle": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about prison-tech and other grifts, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2024 (thebezzle.org). "The Lost Cause:" a solarpunk novel of hope in the climate emergency, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), November 2023 (http://lost-cause.org). "The Internet Con": A nonfiction book about interoperability and Big Tech (Verso) September 2023 (http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org). Signed copies at Book Soup (https://www.booksoup.com/book/9781804291245). "Red Team Blues": "A grabby, compulsive thriller that will leave you knowing more about how the world works than you did before." Tor Books http://redteamblues.com. "Chokepoint Capitalism: How to Beat Big Tech, Tame Big Content, and Get Artists Paid, with Rebecca Giblin", on how to unrig the markets for creative labor, Beacon Press/Scribe 2022 https://chokepointcapitalism.com Upcoming books (permalink) "The Post-American Internet," a geopolitical sequel of sorts to Enshittification, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2027 "Unauthorized Bread": a middle-grades graphic novel adapted from my novella about refugees, toasters and DRM, FirstSecond, April 20, 2027 "Enshittification, Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It" (the graphic novel), Firstsecond, 2027 "The Memex Method," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2027 Colophon (permalink) Today's top sources: Currently writing: "The Post-American Internet," a sequel to "Enshittification," about the better world the rest of us get to have now that Trump has torched America. Fourth draft completed. Submitted to editor. A Little Brother short story about DIY insulin PLANNING This work – excluding any serialized fiction – is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. That means you can use it any way you like, including commercially, provided that you attribute it to me, Cory Doctorow, and include a link to pluralistic.net. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Quotations and images are not included in this license; they are included either under a limitation or exception to copyright, or on the basis of a separate license. Please exercise caution. How to get Pluralistic: Blog (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): Pluralistic.net Newsletter (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://pluralistic.net/plura-list Mastodon (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic Bluesky (no ads, possible tracking and data-collection): https://bsky.app/profile/doctorow.pluralistic.net Medium (no ads, paywalled): https://doctorow.medium.com/ Tumblr (mass-scale, unrestricted, third-party surveillance and advertising): https://mostlysignssomeportents.tumblr.com/tagged/pluralistic "When life gives you SARS, you make sarsaparilla" -Joey "Accordion Guy" DeVilla READ CAREFULLY: By reading this, you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies ("BOGUS AGREEMENTS") that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer. ISSN: 3066-764X

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Artist sues AI meme generator for selling deeply personal comic as ad template

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 10:50:37 +0000

Meme generator may have screwed up by using templates in outputs, expert says.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

Should Clients Expect Price Cuts Due To Legal AI?

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 07:37:21 +0000

This is the central question: should clients expect price cuts from law firms and other legal businesses due to legal AI? Because if there is ...

Source feed: https://www.artificiallawyer.com/feed/

When the AI bubble bursts, what will Australia do with the tools it built? One man thinks he has the answer

Sun, 26 Jul 2026 15:00:16 +0000

Journalist and author Cory Doctorow is coming to Australia to spread his message – humans will take their jobs backFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWhen the AI bubble bursts, executives who enthusiastically replaced their staff with AI tools will learn that it takes a “really long time” to replace those lost skills, says Cory Doctorow, a science fiction author and journalist.But those in creative fields should also be warned not to put all their faith in copyright as the best way to safeguard their work, Doctorow warns, just one week after the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, promised to ramp up protection against AI companies who refuse to pay. Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

The US is charging an American citizen for wiping his phone at the border

Sun, 26 Jul 2026 18:45:50 +0000

The government is prosecuting US citizen Sam Tunick for allegedly providing authorities with a "duress password" that wiped his phone when they tried to seize it at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport on January 24th, 2025. Federal agents detained Tunick at the airport, allegedly questioning him about child exploitation images. However, a motion filed by Tunick's lawyers […]

Source feed: https://www.theverge.com/rss/index.xml

Big Tech accused of stonewalling European social media researchers

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 10:45:32 +0000

Researchers say TikTok, X, and Meta aren't providing data they're legally required to.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

Pluralistic: Apple's robo-repo (25 Jul 2026)

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 10:41:10 +0000

Today's links Apple's robo-repo: Privatizing the risk premium, socializing its costs. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Printed batteries; Monopoly credit cards; Mapping airport power outlets; EMI loves pirates; Mexican indigenous phone co-op; Sewer cover textiles; Surge pricing v antitrust; Carbon offsets v forest fires; Charter schools as money laundries. Upcoming appearances: Edinburgh, Sydney, Melbourne, Brighton, London, South Bend. Recent appearances: Where I've been. Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em. Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em. Colophon: All the rest. Apple's robo-repo (permalink) It may strike you as weird, but lenders love to lend money to poor people who will have trouble paying back their loans. Obviously, lenders want to be repaid, and obviously the more money you have, the easier it is to settle your debts, but (paradoxically) that means that if you have a lot of money, you expect to pay less to borrow. In other words: because poor people have a higher likelihood of defaulting, their loans come with higher interest rates and worse terms. Debt is steeply regressive: the less money you have, the more you're expected to pay. The industry term for this is the "risk premium": the riskier a loan is, the more it costs the borrower. Lenders are always seeking the highest possible return on their loan-books, which makes that "risk premium" awfully tempting. Why loan $1m to Elon Musk at 0.5% interest when you can make 10,000 $100 payday loans to non-union Tesla workers on food stamps at 1,000% interest? Obviously, the fly in the ointment here is the risK in "risk premium." The reason the risk premium exists is that poor borrowers have a harder time paying their loans. That can be good, up to a point: if you're Klarna and you're originating loans to people Chipotle lunches on the installment plan, you want your borrowers to miss several payments. Klarna loans are free if you pay them back on time, but if you miss a payment, you're hit with a huge penalty charge and sky-high interest (on top of the principle and the penalty). On a small purchase, penalties and interest can quickly add up to a triple-digit APR. That's where Klarna makes its money: people who miss their burrito installment payments. However: if a Klarna borrower goes bankrupt before they've repaid the principle, Klarna loses money. A successful loan-book of unsecured burrito mortgages depends on the existence of many missed payments and few defaults. "Financial innovation" is often just a project to decrease the risk in risky loans, but without decreasing the risk premium you get paid for issuing those loans. It's a way to eat your cake and have it too: even though you've reduced the likelihood that you'll have to write off your loan, you still charge the borrower as though that risk is unchanged. As with so many aspect of finance, "innovation in lending" is a way to shift value from the financial industry's customers to itself. Remember the subprime crisis? The whole point of collateralized debt obligations and swaps was to offer loans to people with bad credit – even loans they obviously couldn't pay back – without incurring a default risk. Subprime mortgages supercharged the practice of loan origination and resale (where a bank offers you a loan and then sells that loan to someone else, so your default becomes their problem) by splitting the loans into pieces. These pieces were recombined according to complex mathematical formulas that supposedly "proved" that the default risk from poor borrowers had been "offset" by combining them with other borrowers' loans and wrapping them in opaque insurance contracts. Those subprime mortgages came with cheap "teaser rates" – the interest rate you paid over the first couple years – but then the interest payments "ballooned" to farcical sums that borrowers had no hope of repaying. Those farcical sums were the risk premium. When financier transmuted these high-risk 30-year mortgages into complex derivatives, they were effectively promising their customers a piece of that risk premium for 28 out of the 30 years that the mortgage ran for. But it wasn't all financial engineering: subprime mortgage salesmen could also promise customers that they wouldn't lose everything even after a wave of borrower bankruptcies and defaults. That's because mortgages are secured: they are backed by deeds for the homes the borrowers own(ed). If a borrower goes bust, the lender can repossess their house or apartment and sell it to recover the loan amount. Now, the finance sector did repossess a fuckton of houses after the crash. Foreclosure and eviction became official policy: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told Obama that a wave of foreclosures was necessary to "foam the runways" for the banks, so Obama encouraged banks to foreclose on their loans, rather than restructuring them so that Americans could keep their homes: https://wallstreetonparade.com/2012/08/how-treasury-secretary-geithner-foamed-the-runways-with-childrens-shattered-lives/ But even with these foreclosures, lenders and their customers lost hundreds of billions on the subprime crisis. That's because all that subprime lending pushed the price of houses up and up and up, so when the market collapsed, those mortgages were "underwater" – the money from selling the foreclosed homes didn't cover their outstanding loans. Collateralization – backing loans with legally binding promises to surrender some asset if you default – is a way to reduce risk, but it can't eliminate it. Assets degrade: houses burn, cars get totaled, jewelry is stolen. Assets also devalue: a loan backed by bitcoin at $111,000 on the eve of Trump's election will be underwater today with bitcoin at $64,000. This devaluation can also occur when your house's value plummets because Elon Musk repeatedly bombs your neighborhood with flaming rocket debris, or when your Tesla's resale value collapses after Musk throws a string of Seig Heils on national television. The point being that risk mitigation is never risk elimination, but markets have a hard time distinguishing between the two. Partly that's because of risk shifting. A lender who can "securitize" their loans (turn them into bonds and sell them off to investors) can insulate themselves from risk, because the people who buy the bonds are now carrying that risk. So many of our crises come from the intersection of these two phenomena: the promise of reducing loan risks without losing the risk premium and the fact that risk reduction can fail suddenly (or be revealed as nothing more than risk-shifting). The first phenomenon creates vast credit bubbles, the second one pops them. This leaves would-be usurers on an endless quest for new ways to lend money at a premium to poor people while reducing their own risk. You don't need technology to do this – all you need is a captive audience of broke people whom other lenders won't touch. When the US government adopted the racist practice of "redlining" (denying government-backed loans to Black borrowers), they created a market for predatory pseudo-mortgages called "contract buying." Contract buying is like a mortgage, but without the equity: miss a payment and you get evicted, and you aren't entitled to any of the sale price of the house, even if it was 99.99% paid off when you got kicked out. Lenders can tip the scales in their favor by making up arbitrary junk fees, and a smart lender waits until the house is almost paid off before whacking the borrower with a ton of these fees. The borrower misses a payment, the seller repossesses the house and sells it again: https://ippsr.msu.edu/public-policy/michigan-wonk-blog/re-emergence-contract-buying-practice-rooted-mid-20th-century Contract lending never went away. Wherever you find a desperate, disfavored group who are locked out of the credit system, you'll find scumbag contract lenders running this scam. Take long-haul truckers, among the most exploited workforce in America. Long before Uber made worker misclassification (treating an employee as an independent contractor) mainstream, the trucking industry was effectively indenturing truckers, exerting more control over their lives than a boss could ever impose on a waged worker, while disclaiming any employer-related responsibilities. Truckers don't get health insurance or sick leave – and they don't get paid if they have to sit at a port for 20 hours waiting to pick up a load. But the exploitation of truckers doesn't stop with mere wage theft. Truckers also "contract buy" their trucks. Their bosses issue loans that let drivers buy their trucks on terms that allow the company to repo the truck after a single missed payment. And of course, bosses have total control over truckers' wages, so a canny boss can wait until a truck is nearly paid off and then stop the driver's wages, forcing them to miss a payment and lose their truck, which can be sold on to the next victim: https://web.archive.org/web/20170616120011/https://www.usatoday.com/pages/interactives/news/rigged-forced-into-debt-worked-past-exhaustion-left-with-nothing/ Subprime auto-loans bring this same profitable arrangement to regular drivers who just need a car to commute, pick up groceries, and shuttle the kids to and from school. A subprime auto-loan often contains the "teaser" and "balloon" rates at the heart of the subprime mortgage bubble: for the first year or two, your car payments are affordable, but then they shoot up to a sum that you can't possibly pay. The lender then repossesses your car, zeroing out your equity, and sells it to another victim: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U2eDJnwz_s But the subprime car industry puts a decidedly modern spin on the contract lending scam that has been used to profitably rob so many Black home borrowers and long-haul truckers. Subprime lending's risk-reduction relies on repossession. A subprime car lender doesn't just get rich by charging poor borrowers more money that rich borrowers for shittier, older cars. Subprime car dealers repeatedly "sell" that car to many, many poor people, on conditions that all but guarantee that the borrower will default on their loan and lose their car. This is where tech comes in. Ubiquitous digital networks and computing make it much easier to repo a car. This started with the humble lo-jack, a simple tracker marketed as a way to locate lost or stolen cars. Subprime auto-lenders were early and aggressive lo-jack adopters, because you can't repo a car if you don't know where it is. Installing a lo-jack is much cheaper than paying repo men to drive around looking for the cars you want to claw back, which means that you can sell cars to people who represent worse credit risks, charging a higher risk premium, and still find the car when those high interest rates force your borrower into default. The next wave of automotive usury-tech was a kind of systematic exploration of the entire space between a car that is repossessed and a car that isn't. Some subprime cars are fitted with an extra stereo system that can only be controlled by the borrower over a wireless connection. Miss a payment and this secondary stereo turns itself on and starts playing earsplitting threats about what will happen to you if you don't pay up. The only way to turn it off is to make the payment. The next step is remote immobilization: miss too many payments (or violate a lease clause by crossing the county line) and your car just stops working: https://archive.nytimes.com/dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/09/24/miss-a-payment-good-luck-moving-that-car/ But the apex of this usury-tech comes from (where else?) Tesla. Miss a Tesla payment and your car can do way more than just immobilize itself and tell the dealer where to get the car – it also unlock its doors, flash its lights, honk its horn, and back out of its parking space when the repo man arrives: https://tiremeetsroad.com/2021/03/18/tesla-allegedly-remotely-unlocks-model-3-owners-car-uses-smart-summon-to-help-repo-agent/ The cheaper the repo, the riskier the loan can be; the riskier the loan, the higher the risk premium. Digital tech makes repo much cheaper, so wherever you find digital tech, you find digital arm-breakers coming up with ways to robo-repo the things you buy. There's India's subprime phone lenders, who pre-install usury-tech on their phones. This is a tool that spies on the phone's owner, building a dossier of the owner's most frequently used apps. When the owner misses a payment, the phone starts disabling the user's favorite apps, working its way up the list to the most indispensable ones: https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/02/innovation-unlocks-markets/#digital-arm-breakers It's the digital version of the mob loan-shark who breaks a finger, then your hand, then your arm. The more graduated the threat matrix is, the more payments you can capture. A borrower with a broken finger can get to a pawn-broker to sell their wedding-ring; a borrower with two broken legs has a much harder time. Digital arm-breakers aren't an epiphenomenon of digitization alone. Usury tech only works if the device's owner can't disable it. Remember: a computer is flexible. The only computer we know how to make is the "Turing-complete, universal von Neumann machine," defined as a device that can compute ever valid program. If your phone is running a program that disables your apps, then you can install another program that disables that program. Same goes for your car's lo-jack; the stereo system emitting ear-splitting complaints about your car note; and the immobilizer hooked up to your ignition. That's where the law comes in. In 1998, Bill Clinton signed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Section 1201 of the DMCA makes it a felony to produce a tool that bypasses an "access control." That means that if a computer is designed to block you from modifying it, removing that block is a felony, punishable by five years in prison and a $500k fine. DMCA 1201 doesn't distinguish between modifications undertaken for a lawful purpose (changing your printer so it works with generic ink) and unlawful purpose (breaking the locks on a DVD so you can sell infringing copies). DMCA 1201 criminalizes anything the manufacturer dislikes. It's what Jay Freeman calls "felony contempt of business model." DMCA 1201 is the reason you can't neutralize the digital arm-breakers by deleting or blocking the usury-tech in your car, phone or other device: https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/24/rent-to-pwn/#kitt-is-a-demon Here's where it gets interesting. Apologists for DMCA 1201 insist that the law is necessary, because it lets device makers lock malicious parties out of your devices. Apple leads the pack here: they use DMCA 1201 to block independent repair of their devices, insisting that this isn't done to extort high fees from you or to force you to throw away and replace last year's iPhone after you drop it. No, Apple does this to protect you – from unscrupulous repairers who might install malware on your phone: https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/22/vin-locking/#thought-differently And Apple says the reason it blocks you from installing apps without using its App Store is to protect you from malicious apps – not to control the app marketplace, where it makes $100b/year on payment processing junk-fees, siphoning off 30% of every dollar you spend in an app: https://pluralistic.net/2025/05/01/its-not-the-crime/#its-the-coverup Apple's greatest accomplishment isn't technological, it's psychological. Apple managed to convince millions of people that buying products from a multi-trillion dollar corporation with close ties to both Trump and Xi makes them members of an oppressed religious minority, and those members of the "cult of Mac" tie themselves into knots insisting that Apple would only ever use its powers for good: https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/12/youre-holding-it-wrong/#if-dishwashers-were-iphones But moral behavior doesn't consist solely of resisting the temptation to do bad things – to be truly moral, you must not put yourself in temptation's path in the first place. Morality isn't the strength to resist the siren's song – it's the humility to recognize your own weakness and tie yourself to the mast: https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/11/foreseeable-consequences/#airdropped By giving itself a veto over its customers' choices, Apple deliberately sailed into siren-infested waters, after first putting a gun on every mantelpiece it could find. Now the company is drowning in sin, while spraying gunfire in every direction. Today, the company is getting into the leasing business. Having monopolized its markets and eliminated the possibility of growth by making and selling things, the company is becoming a lender. As a lender, Apple wants to maximize the risk premiums it can charge, while minimizing its actual risk. That's why the new version of iOS – the operating system for iPhones and iPads – comes with software that lets lenders brick your device if you miss a payment: https://9to5mac.com/2026/07/21/ios-27-code-suggests-apple-could-restrict-leased-devices-after-missed-payments/ The code steals a trick from India's subprime phone lenders, giving Apple the ability to "restrict apps and services when payments are missed." It hooks into a "Partner Finance Lock," which allows Apple to sell devices to third-party userers who want to get into the subprime game, promising those customers all the imaginative flexibility a digital arm-breaker could dream of. This was always the trajectory of Apple's decision to sell you a computer that takes orders from its manufacturer, rather than its owner. Apple didn't invent the subprime gadget. It also didn't invent the GUI, the MP3 player or the smartphone. Rather, Apple took those gadgets mainstream – just as it will do with subprime gadgets. Just in time for the affordability crisis, the oil shock, the climate shock, the AI collapse and the tariff shock, the age of the digital arm-breaker has well and truly arrived: https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/29/boobytrap/#device-lock-controller Hey look at this (permalink) Public opinion on abortion has shifted 4 years after Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade https://theconversation.com/public-opinion-on-abortion-has-shifted-4-years-after-dobbs-decision-overturned-roe-v-wade-285668 Reading “Do Artifacts Have Politics?” https://www.not-so-obvious.net/reading-do-artifacts-have-politics/ Google hit with $1 billion fine for breaking EU antitrust rules https://www.theverge.com/tech/943866/google-alphabet-eu-dma-fine-search-services-play-store-steering Why Paramount Should Be Worried https://prospect.org/2026/07/22/why-paramount-should-be-worried-warner-bros-merger-ellison/ The Plain Language Guide to Digital Privacy https://shannonguides.com/dl/167c8da8a0ab/digital-privacy.pdf Object permanence (permalink) #25yrsago Shapeable printed batteries https://web.archive.org/web/20011102112023/https://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991069 #20yrsago Monopoly replaces play-money with fake credit-cards https://web.archive.org/web/20070220050926/http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,70131-1228653,00.html #20yrsago HOWTO build a fax out of salmon tins https://web.archive.org/web/20060828010312/https://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/07/25/build-a-rather-bad-salmon-can-fax-machine/ #20yrsago Power outlets in airports wiki https://web.archive.org/web/20060807061721/http://wiki.jeffsandquist.com/default.aspx/AirPower/AirPower #20yrsago How iTunes is bad for the music industry and the public https://web.archive.org/web/20060813140818/http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=191000408 #15yrsago Ousted EMI boss: pirates are our best customers, suing is bad for business https://torrentfreak.com/former-google-cio-limewire-pirates-were-itunes-best-customers-110726/ #15yrsago Patent trolls and shakedowns: Intellectual Ventures and the “little guy” https://web.archive.org/web/20160810163346/https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2011/07/26/138576167/when-patents-attack #10yrsago Textiles printed directly from sewer covers https://raubdruckerin.de/ #10yrsago Mexican indigenous groups form co-op phone company to serve 356 municipalities https://globalvoices.org/2016/07/26/so-long-phone-companies-mexicos-indigenous-groups-are-getting-their-own-telecoms/ #5yrsago Surge pricing violates antitrust law https://pluralistic.net/2021/07/26/aggregate-demand/#pure-transfer #5yrsago Oregon's carbon offsets go up in smoke https://pluralistic.net/2021/07/26/aggregate-demand/#murder-offsets #5yrsago Charter schools are money laundries https://pluralistic.net/2021/07/26/aggregate-demand/#ed-bezzle Upcoming appearances (permalink) Virtual: EFFecting Change: Who the Machine Serves, Aug 12 https://www.eff.org/event/effecting-change-who-machine-serves Edinburgh International Book Festival with Jimmy Wales, Aug 17 https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/events/the-front-list-cory-doctorow-and-jimmy-wales Sydney: The Festival of Dangerous Ideas, Aug 23-24 https://festivalofdangerousideas.com/program/ Melbourne: Enshittification at the Wheeler Centre, Aug 25 https://www.wheelercentre.com/events-tickets/season-2026/cory-doctorow-enshittification Brighton: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI with Carole Cadwalladr (Brighton Dome), Sep 8 https://brightondome.org/whats-on/LSC-cory-doctorow-the-reverse-centaurs-guide-to-life-after-ai/ London: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI with Riley Quinn (Foyle's Picadilly), Sep 9 https://www.foyles.co.uk/events/enshittification-cory-doctorow-riley-quinn South Bend: An Evening With Cory Doctorow (Notre Dame), Oct 6 https://franco.nd.edu/events/2026/10/06/an-evening-with-cory-doctorow/ Recent appearances (permalink) Will AI ever come alive, and what happens if it does? (BBC News) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lzk4o3fPZZE Waarom jij straks het hulpje van AI bent (VPRO) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOnvR2fs8CA Talk Tech Bock (Vera Linß) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PFjGvQoBgc How To Think About AI Before It’s Too Late (This Is Hell) https://thisishell.com/episodes/1919 AI Won't Replace You… But This Might (Deep Focus) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oorWq_m48AQ Latest books (permalink) "The Reverse-Centaur's Guide to AI," a short book about being a better AI critic, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, June 2026 https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374621568/thereversecentaursguidetolifeafterai/ "Canny Valley": A limited edition collection of the collages I create for Pluralistic, self-published, September 2025 https://pluralistic.net/2025/09/04/illustrious/#chairman-bruce "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, October 7 2025 https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/ "Picks and Shovels": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about the heroic era of the PC, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2025 (https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865908/picksandshovels). "The Bezzle": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about prison-tech and other grifts, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2024 (thebezzle.org). "The Lost Cause:" a solarpunk novel of hope in the climate emergency, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), November 2023 (http://lost-cause.org). "The Internet Con": A nonfiction book about interoperability and Big Tech (Verso) September 2023 (http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org). Signed copies at Book Soup (https://www.booksoup.com/book/9781804291245). "Red Team Blues": "A grabby, compulsive thriller that will leave you knowing more about how the world works than you did before." Tor Books http://redteamblues.com. "Chokepoint Capitalism: How to Beat Big Tech, Tame Big Content, and Get Artists Paid, with Rebecca Giblin", on how to unrig the markets for creative labor, Beacon Press/Scribe 2022 https://chokepointcapitalism.com Upcoming books (permalink) "The Post-American Internet," a geopolitical sequel of sorts to Enshittification, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2027 "Unauthorized Bread": a middle-grades graphic novel adapted from my novella about refugees, toasters and DRM, FirstSecond, April 20, 2027 "Enshittification, Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It" (the graphic novel), Firstsecond, 2027 "The Memex Method," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2027 Colophon (permalink) Today's top sources: Currently writing: "The Post-American Internet," a sequel to "Enshittification," about the better world the rest of us get to have now that Trump has torched America. Fourth draft completed. Submitted to editor. A Little Brother short story about DIY insulin PLANNING This work – excluding any serialized fiction – is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. That means you can use it any way you like, including commercially, provided that you attribute it to me, Cory Doctorow, and include a link to pluralistic.net. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Quotations and images are not included in this license; they are included either under a limitation or exception to copyright, or on the basis of a separate license. Please exercise caution. How to get Pluralistic: Blog (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): Pluralistic.net Newsletter (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://pluralistic.net/plura-list Mastodon (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic Bluesky (no ads, possible tracking and data-collection): https://bsky.app/profile/doctorow.pluralistic.net Medium (no ads, paywalled): https://doctorow.medium.com/ Tumblr (mass-scale, unrestricted, third-party surveillance and advertising): https://mostlysignssomeportents.tumblr.com/tagged/pluralistic "When life gives you SARS, you make sarsaparilla" -Joey "Accordion Guy" DeVilla READ CAREFULLY: By reading this, you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies ("BOGUS AGREEMENTS") that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer. ISSN: 3066-764X

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How To Create A Free Tool To Capture Leads In Your Practice Niche

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 21:15:00 +0000

You will want to place this lead capture technique in the ‘early’ stages of your marketing funnel, where it can not only collect critical information but underscore your law firm’s value and authority. The post How To Create A Free Tool To Capture Leads In Your Practice Niche appeared first on Above the Law.

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Did Jim Jordan Outsource This Jack Smith Criminal Referral To ChatGPT?

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 20:44:00 +0000

What even is this shit? The post Did Jim Jordan Outsource This Jack Smith Criminal Referral To ChatGPT? appeared first on Above the Law.

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Trump vows to investigate EU over fining of US tech companies

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 18:35:15 +0000

The US president says fines against Google, as well as Apple, Meta and Amazon, should be "entirely reversed."

Source feed: https://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/technology/rss.xml

India’s move against Jack Dorsey’s Bitchat sparks legal debate

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 16:54:58 +0000

The offline messaging app surged in popularity in India amid protests in New Delhi.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

Tesla’s car door defect could lead to tougher rules for everyone

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 15:14:04 +0000

Tesla's electronic door handles that have been linked to several deaths could lead to tougher safety rules for the entire auto industry. In a notice published today, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that complaints about Tesla's mechanical door release don't warrant a defect investigation. Instead, the issue is better addressed through a broader […]

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AI firms want more data centers; Trump's EPA may give neighbors less say

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 13:49:38 +0000

Rule would allow states to decide how much—if any—public input there can be.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

TikTok’s protection of minors should not be opt-in, warns EU

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 11:40:03 +0000

TikTok has attracted the ire of the European Union over its protection of children who use the video sharing platform. The European Commission announced preliminary findings today under the Digital Services Act (DSA) that offer specific issues to address. The Commission suggests that TikTok should adjust the default settings of minors' "public" accounts so the […]

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Bench and bar, rebooted: Why technical competence is the new standard for lawyers

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 11:40:01 +0000

A new standard is being written in courtrooms that states, understanding the technology behind the law, including AI, is now part of the job.

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An A.I. Music F.A.Q.: Can I Remix Madonna? Is This All Legal?

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 10:24:14 +0000

Advances in A.I. are making it possible to create all kinds of music from scratch, but they also raise questions about what is legal and who will actually listen.

Source feed: https://rss.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/nyt/Technology.xml

Lexis $$$, Spellbook / Google, Legal Innovators Nordics

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 07:49:09 +0000

We start this week’s Wrap with news that the Claude Crash earlier this year, which hit market sentiment and wiped billions off the value of ...

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Congress proposes an AI kill switch

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 00:08:20 +0000

As more details emerge about OpenAI's cyberattack against Hugging Face, lawmakers are taking an interest. PLUS: Meta's cynical new ad + "pervert glasses" damage control

Source feed: https://www.platformer.news/rss/

Todd Blanche Can’t Admit The Slush Fund Was A Mistake Because ‘That’s Not Proper MAGA Talk’ — See Also

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 23:32:00 +0000

Liar, Liar: Todd Blanche's unique confirmation strategy. Stop Waiting For Cravath: Biglaw firms don't need permission anymore. It's time to make your money moves. That's A Pretty Big Malpractice Claim You've Got There: Holland & Knight facing $1.2B lawsuit. Robot Criminals Are Here: OpenAI's models escaped a secure environment and started hacking a website. That's illegal for humans, but what do we do with a bot? The post Todd Blanche Can’t Admit The Slush Fund Was A Mistake Because ‘That’s Not Proper MAGA Talk’ — See Also appeared first on Above the Law.

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“Digital Colonialism”: U.S. Demands To Access Africans’ Data Raise Privacy, Sovereignty Concerns

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 22:40:01 +0000

This story was originally published by ProPublica. Republished under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 license. Frank Ssekamwa says the United States presented his country with an impossible choice. If it accepted the terms of a new health agreement, Uganda would have to give the U.S. access to the data of millions of his fellow citizens — a decision he worries would […]

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Hundreds of Drone-as-First-Responder Programs Could Soon Be Launched Across the Country

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 22:00:00 +0000

Police departments across the country are lining up to launch drone-as-first-responder (DFR) programs, and hundreds have cleared a necessary hurdle toward making deployment a reality, expanding aerial surveillance and data collection even in areas patrol officers typically can't reach. As of February 2026, over 1,000 public safety agencies—including police, fire, and other emergency management agencies—had received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) waivers needed to automate drone operations and launch a DFR program, according to a recent Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) release listing agencies that have obtained Part 91 waivers since the FAA streamlined and sped up the process in April 2025. The changes led to a massive increase in the number of waivers issued. Only 976 DFR waivers had been granted since the first DFR program launched in 2018 through April 2025, according to an FAA representative. The agency issued more waivers between April 2025 and February 2026 than it had in the previous seven years combined. A map illustrating the locations of police departments and other public safety agencies that have received Part 91 waivers, making it possible for them to launch drone-as-first-responder programs. (This map image links to Google Maps, which is governed by Google's privacy policy) The new FAA process for waivers and the rush of police departments to obtain them signifies a shift in law enforcement's use of drones: from human-operated aerial surveillance to AI-based autonomous drone use. Typically, a drone operator is only permitted to fly in areas that can still be seen by the pilot, and that drone pilot needs to be certified under FAA Part 107. To fly drones “Beyond Visual Line of Sight” (BVLOS) requires additional approval from the FAA, as do flights above 200 feet, due to the risk of colliding with planes and other aircrafts. Without such approval, an officer could not pilot a drone from a desk inside a building and fly it to a call across the city because they could not possibly have line of sight on the drone. FAA rules for police drones also required a human operator to manually fly the device to a scene, but DFR technology has become a more common and more automated police technology. DFR programs increasingly rely on artificial intelligence to automate drone flights from launchpads placed around the city, often atop municipal buildings, and make it possible for one drone operator to “fly” multiple devices at once. Though not every police department that has received BVLOS has launched a DFR program yet, by going through this process, every department on this list has signified it has strong enough interest to clear the necessary regulatory hurdles. Police departments and the companies that sell DFR equipment claim that these drones make it easier for officers to establish “situational awareness” of a scene before they arrive. Early drone adoption centered on similar claims, particularly related to high-risk situations like vehicular accidents or incidents involving an armed suspect. However, these kinds of situations may make up only a small portion of deployments, which often occur in response to low-risk calls for service related to unhoused people, mental health concerns, and loud music, as a Government Technology analysis of the system in Chula Vista, California, found. DFR programs have become important sources of revenue for companies like Flock Safety and Axon, the latter of which reported that its DFR platform has become one of the company’s fastest growing sectors. Axon is also known for products like the TASER and the Fusus camera system that lets police integrate viewing of public and private cameras. Footage from drone flights is streamed back to a police office, and it can be stored, shared, and analyzed like other video. Turning drone footage into fodder for automated license plate reader (ALPR) networks, for example, requires very little additional software, and Flock Safety was quietly able to turn its drones into “flying ALPRs” last year. The normalization of police DFR programs jeopardizes privacy in communities across the country. As flying cameras, drones can capture footage from areas typically inaccessible to a casual patrol officer—backyards, roofs, through windows—at distances that leave subjects of surveillance completely unaware of the spy in the sky. A recent leak of drone footage from the San Francisco Police Department illustrated the ease with which surreptitious drone flights could observe innocent individuals for minutes without them realizing it. While daytime DFR use grows, police departments are exploring other ways to expand overhead surveillance. In October 2024, the Campbell Police Department in California announced it had received the first FAA approval for BVLOS operations at night, claiming it was the “first to incorporate radar technology with electro-optical sensors to enhance airspace monitoring, enabling a single remote pilot to safely deploy drones both day and night.” As communities consider drone use, it’s crucial that communities have a say in whether the program is acquired at all, not just how it's run once purchased. Throughout the process, police should be transparent with the community and comply with local regulations about its adoption. Many cities provide portals that log the flight paths and reasons for each drone flight, often in real time, an important transparency practice. In California, under AB 481, police departments are required to provide advance notice of intent to acquire drones, establish policies before they’re procured, and provide annual updates on their uses—giving communities and city councils the opportunity, before any contract is signed, to weigh in or object to the acquisition itself. For police departments and communities considering drone use, clear policies on appropriate use, transparency around deployment, and regular re-evaluation—including the choice to discontinue a program that isn't working—are all vital for protecting people’s privacy and security.

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Lawmakers push for AI 'kill switch' after OpenAI goes rogue

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 20:58:35 +0000

A new bill would let the US government order the shutdown AI models that pose a major public threat.

Source feed: https://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/technology/rss.xml

Kirkland Plans To ‘Play To Win’ In Biglaw’s AI Talent War

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 20:44:00 +0000

The firm's hiring ambitions reflect surging demand for partners advising on the real estate behind AI infrastructure. The post Kirkland Plans To ‘Play To Win’ In Biglaw’s AI Talent War appeared first on Above the Law.

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AI Kill Switch Act would let Trump admin order shutdown of rogue AI systems

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 19:08:01 +0000

Bill would let Homeland Security chief decide when an AI should be shut down.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

Government Lawyers Say Trump Admin Can Use TikTok Again Because ‘Owned’ No Longer Means ‘Owned’

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 18:19:03 +0000

We spent a few years pointing out the ridiculousness of the whole “TikTok ban” moral panic, and the fact that all of the “concerns” magically melted away after Trump became president and then effectively gifted a controlling stake to some of his friends should raise some pretty big questions. However, most people seem to have […]

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An opinionated guide to which AI to use to do stuff

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 18:05:24 +0000

The Summer 2026 Edition

Source feed: https://www.oneusefulthing.org/feed

Google hit with $1 billion in fines as EU braces for Trump battle

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 16:41:36 +0000

Google becomes third tech giant to face huge fines under the Digital Markets Act.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

OpenAI’s New Model Hacked A Website On Its Own… Humans Would Go To Prison For That

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 17:45:00 +0000

Every element of a Computer Fraud and Abuse Act violation seems to be sitting right there in OpenAI's own announcement. The post OpenAI’s New Model Hacked A Website On Its Own… Humans Would Go To Prison For That appeared first on Above the Law.

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Issue 107 – An unserious offer

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 16:25:43 +0000

The crypto industry has spent $200 million to get a bill too corrupt for Democrats to pass and a president too corrupt to sign anything that might meaningfully limit his grift.

Source feed: https://www.citationneeded.news/rss/

Lawmakers prepare bill requiring AI ‘kill switch’

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 14:13:35 +0000

Lawmakers are preparing to introduce an "AI Kill Switch Act" that would require AI companies to shut down or throttle their systems on orders from the Department of Homeland Security, according to a report from Politico. Reps. Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Nathaniel Moran (R-TX) are expected to introduce the legislation on Thursday. The news of […]

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Google Hit With $1 Billion Fine By EU Over Search Engine Practices

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 12:33:45 +0000

At a tense moment for trans-Atlantic trade, the European Union accused Google of anti-competitive business practices.

Source feed: https://rss.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/nyt/Technology.xml

Google fined €890m by EU for favouring its own apps over rivals

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 14:05:27 +0000

It is the first major enforcement action against the tech giant under the EU's new digital rules.

Source feed: https://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/technology/rss.xml

Apple’s OpenAI lawsuit is about who gets to define the post-smartphone era

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 14:00:00 +0000

Today on Decoder, I’m talking with Hayden Field, The Verge’s senior AI reporter, about the major trade secrets lawsuit between Apple and OpenAI and what this tells us about OpenAI’s future. By now I’m sure most Decoder listeners are familiar with Apple’s allegations in this case. The company says a number of ex-Apple employees at […]

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Harvey Deepens Microsoft Relationship

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 12:38:56 +0000

Harvey has deepened its engagement with Microsoft, in this case via providing its legal AI platform to the tech giant’s Corporate, External, and Legal Affairs ...

Source feed: https://www.artificiallawyer.com/feed/

Microsoft’s Own Legal Department Will Use Harvey, As the Two Companies Deepen Their Alliance

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 12:30:44 +0000

Microsoft’s legal department is becoming a Harvey customer. The legal AI company Harvey announced today that Microsoft’s Corporate, External, and Legal Affairs (CELA) organization — the roughly 2,000-person unit that houses the company’s lawyers and compliance professionals — will use the Harvey platform to support its legal and compliance operations. As part of the same […]

Source feed: https://www.lawnext.com/feed

Dem Texas AG Candidate Vows To Investigate Musk’s Starlink Grant Grift

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 12:27:37 +0000

Last month I wrote a feature for The Verge exploring how Republicans had hijacked the Biden-era infrastructure bill to redirect billions of dollars away from next-generation fiber, and instead funnel it into the pockets of billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos — in exchange for congested, expensive, satellite broadband service they’d already planned to deploy. […]

Source feed: https://www.techdirt.com/feed/

What is open-source AI? A software engineering researcher explains

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 12:24:00 +0000

Open-source AI models allow anyone to read their inner workings like a book. Utamaru Kido/Moment via Getty ImagesYou’ve probably heard artificial intelligence models described as “open” or “closed.” These are not descriptions of the model’s personality. Large language model AIs like the one under the hood of ChatGPT don’t have actual personalities, despite appearances. The labels refer to whether all of the information about how an AI model works is publicly available and the model can be modified, or whether the model’s developer keeps its inner workings secret and the model itself private property. Open-source software The concept of open-source software originated in the free software movement of the 1980s and ’90s. The movement’s founders believed that software creators and users had the right to “four freedoms” – to run the program, to study and modify it, to distribute copies of the original, and to distribute copies of subsequently modified versions. The fundamental requirement was that the source code – the basic instructions – for a program should be made available. In the late 1990s, software developers associated with projects such as the Netscape web browser and the Linux operating system coined and promoted the term “open source” to refer to these ideals. As part of the evolving movement, certain organizations developed open-source licenses that specified how a particular piece of source code could be used and distributed, including the Gnu General Public License, Apache License, MIT License and the Berkeley Software Distribution. Each type of license also specified any potential restrictions on how software patents applied to the source code. Open source or open weight? The open-source idea has risen to prominence again in the past several years as artificial intelligence large language models have surged, notably OpenAI’s ChatGPT, released in 2022. Developers first train new models on large datasets, then deploy the models for use by other people. Open-source artificial intelligence is explained in two minutes. Meta was one of the first large companies to release an open-source large language model, called LLaMa. The company released LLaMa on Feb. 24, 2023, and made available the “inference” source code – the instructions that run the model. And it released the so-called weights, the encoded knowledge the model learned during training. However, open-source organizations such as the Open Source Initiative have stated that the LLaMa licensing guidelines prohibit commercial reuse, which the initiative maintains is not truly open source. Other companies have released “open weight” models, such as DeepSeek from DeepSeek AI and Qwen from Alibaba. The models have less restrictive terms for reuse, and the AI community has adopted them rapidly. Still, many developers believe that a true open-source AI model must not only include the source code and weights but also the data that is used to train the model. A lot to open up The Open Source Initiative’s definition of a fully open-source AI model includes the training data as a key element. Some developers wonder, however, how feasible it is to distribute the enormous datasets required. Jeffrey Young receives funding from the Sloan Foundation in his role as the director of Georgia Tech's Open Source Program Office.

Source feed: https://theconversation.com/us/technology/articles.atom

End-to-End Encryption and “Going Dark”

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 11:03:50 +0000

New paper: “Encryption and Globalization 15 Years Later: End-to-End Encryption and the Third Round of the ‘Going Dark’ Debate“: Abstract: This Article updates and expands on 2012 research on encryption and globalization, analyzing what the authors call “Round 3” of the Going Dark Debate: the current controversies over end-to-end encryption (E2EE). Governments around the world have proposed, and in some cases enacted, laws limiting E2EE for law enforcement and national security purposes. This Article explains the underlying technologies and market developments for a law and policy audience to assess those proposals critically. The Article proceeds in three parts tracking three rounds of the Going Dark Debate. Round 1 covers the Crypto Wars of the 1990s, when U.S. export controls on strong encryption ultimately fell in 1999. Round 2 covers the period roughly 2010 to 2015, when encryption-in-transit became widespread but lawful access remained available through cloud providers, giving rise to what the authors called a “golden age of surveillance” rather than a period of going dark. Round 3 addresses the current debate over E2EE, where no entity between sender and recipient can read the plaintext...

Source feed: https://www.schneier.com/feed/

Entegrata Hires Simpson Thacher AI Leader Andrew Baker To Head New AI Enablement Product Line

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 11:00:18 +0000

The legal data company Entegrata, whose data lakehouse platform helps law firms consolidate siloed data into a single source of truth, has hired Andrew Baker, who for more than five years led applied AI and data science at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, as its first chief AI and data strategy officer, where he will lead […]

Source feed: https://www.lawnext.com/feed

Google hit with $1 billion fine for breaking EU antitrust rules

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 10:33:08 +0000

The European Union has fined Google's parent company Alphabet €890 million (about $1 billion) for two separate violations of the bloc's Digital Markets Act (DMA). One penalty is for giving its own products preferential treatment in search results, while the other is for blocking Android developers from sending users to alternate payment options. A €460 […]

Source feed: https://www.theverge.com/rss/index.xml

Pluralistic: California's privacy obstacle course (23 Jul 2026)

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 10:27:55 +0000

Today's links California's privacy obstacle course: Malice or incompetence (why not both?). Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Continuous partial attention, TSA is the worst; Trump's FCC v the future. Upcoming appearances: Edinburgh, Sydney, Melbourne, Brighton, London, South Bend. Recent appearances: Where I've been. Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em. Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em. Colophon: All the rest. California's privacy obstacle course (permalink) Data brokers are a cancer. There's a direct line from the unrestricted collection, retention and processing of our data to a host of evils, from deepfake porn to phishing scams; from racial discrimination in hiring to ICE roundups of migrants; from targeted election interference to identity theft: https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/06/privacy-first/#but-not-just-privacy Why do data brokers exist? Because we let them. Congress hasn't passed a new federal consumer privacy law since 1988, when they made it illegal for video stores to disclose your VHS rentals. All other acts of consumer surveillance are legal. Data brokers spy on us for the same reason your dog licks its balls: because they can, and we don't stop them: https://pluralistic.net/2026/03/10/ice-tech/#foreseeable-outcomes Getting rid of data brokers wouldn't solve all our problems, but it sure would go a long way to solving many of them. Rather than legally requiring platforms to spy on kids (to exclude them from being targeted by platforms' algorithms), we could prohibit platforms from spying on anyone, including kids, meaning kids couldn't be identified (much less targeted) by algorithms or ads: https://pluralistic.net/2026/06/23/destroy-the-village/#to-save-it Data brokers produce mountains of raw material used for every form of scam and torture. It's data brokers who power the gig economy's "algorithmic wage discrimination" system, where nurses and other workers are offered less pay based on how much credit card debt they're carrying: https://pluralistic.net/2024/12/18/loose-flapping-ends/#luigi-has-a-point Banning data brokers would make great sense, which is why Biden's CFPB banned data brokers (only to have Trump un-ban them): https://pluralistic.net/2025/05/15/asshole-to-appetite/#ssn-for-sale So the feds (both Congress and the executive branch) have surrendered, and that leaves states alone on the battlefield fighting the privacy wars alone. State legislatures have taken some big steps, but – crucially – they've stopped short of banning data brokers from operating within their borders. Having taken a ban on data brokers off the table, states are left with complex, often unworkable "compromises" that go nowhere. This is where DROP comes in. DROP stands for "Delete Request and Opt-out Platform," and it's a new phase of California's privacy regime that kicks off next month. Under DROP, you fill in some paperwork and then the state requires every data brokerage operating in California to delete your data, as well as any inferences they've made about you based on that data: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/07/what-you-need-know-about-californias-drop-tool Implementing DROP is nowhere near as good as banning data brokers. The idea that data brokers should be able to collect, retain and process your data unless you tell them not to implies that everyone starts off wanting to be spied on, and therefore data brokers should assume that unless they hear otherwise, we're delighted to be the subject of commercial surveillance. This is an incredibly stupid supposition, contradicted by all available evidence. For example, when Apple offered iPhone owners a one-click option to block Facebook from spying on them, 96% of iPhone owners clicked the button: https://applescoop.org/story/facebook-must-inflict-pain-on-apple-says-mark-zuckerberg Indeed, given this fact, one wonders why Apple bothers with the "don't spy on me" button at all. Why not have a "do spy on me" button that is unchecked by default, and leave users to dig through their settings to find the option to opt in to being surveilled? Of course, then it would make the fact that Apple spies on its customers and uses the data to target ads (with no way to opt out) a little awkward: https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/14/luxury-surveillance/#liar-liar In the absence of a ban on surveillance without explicit, opt-in consent, we are left with the bizarre fiction that most of us want to be spied on, a fiction that pervades the DROP process, making the entire procedure nearly impossible to complete. To start the DROP process, you must first create a Login.gov ID. This is an incredibly invasive process that involves photographing multiple pieces of ID and taking several selfies using special apps and webpages that hijack your device's camera and processor in a bid to prevent bad actors from spoofing the process. There's a plausible reason for this rigmarole: Login.gov is the authentication system for multiple federal, state and local IT systems in the US, so a fake or stolen Login.gov ID could be used to access your IRS, Social Security, and other very sensitive accounts. The corollary of this is the promise of Login.gov: once you create your ID (a lengthy, multi-stage process) you won't have to jump through lots of painful bureaucratic hoops to access a wide variety of government services. DROP didn't get the memo. After you log in to DROP via Login.gov, you are sent a text message – to the phone number in your Login.gov profile – with a link to access a "secure" website that takes over your camera to let you take a "secure" photo of the front and back of your California driver's license or your US passport. What if you don't have either of those? I guess that means you want to be spied on by data brokers. Note that these are the same credentials you have to supply to get the Login.gov ID that you've just used to get to this step in the process. In other words, in order to get to the stage where they ask you to photograph your driver's license, you have to have already photographed and validated your driver's license. Once you complete this (pointless, redundant) step, you're directed back to your computer, where the process continues. Here, you must fill in all kinds of biographical detail, as well as specialized pieces of information, including your car's VIN. This is a piece of information that most people don't have – but which the California DMV does have and could auto-feed into the system, given that you've repeatedly affirmatively identified yourself to the service. You also have to provide your mobile advertising identifier, a long, unique number that you may or may not be able to extract from your phone, depending on the model and the OS version. If you can't get it that way, you can install an app like AAID, which comes with a long list of – you guessed it – permissions to extract, store and process your private information. Here's the thing: the whole point of a mobile ad identifier is that apps can access it (this is how they identify and track you). That step, where the system made you switch to your phone and use your camera to photograph your driver's license? That step could have automatically pulled this data off your device. That's the whole fucking point of this exercise: that web-pages and apps can request your mobile ad identifier. Instead, DROP wants users to dig through their phone's deepest settings and/or install an app to retrieve a 32-digit number, which they then must key into a webform on their computer or in a different app on their phone. Once you've done this, you must fill in another page of biographical information, including information that you've already provided to Login.gov and information you've already filled in on previous screens. On this screen, you must also verify your phone number by sending yourself a text and then pasting in a unique number the system sends to you. But remember how this whole thing started? The first step is that you authenticate with Login.gov, which sends a text to your phone so you can take a (redundant) picture of your driver's license. There is no way you could get this far in the process unless you controlled the phone number you've just "verified" with the system. Next, you must verify your email address, by receiving an email with a unique code in it and keying or pasting that into the webform, too. Again, remember how this process started: with you logging in with Login.gov, using your email address, which the system has already treated as verified since the very start of this (very) long and (very) complicated process. This whole thing is terrible, and it is predicated on the absurd premise that Californians have to be defended from the threat of strangers who pretend to be them in order to sneakily opt them out of surveillance. DROP requires stronger authentication than any other US government system I've ever interacted with. I file my tax returns with fewer authentication steps. I renew my car's DMV registration with fewer authentication steps. I became a US citizen with fewer authentication steps. This is either a system with no coherent threat model, or (far more probably), its threat model is that people will use it. This is California's answer to "a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying 'Beware of the Leopard'": https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Hitchhiker%27s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy It's especially instructive to compare this process to the steps you have to take in order to "opt in" to having a data broker open a file on you and stuff it full of your sensitive, personal information, which is then sold to all comers: Step one: Exist. Step two: There is no step two. It's also instructive to compare this process to the steps a data broker has to take to spy on you and sell your data: Step one: Exist. Step two: There is no step two. Though there are many obvious ways this could be made better, I want to stress here that you shouldn't have to do this at all. It's entirely backwards. The process for not being spied on should look like this: Step one: Exist. Step two: There is no step two. If anyone is going to be forced to jump through hoops to participate in the mass collection and catastrophic mishandling of private data, it should be the data brokers, not the people they spy on. This kind of malicious compliance is the inevitable outcome of a process that starts by taking the obvious best measure off the table. The answer to the problem of data brokers is banning data brokers, not creating a demented hairball of form-filling that maintains the fiction that data broker surveillance is consensual. In its own way, this process reminds me of the whole "carbon credit" fiasco. The answer to too many carbon emissions is to democratically decide to ban certain kinds of carbon emissions. But that would require states to do things, rather than simply "nudging" a process that is guided by "the market." So we end up with these junk "credits" that companies manufacture by promising not to log forests, many of which are already wildlife preserves and/or subsequently burn down: https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/31/carbon-upsets/#big-tradeoff The best critique of this whole thing came in 2021 from the Climate Ad Project, who produced a short video in which people were allowed to kill one another provided they purchased "murder offsets": https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/14/for-sale-green-indulgences/#killer-analogy In a state of nature, murder exists. We, as a society, have decided this is bad. Rather than creating "incentives" not to murder, we just banned murder. Admittedly, we still get some murders, but when these happen, we don't treat it as "a mispricing of the anti-murder incentive" – we treat it as a crime. The commercial surveillance industry may not be a criminal enterprise (yet), but it is the source of a torrent of crime, a flood of crime, a tsunami of crime. Every piece of your information that a data broker possesses exposes you to the risk of being victimized by a criminal. For this reason, I strongly believe that you should go through the tedious, performatively difficult DROP process: https://consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov/ But let's not pretend that this is good – or even adequate. There is no demand for being spied on. There is no basis for taking such enormous care in making sure people aren't maliciously removed from surveillance databases. If these databases exist at all (they should not), then we should make spies go through all this paperwork, to prove that you do want to be spied on, and unless they manage it, then spying on us should be treated as the crime it is. Hey look at this (permalink) The Human in the Noose: On the Special Hell of Marking an AI’s Homework https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/cory-doctorow-reverse-centaurs-alt-view/ Interstitial Engineering: Sculpture: BC 832212923353614453712 https://chrisbathgate.blogspot.com/2026/07/interstitial-engineering-sculpture-bc.html The Lost Joy of Music Piracy https://www.pigeonsandplanes.com/read/music-piracy-what-cd-oink-nine-inch-nails-streaming People don't care that "The Odyssey" is woke or whatever https://www.garbageday.email/p/monday-issue How proprietary formats have become Microsoft’s main tool for lock-in https://blog.documentfoundation.org/blog/2026/07/17/microsofts-main-tool-for-lock-in/ Object permanence (permalink) #20yrsago Continuous Partial Attention wiki https://web.archive.org/web/20060806014946/http://continuouspartialattention.jot.com/WikiHome #10yrsago Congress: TSA is worst place to work in USG, nearly half of employees cited for misconduct; it’s getting worse https://web.archive.org/web/20160721120714/https://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2016-07-14/almost-half-of-all-tsa-employees-have-been-cited-for-misconduct #1yrago Trump's FCC abandons the future https://pluralistic.net/2025/07/24/geometry-hates-cars/#dogshit-unit-economics Upcoming appearances (permalink) Edinburgh International Book Festival with Jimmy Wales, Aug 17 https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/events/the-front-list-cory-doctorow-and-jimmy-wales Sydney: The Festival of Dangerous Ideas, Aug 23-24 https://festivalofdangerousideas.com/program/ Melbourne: Enshittification at the Wheeler Centre, Aug 25 https://www.wheelercentre.com/events-tickets/season-2026/cory-doctorow-enshittification Brighton: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI with Carole Cadwalladr (Brighton Dome), Sep 8 https://brightondome.org/whats-on/LSC-cory-doctorow-the-reverse-centaurs-guide-to-life-after-ai/ London: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI with Riley Quinn (Foyle's Picadilly), Sep 9 https://www.foyles.co.uk/events/enshittification-cory-doctorow-riley-quinn South Bend: An Evening With Cory Doctorow (Notre Dame), Oct 6 https://franco.nd.edu/events/2026/10/06/an-evening-with-cory-doctorow/ Recent appearances (permalink) Waarom jij straks het hulpje van AI bent (VPRO) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOnvR2fs8CA Talk Tech Bock (Vera Linß) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PFjGvQoBgc How To Think About AI Before It’s Too Late (This Is Hell) https://thisishell.com/episodes/1919 AI Won't Replace You… But This Might (Deep Focus) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oorWq_m48AQ Who Owns Your Tractor? (Growing the Future) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU9eBPUZBI4 Latest books (permalink) "The Reverse-Centaur's Guide to AI," a short book about being a better AI critic, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, June 2026 https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374621568/thereversecentaursguidetolifeafterai/ "Canny Valley": A limited edition collection of the collages I create for Pluralistic, self-published, September 2025 https://pluralistic.net/2025/09/04/illustrious/#chairman-bruce "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, October 7 2025 https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/ "Picks and Shovels": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about the heroic era of the PC, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2025 (https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865908/picksandshovels). "The Bezzle": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about prison-tech and other grifts, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2024 (thebezzle.org). "The Lost Cause:" a solarpunk novel of hope in the climate emergency, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), November 2023 (http://lost-cause.org). "The Internet Con": A nonfiction book about interoperability and Big Tech (Verso) September 2023 (http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org). Signed copies at Book Soup (https://www.booksoup.com/book/9781804291245). "Red Team Blues": "A grabby, compulsive thriller that will leave you knowing more about how the world works than you did before." Tor Books http://redteamblues.com. "Chokepoint Capitalism: How to Beat Big Tech, Tame Big Content, and Get Artists Paid, with Rebecca Giblin", on how to unrig the markets for creative labor, Beacon Press/Scribe 2022 https://chokepointcapitalism.com Upcoming books (permalink) "The Post-American Internet," a geopolitical sequel of sorts to Enshittification, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2027 "Unauthorized Bread": a middle-grades graphic novel adapted from my novella about refugees, toasters and DRM, FirstSecond, April 20, 2027 "Enshittification, Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It" (the graphic novel), Firstsecond, 2027 "The Memex Method," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2027 Colophon (permalink) Today's top sources: Currently writing: "The Post-American Internet," a sequel to "Enshittification," about the better world the rest of us get to have now that Trump has torched America. Fourth draft completed. Submitted to editor. A Little Brother short story about DIY insulin PLANNING This work – excluding any serialized fiction – is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. That means you can use it any way you like, including commercially, provided that you attribute it to me, Cory Doctorow, and include a link to pluralistic.net. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Quotations and images are not included in this license; they are included either under a limitation or exception to copyright, or on the basis of a separate license. Please exercise caution. How to get Pluralistic: Blog (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): Pluralistic.net Newsletter (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://pluralistic.net/plura-list Mastodon (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic Bluesky (no ads, possible tracking and data-collection): https://bsky.app/profile/doctorow.pluralistic.net Medium (no ads, paywalled): https://doctorow.medium.com/ Tumblr (mass-scale, unrestricted, third-party surveillance and advertising): https://mostlysignssomeportents.tumblr.com/tagged/pluralistic "When life gives you SARS, you make sarsaparilla" -Joey "Accordion Guy" DeVilla READ CAREFULLY: By reading this, you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies ("BOGUS AGREEMENTS") that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer. ISSN: 3066-764X

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EU fines Google €890m for competition breaches over search and apps

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 10:00:42 +0000

Firm told to treat third-party services that appear in its results in ‘fair and non-discriminatory manner’Google has been fined a total of €890m (£760m) by the EU for breaches of online competition laws by its search and app store services.The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said Google had broken the Digital Markets Act by giving priority to its own services, such as shopping and hotel deals, in search results over those of its rivals. Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

Can prediction markets win over Wall Street?

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 08:59:27 +0000

Clearing the regulatory hurdles is only half the battle

Source feed: https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/rss.xml

Flank Launches ‘Record’ – Agentic Contract Truth System

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 08:09:52 +0000

Flank, the agentic legal tech company focused on inhouse teams, has launched Flank Record, an autonomous agentic contract system of record, which greatly reduces the ...

Source feed: https://www.artificiallawyer.com/feed/

Screen Time Guidelines For Kids Is Changing As Research Paints A More Nuanced Picture

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 03:16:00 +0000

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Concerns surrounding young people’s screen time are widespread. Australia became the first country to ban social media for users under 16 in December 2025, and Denmark, France and the U.K. have since announced similar restrictions to begin this year. In the U.S., as of mid-2026, more than 30 […]

Source feed: https://www.techdirt.com/feed/

US teen drops Meta lawsuit on social media addiction days before trial

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 22:33:43 +0000

Withdrawn case marks a victory for the social media giant after earlier landmark loss at trial over addictive claimsA Florida teen whose lawsuit claimed Meta’s platforms were to blame ⁠for his depression ⁠and anxiety dropped his case against the company just days before the trial in Los Angeles was ⁠set to start, his attorneys said on Wednesday. It was the latest in a massive series of high-stakes lawsuits against social media companies for allegedly designing addictive products that lead to the harm of children.The lawsuit, brought by a 15-year-old boy known as ⁠RKC, originally named four defendants, Google’s YouTube, Meta’s Instagram, Snap Inc’s Snapchat and ByteDance’s TikTok. YouTube and TikTok ‌settled in June and Snap reached a tentative settlement in the case, Bloomberg ‌reported on Monday. The terms of those settlements were confidential. Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

China's Moonshot AI stole from Anthropic, Trump tech advisor says

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 00:52:25 +0000

The allegations come as Chinese AI companies are facing increased US government scrutiny.

Source feed: https://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/technology/rss.xml

Clarity Act Mired In Debate Over Whether to Bar President From Selling Crypto

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 23:01:47 +0000

Democrats and Republicans are haggling about the Clarity Act, a major bill pushed by the crypto industry, as it moves closer to a Senate vote.

Source feed: https://rss.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/nyt/Technology.xml

The Fourth Circuit Says Border Agents Can Search Your Phone By Hand, No Suspicion Required

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 22:30:31 +0000

Legal intern Suzanne Castillo was the principal author of this post. The Fourth Circuit issued a disappointing opinion in U.S. v. Belmonte Cardozo, a case in which EFF filed an amicus brief, alongside the national ACLU, its Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia affiliates, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL). We argued that electronic device searches at the border should require a warrant based on probable cause, but at minimum, regardless of whether an officer searches by hand or with forensic software that plugs into a device and downloads its entire contents for search, the same Fourth Amendment standard should apply to all device searches at the border. Unfortunately, the court rejected that argument and ruled that a lower standard applies to manual searches, allowing the government to conduct extraordinarily invasive electronic device searches without any suspicion of wrongdoing, simply because the border officer chooses to search by hand rather than with a forensic tool. The Border Search Exception Meets Your Phone The Fourth Amendment requires that government searches of persons or property be reasonable, which usually means obtaining a warrant based on probable cause from a judge. But a warrantless search can still be reasonable if it falls within an exception to the warrant requirement, including the exception that allows officers to search your belongings at the border. The border search exception allows warrantless searches of persons or property crossing the U.S. border, including the functional equivalent of the border such as international airports, given the government’s interests in controlling who and what may enter the country. Historically, courts have categorized border searches of luggage, vehicles, and personal effects as “routine” and thus reasonable even if conducted without any suspicion that the traveler has engaged in wrongdoing; courts have also held that more invasive “nonroutine” searches, such as certain body searches and searches that damage property, require reasonable suspicion. But a person’s privacy interests in the personal data on a phone or laptop are extraordinarily different than their limited privacy interests in the contents of their suitcase. The Supreme Court addressed cell phone privacy in Riley v. California (2014), holding that the search-incident-to-arrest exception to the warrant requirement did not apply to cell phones, thereby generally requiring a warrant for phone searches, at least at the interior of the country. The court recognized the unprecedented privacy interests people have in their cell phones and how even brief manual searches can reveal the “sum of an individual’s private life,” including our political affiliations, religious beliefs, sexuality, and more. Accordingly, the Supreme Court held that because electronic device searches bear “little resemblance” to searches of bags or physical containers, they should be evaluated differently. Following Riley, the Fourth Circuit considered two border device search cases involving forensic searches, in which border officers used external software to extract and analyze a device’s data. In U.S. v. Kolsuz (2018), the Fourth Circuit held that a forensic search of a cell phone at the border “must be considered a nonroutine border search, requiring some measure of individualized suspicion” of a transnational offense, but the court declined to decide whether the standard is only reasonable suspicion or instead a probable cause warrant. Then in U.S. v. Aigbekaen (2019), the Fourth Circuit held that a forensic device search at the border in support of a purely domestic law enforcement investigation requires a warrant. The court also reiterated the general Kolsuz rule for a forensic border-related device search: the “Government must have individualized suspicion of an offense that bears some nexus to the border search exception's purposes of protecting national security, collecting duties, blocking the entry of unwanted persons, or disrupting efforts to export or import contraband.” In Belmonte Cardozo, manual searches were finally before the court. A Disappointing Decision Jose Belmonte Cardozo was already on the U.S. government’s radar when he traveled from Bolivia to the U.S. and was met by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer at Washington Dulles International Airport. The officer manually searched his cell phone and found child sexual abuse material (CSAM), considered “digital contraband,” leading to Belmonte Cardozo’s arrest and criminal prosecution. At issue on appeal was what standard should apply to manual device searches at the border. The Fourth Circuit held that, unlike forensic searches, manual searches are “routine” and thus reasonable under the Fourth Amendment without a warrant or individualized suspicion. The court’s holding hinged on four differences between manual and forensic searches: (1) in a manual search, a person does the searching, not a machine; (2) a manual search’s breadth depends on the officer’s time and energy, while forensic searches are comprehensive; (3) manual searches reveal only what a user can typically access, while forensic searches can uncover deleted files, cached fragments, metadata, and more; and (4) manual searches are subject to an officer’s fading memory or imperfect notes, while forensic searches create a permanent copy. But in identifying these technical differences, the court never explains why they justify a lower standard for manual searches. The Fourth Circuit’s holding is problematic because, as we argued in our amicus brief, manual searches reach the same categories of data as forensic searches—data that can reveal highly personal aspects of our identities and our lives. It does not matter if a search is conducted by an agent’s thumbs or by software: the end result is equally as invasive, therefore all device searches should fall under the warrant requirement, or at least the same Fourth Amendment standard. The court repeatedly emphasized that the search here lasted only two minutes, suggesting that the time-limited search was not privacy-invasive. But an individual’s privacy interests in their personal data don’t change based on how their phone is searched or how long. Scrolling for two minutes through someone’s personal text messages or photos is an invasion of privacy that may reveal intimate details about the person even in that short period of time. Moreover, as devices’ native search functions improve, manual searches can surface personal information in seconds through keyword searches, even for photos, where it might have taken an hour of scrolling to find the same information, further showing that a time-limited search is not necessarily less privacy-invasive. What matters is not the breadth of the search itself, but the unprecedented (and growing) breadth of data on our phones. A Silver Lining There’s one silver lining: by relying on the fact that the search lasted two minutes, the Fourth Circuit left open the possibility that lengthier manual searches could trigger heightened suspicion requirements. But until a clear line is drawn, border officers within the Fourth Circuit’s jurisdiction can use manual searches to sidestep heightened Fourth Amendment standards that would otherwise apply. In the meantime, EFF will keep fighting against extraordinarily invasive warrantless, suspicionless device earches at the border, and for robust privacy standards to protect our most personal data.

Source feed: https://www.eff.org/rss/updates.xml

Treasury threatens sanctions after White House claims Moonshot distilled Anthropic’s Fable

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 20:49:03 +0000

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned the U.S. government could sanction Chinese AI companies after White House officials accused Moonshot of distilling Anthropic's Fable model to develop Kimi K3.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

Social media addiction lawsuit against Meta is dropped

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 20:36:41 +0000

A closely watched social media addiction lawsuit that had been set to go to trial next week has been dropped after the plaintiff voluntarily dismissed his claims against Meta, leaving none of the major tech companies facing trial in the case.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

Willkie Farr And OpenAI Building Proprietary AI Named After Guy Who Would Not Have Cut A Deal With Trump

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 20:00:00 +0000

The firm's AI platform is called Wendell after Wendell Willkie. They could do with some of his advice. The post Willkie Farr And OpenAI Building Proprietary AI Named After Guy Who Would Not Have Cut A Deal With Trump appeared first on Above the Law.

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Hyundai claims humanoid robot plan is not part of talks with striking workers

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 18:18:12 +0000

Union previously warned automaker that any robot deployment must be negotiated.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

Lawsuit Against Meta Over Social Media Addiction Is Dropped

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 18:47:14 +0000

For Meta, the move was a reprieve after it and YouTube were found guilty in another case in March of negligence and personal injury for their platforms’ addictive features.

Source feed: https://rss.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/nyt/Technology.xml

DOJ Now Citing Fake AI-Generated Cases To Keep ICE Detainees Locked Up

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 18:13:11 +0000

You’d think that watching multiple lawyers get caught red-handed using AI to file briefs full of made-up citations would cause everyone in the legal profession — especially prosecutors — to double-check their own. You would, of course, be wrong. And the latest offender is not just some random lawyer. It’s the DOJ itself, which cited […]

Source feed: https://www.techdirt.com/feed/

Why are OpenAI and Anthropic cheering on regulation in Australia? The answer has global reach

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 15:00:19 +0000

The companies hope to follow in the footsteps of SpaceX, which raised $86bn and soared to a $2.1tn valuation after it listed on public markets in JuneGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTop US AI developers Anthropic and OpenAI cheered when Australia announced it would set new AI rules.Big tech celebrating limits on their Silicon Valley VC-funded free-for-all might seem counterintuitive but there’s a much broader play than just what happens in one relatively small market. Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

Vibe Coding For Lawyers: Next Big Thing Or Just A Big Dud?

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 14:46:55 +0000

Not sure vibe coding is ready for legal prime time, at least not yet. The post Vibe Coding For Lawyers: Next Big Thing Or Just A Big Dud? appeared first on Above the Law.

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Built By Lawyers, For Lawyers: DingDuff Is A Free Claude Connector That Its Founders Say Rivals The Legal Research Giants

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 14:25:17 +0000

Two practicing lawyers in Austin, Texas, have built a free connector that plugs Claude directly into millions of court opinions, statutes, regulations and court rules, along with federal court filings via PACER — and they say that, in their own testing, it matches and sometimes beats the Westlaw AI accounts their firms pay for. The […]

Source feed: https://www.lawnext.com/feed

Harry Potter publisher to receive millions in Anthropic copyright settlement

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 13:28:09 +0000

Bloomsbury has 14,087 titles listed in agreement between AI startup and authors over use of their work The publisher of Harry Potter has received a multimillion-pound payout as a beneficiary of a $1.5bn (£1.12bn) copyright settlement between the AI startup Anthropic and thousands of authors over the use of their protected work to power chatbots.Bloomsbury, which is home to the bestselling novelists Sarah J Maas and Susanna Clarke as well as JK Rowling, said it had 14,087 titles listed within the settlement, with a proposed compensation of about $3,000 a title. Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

US Law Firm Willkie Partners With OpenAI

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 11:40:27 +0000

Major US law firm, Willkie, is partnering with OpenAI to develop ‘AI solutions across the firm’s legal and business operations, including a firmwide rollout of ...

Source feed: https://www.artificiallawyer.com/feed/

Tomorrow – Opus 2 Webinar: AI-Native Litigation Workflows

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 11:05:10 +0000

Join us tomorrow (Thursday) for a special live webinar with Opus 2 and Artificial Lawyer: ‘From AI-enabled to AI-native workflows in litigation and beyond.’ It will take place July ...

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NetDocuments Launches Expert Witness + Plaintiff Apps

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 10:40:54 +0000

NetDocuments is continuing its expansion drive into AI tools with a collection of new apps. For AL, the most significant ones are those related to ...

Source feed: https://www.artificiallawyer.com/feed/

New EU Court of Justice Ruling on Platform Liability Could Cause Collateral Damage to Freedom of Expression

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 08:34:12 +0000

Intermediary liability laws around the world recognize that social media platforms, search engines, and other online service providers have become an integral part of our lives: they shape how we access information, communicate with others and participate in public debate, and foster innovation online. These laws generally shield platforms, to varying degrees, from legal liability for user content: the responsibility for unlawful speech should rest primarily with the speaker, not with those who merely host it. These liability protections are not a gift for platforms. They exist so that platforms are not encouraged to proactively monitor and filter what we say online, or to remove even lawful speech simply to avoid legal risk. This is why a recent judgment by the EU Court of Justice, Coyote System (Joined Cases C-188/24 and C-190/24), is concerning: it could deprive online platforms of liability protection because of how they organize and disseminate user content. The consequences for freedom of expression could be significant. Liability Protections in the EU The European Union has long embraced a system of limited liability for online service providers. Under the e-Commerce Directive and now the Digital Services Act (DSA), platforms benefit from liability exemptions for user content. To discourage censorship, they also cannot be required to generally monitor user content or actively search for illegal activity. But that liability protection comes with qualifications: Platforms lose this benefit if they play an "active role" such that they have knowledge of, or control over, user-provided information (Recital 42 ECD, Recital 18 DSA, and case law, for example para. 113 in L’Oréal v eBay). For hosting services, providers must remove or disable content they know to be illegal. The DSA has introduced extensive due diligence obligations for platforms but left these foundational immunities intact. The message is clear: platforms bear responsibility for proper systems and processes, but generally not for users' speech. Coyote System, however, could undermine this balance. Confronted with a case about restrictions on navigation systems that transmit information to drivers about roadside checks, the Court formulated a general test for when an intermediary ceases to be a "neutral" host and therefore loses the hosting liability exemption. In essence, the Court held that where an intermediary's algorithm goes beyond merely categorizing and indexing user information to determine, "under what conditions, how and in which order of priority" (para. 122) information is disseminated, the intermediary "controls" that information and is deprived of protection under the e-Commerce Directive. Let's be clear: the case is not about a service that ranked or recommended user-generated content in the way social media platforms do. It is about the collection and real-time relay of user alerts about roadside checks. However, the Court's reasoning is not confined to navigation services. Recommendation algorithms determine how and in what order user content is disseminated across virtually every major online platform. Should such platforms now cease to qualify as neutral intermediaries and lose the protection of the hosting liability exemption? The answer should be no. The Meaning of Control Control has never been understood this broadly. Nor should it be. Every hosting service provider, think of Facebook, Amazon or Bluesky, will have some control over users’ content. If that ability alone ruled the analysis, the liability exemption would become largely meaningless. Instead, the disqualifying “active role” must relate to the actual content itself, not merely the technical means by which that content is organised or disseminated. The Court’s own case law reinforces this conclusion: In YouTube and Cyando, it examined a platform that categorises, ranks and recommends user content through algorithms, yet still proceeded on the basis that it could generally benefit from the hosting liability exemption. To be sure, the Court was mainly addressing specific knowledge of illegal content rather than the separate category of control. Even so, the underlying premise is clear: those features do not, by themselves, place a platform outside of protection. Advocate General therefore explained that what matters is the providers "intellectual control of that content" (para 152). The relevant question is who controls the information itself, makes it their own, not who determines how it appears. That is precisely where Coyote System breaks new ground and offers a dangerous change of emphasis. By equating algorithmic organisation with content control, the ruling risks excluding social networks and other platforms from the liability exemption and encouraging proactive monitoring of what users say online and removal of lawful content. That outcome would have terrible consequences for freedom of expression in the EU. It’s also difficult to reconcile with the structure of the DSA, which certainly does not treat recommendation algorithms as incompatible with intermediary immunity. On the contrary, it accepts them as a defining feature of modern platforms, regulates them extensively through dedicated due diligence obligations, and still leaves the hosting liability regime untouched (it even integrated the YouTube ruling in its preamble!). This was no accident: During the DSA negotiations, proposals to deprive platforms of the hosting liability exemption if they optimize, classify, organize or otherwise promote online content were rejected, following successful advocacy by EFF and allies. Would the Court have decided this case differently under the DSA? Probably not. It’s more plausible that the EU judges were influenced by the specific nature of the service, which could explain why the judgment says remarkably, and sadly, little about why intermediary liability exists in the first place and the fundamental rights it serves. Coyote System did not merely transmit user reports but aggregated them into what the Advocate General described as a new "information layer," a distinction omitted by the Court. Chipping Away at Intermediary Liability Protections The danger is that the Court's broad language on algorithmic curation reaches well beyond that narrow category and, unintentionally or not, chips away at one of the most important safeguards for freedom of expression online. Unfortunately, Coyote System does not stand alone. It is the latest in a line of judgments that have gradually narrowed intermediary liability protections. Recently, in Russmedia, the Court privileged preventive content control in the name of data protection, paying little regard to the possibility of reconciling both regimes and the privacy costs of increased monitoring of user content. And in AGCOM, concerning Google's liability for YouTube videos uploaded by creators participating in its Partner Programme, the Court appears to leap from eligibility reviews to specific knowledge of illegal content. There is a political risk too. While the top court’s reasoning will be applied by national courts and further refined over time, the European Commission has shown little hesitation in incorporating landmark rulings into legislation. Just recently, in its digital omnibus proposal, it selectively restated part of a recent Court of Justice judgment to justify narrowing privacy rights of users. If these trends continue, freedom of expression online will become collateral damage in the EU.

Source feed: https://www.eff.org/rss/updates.xml

The AI Dividend: Who Gets the Savings From Legal AI?

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 06:45:28 +0000

By Adam Nguyen, CEO, eBrevia. For the past two years, corporate legal departments have been told that AI will make legal work faster, more efficient ...

Source feed: https://www.artificiallawyer.com/feed/

This Judge Is Just Begging For A Benchslap — See Also

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 23:35:00 +0000

Judge VanDyke Has Taken To Asking The Supreme Court For Favors: Of the benchslap variety. Full Metal Briefing: Todd Blanche feared DOJ would get "skullfucked" by the courts. The Tortured Logic Of John Yoo: Yoo tells Fox News that the DOJ should probe Zohran Mamdani for thought crime, which is as scary as it is buffonish. No Merger, No Problem: Linklaters is doing just fine when it comes to revenue, thank you very much. The Process Is The Process: Generative AI is all over the legal industry, but when it comes to discovery, process beats technology. Congress Has Some Pointed Questions For Skadden: Will they answer? Probably not! But that won't necessarily make the problem go away. The post This Judge Is Just Begging For A Benchslap — See Also appeared first on Above the Law.

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On the run for 20 years, most-wanted fugitive caught hiding as a biotech exec

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 22:04:56 +0000

Ronald Fischer, aka Richard Graydon, was arrested in New York last week.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

Enterprise AI Is Quietly Creating Its Own Standard Contract

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 21:34:00 +0000

Markets mature when their contracts become recognizable. The post Enterprise AI Is Quietly Creating Its Own Standard Contract appeared first on Above the Law.

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These are the countries moving to ban social media for children

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 20:57:35 +0000

Australia was the first country to issue a ban in late 2025, aiming to reduce the pressures and risks that young users may face on social media, including cyberbullying, social media addiction, and exposure to predators.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

Lawyers Learning You Can’t Square Peg AI Into eDiscovery Round Holes

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 20:44:00 +0000

Everyone has a vague notion of 'AI,' but when it comes to discovery, we already built better tech a decade ago. The post Lawyers Learning You Can’t Square Peg AI Into eDiscovery Round Holes appeared first on Above the Law.

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xAI, Which Is Being Sued Over Grok’s CSAM Problem, Sues a User Over Grok’s CSAM Problem

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 20:03:15 +0000

You may recall that at the end of last year and very beginning of this year there was a big story over Elon Musk’s LLM tool Grok being willing to produce non-consensual images of people (including children) in bikinis or otherwise stripped down in objectifying ways. Elon played into and promoted this “trend” at one […]

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The One Thing You Didn’t Think To Look For In Legal AI

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 19:14:42 +0000

Accuracy isn’t just about pinpointing the correct answer. It’s also about being able to acknowledge when there is no answer to be found. The post The One Thing You Didn’t Think To Look For In Legal AI appeared first on Above the Law.

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Anthropic’s $1.5B copyright settlement approved; only 350 authors opted out

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 17:33:14 +0000

Anthropic blocks authors from opting out of $1.5B settlement at last minute.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

Courtroom View Network: Learning Trial Skills By Watching Real Lawyers In Real Trials

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 17:46:15 +0000

Courtroom View Network is a great example of using AI appropriately and in its proper place and combining it with non-AI tools. The post Courtroom View Network: Learning Trial Skills By Watching Real Lawyers In Real Trials appeared first on Above the Law.

Source feed: https://abovethelaw.com/feed/

Anthropic’s $1.5 billion book piracy settlement approved by judge

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 16:53:37 +0000

A federal judge has signed off on Anthropic's $1.5 billion class action settlement with authors who accused the company of training its AI models on copyrighted books, as reported earlier by Reuters. In an order on Monday, Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín writes that the settlement will provide "meaningful relief," offering authors around $3,000 for each book […]

Source feed: https://www.theverge.com/rss/index.xml

What the “2026 Future of Professionals Report” says law firm leaders should be doing now

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 16:31:17 +0000

In a new paper, law firm leaders can gain clear guidance to manage the challenges of evolving AI advancement within today's legal industry.

Source feed: https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en-us/posts/feed/

The Legal Tech-To-English Dictionary (2.0): Working With AI In A Professional Environment

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 16:16:00 +0000

[Sponsored] In this series of definitions, we’ll explore what it looks like for AI to run unchecked in a business and how managers can establish control. The post The Legal Tech-To-English Dictionary (2.0): Working With AI In A Professional Environment appeared first on Above the Law.

Source feed: https://abovethelaw.com/feed/

US threatens sanctions against Chinese AI models over IP theft

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 15:37:05 +0000

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. could sanction Chinese open AI models over alleged IP theft, expanding the Trump administration's campaign to slow China's AI advances.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

Box Targets Legal With Agentic Control System

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 15:00:07 +0000

Box, which has evolved from a cloud storage business into an Intelligent Content Management (ICM) platform, is targeting the legal – and other regulated sectors ...

Source feed: https://www.artificiallawyer.com/feed/

An Explosion of Surveillance Towers is Coming to U.S. Borders, Costing Over $1 Billion

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:25:44 +0000

A new report from the Government Accounting Office reveals that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to nearly triple the number of surveillance towers along U.S. borders, from the current 830 to 2,300 by 2034. DHS expects to expend $1 billion in taxpayer dollars for this dangerous expansion of a surveillance network indiscriminately trained on towns, school playgrounds, backyards, and vehicles—threatening the privacy and civil liberties of everyone in the border regions. The towers are planned as part of DHS component Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Integrated Surveillance Tower (IST) program, which captures images of people and vehicles. The IST program operates autonomous surveillance towers, consisting of autonomous surveillance towers, consisting of AI-based systems using radar, thermal infrared and optical systems to track targets over long distances; integrated fixed towers, optimized for surveilling foot traffic and vehicles; and remote video surveillance systems, which can often be found very close to the border fence in Arizona, including residential neighborhoods where cameras are capable of spying on homes on both sides of the border. (For a description and photos of these technologies, see EFF’s updated guide to surveillance at the U.S.-Mexico Border.) DHS expects to purchase more long-range autonomous towers and to upgrade existing towers with autonomous capabilities. The $1 billion comes from the so-called One Big Beautiful Act—a massive tax and spending law that President Trump signed in 2025, the report says. The explosive expansion of border surveillance is a digital dumpster fire for human rights and civil liberties. It’s not just surveillance towers; drones, aerostats, surveillance vehicles, ground sensors, game cameras, and license plate readers are also part of the vast taxpayer-funded infrastructure that threatens all those who live, work, or seek refuge in the borderlands. This technology isn’t exclusive to U.S. federal agencies: it’s also deployed by state and local law enforcement, and even by governments on the Mexican side. Since 2022, EFF has studied and mapped surveillance technology along the U.S.-Mexico border using public records research, open-source intelligence, and fact-finding trips, and created a handy interactive map to provide researchers and journalists with the tools they need to analyze the impact of U.S. border security policy. We have also documented the different types of surveillance technology in a zine, "Surveillance Technology at the U.S.-Mexico Border." We updated the publication earlier this year to help people identify the machinery of homeland security by adding more models of surveillance towers, newly deployed military tech, and a gallery of disguised trail cams and automated license plate readers. EFF’s work includes defending the rights of individuals whose devices have been searched or seized upon entering the country; pushing back on the collection of biometric and social media identifiers; and developing digital security guidance for people crossing borders. With the web of surveillance tech at the borders about to explode, EFF will continue to investigate and expose it and find ways to fight back with the communities that live in the shadow of this technological threat to human rights.

Source feed: https://www.eff.org/rss/updates.xml

After TikTok, Snap settles social media addiction case

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 14:54:19 +0000

Snap is the latest big tech company to settle a lawsuit that claimed social media platforms are harmful to children and young adults. The company has reached a “tentative” agreement in a case that was set to go to trial later this month. TikTok recently settled its portion of the case with the plaintiff, known […]

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

The AI Tension In Healthcare: Patent Strategy, FDA Reality, And HIPAA Constraints

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 14:03:00 +0000

These three legal regimes are pulling in different directions, and the developers that navigate them well will be the ones that plan for all three from the start. The post The AI Tension In Healthcare: Patent Strategy, FDA Reality, And HIPAA Constraints appeared first on Above the Law.

Source feed: https://abovethelaw.com/feed/

Legally or not, the US government is controlling global access to the world’s most powerful AI

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 12:27:32 +0000

The U.S. government is 'caging' the most powerful commercial AI models. Wildpixel/iStock via Getty ImagesWhen the U.S. Commerce Department ordered Anthropic on June 12, 2026, to immediately prevent all foreign nationals from using the artificial intelligence company’s two most advanced large language models, it disabled its Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models within hours, making them inaccessible to everyone. Anthropic had little choice. The letter, citing national security concerns, barred access by all foreign nationals, including Anthropic’s own noncitizen employees. With no way to immediately collect and validate each and every user’s nationality, including those who were outside the country, the company shut the models off for everyone. The Commerce Department agreed to lift its restrictions on June 30 after Anthropic significantly strengthened the models’ safety guardrails. While this may sound like a good thing, these guardrails resulted in a “collapse” of the models’ benchmark scores, demonstrating lower overall intelligence and capacity. In other words, the department rescinded its directive only after Anthropic’s models were hobbled to the point that many benign queries now trigger the guardrails. According to one experiment, the new Fable 5 completed only 3 of 12 tasks that would have been routine before the new controls. The Commerce Department’s willingness to effectively shut down Fable 5 and Mythos 5 with almost no notice, and to reverse that decision only after Anthropic severely hindered the models, sent a chill through the U.S. AI industry. As a legal scholar who studies technology law and policy, I see two fundamental questions arising from this incident: Can the U.S. government act as a gatekeeper to AI models? And did it do so lawfully in this instance? An unlawful order? The Commerce Department issued its letter under the Export Control Reform Act of 2018, which was written with hardware in mind. The law prevents companies from exporting dangerous items, such as uranium enrichment centrifuges, without the government’s consent. The letter was the first time the government had used export controls to prevent foreign access to an AI service. The 2018 act also assigns power over “emerging and foundational technologies.” It empowers the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security to require a company to obtain an export license for any access by a foreign national to a specific technology of interest – in this case, Anthropic’s two models. Although these provisions raise many open legal issues, two stand out. The first is whether access to Anthropic’s models can be considered an export at all. When a user sends a prompt to Fable 5 or Mythos 5, and the model replies, the only item “exported” is the reply. The model never leaves Anthropic’s servers. The Commerce Department’s own past guidance has treated remote access to software running on U.S. servers as outside the reach of export controls. The fact that Congress is trying to change this situation further implies that existing law may not apply to an AI model’s output. Future congressional action could give the U.S. government more power to restrict AI access. Analysts with the Center for Strategic and International Studies discuss the government’s use of technology export controls to limit access to powerful AI models. The second issue is whether the Commerce Department followed lawful procedures in imposing export restrictions on Anthropic. The so-called “is informed” mechanism, which the department’s letter carried out, is normally used to inform a particular company that a particular type of transaction to a particular country requires government approval. Even if an AI response to a chat were deemed to be an export under existing law, the order’s sweep of all foreign nationals anywhere on the planet may exceed the power granted to the department. What is clear is that the directive’s legal backing seems uncertain. Break with the past Based on my work on law and emerging technologies, I can say that the Anthropic case reflects a change in how the U.S. attempts to control access to potentially dangerous new technologies. The traditional legal process is deliberately slow: Multiple government agencies consider possible control, they request public comment, they coordinate restrictions with U.S. allies, and the Federal Register publishes the resulting regulations. Some dangerous technologies clearly require immediate action. Even then, though, the government traditionally used a temporary classification known by the code 0Y521. This designation carries safeguards the Anthropic letter lacked. It requires sign-off from the Defense and State departments. It is published. It expires after a year unless renewed. And it commits the government to reviewing the export control measure with its allies. The Anthropic letter was the opposite: unilateral, secret, open-ended and global. Why Anthropic isn’t crying foul It is striking that Anthropic did not contest the order’s legality. The company complied, calling the episode “a misunderstanding.” Company officials subsequently went to Washington – not to litigate, but to negotiate the restriction. Anthropic had previously sued the Trump administration over designating Anthropic as a supply chain risk, so the negotiation may have been strategic, not necessarily a sign of corporate fear. Negotiation may make sense because Anthropic largely agrees with government controls in certain cases. Just two days before the letter arrived, CEO Dario Amodei published an essay arguing that the government “should have the power to block or deter deployment” of an advanced, or “frontier,” AI model that is considered too dangerous. Going to court to deny that power would undercut Anthropic’s own argument. Anthropic also built the case against itself. The story that the two Claude models are dangerous comes largely from Anthropic’s own public warnings and thousands of hours of red-team tests done in collaboration with the government. One wrinkle may also keep these issues out of court: The same 2018 statute strips federal courts of their usual power to shoot down such decisions as arbitrary. So now, anyone challenging a directive in court must show not that the order was unreasonable, but that it was flatly unauthorized or unconstitutional – a far narrower path. Unchecked power? The coming legal fight, should it arise, will not be over whether the government can exert this level of control; it already has. The fight will be about how governments can wield this control responsibly. The best case at this point is that this fight takes place in the open, with public input, through lawful legislative processes. The dystopian alternative is a two-tiered AI order in which governments condition export privileges on secret access to frontier models more powerful than anything publicly known or available. João Marinotti does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Source feed: https://theconversation.com/us/technology/articles.atom

Headaches for Silicon Valley as China chips away at the US’s lead in the AI race

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 12:08:43 +0000

Google’s AI struggles scream trouble as new Chinese models (again) throw US tech dominance into questionHello, I’m Blake Montgomery, writing to you after a double-header feature of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and the World Cup final. What a great Sunday. Today in tech, we’re discussing how China is chipping away at the US’s lead in the AI race and how Silicon Valley’s workers are taking action to protect their jobs from AI.New York becomes first state to impose one-year pause on new AI datacentersTrump rails against New York’s statewide datacenter moratoriumAlbanese’s AI blueprint sparks calls for datacentre moratorium until new regulations in place‘Adversarial clothing’: are garments designed to confuse facial recognition systems about to go mainstream?IBM loses quarter of its value as tech giant’s shares plunge and profits falter‘What’s the point?’ Teenagers give their verdict on Britain’s social media curfewAmazon Web Services customers receive bills for up to $1.5tn after global glitchTrump made $1.4bn from crypto in one year. Is Justin Sun the man who helped him do it? Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

How AI may drive union-resistant tech workers to the bargaining table

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 11:00:44 +0000

Tech workers are increasingly unionizing, trading Silicon Valley’s myth of exceptionalism for collective bargaining to contest the corporate deployment of artificial intelligenceFor decades, the technology industry was a fortress that labor unions couldn’t breach. Tech workers already had cushy compensation packages, dream benefits like unlimited vacation and free lunch, and a flat corporate hierarchy that made engineers feel as powerful as their bosses, all of whom dressed down in sneakers and hoodies. So why unionize?Now, that fortress is cracking from the inside. Unions have become increasingly popular for tech employees. After months of mass layoffs tied to artificial intelligence and mounting anxieties about how it’s being deployed, some tech workers say they’ve been saddled with higher workloads while facing the threat of job loss caused by the very products they’re building. Workers from Google DeepMind and Meta in the UK are also objecting to how their companies’ AI products are being used, such as for military purposes or to monitor employee productivity. Those same workers are now attempting to unionize. Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

Pluralistic: Dealing with dickovers (21 Jul 2026) dickovers

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 08:49:18 +0000

Today's links Dealing with dickovers: The web is an open platform, and that matters. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Broadcast's bad week; Congress v wifi; EFF v DRM law; Snowden and bunnie's smartphone smartcase. Upcoming appearances: Edinburgh, Sydney, Melbourne, Brighton, London, South Bend. Recent appearances: Where I've been. Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em. Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em. Colophon: All the rest. Dealing with dickovers (permalink) One of 2026's better tech-related coinages is "dickover," John Gruber's term for a modal panel, popover, or curtain presented by a website or app, deliberately obscuring its own content to frustrate the user with an unwanted, unnecessary, mandatory interaction; e.g. asking the user to accept “cookies”, subscribe to a newsletter, install the website’s mobile app, agree to terms of service, or anything else that the user couldn’t give two shits about. https://daringfireball.net/2026/05/what_is_a_dickover These are bad everywhere, but they are especially terrible in the UK and EU, where websites practice a form of malicious compliance to the GDPR, Europe's landmark privacy law. Under the GDPR, websites are required to secure your affirmative consent to process your data. The obvious way that websites should respond to this is by not collecting your data unless there's a damned good reason for it, but the actual response is to repeatedly shove cookie-consent dialogs in your face before letting you use the site. These are absolutely unnecessary. Your browser can be configured to transmit a "global privacy control signal" by default that tells websites you don't consent to be spied on while you look at their pages: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/global-privacy-control But many websites punish you by throwing up a "Global Privacy Control detected" dickover that forces you to click through to affirm their confirmation of your confirmation that you don't want to be spied on. If you don't have the GPC set, websites will demand that you tell them whether you want to be spied on – and they'll do it again, every time you visit them. The website operators falsely claim that they have to do this under the terms of the GDPR (or other laws, like California's CCPA). This is a lie. Every privacy law contains an exception that allows websites to store data about you for a "legitimate interest," and that obviously includes setting a cookie that says, "don't ever spy on this user." What's a legit interest? Well, I can tell you what it isn't. Facebook claimed that they had to spy on you, even if you opted out by laboriously clicking through one of their dickovers or by transmitting a GPC signal to their servers, because you had also clicked through their terms of service, which say, "Facebook is going to spy on you with every hour that god sends, from asshole to appetite, abandon hope all ye who enter here" (a direct quote). Facebook claims that this is a contract with you, whereby the company has promised to spy on you, and if they stop, they would be violating the contract, which might make you mad, so they are legally required to eavesdrop on every conversation you have and follow you everywhere you go: https://www.cliffordchance.com/content/dam/cliffordchance/briefings/2023/07/european-court-of-justice-in-facebook-ruling-clarifies-interplay-between-eu-competition-law-and-data-protections-enforcement.pdf This is bullshit, and the European Court of Justice affirmed it. But despite the fact that surveillance advertising companies are happy to stretch the definition of "legitimate interest" to cover "spying on you because our ToS say we will," these same companies insist that "legitimate purpose" can't possibly include "remembering the fact that you told us not to spy on you the last time you were here," and so every time you click through to one of many popular websites, you get a dickover, and the only way to make it stop is to "consent" to being spied upon. But it doesn't have to be this way. While the right answer to this kind of rampant lawlessness is stonking fines and even the corporate death penalty for repeat offenders, internet users have a myriad of options available to them for banishing dickovers to the scrapheap of history. These measures aren't difficult to avail yourself of, and using them will make your life infinitely better, so I'm going to tell you about some of them. Before I start, one note: these measures only work on browsers, not apps. An app is a webpage wrapped in the right kind of IP law to make it a felony to change how it works, which is why companies are infinitely horny to get you to use their apps, not their websites: https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/07/treacherous-computing/#rewilding-the-internet What's more, these measures really only work on desktop browsers, because mobile browsers are apps, and are severely limited by law and mobile operating systems, making it hard-to-impossible to customize them so that they'll respect your rights. This is true of all mobile browsers, but it goes triple for iOS (iPhones and iPads): https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/13/kitbashed/#app-store-tax Finally, this mostly only works on Firefox, and it works worst on Chrome, Google's monopolistic browser. When it comes to customizing your browsing experience to get rid of annoyances like dickovers and ads, Chrome is hands-down the worst choice, and Google is about to make it much, much worse, forcing a change that will kill the most popular blockers. Stop using Chrome, switch to Firefox: https://protonprivacy.substack.com/p/google-is-finally-killing-ublock So, once you're on your actual computer, using Firefox, how can you disenshittify your internet experience? The first thing to familiarize yourself with is Reader Mode, a built-in Firefox feature that switches any webpage to a black type/white background column of text. Just click the little "page view" icon next to the Firefox location bar or use the key combo "ctrl-alt-r." Some power tips for Reader Mode: Firefox tries to guess whether a given page should have a Reader Mode option based on its layout. This sometimes blocks Reader Mode on pages that badly need it. You can force Firefox to always allow you to try Reader Mode by going to "about:config" in your location bar, then searching for "reader.parse-on-load.force-enabled" and toggling it to "true". If you switch to Reader Mode and the page breaks, you can switch back by hitting ctrl-alt-r again. Many websites' "soft paywalls" (which allow you to read an article or two before getting a demand to register and/or pay) can be defeated with Reader Mode. Just hit ctrl-alt-r and see if the whole article appears. If it doesn't, try one or both of: a) reloading the page while still in Reader Mode, and/or; b) Clearing cookies for the page (click the shield next to the site's URL in Firefox's location bar, then click "Clear cookies and site data"), and then reload. That's Reader Mode, and it comes built into Firefox, and can be installed via various extensions on other browsers. Now let's move on to more advanced techniques, starting with "Kill Sticky," a bookmarklet that deletes any "static" elements in a web-page you've loaded (broadly, this is anything that won't change position when you scroll your browser). Just click the "Kill Sticky" bookmarklet and all the static elements in the current tab go away. This includes things like navigation bars, which are often (but not always) useless annoyances. The original Kill Sticky, created by Alisdair McDiarmid, is 13 years old, and it still works great, but eight years ago, gala8y created a new version that caught some outliers that the original Kill Sticky missed. I've been running gala8y's version for a year now with no problems, and I recommend it as your second line of dickover defense (after Reader Mode): https://github.com/gala8y/kill-sticky–forked Kill Sticky is great for getting rid of the dickovers on a website you're not planning to visit more than once. But if you visit a dickover website regularly, you can permanently block its dickovers by using the Adblock Plus (ABP) browser extension: https://adblockplus.org/ Once you have Adblock Plus installed, you can instruct your browser never to render a given website's dickover. Just load the website, hover your pointer over the dickover, and click your right mouse-button (Mac users need to ctrl-click). This will pop up a Firefox context menu, and at the bottom of that menu is "Block Element…". Select "Block Element," then move your mouse around the screen. Different regions of the screen will glow pink, showing you which element (part of the page) ABP can access there. Once you've highlighted the dickover, click the "Preview" button on the ABP dialog in the bottom right corner. This will show you how the page looks after you've banished that element. If it's an element you want to delete forever, click "Create" and ABP will create a new rule for that page that blocks that element. Note that many dickovers consist of several elements, each atop the other, and after you block one element, you might have to repeat the process to delete the element "behind" it, digging your way down to the actual webpage. Each element you block is listed in the top pane of the ABP dialog box. For example, here's Wired.com's UK dickover: ||media.wired.com/photos/6a565246c8e0799a2981818e/1:1/w_*c_limit/WEB_2026-06-21_EA-WIRED-NBNO-FullQual_0011.jpg If you block an element by accident and want to restore it, just delete its corresponding line in the Block Element dialog. When websites change their layouts and their dickovers come back, just add the new one to the Block Element for that page. No need to delete the old entries. Finally, if all else fails, there's Remove Paywall, a website that tries several different ways to load a page without its interrupters, nag screens, regwalls and paywalls: https://www.removepaywall.com/ It's also available as a browser plugin, so you can just right-click on any page and select "Remove Paywall" from the pop-up menu. Remove Paywall often loads a page with all of its dickovers, and you can use all the techniques enumerated above – Reader Mode, Kill Sticky and Block Element – with Remove Paywall versions of pages. Back in 2024, Ed Zitron tried an experiment: he bought Amazon's bestselling laptop and tried to use it, discovering it to be a horror-show of shovelware, including processor-devouring preinstalled spyware that rendered it all but unusable: https://www.wheresyoured.at/never-forgive-them/ Zitron's (excellent) point is that technically proficient people have better computers than most users, and these computers are configured in better ways, and as a result, we participate in a fundamentally different internet to the one that normies are forced to use. It's an excellent observation, and Zitron's point – that these laptops were actively enshittified by hardware makers and OS vendors – is an important one (the essay is called "Never Forgive Them"). But to this point, I would like to add another: we have a duty and obligation to the people we love to show them how to seize the means of computation. The normies in your life need the tips and tricks I lay out in this article more than anyone. Sure, it takes some doing to install Firefox, Kill Sticky, Adblock Plus and Bypass Paywalls; it takes a minute to figure out Reader Mode. But if you install these tools for the people you love and show them how to use them (or just reconfigure the sites they visit most frequently to block dickovers and other annoyances), you will permanently improve their internet experience, clawing back hours of annoyances every week, while also protecting their privacy. Anyone who is confused by switching to Firefox is also going to be confused by the deceptive language and practices that go along with dickovers. By leaving your unsophisticated loved ones exposed to dickovers, you're not decreasing the amount of technological confusion they're likely to experience in a day – you're vastly increasing the amount of danger they face as a result of that confusion. There's never been a better time to disenshittify your cherished normies' computers. The AI companies' illegal monopolization of the memory market has sent the price of new computers, RAM and storage skyrocketing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BORRBce5TGw All of us – but especially normies – are having to do more with less. The best way to squeeze extra performance out of any computer (but especially an aged and underpowered computer) is by switching to a free/open operating system like GNU/Linux and replacing your proprietary, resource-gobbling apps with free/open alternatives: https://www.fosslinux.com/158206/linux-on-older-hardware-revival-guide.htm Seizing the means of computation isn't theft, it's bargaining. Commercial surveillance companies will tell you that by spying on you, they are simply engaged in a marketplace exchange in which you swap your privacy for access to online services. But they are running a very curious sort of market: it's a "market" where as soon as you stop to browse someone's wares, the stallholder gets to reach into your pocket and clean out your wallet. In "markets," prices are announced and bargained over, not set unilaterally and extracted from anyone unwise enough to cross the threshold. Adblocking, dickover blocking and other customizations are a way for you to bargain back, to answer the opening bid of "How about you give me all of your data forever and let me do anything I want with it?" with "How about 'nah?'" https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/07/adblocking-how-about-nah Dickovers are companies' illegal response to privacy laws. Privacy laws are the public response to companies' out-of-control data theft and weaponization. They call us thieves, but they're the ones who embarked upon a generation-long campaign of unrestricted data plunder. What they call "theft" is just self-defense. A generation ago, publishers and advertisers fell in love with pop-up ads. Early pop-ups were virulent in ways that are hardly imaginable today: visiting a website summoned dozens of pop-ups, some of them employing dirty tricks like spawning as an invisible 1×1 pixel, or running away from your cursor when you tried to close them. They auto-played sound and music. They were Satanic. We got rid of pop-ups by installing pop-up blockers. Browser vendors (starting with Opera, then Mozilla) blocked pop-ups by default. Soon, pop-ups simply ceased to exist for the majority of internet users, and at that point, the same companies who'd insisted that they would go out of business unless they could fill your screen with pop-ups quietly gave up on them and found another way to advertise. No one should ever have to look at another dickover. If dickovers become invisible for everyone on the web, there won't be any dickovers. Companies claim they need dickovers to survive. It's bullshit. They want dickovers, but if dickovers cease to be rendered on their target audience's screens, they'll switch to less invasive tactics, just like they've always done. (Image: Kanerva T, CC BY 4.0, modified) Hey look at this (permalink) WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA, WEST, INC., and WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA EAST, INC., Plaintiffs, vs. PARAMOUNT SKYDANCE CORPORATION, and WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY, INC https://www.wga.org/uploadedfiles/news_and_events/public_policy/wga-v-paramount-warner-bros-complaint.pdf Deliria 2, Cyberpunks Mutants & Mondoids https://grayarea.org/event/deliria-2-cyberpunks-mutants-mondoids/ Can machines replace human workers? Notes on agency, automation, and AI https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC147594 Scorpions bite again https://jasminatesanovic.wordpress.com/2026/07/14/scorpions-bite-again/ Mandatory Update: A Short Story https://micahflee.com/mandatory-update-a-short-story/ Object permanence (permalink) #20yrsago Worst week in the history of broadcast TV https://web.archive.org/web/20060717100605/http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060711/ap/d8iq1l8g0.html #20yrsago Pen with built-in WiFinder https://web.archive.org/web/20060808191736/https://informatica.shopwprintit.com/index.cfm?action=ViewDetails&amp;ItemID=135&amp;Category=95 #15yrsago Russian Pirate Party must change name, contemplates “Pira7e Party” https://torrentfreak.com/judge-pirate-party-name-ban-decision-stands-110722/ #15yrsago Public special ed employee has $0 paycheck after health insurance deductions https://web.archive.org/web/20110726080414/http://www.educationvotes.nea.org/2011/07/20/a-special-education-worker-talks-candidly-about-empty-paychecks-organizing/ #15yrsago Act now! Congress wants to kill WiFi-like spectrum, sell it off to highest bidder instead https://web.archive.org/web/20110722113231/https://publicknowledge.org/dont-let-cos-buy-way-out-regulation #15yrsago New Yorkers freestyle rap in Union Square https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3fd9mzfRoQ #10yrsago Advances in transparent, brain-revealing skull-windows https://web.archive.org/web/20160722140424/https://www.medgadget.com/2016/07/transparent-skull-implant-repeat-brain-laser-therapy.html #10yrsago EFF is suing the US government to invalidate the DMCA’s DRM provisions https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jul/21/digital-millennium-copyright-act-eff-supreme-court #10yrsago Ed Snowden and Andrew “bunnie” Huang announce a malware-detecting smartphone case https://www.tjoe.org/pub/direct-radio-introspection/release/ Upcoming appearances (permalink) Edinburgh International Book Festival with Jimmy Wales, Aug 17 https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/events/the-front-list-cory-doctorow-and-jimmy-wales Sydney: The Festival of Dangerous Ideas, Aug 23-24 https://festivalofdangerousideas.com/cory-doctorow/ Melbourne: Enshittification at the Wheeler Centre, Aug 25 https://www.wheelercentre.com/events-tickets/season-2026/cory-doctorow-enshittification Brighton: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI with Carole Cadwalladr (Brighton Dome), Sep 8 https://brightondome.org/whats-on/LSC-cory-doctorow-the-reverse-centaurs-guide-to-life-after-ai/ London: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI with Riley Quinn (Foyle's Picadilly), Sep 9 https://www.foyles.co.uk/events/enshittification-cory-doctorow-riley-quinn South Bend: An Evening With Cory Doctorow (Notre Dame), Oct 6 https://franco.nd.edu/events/2026/10/06/an-evening-with-cory-doctorow/ Recent appearances (permalink) Talk Tech Bock (Vera Linß) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PFjGvQoBgc How To Think About AI Before It’s Too Late (This Is Hell) https://thisishell.com/episodes/1919 AI Won't Replace You… But This Might (Deep Focus) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oorWq_m48AQ Who Owns Your Tractor? (Growing the Future) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU9eBPUZBI4 You Bought it, They Break It (What Now? with Trevor Noah) https://www.podbean.com/media/share/dir-ir36t-2f4a1ac6 Latest books (permalink) "The Reverse-Centaur's Guide to AI," a short book about being a better AI critic, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, June 2026 https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374621568/thereversecentaursguidetolifeafterai/ "Canny Valley": A limited edition collection of the collages I create for Pluralistic, self-published, September 2025 https://pluralistic.net/2025/09/04/illustrious/#chairman-bruce "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, October 7 2025 https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/ "Picks and Shovels": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about the heroic era of the PC, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2025 (https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865908/picksandshovels). "The Bezzle": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about prison-tech and other grifts, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2024 (thebezzle.org). "The Lost Cause:" a solarpunk novel of hope in the climate emergency, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), November 2023 (http://lost-cause.org). "The Internet Con": A nonfiction book about interoperability and Big Tech (Verso) September 2023 (http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org). Signed copies at Book Soup (https://www.booksoup.com/book/9781804291245). "Red Team Blues": "A grabby, compulsive thriller that will leave you knowing more about how the world works than you did before." Tor Books http://redteamblues.com. "Chokepoint Capitalism: How to Beat Big Tech, Tame Big Content, and Get Artists Paid, with Rebecca Giblin", on how to unrig the markets for creative labor, Beacon Press/Scribe 2022 https://chokepointcapitalism.com Upcoming books (permalink) "The Post-American Internet," a geopolitical sequel of sorts to Enshittification, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2027 "Unauthorized Bread": a middle-grades graphic novel adapted from my novella about refugees, toasters and DRM, FirstSecond, April 20, 2027 "Enshittification, Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It" (the graphic novel), Firstsecond, 2027 "The Memex Method," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2027 Colophon (permalink) Today's top sources: Currently writing: "The Post-American Internet," a sequel to "Enshittification," about the better world the rest of us get to have now that Trump has torched America. Fourth draft completed. Submitted to editor. A Little Brother short story about DIY insulin PLANNING This work – excluding any serialized fiction – is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. That means you can use it any way you like, including commercially, provided that you attribute it to me, Cory Doctorow, and include a link to pluralistic.net. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Quotations and images are not included in this license; they are included either under a limitation or exception to copyright, or on the basis of a separate license. Please exercise caution. How to get Pluralistic: Blog (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): Pluralistic.net Newsletter (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://pluralistic.net/plura-list Mastodon (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic Bluesky (no ads, possible tracking and data-collection): https://bsky.app/profile/doctorow.pluralistic.net Medium (no ads, paywalled): https://doctorow.medium.com/ Tumblr (mass-scale, unrestricted, third-party surveillance and advertising): https://mostlysignssomeportents.tumblr.com/tagged/pluralistic "When life gives you SARS, you make sarsaparilla" -Joey "Accordion Guy" DeVilla READ CAREFULLY: By reading this, you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies ("BOGUS AGREEMENTS") that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer. ISSN: 3066-764X

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Walk Through: eBrevia – DraftPro, Contract AI

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 07:47:50 +0000

This week’s AL TV Product Walk Through is with eBrevia and takes a detailed look at DraftPro, part of its contract AI suite for inhouse ...

Source feed: https://www.artificiallawyer.com/feed/

Meta’s smartglasses mean any child can be covertly filmed. In the age of AI, how do we tackle that risk?

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 05:00:02 +0000

The company argues that it’s for individuals to ensure they don’t ‘actively exploit’ this technology. That won’t keep children safeIt took me a while to realise what the man sitting next to me on the train was doing. He was flicking through pictures of a little girl on his phone; zooming in on some, cropping the images. Hardly unusual, of course, except that on closer inspection the pictures were very clearly of the toddler sitting opposite us, playing with her parents. On a crowded train of people mostly staring obliviously at our own phones, a stranger had been covertly photographing that little girl over and over again. And if it hadn’t been for that very visible phone screen giving him away, he wouldn’t have been caught.That encounter was a while ago but my memory was jogged last week listening to a clip of Meta’s VP of wearables, Alex Himel, talk fondly to the BBC about using his new smartglasses to film his daughter singing in a talent contest. They let him capture the memory without having to watch her through a screen, he said, freeing him to be “kind of living in the moment, head up and hands free”. So far, so sweet. But what about the risk of creeps potentially using them to film other people’s daughters covertly, heads up and hands free? Meta’s smartglasses have a tiny flashing warning light on the frame to indicate when the wearer is recording, but the technology is still new enough that many people don’t think to look for it. And in the age of AI, stolen images of children matter. Taken in real life or scraped from the internet, they’re the raw material for generating realistic-looking child abuse material of the most extreme and disturbing kind. (If that sounds like a grim but ultimately fairly victimless crime, the Internet Watch Foundation warned in a recent report that AI-generated material risks fuelling sexual interest in children, normalising violence and increasing the risk of real-life offending.)Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

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Anthropic’s landmark $1.5B copyright settlement is approved

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 00:12:24 +0000

The final approval settles one case, but it doesn't resolve the broader issue of using copyrighted works to train AI models.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

Apple Defeats Liability for Not Scanning iCloud for CSAM, But the Judge Was Not Pleased–Amy v. Apple

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 22:21:19 +0000

This case involves Apple’s handling of user-uploaded files hosted in private iCloud storage. Instead of adopting PhotoDNA to scan hosted files for CSAM, Apple created its own proprietary alternative, NeuralHash, which apparently wasn’t as good. So Apple U-turned on its... The post Apple Defeats Liability for Not Scanning iCloud for CSAM, But the Judge Was Not Pleased–Amy v. Apple appeared first on Technology & Marketing Law Blog.

Source feed: https://blog.ericgoldman.org/feed

Here are the 30,000 songs Sony is suing Udio’s AI music generator over

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 22:19:12 +0000

Sony Music Entertainment has filed another lawsuit against Udio, accusing the AI music generator of infringing the copyright of more than 30,000 of its songs, ranging from Elvis Presley's Hound Dog to Beyoncé's Say My Name, and Harry Styles' As It Was. The lawsuit, filed in a New York court on Monday, claims that this […]

Source feed: https://www.theverge.com/rss/index.xml

The FCC is planning to retroactively ban disguised DJI gadgets

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 22:16:14 +0000

Last October, we told you how the FCC had given itself the power to retroactively ban gadgets that have already received its approval to be imported and sold in the United States. Now, the FCC's getting ready to wield that power for the first time, by cracking down on the "DJI front companies" suspected of […]

Source feed: https://www.theverge.com/rss/index.xml

Protect Your Privacy with California's DROP Tool

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 21:55:28 +0000

Are you a California resident? Then we've got exciting news for you: there's a tool just for you that lets you take a single, relatively easy step to protect your privacy. It's called a DROP request. (That's Delete Request and Opt-out Platform, if you're fancy). This one bit of paperwork lets you tell every data broker registered in the state of California that you'd like them to delete your information from their databases and request they stop selling and sharing your information. Here are some things to know about DROP. (Don’t want all the details and want to just learn how to file a request? Skip to this section.) What does a request do? Filing a request on the DROP will send a request to delete and opt-out of sale to all the data brokers in California's registry. Data brokers are companies that collect information about people, repackage that information, and sell it. As of time of writing, a single DROP request reaches 614 brokers. After August 1, once data brokers receive a request, they will have 45 days to address the request. DROP officially launched on Jan. 1 of this year, but companies have until Aug. 1 to begin complying with requests. That means if you file a request now, you'll be in on the ground floor. Didn't I hear about this before? If you pay attention to EFF, you sure did. With your help, we advocated for the law creating the DROP tool, the Delete Act. As we said then, we needed the DROP because Californians have a right to request that companies delete information collected about them, and a right to opt-out of having businesses sell information about them. Yet, in reality, making those requests is an incredibly time-consuming and tedious process. Filing each request is hard. Plus, because data brokers buy, sell, and exchange information with so many companies (and each other) people may not even know who to file a request with. By linking a request to California's data broker registry, DROP cuts this process down considerably. We advocated for DROP and the Delete Act because it makes our privacy law more user-friendly, which gives us better control over our data and reduces the risks that the uncontrolled collection and sale of personal information creates in our everyday lives. What's in it for me? Filing a request benefits you in a few ways. For one, data brokers are often how spammers (or companies that act like spammers) get your email address, phone number, and other ways of contacting you. Removing yourself from data broker lists could lead to a decrease in these kinds of messages. Second, reducing the number of companies that have your personal information also improves your personal cybersecurity, as it decreases the number of firms with your information who could be hacked. Third and finally, it gives you an opportunity to exert more control over how your personal information is collected and used—an important element of privacy. Unless you opt out, data brokers can sell your private information to predatory companies, scammers, stalkers, insurance companies, and law enforcement. What kinds of information will (and won't) be deleted? The California Privacy Protection Agency, which administers the DROP, has a great resource explaining what data are and are not included in a request. But in summary, a request will often deal with identifying information such as: social security number, precise geolocation, browsing history, email address, and phone numbers. It will also enter a request to delete guesses that data brokers may have made about you based on identifying information, such as political views, inferences about your health—inferences about pregnancy or chronic illness, for example, that may be based on purchases or browsing history. Not all information will be deleted. Some information, such as vehicle or real estate ownership, contains information that is a matter of public record. If there is a specific data broker you'd like to be able to retain and continue selling your data, the system also gives you a way to remove them from the list of brokers that get any given request. How do I file? Head to the California Privacy Protection Agency's DROP website to start your request. Before you start, there are a few pieces of information you may want to gather for your request, such as your advertising ID or your VIN number, if you want this information to be deleted from data broker databases. The agency does ask to collect some personal information—name, address, phone number, email address, etc.—in order to fulfill a request. (Yes, there is an irony to this.) This is to verify that you're the right person asking for your deletion and opt-out request in any given database, and the agency itself is bound to its terms of service that say they won't sell or share it for other purposes. If you're interested in filing a request for someone else, such as an elderly relative drowning in junk mail, you can also do that but will need to attest that you're filing for someone else who is a resident of California. Once you've filed, you will get a DROP ID, which you can use to check in on your request. If you lose this ID, you can contact the agency to recover it, but keep it in a safe place if you want to check in on the status of your request. If I file once, am I done forever? Unfortunately, no. While the opt-out of sale request should last indefinitely, California's privacy law still allows companies to collect information without asking for permission first in most cases. That means data brokers are likely to continue to collect information for profiles of you—but they will will have less data and be limited in how they use it after an opt-out request. New data brokers may also register with the state after you file your request. And DROP won't stop companies who aren't registered data brokers, like Google, from collecting and sharing your personal information. Two things can be true. DROP is a fantastic tool to help more people exercise their California privacy rights. We also still need even stronger privacy laws to make things more fair for everyday people. That fact shouldn't undercut the power of this tool, but it does mean that you may want to make updating your request a regular part of a broader plan to manage your digital footprint. For example, might we suggest doing it as a part of Opt-Out October—a thing we totally made up but also totally stand behind? What if I'm not in California? Also unfortunately for those who don't live in California, this tool only works for California residents. But it's not all bad news. Versions of the Delete Act have been introduced around the country, and many regulators are monitoring how California's system works to see whether a similar system might work in their own states. Residents of all states can use EFF’s Opt-Out October guide to bolster their online privacy and limit the ways that data brokers harvest their personal data.

Source feed: https://www.eff.org/rss/updates.xml

Thousands of websites taken down for illegal World Cup streams

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 20:08:56 +0000

More than 1,000 illegal streaming sites were shut down in the US during the tournament, with a similar amount blocked in Colombia.

Source feed: https://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/technology/rss.xml

“Stealth Crawlers” Are Not a Threat to the Open Web. Bills Targeting Them Would Be.

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 18:46:50 +0000

There’s a new boogeyman in the battles over AI: so-called “stealth crawlers.” We’ll admit it—the term “stealth crawlers” sound quite nefarious. In reality, they’re anything but. “Stealth crawlers” are simply automated tools to access and collect public web data—without disclosing the user’s identity. Private crawlers like these facilitate all kinds of important work that benefits the public, including investigative reporting, academic research, cybersecurity protection, and more. Many publishers want to unmask crawlers anyways—and are pushing for new legislation that would give them new powers to do so. These legislative proposals threaten the open web, user privacy, and valuable research without directly addressing the problems they’re supposedly intending to solve. Alarmingly, these harmful proposals are gaining traction. The New York state legislature has already passed such a bill, the NY Stealth Crawler Protection Act, which is now on Governor Hochul’s desk. We expect to see similar bills introduced in other states, and potentially in Congress. That’s a big problem for the open web—and the many benefits it provides. Anonymous crawling is worth protecting Anonymous crawling enables some of the most publicly beneficial uses of the open web. Researchers, journalists, and other watchdog groups use unidentified automated tools to gather the information necessary to hold powerful institutions accountable and protect the public. Anonymous crawling fuels important investigative journalism. For example, The Markup, a non-profit news site, used anonymous crawlers to investigate potentially anti-competitive practices by tech companies, such as Amazon’s tendency to prioritize Amazon brands and Amazon-exclusive products over competitors with higher ratings. The crawlers identified themselves as ordinary Firefox browsers to web servers, which allowed The Markup to understand how Amazon search results pages would appear to ordinary users. Similarly, ProPublica used an automated tool designed to simulate an ordinary Amazon customer to reveal that the site steered shoppers to more expensive products over cheaper alternatives. Anonymous web scraping is also crucial for cybersecurity professionals, who use automated tools to monitor the web for information that helps them protect against malicious attackers. Privacy tools, including EFF’s own Privacy Badger, also crawl sites anonymously to identify trackers without compromising user privacy. However, without the ability to scrape anonymously, these tools would likely be blocked. Sites can—and do—block crawlers operated by researchers, journalists, and activists who criticism them. For example, Facebook shut down accounts belonging to researchers who used automated tools to study misinformation on the platform and demanded that they take down published research. Many sites block automated access by anyone who hasn’t paid to crawl public webpages. Unmasking crawlers threatens the open web News publishers—and their allies in government—say that unmasking crawlers is necessary to protect news organizations from technological strain caused by AI-related crawling, and fears that AI could reduce news sites’ traffic and ad revenue. These are legitimate concerns. But enacting broad, reactionary restrictions on automated access is not the answer. Legislation targeting anonymous crawling threatens the open web, user privacy, and valuable research without actually addressing these technological and potential economic harms of scraping. The New York state legislature recently passed the NY Stealth Crawler Protection Act, a law that would make it illegal to crawl news websites without revealing who is operating the crawler and all possible future uses of the data collected by the crawler. The law would give websites the power to obtain court orders that unmask anyone using an unidentified crawler—without any evidence that they broke the law. Laws like the NY bill sweep far beyond AI, and do not meaningfully address the technological or potential harms of AI-related web scraping. These policies would chill beneficial crawling by allowing publishers to veto lawful public access, giving them the power to block not just bad actors, but also security professionals, researchers, dissidents, or anyone who has not paid for a license to view public text. This needlessly undermines the free and open internet. Digital news publishers—like most websites—face real technological challenges in the AI era. While web crawling has been around for decades, with the proliferation of AI, crawlers now collect far more public web data than they used to. This pushes servers closer to their maximum capacity, and if some bots collect information too aggressively, they may strain web servers to the point that it degrades site performance. The problem is not anonymity—so unmasking crawlers won’t solve it. The real problem is overaggressive crawling, which can be effectively addressed with technical measures that target harmful conduct without impeding anonymous access to information. A better path forward There are other, far less harmful ways to protect publishers from the harms these “stealth crawler” laws claim to target. Addressing the harms of AI-related crawling requires policies that narrowly target the causes of these issues–without undermining free expression and the open web. Policies that target crawlers and scrapers are anything but.

Source feed: https://www.eff.org/rss/updates.xml

Biglaw May Want To Break Up With The Billable Hour Thanks To AI

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 17:49:00 +0000

Baker McKenzie's global chair says AI demands a new way of thinking about legal fees. The post Biglaw May Want To Break Up With The Billable Hour Thanks To AI appeared first on Above the Law.

Source feed: https://abovethelaw.com/feed/

3 Contract Intelligence Use Cases Every Legal Team Should Know

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:12:14 +0000

[Sponsored] Some challenges show up no matter what industry you’re in. Contracting is one of them. The post 3 Contract Intelligence Use Cases Every Legal Team Should Know appeared first on Above the Law.

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AliExpress hit with record $625M fine after failing to make EU-ordered fixes

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 15:32:45 +0000

Online retailer AliExpress says it's shocked by largest DSA fine yet.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

Commerciality becomes a differentiating trait for successful UK law firms

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 15:01:27 +0000

As UK GCs place greater value on business knowledge & commercial advice, law firms need to find a way to a standout in an AI-driven market.

Source feed: https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en-us/posts/feed/

Pay up or not? Ransomware surge has victims facing tough choices

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 14:00:50 +0000

Governments look at banning ransom payments in face of increasingly sophisticated threats.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

AliExpress gets record €550m fine from EU for allowing sale of illegal products

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 13:44:55 +0000

It is the highest penalty imposed under the Digital Services Act and follows a two-year investigation.

Source feed: https://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/technology/rss.xml

Keeping drugs free of contaminants – pharmaceutical manufacturers filter medications through tiny pores to keep them sterile and safe

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 12:25:43 +0000

Sterile filtration acts as a shield between a manufactured drug and a patient. Andriy Onufriyenko/Moment via Getty ImagesEvery year, the global pharmaceutical industry produces trillions of doses of medications. Manufacturing these drugs involves several stages, and the chance of contamination increases with every step. Thus, before a single drop of any drug can be given to a patient, it must be sterilized. In my work as a researcher in pharmaceutical manufacturing, I investigate how the properties of different drugs and filters affect how well medications are sterilized through certain methods. Ensuring drug safety while maintaining product integrity remains a persistent and technically nuanced challenge, even on a good day. As medical therapies become increasingly complex, however, the goal to keep these drugs safe from bacterial contamination is facing unprecedented bottlenecks, including global drug shortages due to fragile materials, regulatory pressures and strained supply chains. From contamination to crisis Sterile filtration acts as a shield between a manufactured drug and a patient. When this shield fails, contamination is costly for both patients and manufacturers. In 2012, a large-scale fungal meningitis epidemic broke at the New England Compounding Center. Epidural injections were contaminated at the pharmacy with the fungus Exserohilum rostratum due to inadequate sterilization and poor aseptic conditions during manufacturing. This oversight caused over 750 infections and more than 60 deaths. In 2021, the contamination of one manufacturer’s multiuse gel for ultrasounds led to outbreaks of Burkholderia stabilis bacterial infections across 10 American states. Around 14 deaths were linked to the manufacturer’s inappropriate testing of the finished product, inadequate inspection of raw materials and lack of environmental controls. Drugs need to pass stringent tests in order to ensure their safety. Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images Beyond the legal consequences of harming patients, pharmaceutical companies also face massive financial risks when filtration fails. While there are costs to maintaining a sterilization process during manufacturing, producing products that are insufficiently sterile imposes the highest costs. If a filter fails a routine check to confirm its ability to remove impurities, the entire batch of the drug product has to be discarded. This results in huge losses to the company. Industry reports note that contamination-related batch failures can lead to millions of dollars in losses from not only discarded product, but also from investigation costs and manufacturing downtime. How sterile filtration works Sterile filtration involves forcing a drug product through a microscopic filter to remove contaminants such as bacteria and other dangerous microorganisms. This filter, also called a membrane, is extremely thin. It typically has a thickness between 105 and 170 micrometers, which is roughly that of a sheet of paper. These membranes operate through a mechanism called size exclusion. Pores allow small drug molecules to pass through the membrane, while larger particulates are retained. The chemical properties of the membrane, which affects how molecules interact with it, can also determine what it catches. The use of semipermeable membranes for removing bacteria dates back over 100 years to the early work of Nobel Prize winner Richard Zsigmondy on nitrocellulose membranes. The pharmaceutical industry began using these membranes as sterile filters after they were commercialized in the 1920s. However, after scientists found that Pseudomonas diminuta bacteria could pass through these membranes, even smaller pore sizes became the standard. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency considers filtration an appropriate method to sterilize highly sensitive drugs. Pores and other methods Why force drugs through microscopic pores instead of other sterilization methods? Although techniques like heat sterilization or gamma radiation are highly effective for surgical tools or certain older drugs, they are often destructive to sensitive modern drugs. Many drugs consist of delicate proteins and genetic material that can be easily degraded or altered in ways that render the medication useless. Another alternative to sterilization is aseptic processing, which involves assembling presterilized components in a completely sterile environment. However, this approach is expensive and highly prone to human error. Sterile filtration emerges as a reliable method to process drugs without destroying their active ingredients. Trillions of doses of medications are produced every year worldwide. Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images Engineering better filtration strategies Despite its widespread use, sterile filtration has certain limitations. Many new and promising approaches to drug delivery – such as mRNA technology and nanotechnology, monoclonal antibodies and cell and gene therapies – also introduce new challenges for sterile filtration and drug manufacturing. For example, nanoemulsions are a mixture of oil and water commonly used to help drugs travel through the body when they don’t easily dissolve in water. These particles are similar in size to the membrane pores; if they clump together, they can block the pores so nothing passes through the filter. When the pores are completely clogged, no more material can pass through the filter. Think of this process like trying to push a crowd of people wearing large backpacks through a single, narrow doorway. If a few people get stuck, they block the door for everyone else. Moreover, when these particles get stuck on the surface of the filter, the expensive drug products they’re carrying are also trapped and lost. Losing these particles in the filter results in huge economic losses. For high-value biopharmaceutical products, a single failed or rejected batch may cost millions of dollars in raw materials, processing, investigation and production downtime. My team and I examined different techniques to help find solutions to these challenges. We found that dual-layer membranes – where the top layer has larger pores and the bottom has smaller pores – can increase a filter’s capacity by more than 50% in some cases and increase yield to over 94%. We also found that choosing the right prefilter by considering pore size and distribution, as well as the chemical properties of its surface, can reduce yield loss by over 10%. Additionally, pre-wetting filters with a specific chemical can increase the amount of nanoemulsions passing through pores before they clog. Securing the batch The global market for sterile filtration is estimated to grow from over US$5 billion in 2026 to nearly $13 billion by 2035. As the pharmaceutical industry continues to develop complex therapies, keeping these drugs safe and affordable requires sterilization methods to evolve. Understanding the intricate interactions between drug molecules and membrane filters can help researchers find ways to keep the manufacturing pipelines flowing while safeguarding the batch. Securing these microscopic gates helps ensure that the next generation of lifesaving medicines will be safe, reliable and accessible to the patients who need them most. I have previously received research funding from Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC for my PhD work on sterile filtration and drug product processing. The views expressed in this article are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of Merck.

Source feed: https://theconversation.com/us/technology/articles.atom

AliExpress fined almost $630 million over illegal product sales

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 11:16:32 +0000

AliExpress has been hit with a €550 million (about $629 million) fine for violating Europe's Digital Services Act (DSA) rules by failing to prevent illegal, unsafe, or counterfeit products from being sold on the e-commerce platform. The European Commission ruled that AliExpress didn't take effective measures to reduce the dissemination of illegal products, noting the […]

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The ACLU Is Arming Lawyers to Expose State Surveillance Secrets

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:00:00 +0000

A new toolkit for attorneys in Massachusetts targets the technologies police use—and conceal—to build criminal cases, from facial recognition to AI-written police reports.

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New Associate Hiring is Flat – Is AI The Cause?

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 06:49:12 +0000

New data shows that entry-level associate hiring in the US has been flat for four years – despite overall legal market growth. Is this the ...

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Can an Apple lawsuit derail OpenAI’s hardware plans?

Sun, 19 Jul 2026 19:24:45 +0000

On the latest episode of Equity, we debate whether Apple's lawsuit will cast over OpenAi's much-discussed plans to get into hardware and go public.

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TechCrunch Mobility: The battle over robotaxi rules

Sun, 19 Jul 2026 16:05:00 +0000

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for the future of transportation and now, more than ever, how AI is playing a part.

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Government use of automated AI decision-making to be curbed under new Australian rules

Sun, 19 Jul 2026 12:00:27 +0000

New national plan accompanied by Labor push for digital duty of care legislationGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe use of AI in automated decision-making by government departments and agencies will be subject to tough rules under a new national plan, expected to extend to consumer protections, workplace safety and privacy.As the Albanese government grapples with the rapid growth in the use of artificial intelligence and a boom in datacentre construction, senior ministers have begun work to draw up new rules to ensure safety is built into AI processes inside government, prioritising fairness, accuracy and transparency. Continue reading...

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Victoria announces new social media ‘demasking’ powers for accounts accused of vilification

Sun, 19 Jul 2026 07:22:01 +0000

New laws would give Vcat power to force social and AI platforms to identify anonymous users in move premier says will protect childrenGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastSocial media companies could be forced to identify anonymous accounts accused of online vilification, under new laws being proposed in Victoria.The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, announced a suite of social media reforms on Sunday, saying families needed new ways to protect their children online. Continue reading...

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Court Upholds Instagram’s TOS–Feds for Freedom v. Meta

Sat, 18 Jul 2026 23:37:46 +0000

Feds for Freedom is an anti-COVID vax organization. 🙄 It registered an Instagram account. F4F is upset that Instagram allegedly warned anyone who tried to repost their content that: This account has repeatedly posted false information that was reviewed by... The post Court Upholds Instagram’s TOS–Feds for Freedom v. Meta appeared first on Technology & Marketing Law Blog.

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Will AI fix prior authorization—or make it worse?

Sat, 18 Jul 2026 11:18:25 +0000

The government is piloting a program that uses AI for insurance-coverage decisions.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

Voice Search For Lawyers: Why Your Firm May Already Be Losing Clients

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 21:33:00 +0000

Understanding and optimizing for voice search is increasingly vital to online search visibility, especially for capturing the all-important local search activity. The post Voice Search For Lawyers: Why Your Firm May Already Be Losing Clients appeared first on Above the Law.

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Apple and Google ordered to purge ‘nudify’ apps from App Stores

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 19:49:53 +0000

In letters sent to Apple and Google, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu said that both companies have long been aware that they are hosting apps in violation of state law.

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How Apple’s big lawsuit could disrupt OpenAI’s IPO plans

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 17:45:46 +0000

Apple filed a trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI last Friday, and it’s not messing around. The complaint alleges a pattern of misconduct reaching all the way up to OpenAI’s chief hardware officer and claims more than 400 former Apple employees now work at the company. OpenAI’s response so far has been carefully hedged, and the timing couldn’t be worse with the company reportedly eyeing an IPO […]

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Apple’s plot to crush OpenAI

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 17:41:32 +0000

Apple is suing OpenAI. The complaint is readable and intense, as these things often are, though many experts seem to think many of the allegations are just the ways things are done. So what does Apple really want here, and why is it picking such a public fight with OpenAI? On this episode of The […]

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Victory! Flock Ends Rollout of Audio “Distress Detection” of Human Voices

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 17:05:57 +0000

Reversing course, Flock Safety—the surveillance technology vendor most known for its extensive network of automated license plate readers—has announced that it will end a pilot for its acoustic gunshot detection devices to identify signs of “human distress.” In October 2025, EFF warned the public that Flock was rolling out a new feature called “Distress Detection” that would be deployed through their acoustic gunshot detection devices (formerly known as Flock Raven, now called Audio Detection). This feature purported to use high-powered microphones scattered throughout a city to search for sounds of human distress, with original advertisements from the product indicating it would search for “screaming.” (Since the publication of our original blog post, Flock quietly amended the ad on this webpage to say “distress” instead of “screaming.”) Now, Flock has published a blog post stating that “[a]fter careful consideration and community consultation, we decided to remove the feature.” Good riddance. We said it when the product was announced and we’ll say it again: this was a misguided and dangerous feature because of the civil liberties concerns it poses, the possibility it could summon armed police to every loud interaction happening on the street, and because in several places this type of spying would be illegal under state eavesdropping laws. We were not quiet about this potential new feature. Flock even mentioned our concern about Distress Detection in an attempt to rebut our opposition to the mass surveillance their products enable. The suspension of Distress Detection, however, does not mean that these high-powered microphones are now magically safe or beyond our concern. Acoustic gunshot detection is still a dangerous and often highly inaccurate technology that has resulted in real world harm, as in Chicago where it resulted in police shooting at children lighting fireworks. As Flock itself states, “No acoustic system is perfect, and we don't claim otherwise.” But police response to a situation where they believe guns are actively in use seems like a pretty high-stakes situation to be making, selling, and deploying technology known to be imperfect. Flock’s devices also listen for more than just gunshots. Their marketing materials admit to be listening for “community disruption,” which includes “non-violent” threats like car sideshows and fireworks. Flock’s failed attempt to roll out Distress Detection teaches us a few important lessons about the current state of police surveillance. First, we should not assume that just because these companies are large and well-funded, that does not ensure that they are complying with local privacy laws before floating new products to customers. Second, companies roll out and police adopt invasive technology under the justification that it will be used to address our society’s very worst crimes. However, both the companies and police will leverage deployed surveillance infrastructure to introduce new uses without necessarily seeking the consent or approval of the public. Gunshot detecting microphones eventually being used to listen for screaming is exactly the type of mission creep that we’ve seen happen with other pieces of surveillance technology, including Flock’s license plate readers. Finally, gun violence is too serious and complex of an issue to purport to solve with one flawed piece of technology. It has become too easy for police and cities to listen to the fancy marketing pitches of tech companies claiming they’re going to solve all crime instead of doing the hard work of addressing the root causes of societal issues. And, in the meantime, that technology creates more problems and hazards for the communities they blanket in police surveillance. As we’ve also seen with people across the country pushing back on Flock license plate reader contracts in their communities, public pressure can sometimes work to influence both companies and lawmakers that control a city’s purse strings to discontinue or divest from harmful products. Flock’s decision to end “Distress Detection” for human voices is a win.

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FBI arrests man accused of using Steam games to drain victims’ crypto wallets

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 16:18:09 +0000

Prosecutors accused 21-year-old student Zyaire Wilkins of publishing on Steam several fake video games that contained malware, infecting thousands of victims, and stealing crypto from some of them.

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San Francisco orders Apple, Google to remove nudify apps from app stores

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 16:10:05 +0000

Official estimates Google and Apple likely made millions in nudify app fees.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

Florida man arrested for allegedly stealing over $200,000 in crypto using Steam game malware

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 15:34:35 +0000

Federal authorities have arrested a Florida man suspected of stealing at least $220,000 in crypto through malware-infected Steam games, as reported earlier by local news outlet Local10. In the complaint, officials accuse 21-year-old Zyaire Wilkins and co-conspirators of launching eight malware-embedded games from around May 2024 to February 2026, allowing them to infect about 8,000 […]

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How the Watch Dogs Video Game Series Mirrored and Predicted Real-World Digital Rights Issues

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 15:01:22 +0000

When Ubisoft's Watch Dogs 2 was released in 2016, it was a headtrip for those of us working on digital-rights issues in the Bay Area. During the day, I'd fight tech-authoritarianism from EFF's San Francisco offices and then, at night, I'd fight tech-authoritarianism in an uncanny simulation of San Francisco from my home gaming console. Watch Dogs 2 is an open-world video game that follows a hacktivist collective called Dedsec as they take on surveillance tech and discriminatory AI systems that are being controlled by tech bros, government contractors, and corrupt cops. The game's missions often felt like they were ripped from the pages of EFF's Deeplinks blog. EFF’s mission is defending civil liberties in the digital world, and we do that with activists, technologists, and lawyers. If you've ever dreamt of joining Dedsec, you should definitely join us as a member. Join the movement to Take Back CTRL. In fact, we've even got the same merch aesthetic. I cosplayed as the lead character, Marcus, at Dragon Con, and no one even knew I was in costume. Dave (left) as Marcus takes a selfie with a Wrench cosplayer at Dragon Con 2018. To commemorate Watch Dog 2's 10th anniversary, I'll be speaking on a panel at San Diego Comic-Con reflecting on how the game predicted tech issues we're facing today. Organized by Mia Ginae of The Mighty Hostess and Black in Gaming, we've got voice actors Ruffin Prentiss lll and Shawn Baichoo, cinematic producer Timmy Fisher, and music producer Hudson Mohawke, who did the soundtrack, with Mia Ginae moderating. That's at 3:15 PM on Friday, July 24 in room 6BCF. But not everyone can get to Comic-Con and I certainly have more to say that can fit in. So here are a few ways where Watch Dogs 2 mirrored our work back then and foresaw what we're facing today. Check out our full San Diego Comic Schedule, including panels and a meet-up. Insecure Surveillance Cameras One of the signature gameplay elements of the Watch Dogs series is the ability for your character to hack into nearby security cameras from your phone and use that to gain a strategic advantage over hostile adversaries. About a year before, that's exactly the issue that we were working on. EFF Technologist Cooper Quintin and I used the service Shodan to identify a slew of automated license plate readers (ALPRs) that Louisiana police had left unprotected on the internet. We found that the controls were open to anyone to manipulate and, just like in the game, you could watch the live video feeds. We didn't use the data to acquire a skill point or collectible outfit. Instead, we forced police agencies to lock down their equipment and then used what we learned to persuade then Gov. Bobby Jindal to veto a bill that would have created a new statewide surveillance dragnet. This issue still persists today. Most recently, security researchers Benn Jordan and Jon “GainSec” Gaines, and the award-winning journalists at 404 Media, uncovered how at least 60 pan-tilt-zoom cameras from the vendor Flock Safety were left exposed online. Cell-Site Simulators In Watch Dogs 2 there's a mission called "Stolen Signals," in which Marcus and his best friend Wrench are trying to locate "stingrays," police devices that gather nearby cell-phone data by masquerading as legit cellular towers. We call these "cell-site simulators" (CSSs) and they're are an extremely alarming mass surveillance technology that allows police to track individual users through their phone identifiers. We've long advocated that this should require a search warrant. Like Dedsec, we also had initiated a project to do the exact same thing. And in true Dedsec fashion, we also gave it a pop-culture name: Crocodile Hunter, an homage to wildlife expert Steve Irwin, who had famously died after a stingray attack. But while Marcus was running around Telegraph Hill, staff technologist Cooper Quintin and I were running around downtown San Francisco, testing out our own device for detecting suspicious cell phone towers during Salesforce's annual Dreamforce conference. And while we didn't find a CSS that day, we did find a mobile surveillance tower that a start-up had set up for the event. Cooper Quintin, EFF's own 'Wrench,' testing out Crocodile Hunter at Dreamforce Today, that project has evolved into Rayhunter, which allows anyone to use a cheap mobile hotspot to detect the type of cellular anomalies associated with CSSs. We're proud to say that now there's a whole international Dedsec-style network of researchers using this technology to look for surveillance at protests, at the border, and in metropolitan areas. Security Robots Throughout the game, Marcus encounters a number of autonomous pickle-shaped security robots wandering the city. At one point, Wrench reprograms one to become "Wrench Jr," a bona fide member of the Dedsec team. In real life, these robots are made by a company called Knightscope, and EFF started shining light on them in 2020-2021, when they were first being deployed by companies and government agencies. A Knightscope robot patrols a casino parking lot in Reno, Nevada. Today, law enforcement is pursuing weaponized robots and drones, and EFF is at the forefront to stop this dystopian reality. In fact, in December 2022, we successfully fought for San Francisco to ban the police department from weaponizing drones. In 2024, New York Police Department also retired its subway robot. A Citywide Surveillance "Operating System" In the Watch Dog series, one of the ominous developments is CTOS 2.0 (Central Operating System 2.0). Through this system, Blume, a government contractor, tries to collect a massive amount of data through citywide sensors and infrastructure, and to combine all that data into one unified—and totally insecure—analytics system. At the time we'd only just begun to see this idea floated, with a limited number of cities trying tools like Palantir's Gotham to manage data. Today, it is a frighteningly competitive market, particularly when it comes to law enforcement surveillance. For example, both Axon and Flock Safety are trying to offer products that integrate with every function of policing that sound like CTOs. In fact, Flock Safety product is literally titled, "Flock OS." Fusus demonstrated at a police chief's conference. Meanwhile, Axon's camera networking product, "Fusus," sounds like it came straight from the Watch Dogs' writers room. Fusus allows for central live-streaming of all types of surveillance cameras in a city, including body-worn cameras, which was another prediction from the Watch Dog series that came true. EFF has been part of many local battles to reject Flock and Axon surveillance systems, and we've also advocated against recent efforts at the federal level to consolidate government data. Join the Fight Against Authoritarian Tech Watch Dogs 2's protagonists aren't just the merry band of core hackers: It's a distributed movement spread across the region and social media. The sequel, Watch Dogs Legion, is even designed so that every single person in the city of London is a potential playable Dedsec member, ready to take on tech tyranny with whatever skills they have. That's also our philosophy: If you use tech, if you're affected by tech, this is your fight. And it's time to take back control. There are a lot of ways to do this. You can become a member by donating. You can contact public officials through our Action Center. You can join the thousands of volunteers who are helping gather data on surveillance through our Atlas of Surveillance project. You can also hunt cell-site simulators with us—and help improve our code—through the Rayhunter project. And just like Watch Dogs 2, this is a game we can win if we work together.

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What’s In A Wrapper? Comparing A Hershey Bar To LegalTech AI

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 12:56:30 +0000

Anyone can make sweets, but not everyone can make a Hershey bar. The debate over legaltech startups offering nothing more than a “thin wrapper” around an LLM begs a deeper analysis of the value of a wrapper, particularly as open-source alternatives take root. Let’s start with a Hershey bar. You pay for the chocolate, right? […]

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Screen time guidelines for kids and adolescents have shifted as research paints a more nuanced picture

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 12:16:49 +0000

What kids are doing on tablets seems to matter more than how long they use them. PeopleImages/iStock via Getty ImagesConcerns surrounding young people’s screen time are widespread. Australia became the first country to ban social media for users under 16 in December 2025, and Denmark, France and the U.K. have since announced similar restrictions to begin this year. In the U.S., as of mid-2026, more than 30 states have passed laws banning or restricting cellphones in K–12 classrooms; in 2023, the U.S. surgeon general issued a formal advisory on social media and children’s and adolescents’ mental health; and bestselling books tell parents that smartphones are “rewiring” their children’s brains. These concerns and policies are part of a quickly changing national and international conversation around how young people spend time on screens and its relationship to their overall health and development. My reading of the mounting research on this issue across disciplines is that the popular narrative blaming screens and smartphones for an adolescent mental health crisis runs well ahead of the current evidence. I study adolescent digital media use and its influence on social, emotional and academic outcomes. A growing body of research suggests that one-size-fits-all solutions are not the answer and that managing appropriate use of digital media needs to take into account a child’s developmental milestones, how parents and adults around them use media, and the ways kids use it to connect and learn with friends and family. Screen time: From monolith to multifaceted Wide adoption of digital media and the internet broadened the range of experiences young people could have online. At the same time, the digital age introduced newfound uncertainties. As with the advent of radio, comic books and arcades, adults worried about how children might interact with or be affected by internet use. In response, the American Academy of Pediatrics first recommended in 1999 that parents and caregivers keep children under 2 away from screens. In the decades since, professional guidance largely treated children’s media use as a behavior to be mitigated. Policies introduced by the academy in 2013 and 2016 continued to advise that school-age kids and adolescents – those ages 5 to 18 – be restricted to no more than two hours of “entertainment” screen time a day. The goal was to curb risks associated with heavy media use, among them disrupted sleep, online safety, cyberbullying and physical inactivity. Originally created for young people’s engagement with stationary media that tend to be confined to one room or context – for example, watching television – these hourly limits became outdated with the integration of smartphones and other digital devices into everyday life. Compared with watching television, online media was far more difficult to track and define, and more nuanced in its use. Developmentally beneficial activities such as education, socializing and leisure have come to rely on the internet to extend and maintain face-to-face connections. Remote schooling and social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic only accelerated this digitization of daily life. In my view, adopting strict time limits and restrictions could pose risks to children’s well-being, autonomy and development, for example, by harming adolescent self-esteem. The latest guidelines In January 2026, the American Academy of Pediatrics retired its decade-old framework that had largely organized its advice around hourly screen limits. The new policy statement on children, adolescents and digital media diverges from this blanket approach. Instead, it suggests parents consider the larger picture in which this media use exists rather than lumping all screen use together. Pediatricians with the American Academy of Pediatrics discuss the organization’s new guidelines on young people and ‘digital ecosystems.’ Similar to the World Health Organization’s 2019 guidance for children under 5, the American Academy of Pediatrics still advises that parents avoid screen media for children younger than 18 months. This recommendation is largely because extended use by children by themselves can be problematic for many young children, crowding out important developmental milestones. Both the World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics also recommend that when children under 24 months use screens, they should be limited to content and devices that encourage children and caregivers to interact. For ages 2 to 5, screen time – including TV and interactive apps on devices – may be extended to more solo use, provided it’s high-quality digital media designed around learning goals in mathematics and reading. But recreational use should be limited to roughly an hour per day. For school-age children and teens, the newest guidance has begun to step away from fixed screen time limits and asks families to weigh online activity in the context of everyday life. Doing so recognizes that a child’s digital experiences are shaped by diverse factors rather than the hours spent online. Current guidelines call on caregivers to distinguish among types of media, from television and social media to video games and interacting with artificial intelligence chatbots. They also call for taking into account a child’s individual characteristics, such as their interests and personality, family members’ own use of screens, and the type of content children are spending time on. Rethinking screen time Moving beyond strict screen time limits includes questioning the kind of digital activities kids and adolescents participate in. Do the activities encourage time spent interacting with others online, which can help young people develop important skills and competencies? Scrolling an algorithm-based, auto-playing video feed likely does not equate to the same opportunities as video-chatting with friends, creating digital art or working with teammates in a multiplayer game. Research suggests these different uses relate to development in different ways and can help kids develop varying skill sets pertaining to everyday life and schooling. Indeed, a large review of current research found that young people who take part in a range of digital activities, such as browsing the web, online gaming or interacting on social media, show positive associations with social connection, identity exploration, civic participation and learning. Parental involvement in young children’s screen time has developmental benefits. Cultura Creative/Tetra images via Getty Images Using these guidelines at home The current evidence suggests parents and caregivers are best positioned to be digital instructors. Cutting children off altogether can carry its own risks for social and emotional development. Caregiver mediation of children’s screen time can produce widely different outcomes and effects, depending on whether the guidance is supportive or controlling. Considering your own digital media use is the first step: Are family members engaging in problematic or heavy media use that children in the household might emulate? What applications and uses are most common in the family, and what positive or negative effects might they have, depending on the child’s age? How could these digital activities be safely integrated with other everyday experiences to increase their benefit for children? Conversely, what online time might be better spent on face-to-face experiences? The American Academy of Pediatrics’ Family Media Plan tool turns these ideas into concrete questions. For example, it recommends working out what each child needs from digital technology, what activities screens might be crowding out, and where their family or household can build in screen-free time. The recommendation is to talk with each child about why they are drawn to particular apps or online activities, what they encounter while browsing, and what might be lost when kids bring phones to gatherings such as mealtimes. The debate over young people’s screen time is not going away. But the most up-to-date guidelines, and the growing body of research behind them, make a strong case for a more holistic approach. The guidelines treat digital media as a complex, diverse and evolving environment that children need to learn to navigate in the digital age. The risks and rewards depend, as with any developmental setting, on the child, the content and what online time might be crowding out. Gabriel E. Hales does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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San Francisco Demands Apple and Google Delete AI ‘Nudify’ Apps From App Stores

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 10:00:00 +0000

The City Attorney’s Office sent the tech giants cease-and-desist letters this week telling them to stop profiting from 13 “face-swap” apps that are overwhelmingly used to target women and girls.

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AI Benefits, Cooley’s Meatballs, Opus 2 +

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 08:00:46 +0000

We start this week’s Wrap with a survey: ‘Has law firm AI use delivered cost savings for clients?’ There is a link here to share ...

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Law Firms Don’t Have an AI Problem, They Have a Data Problem

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 06:42:14 +0000

By Kevin Walker, CEO, Centari. In recent months, several of the world’s leading law firms have announced investments in legal technology at a scale only ...

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HP fined 1.4 billion rupees for “cartelization” of ink cartridges, toner, PCs

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 22:02:31 +0000

Resellers threatened to ditch HP printing supplies for counterfeits.

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Biglaw Layoffs Are Never A Good Sign – See Also

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 23:28:00 +0000

LAYOFF ALERT: K&L Gates lays off roughly 10 percent of staff. Cravath Keeps Associates Waiting On Cash: Six weeks! This firm has made almost everyone wait for six weeks to match Milbank's money! Kathryn Ruemmler Gets Grilled Over Her Jeffrey Epstein Connection: We are not impressed with her equivocations. 0 To Corruption In 60 Minutes: Todd Blanche announces that the administration has fired another duly appointed U.S. Attorney and replaced him with an illegally appointed crony. The AI Call Is Coming From Inside The House: Study reveals in-house legal departments are AI power users. The post Biglaw Layoffs Are Never A Good Sign – See Also appeared first on Above the Law.

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San Francisco mayor pushes for tougher rules after the Waymo traffic fiasco

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 23:25:22 +0000

In the wake of a massive hours-long gridlock event, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has told state regulators its time to put more requirements on robotaxi operators like Waymo.

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Trump made $1.4bn from crypto in one year. Is Justin Sun the man who helped him do it?

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 16:19:56 +0000

The entrepreneur is known in Washington as the financial power behind the president’s crypto fortune. How did Sun’s business love-in with the Trump family spiral into dueling lawsuits?The most infamous financial scandal in US presidential history – the 1920s Teapot Dome affair – involved then president Warren G Harding’s interior secretary, Albert Fall, taking roughly $400,000 in bribes. Adjusted for inflation, that’s about $6m today. Last year, Donald Trump made at least $2.2bn; his single year of income is on the order of 200 to 300 times larger than the bribe that defined “presidential corruption” in the American imagination for a century.It’s taken for granted that Trump flogs items like Bibles and gold sneakers as a way to wring more money from his loyal base. But of the president’s $2.2bn, at least $1.4bn came from his crypto businesses. That’s an extraordinary achievement, even for an unscrupulous sitting president. How exactly did he do it without any prior background in crypto? Continue reading...

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The One About Passing AI Costs Through To Clients

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 21:33:00 +0000

Regulators aren’t providing guidance quickly enough, and while large firms have access to in-house ethics advisors, solos and smalls don’t. The post The One About Passing AI Costs Through To Clients appeared first on Above the Law.

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In-House Lawyers Are The Biggest AI Users

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 20:44:00 +0000

Turns out the profession's technophobia gets left at the in-house door. The post In-House Lawyers Are The Biggest AI Users appeared first on Above the Law.

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xAI can’t deny Grok makes CSAM anymore. So it’s suing users.

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 20:26:23 +0000

Elon Musk's xAI files first lawsuit against Grok user accused of making child sex images.

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AI in legal education: How to leverage AI to build change agility in law schools

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 18:30:06 +0000

USF law school dean led her institution's practical integration of AI into legal education by engaging students and encouraging collaboration.

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Google is better at playing the AI regulations game

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 16:55:54 +0000

Today, the European Union ordered Google to give its AI rivals greater access to Android, the open-source operating system that powers billions of devices worldwide. The demand is hardly surprising. It may look like a defeat on paper for Google, which has spent years resisting exactly this kind of access, but it is a regulatory […]

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What Does Your Legal Team Actually Need From AI?

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 16:17:00 +0000

[Sponsored] AI keeps failing the law department. Here’s why. The post What Does Your Legal Team Actually Need From AI? appeared first on Above the Law.

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Musk’s xAI sues user who allegedly used Grok to create child sexual abuse material

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 15:19:27 +0000

Case is one of first brought by an AI company against a user ⁠for allegedly using a tool to generate child abuse materialElon Musk’s artificial-intelligence startup xAI has sued a South Carolina man arrested ⁠earlier this year on charges of sexually exploiting minors, alleging he misused the company’s AI system Grok to ⁠create child sexual abuse ⁠material.xAI alleged in the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Texas on Tuesday, that Terry Harwood violated the company’s ⁠terms of service. The case is one of the first brought by an AI company against one of its users ⁠for allegedly using an AI system to generate child sexual abuse material. Continue reading...

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UK cops say arrest of two young hackers disrupted the operations of an infamous hacking group

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 15:37:47 +0000

Owen Flowers and Thalha Jubair, two members of the prolific Scattered Spider hacking group, pleaded guilty and were sentenced to five years and six months in jail for hacking London’s metropolitan transit system.

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Intapp Makes Celeste Generally Available, Calling It An ‘AI Coworker’ To Run the Business Side of Law Firms

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 15:15:57 +0000

Intapp, the publicly traded company whose software manages intake, conflicts, and deal workflows for law firms and other professional services firms, yesterday announced the general availability of Celeste, an agentic AI product it describes as an “expert AI coworker” designed to run the business operations of a firm — from deal screening and conflicts clearance […]

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Protecting Privacy in an AI Era

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 14:34:31 +0000

Daniel Solove argues in the Wall Street Journal (alternate link) that giving people control of their personal data is not an effective way to regulate privacy in this era. Instead, we need to hold companies accountable for their actions, similar to what we do with food and drug companies. Measures such as rigorous data minimization, fiduciary duties, liability for negligent or reckless technological design, liability for algorithms that cause harm, and multi-stakeholder review of technologies will be far more effective. Paper.

Source feed: https://www.schneier.com/feed/

Congress is finally taxing crypto-assets: Here’s what your tax clients need to know

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 14:30:25 +0000

The US government is considering taxing crypto assets, so what would that mean for the tax bills of those Americans who own cryptocurrency?

Source feed: https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en-us/posts/feed/

Google Ordered to Give A.I. Rivals More Access on Android Smartphones

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 13:56:58 +0000

The decision by European Union regulators is a response to fears that Google will use its vast Android user base to gain an edge in A.I.

Source feed: https://rss.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/nyt/Technology.xml

TikTok facing UK investigation amid fears over age checks and harm to children

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:46:13 +0000

Ofcom concerned platform’s age verification is ineffective, leaving some at risk of seeing posts about self-harm and suicideTikTok is under formal investigation over concerns it has failed to protect children from harmful content, the UK’s online regulator, Ofcom, has announced.The social media platform’s approach to checking the ages of users has sparked “particular concerns” at the watchdog, almost a year after measures to protect children from the worst of online content came into effect under the Online Safety Act. Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

Google Ordered to Give A.I. Rivals More Access on Android Smartphones

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:18:34 +0000

Google ordered to open Android and Search to rivals in Europe

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:06:51 +0000

Google must give rival AI assistants and search engines greater access to key parts of Android and Google Search after the European Union ordered the company to comply with the bloc's digital antitrust rules. The two decisions, handed down Thursday, could weaken Google's control over two of the tech industry's most important platforms and have […]

Source feed: https://www.theverge.com/rss/index.xml

‘Keys to the kingdom’: hackers who gained access to heart of London transport network jailed

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:01:51 +0000

Thalha Jubair, 20, and Owen Flowers, 19, sentenced to five and a half years each for cyber-attack that cost Transport for London £39mThe data of millions of commuters was stolen, Londoners were left out of pocket and 27,000 Transport for London staff were forced to reset their passwords.Over four days in 2024 a pair of teenage hackers had London’s transport network at their mercy. Thalha Jubair and Owen Flowers had burrowed into the heart of Transport for London’s IT systems and held the “keys to the kingdom”. Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

TikTok faces Ofcom investigation over child age checks

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 11:08:33 +0000

It follows a review by the regulator in May that criticised the platform for not being "safe enough" for children.

Source feed: https://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/technology/rss.xml

Meta now alerts parents if their teen discussed suicide or self-harm with its AI chatbot

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 11:00:00 +0000

The updates come as Meta and other tech companies are facing scrutiny from regulators and parents around how AI chatbots respond to users in crisis, particularly teenagers.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

Teen hackers who live streamed cyber-attack on TfL jailed

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 10:52:26 +0000

Owen Flowers and Thalha Jubair were convicted for their roles in the attack, which led to large costs for Transport for London.

Source feed: https://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/technology/rss.xml

EFF and ARTICLE 19 Submission to the European Commission on the DSA Trusted Flagger Guidelines

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 09:22:17 +0000

EFF and ARTICLE 19 have submitted joint comments to the European Commission on draft guidelines for the Digital Services Act’s trusted flagger mechanism. Having long advocated for a DSA that protects freedom of expression while preserving intermediary liability protections and the prohibition on general monitoring, we welcome the Commission's effort to provide practical guidance on how the trusted flagger system should operate. The DSA’s trusted flagger system can help platforms identify illegal content more efficiently. But if implemented poorly, it could also encourage over-removal of lawful speech, weaken due process, and give government authorities disproportionate influence over online expression. We support the Commission's focus on good practices and illustrative examples, rather than legal interpretations that could inadvertently steer platforms toward particular enforcement outcomes—and argue that the guidelines should include stronger safeguards to protect freedom of expression, due process, and the impartiality of the trusted flagger system. We also support the Commission's clarification that the DSA itself does not define "illegal content"; that determination must come from applicable national or EU law. Trusted flaggers submit prioritized notice, but platforms remain responsible for determining whether content is actually illegal. Platforms must therefore conduct careful, informed assessments and should not assume that a trusted flagger notice necessarily warrants restricting content. Our submission highlights several areas where the guidelines could be strengthened: Cross-border assessments require caution. Platforms should not rely on a trusted flagger notice to assess legality across Member States, where national legal frameworks may differ. Systemic risks extend beyond content moderation. The DSA's systemic risk framework should not rely too heavily on individual moderation decisions, but should also consider broader platform design choices, including recommender systems. Law enforcement authorities should generally not be granted trusted flagger status. They already have statutory powers under Article 9 of the DSA, and combining those powers with trusted flagger status creates a risk that platforms may treat trusted flagger notices as de facto removal orders, undermining due process and the rule of law. Civil society organizations play an essential role. Civil society organizations help identify illegal content and report human rights abuses, but the guidelines should also recognize that these organizations may face retaliation for their work and should be protected from abusive campaigns that threaten their independence. Trusted flaggers should complement—not replace—existing partnerships. The new mechanism should not sideline existing trusted partnership programs, including collaborations with civil society organizations that do not or cannot hold trusted flagger status, especially those outside of the EU with valuable regional expertise. Read the full submission here:

Source feed: https://www.eff.org/rss/updates.xml

Hundreds rally at Bethesda HQ to protest Xbox layoffs, and Ars was there

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 22:36:28 +0000

Union wants to halt a "perpetual cycle" of layoffs, get back to contract bargaining.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

Trump rails against New York’s statewide datacenter moratorium

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 18:05:46 +0000

AI-friendly president shared a post saying governor Kathy Hochul should scrap the one-year policy ‘IMMEDIATELY’Donald Trump railed against the New York governor, Kathy Hochul, for pausing the construction of large new datacenters, the resource-intensive facilities that power artificial intelligence.New York became the first US state to enact a moratorium on new datacenters on Tuesday, when Hochul signed an executive order mandating a one-year statewide pause on so-called “hyperscale” datacenters. Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

xAI sues a man for using Grok to generate CSAM ‘deepfakes’

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 21:33:20 +0000

The Elon Musk-owned xAI is suing a South Carolina man who allegedly used the company's Grok AI chatbot to generate child sexual abuse material (CSAM). In a lawsuit reported earlier by Reuters, xAI claims Terry Wayne Harwood "knowingly and intentionally used Grok to circumvent safeguards, alter nonconsensual images, and generate and distribute CSAM," breaching the […]

Source feed: https://www.theverge.com/rss/index.xml

Most Smart Watches, Rings, and Bands Lack Basic Transparency Reports and Key Privacy Features

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 19:56:18 +0000

Oura Rings, Garmin GPS fitness watches, Apple Watches, Whoop bands—every year, more and more tech devices are promising to monitor our health and fitness, guide us toward healthier living, and provide useful health metrics to take to our doctors. But few of these tools provide the sorts of privacy and security promises we demand from all technology, let alone tech that captures personal health data. It’s time they step up and start providing transparency reports and stronger encryption options. Surveys suggest that around 40 percent of people in the United States own some sort of commercially available wearable health device. Despite being marketed as health devices, they have no special health-related privacy protections that one might hope for. The companies who make these devices can and do collect an abundance of data, and many of them share that data with third-parties for marketing or to influence insurance rates, or use it for their own purposes, like training artificial intelligence models. Health data is increasingly an important part of law enforcement or government investigations. Wearable data has been critical in a number of cases, where information about heart rate and steps was used to determine the whereabouts of individuals. And the surveillance company Penlink calls fitness trackers and wearables an “overlooked source” for law enforcement since they tend to show movement patterns and changes in heart rates. Law enforcement can try to get access to this data through subpoenas or warrants. There are many potential privacy issues with these sorts of devices, including whether the companies who make them share or sell information to third-parties. But here we are choosing to focus on two facets we’re concerned with around health data itself: 1) whether the company shares information with law enforcement and governments and 2) if they offer end-to-end encryption, which means the company itself can’t access that health data to begin with. Reading through dozens of product review sites we narrowed our research in on ten companies that seem to make the majority of recommended consumer health products on the market: Amazfit Apple Coros Garmin Google (including Fitbit) Hume Oura Polar Suunto Whoop We reviewed each company’s public facing policies, then emailed them to confirm those findings. Here’s what we found. Transparency Reports Are Few and Far Between Companies should provide transparency reports of how often they provide data to the government, including information about whether it’s an official demand or an unofficial request. We have been calling on tech companies to publish transparency reports for a long time, but the practice is still rare across the industry. That’s especially true with fitness gadgets. Only two of the companies we surveyed, Apple and Google (which also owns Fitbit), currently publish transparency reports. Apple, Google, and Whoop promise to notify users of law enforcement requests in publicly available documentation. Oura now does too, after an update to their privacy policy in June 2026 that was perhaps prompted by a series of requests from journalist Zack Whittaker. In that same update and in an email to us, Oura promises that it is “actively evaluating ways to provide greater visibility into how we handle these requests, like through a transparency report.” This is promising, and we hope the company agrees that transparency reports are the best option moving forward. Any company that handles data that’s of interest to law enforcement and governments owes it to their users to publish transparency reports and, when legally possible, notify users when that data is requested. Similarly, Suunto does not currently publish transparency reports, but in an email reply to our questions the company did express an openness to potentially doing so, stating, “We continuously evaluate our transparency practices and may publish additional information, such as a transparency report, in the future if we believe it would provide meaningful value for users and support our data protection efforts.” We hope they do, as these sorts of reports are a useful metric for all of us to better understand if and when our data can potentially be accessed by law enforcement. We could not find instances where the other companies publicly state a policy around notification or transparency reports, and no others replied to our email questions. Any company that handles data that’s of interest to law enforcement and governments owes it to their users to publish transparency reports and, when legally possible, notify users when that data is requested. This is especially true of personal health data, which can reveal our movements, and be used to infer details about what we’re doing at any given moment. End-to-End Encrypted Data Is Far Too Rare of a Feature End-to-end encryption is a method to ensure that your personal data is only accessible by you, and not the company who makes the device and manages the cloud storage. End-to-end encryption is usually used to refer to message encryption in communication apps, like Signal or WhatsApp, but can also refer to data storage. For example, many password managers use end-to-end encryption, and Ring implemented it for its cameras after we pushed for it. There’s no reason it can’t be offered for wearables too. In the case of health data from wearable devices, it’s a way to store data in the cloud so that information can be synced and backed up between your device and an app on your phone in a way where only your devices can access it. Support for end-to-end encryption is more rare than transparency reports. The Apple Watch, at least with data that’s stored in the Health app, is the only popular fitness wearable that supports end-to-end encryption, and it’s enabled by default for all users (you are required to have two-factor authentication enabled as well, but that is also on by default for most accounts). However, Apple Watch owners should remember that this protection is only for data stored in the Apple Health app. If you use other apps on your watch, or choose to share data with third-parties, like Strava, or if you’re sharing data with other wearables, like an Oura ring, that data is likely not end-to-end encrypted by the third-party company. Support for end-to-end encryption is more rare than transparency reports. And that’s it. Apple is the only one. No other popular consumer health wearable offers end-to-end encryption for the data it collects and stores online. Not Google. Not Garmin. Not Oura. Most of these companies instead offer encryption in transit and at rest, but this means those companies can still see and use your data. This is the industry standard, but it doesn’t have to be. Another option would be more robust local-storage options. Some devices we looked at, like a handful of Garmin and Polar watches, can operate on the watch itself without syncing data to the cloud, but some models are limited in capability and cannot sync to an app without storing data online. More robust options for limiting the data to just the wearable and the phone app it's synced to would be a privacy improvement. For example, the Apple Watch has the option to disable iCloud sharing in Apple Health, which will keep the data only on your phone. It’s the only wearable we found that offers this feature without using a third-party app like Gadgetbridge or by physically connecting the wearable to a computer with a USB cable and transferring activity files over manually. The general lack of local-only options or end-to-end encryption is a major privacy oversight, especially when you consider these devices collect heart rate, track sleep, and can log your location while also calculating a variety of health metrics supposedly intuiting everything from anxiety to your fitness “age.” We understand that it’s technically more difficult to implement end-to-end encryption than other sorts of cloud storage, and comes with some limitations that may affect a user’s experience with a product. It also makes certain types of AI-related features harder to implement, since they’d typically need to work on-device (either in the app or the wearable device itself). Because of that, we believe an option for end-to-end encryption or local-only storage of the data collected by a wearable is the least companies can do. This way, those who want to use these devices can do so with the choice to either accept some privacy risks, or choose a more locked down option. What’s Next If you’re a user of a fitness wearable from any of the companies we’ve reached out to, or any other one, don’t be shy in asking for these sorts of features. In the rare cases a company offers a feature request page, use it—like for Garmin, Polar, Suunto, and Whoop. And when those types of outlets aren’t offered, don’t shy away from general contact pages, like those offered by Amazfit and Oura, or on community subreddits. The companies that make these wearables, whether they’re designed for fitness or health, need to improve. At the bare minimum, companies need to publish transparency reports detailing how often they receive requests from law enforcement and commit to notifying users whenever that happens. It’s also well past the time for more companies to offer end-to-end encryption for the health data they’re storing. We acknowledge that this may be a trade-off for some features, like social networking features, but it should be up to users to decide if they’re willing to make those trade-offs. This level of privacy is an appealing feature that benefits users in myriad ways and more companies can set themselves apart by committing to this level of privacy. Health data is some of the most personal data we produce, and most wearables companies are behind the times when it comes to basic privacy practices and transparency. Now’s the time to improve those practices.

Source feed: https://www.eff.org/rss/updates.xml

California Steps Back From Dangerous Expansion of its Age-Gating Law

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 18:50:48 +0000

The California legislature has stepped back from a plan that would have expanded its age-gating law, removing language that could have compounded serious threats to users’ speech, privacy and security just to browse the internet. A.B. 1856, authored by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, will now move forward through the legislature without its most problematic pieces. EFF still believes the underlying law that A.B. 1856 amends, A.B. 1043, is unconstitutional. Signed into law in 2025 (and effective January of 2027), A.B. 1043 requires all operating systems and app stores to collect users’ ages, place them in various age brackets and then block young people from lawful speech and services depending on their age. We also believe that even though A.B. 1043 does not require age verification, the liability it creates for operating systems and app stores—including fining operating systems up to $7,500 per affected child for violating the law—will push those services to verify users’ ages. In practice, that could lead to more ID checks, more biometric scanning, more invasive data collection and risk of breach, and more barriers to adults’ and young people’s lawful speech. However, we appreciate that the Legislature has abandoned its plan to expand this problematic age-gating framework to browsers and websites. This would have significantly expanded this dangerous law before it even took effect. We thank the author and committee staff for recognizing these harms and not moving forward with this language. On top of that, EFF is pleased that an earlier amendment to A.B 1856 reduced the threat to the open-source community by exempting open-source operating systems. Given these changes, EFF has removed its opposition to A.B. 1856. We appreciate the author for listening to concerns from advocates, developers and others about the effect it would have on open-source development and also around expanding this problematic framework. To be clear, we still believe the law passed last year threatens online anonymity, privacy, and security. A.B. 1043 is one of a troubling wave of proposals that encourage—or, in some cases, outright require—age verification. Our position on this is clear: no one should have to provide or verify their age to access the internet. Once users’ personal data is collected, it can easily be leaked, hacked, or misused. No matter the method, every age verification system demands that people hand over their sensitive and immutable personal information to link their offline identity to their online activity. That’s a bad deal for us all. Age-gating mandates are reshaping the internet in ways that are invasive, dangerous, and deeply unnecessary. But users are not powerless! We can challenge these laws, protect our digital rights, and build a safer digital world for all internet users, no matter their ages. This resource hub can help—so explore, share, and join us in the fight for a better internet.

Source feed: https://www.eff.org/rss/updates.xml

Amid hardware legal battle, OpenAI releases a $230 keyboard for Codex

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 19:41:38 +0000

OpenAI, which is in the middle of a legal battle with Apple over hardware trade theft allegations, just released a light-up keyboard designed to be paired with its agentic coding app.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

Third-party app stores coming to Google Play next week as Epic settlement withdrawn

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 16:55:12 +0000

With the settlement withdrawn, Google is now bound by the court's full antitrust remedies.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

FBI Has Looked at Using Questionable AI Tech to Review Signatures on Seized Mail-In Ballots

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 17:55:00 +0000

The post FBI Has Looked at Using Questionable AI Tech to Review Signatures on Seized Mail-In Ballots appeared first on ProPublica.

Source feed: https://www.propublica.org/feeds/propublica/main

Suno snatched millions of songs from YouTube, Genius, and Deezer

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 17:48:01 +0000

Suno data obtained in a hacking incident has exposed that the AI music generator was trained by scraping millions of songs and lyrics from online audio platforms, including YouTube Music, Deezer, and Genius, 404 Media reports. Given that Suno has avoided revealing what's in its training datasets and how they were acquired, this a rare […]

Source feed: https://www.theverge.com/rss/index.xml

🚫 Don't Let Congress Age-Gate the Internet | EFFector 38.13

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 17:02:02 +0000

The effort to age gate the internet is back in Washington—and now it has a new name. Recently passed by the House of Representatives, the KIDS Act is a sprawling package of proposals to control what we can see and say online. Supporters claim the KIDS Act is needed to protect minors online. But if lawmakers really want to make the internet safer, why are they encouraging more surveillance instead of protecting our privacy? We dive into this question with our EFFector newsletter. JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER For over 35 years, EFFector has been your guide to understanding the intersection of technology, civil liberties, and the law. This issue covers a victory for location privacy in the Supreme Court, disturbing developments in the militarization of domestic drones, and a controversial Congressional bill to control what we can see and say online. Prefer to listen in? EFFector is now available on all major podcast platforms. This time, we're chatting with EFF Senior Policy Analyst Joe Mullin on what would happen to the open internet if the KIDS Act becomes law. You can find the episode and subscribe on your podcast platform of choice: %3Ciframe%20height%3D%22200px%22%20width%3D%22100%25%22%20frameborder%3D%22no%22%20scrolling%3D%22no%22%20seamless%3D%22%22%20src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fplayer.simplecast.com%2F4e65dc91-33af-4dd4-ae88-1c8626b39537%3Fdark%3Dfalse%22%20allow%3D%22autoplay%22%3E%3C%2Fiframe%3E Privacy info. This embed will serve content from simplecast.com Want to protect your right to online anonymity and access to the open web? Sign up for EFF's EFFector newsletter for updates, ways to take action, and new merch drops. You can also fuel the fight for privacy and free speech online when you support EFF today!

Source feed: https://www.eff.org/rss/updates.xml

‘I Couldn’t Get It Out of My Mind’: Chris Cartrett on Why He Is Leaving Aderant and Legal Tech

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 15:36:49 +0000

When I spoke with Chris Cartrett yesterday, just hours after reporting that he will step down Aug. 1 as president and CEO of Aderant, he was emphatic that his departure, after 12 years at the company, including five as CEO, was not about wanting to leave. “It’s not a matter of wanting to leave Aderant,” […]

Source feed: https://www.lawnext.com/feed

Scam Or Speculation: The Legal Questions Behind Trump’s Crypto Empire

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 15:33:41 +0000

Not everyone who invested in the Trump-branded coins did as well as Trump did... The post Scam Or Speculation: The Legal Questions Behind Trump’s Crypto Empire appeared first on Above the Law.

Source feed: https://abovethelaw.com/feed/

US charges Russian ‘bulletproof’ web hosts over cyberattacks that netted $62M from cybercrime victims

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 14:21:49 +0000

The 2024 indictment, now unsealed, accuses three Russians and two web hosts of aiding hackers and profiting from cybercrime.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

AI moves from curiosity to capacity-builder in government legal departments, new report shows

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 14:10:36 +0000

Government legal departments are increasingly adopting AI to help manage growing workloads and staffing shortages, a new report demonstrates.

Source feed: https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en-us/posts/feed/

Legal Decoder Introduces Aperture, A Natural Language Interface for Querying Legal Billing Data

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 13:03:11 +0000

Legal Decoder, a legal spend analytics company whose billing-review technology has been relied on by fee examiners in major federal bankruptcy cases, is today launching Aperture, a natural language interface that lets law firms and legal departmentss conversationally query legal billing and spend data — while promising that no identifiable client data ever reaches the […]

Source feed: https://www.lawnext.com/feed

NYC Passes Click To Cancel Rules As Lina Khan Lives On

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 12:25:00 +0000

In late 2024 the Biden FTC under Lina Khan passed new “click to cancel” rules that made it easier to cancel subscriptions and services, promising to punish the worst offenders. It was a direct response to decades of sleazy behavior from companies (from AOL to the Wall Street Journal) that made cancelling services an overly […]

Source feed: https://www.techdirt.com/feed/

Litera Relaunches Its Brand Around a Unified Vision: One AI Agent Spanning the Practice and Business of Law

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 12:01:14 +0000

Litera, one of the most broadly deployed technology companies in the legal industry, is today unveiling a company-wide relaunch that positions it as the legal AI platform unifying the practice and business of law through one AI agent and one dataset. The relaunch — going live today at litera.com — includes a new brand identity, […]

Source feed: https://www.lawnext.com/feed

Litera ‘Relaunches’ With One Agent to Rule the Platform

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 12:00:03 +0000

Legal tech legend, Litera, has ‘relaunched’ itself with its Lito agent as the principal point of focus, offering the ability to tap both its business ...

Source feed: https://www.artificiallawyer.com/feed/

Anthony Albanese says he wants to do AI 'the Australian way' – video

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 10:24:56 +0000

For months, artists and activists have been calling on the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, to act on the AI boom as datacentres pop up around the country. Today he made a major speech at the University of Sydney addressing copyright, the regulation of datacentres and the future of AI in Australia'Not up for grabs': Albanese establishes AI office and vows to protect Australian creatives from copyright 'theft' Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

Meet Amazon Quick For Legal

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 09:57:59 +0000

Just when you wondered who else among the tech giants would cover legal, it turns out that the ‘Everything Store’ has an ‘Amazon Quick For ...

Source feed: https://www.artificiallawyer.com/feed/

‘Not up for grabs’: Albanese establishes AI office and vows to protect Australian creatives from copyright ‘theft’

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 06:18:06 +0000

PM lays out plan for datacentre development and rejects prospect tech companies will be given free use of Australian dataFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAnthony Albanese has promised “the strongest possible protection” for Australian creatives against misuse of their work by artificial intelligence models, warning it would be “theft” if writers, artists and musicians didn’t have control of their work or receive payment for its use.Amid growing community concern about large energy-intensive datacentres, the federal government will also set strict new rules for the facilities, including where they can be built, that they shouldn’t compete for land with housing, their power and water use, and that they don’t increase electricity prices for consumers. Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

Google and Epic give up fighting — third-party Android app stores are coming next week

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 03:28:53 +0000

Epic Games and Google have just jointly withdrawn their attempt to retroactively settle the lawsuit that's changing how Android app stores work in the United States - and that means Google will be forced to carry rival app stores inside of its own. In fact, Google tells the court, it's ready to begin carrying third-party […]

Source feed: https://www.theverge.com/rss/index.xml

Meta used AI to tag workers who took leave to be laid off, lawsuit claims

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 23:36:20 +0000

Lawsuit filed by dozens of employees says people who took maternity or disability leave were disproportionately selected for layoffsDozens of Meta employees have sued the social media company over claims that it used artificial intelligence tools to tag workers for mass layoffs. The workers allege that those AI tools targeted them after they asked for protected or maternity leave or disability accommodation.The lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court in the northern district of California, points to Meta’s workforce reduction of about 8,000 employees earlier this year. Meta is the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The suit alleges that Meta used a “constellation of internal artificial intelligence systems”, including AI performance ratings and keystroke- and activity-monitoring data, to pinpoint who to lay off. Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

UK 16- and 17-year-olds to be encouraged to follow midnight social media curfew

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 21:30:36 +0000

Midnight to 6am block on some apps is latest stage of Labour’s bid to protect young people from online harmsSixteen and 17-year-olds are to be encouraged to observe a midnight social media curfew, in the latest stage of Labour’s bid “to protect the next generation” from online harms, including poor sleep caused by night-time scrolling.From next spring, Britain’s oldest children will be urged to refrain from using certain apps with a midnight to 6am block being switched on by default. But the curfew will not be mandatory and can be overridden. The move is an extension of the under-16 social media ban announced last month, which included restrictions on platforms such as Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X. Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

Book publishers sue Google for copyright infringement over Gemini AI training

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 18:16:56 +0000

Group of major publishers accuses the tech giant of ‘one of the most prolific infringements of copyrighted materials in history’A group of major publishers have filed a lawsuit against Google, accusing the company of illegally using millions of copyrighted books to help build its Gemini artificial intelligence models, in “one of the most prolific infringements of copyrighted materials in history”.The case, filed in federal court in New York, has been brought by three publishers – Hachette Book Group, Cengage Learning, and Elsevier – and bestselling American author Scott Turow. Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

OpenAI pushes back on Apple trade secret lawsuit

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 22:07:42 +0000

OpenAI has issued another statement on the lawsuit, this time suggesting it lacks merit.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

OpenAI may announce a ChatGPT smart speaker this year

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 21:26:32 +0000

OpenAI's first device is set to be a smart speaker that lets you talk with ChatGPT, according to a report from Bloomberg. The device apparently won't have a screen, but will use a camera and additional sensors to "understand" your environment. The report comes just days after Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI that accused […]

Source feed: https://www.theverge.com/rss/index.xml

European Court: Apple Can Not Shirk Off its Interoperability Requirements

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 21:14:31 +0000

One of the best bulwarks against monopoly is interoperability—that is making a new product or service work with an existing product or service. Interoperability allows users, and not the manufacturers of their devices or largest player in a market, to decide what application best serves them. Unsurprisingly, companies like Apple have worked hard to resist interoperability requirements. On July 8, the General Court of the European Union (General Court) ruled against Apple in several cases the company brought against the European Commission (joint cases), affirming the company’s obligations under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Apple argued in the cases that it should be exempted from the law’s requirements especially with regards to interoperability on multiple grounds. We applaud the General Court’s decision, and congratulate the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) as well as others who intervened in support of the Commission against Apple's attempt to shirk off its responsibilities, thus ensuring fair competition in European markets. A Positive Development for Europeans This is a clear and substantive win for developers and users in Europe. The stranglehold Apple exerts over its ‘walled garden’ is injurious for developers, users, and researchers alike. By confirming Apple’s obligations under the DMA, the General Court has ensured that developers will be given more choice on where they can publish their apps, and users will have more options to obtain apps which, for whatever reason, Apple dislikes. And researchers will have less roadblocks and hurdles to overcome in their studies of Apple’s OSes, particularly iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. Apple argues that the interoperability requirements will force it to lower the security standards that have led Apple products’ users to trust their devices. While this self-serving logic is not entirely without merit, it is far from the inevitable outcome. Especially with regards to the App Store, users can be given clear, informed choice when leaving the Apple ecosystem to obtain apps elsewhere. While we urge European courts to take Apple’s security concerns seriously, we’ve previously noted that this should not be used as a smokescreen to protect anticompetitive behavior. Interoperability and security are not inherently at odds. When interoperable functionality is worked into the security model of a platform from the ground-up, a proper balance can be struck between two forces that are often falsely framed as naturally conflicting. While Apple OS platforms have not been built this way from the get-go, it is still possible, but takes more time to get it right. Here, the devil is in the implementation details. Apple’s Case Arguments and the Court’s Rebuttal Under the DMA, designation as a ‘gatekeeper’ is reserved for the biggest of Big Tech, companies that provide services deemed essential for businesses to reach end users. Apple is one of only seven companies that meet this designation, along with Alphabet, Amazon, Booking, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft. In its case, Apple argued that Article 6(7) of the DMA, specifying interoperability requirements for gatekeepers aimed at restoring fair competition, is unlawful in light of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (specifically the right to property), and as such its designation as a gatekeeper subject to the requirements is unlawful and should be annulled as a result. In its ruling, the General Court rejected the argument as Article 6(7) does not form the legal basis of the designation. Apple separately argues that the App Store fails to meet the requirements defining a core platform service (CPS), since the various stores (across iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, macOS) do not constitute a single platform. A company’s gatekeeper status relies on it providing a CPS that is an important gateway for business users to reach end users. Here, the implications of the argument are clear: remove service designation as CPSes, remove the gatekeeper status. The court rejected the argument on the basis that “irrespective of the device on which it was available, each of the App Stores was used for the same purpose, namely to intermediate between end users and business users in the distribution of applications and in-app digital content.” Finally, the court rejected as inadmissible Apple’s argument that iMessage should not be classified as a number-independent interpersonal communication service (NIICS) constituting a CPS. This decision rested on the fact that the “classification does not, by itself, produce binding legal effects that bring about a change in Apple’s legal position” since iMessage was not listed as an “important gateway” in the designation decision and therefore was not subject to the DMA obligations. In ruling against Apple in favor of the European Commission, the General Court has set an important precedent in ensuring competitive fairness and openness in the digital marketplace. The landmark effects of the DMA will serve to benefit all Europeans in the choice and freedom it affords them. Despite Big Tech’s legal challenges, these decisions build a strong foundation for a better digital future—a lesson which other regions should learn from and take note.

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Lawsuit claims Meta's layoff decisions were made by AI, not humans

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 20:05:53 +0000

Meta denies using AI to terminate workers with disabilities and medical problems.

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How The Spread Of Local AI Models Makes Copyright Enforcement Harder

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 20:49:25 +0000

The central theme of Walled Culture the book (free digital versions available) is the growing incompatibility between traditional copyright law and the digital, online world. The culmination of that process was the EU Copyright Directive, passed in 2019. The Directive was supposed to be transposed into local laws by 2021, but a year after that deadline, many […]

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New York becomes first state to impose one-year pause on new AI datacenters

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 17:23:51 +0000

Governor Kathy Hochul issues executive order enacting a moratorium on the large, resource-intensive AI facilitiesNew York became the first US state to enact a moratorium on new datacenters on Tuesday.Governor Kathy Hochul issued an executive order mandating a one-year statewide pause on the large facilities used to power artificial intelligence products, which she signed at a mid-morning press conference. Continue reading...

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Don’t Repeat NY’s 3D Printing Blunder

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 19:52:39 +0000

This year the state of New York had the dubious honor of being the first to pass a controversial provision to mandate all 3D printers come with surveillance and censorship. That means not only is there a ticking clock to protect every artist, researcher, engineer, and hobbyist in the state, but there is a real risk of other states thoughtlessly following suit—prior to the New York rules even taking effect. We, along with many other experts, already warned about this bill buried in the state’s crowded budget process. Hundreds of our supporters and 3D printing enthusiasts in New York reached out to their representatives hoping to kill this farcical bill. While there were some welcome amendments in response to the outcry, Albany passed it anyway. It might be well-intentioned, but bills like these sell a fantasy that can only have an untold negative impact on the privacy, free expression, and consumer rights of anyone using these general purpose devices. Behind the banner of reducing gun violence, which is nearly always committed with commercial firearms, New York lawmakers have passed draconian legislation that will let manufacturers lock in users and collect their data. Now that the bill has passed and been signed by Governor Hochul, let’s look at two important ways the final legislation changed since we last wrote about it, and why states like California shouldn’t make the same mistake. Reduced Risk for Lawful File Sharing The New York bill includes language that criminalizes access to firearm print files, a proposal correctly dropped by states like Colorado due to First Amendment concerns. While this made it through to the passed legislation, a few wins were still gained. Originally the legislation threatened felony charges for the storing and sharing of files, potentially impacting researchers, artists, and journalists with no intention of printing a firearm component. These charges were downgraded to a Class A misdemeanor. Two provisions criminalized file sharing. The first of the two provisions criminalizing this file sharing, which pertains to the sale or distribution of files in the state, gained an important exception for when a sender has a reasonable belief that the recipient won’t illegally print these components. However the second provision, pertaining to criminalizing file possession, complicates this. Under 2.12 of the subpart, people who possess the file with intent to share the files do not clearly get this same reasonable belief exception. In other words, if you share one of these files the actual sharing is covered by the exception, but the law makes it ambiguous whether possessing those same files is covered when you intend to share them. While this exception could have created some breathing room for researchers and journalists operating in good faith, this slapdash bill language leaves plenty of ambiguity and potential speech-chilling effects. However, these changes do offer a modicum of harm reduction in this unconstitutional law. Saving Face by Preserving Online Sale Originally the bill had a strange requirement for all 3D printers and Computer Numerical Control, or CNC, machines to be sold and delivered face-to-face, with no exception. That would have meant a major barrier to access, particularly for people in agricultural and rural areas of the state who uniquely benefit from in-home fabrication and repair. It also would have meant a major inconvenience for businesses using these devices. For everyone though, it meant fewer retailers to choose from and facing more stigma for using these devices. Fortunately this was dropped from the bill entirely. Next Step: We Find Out What Was Actually Passed In addition to being buried in the complicated legislative process of the NY budget and avoiding proper scrutiny, this bill also kicked the can down the road in determining what exactly is being mandated. In many respects, legislators passed a vibe. We’ll see how the actual law be developed over the next year by a working group with no mandated transparency to the public. Further, they have no obligation to ensure consumer safeguards in developing this state-mandated censorware. We are still concerned by the possibility of a biased working group acting in the interest of manufacturers or facing pressure to accept consumer harms in the standards they produce. Our remaining hope is this working group convened by the Department of State and the state university system is composed of actual experts who are aware of how unfeasible and harmful this mandate is, and prevent it from being realized. The Fight Continues New York is the first to go down this path of state-mandated censorship and surveillance software on 3D printers, but it’s far from the only one to entertain it. It is now more urgent that we fiercely oppose this trend in other states, like California, as they attempt to join the bandwagon—before even seeing the real-world impacts. Take action Don’t Let California Repeat NY’s Mistake We cannot allow this to be the foundation for future restrictions on speech and design, or serve as a playbook for the state and corporations to wrest control over our tools.

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AI-First Law Firms Don’t Work Fewer Hours, They Work Smarter Hours

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 19:12:00 +0000

The part everyone skips when discussing AI firms is how much managing the machine actually takes. The post AI-First Law Firms Don’t Work Fewer Hours, They Work Smarter Hours appeared first on Above the Law.

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Google faces another AI training lawsuit from major publishers

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 18:33:31 +0000

Hachette, Cengage, Elsevier, and other publishers allege that Google trained its AI on copyrighted works without the necessary permissions.

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Meta accused of using biased AI targeting for mass layoffs

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 17:18:11 +0000

A group of 26 former Meta employees is suing the company over claims that it used AI tools to unfairly target workers on leave with layoffs, as reported earlier by Reuters. In the lawsuit, the employees allege Meta determined which workers to dismiss based on performance data collected by a "constellation" of internal AI tools, […]

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The prepared judge: How responsible AI use sets the standard

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 15:55:37 +0000

Judges who engage thoughtfully with AI don't just work more efficiently, they model the careful, accountable use that the legal system needs.

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Legal Operations Was Built For The AI Era

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 15:32:00 +0000

The technology is different, but the conversations aren't. The post Legal Operations Was Built For The AI Era appeared first on Above the Law.

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New York bans data center construction for a year, rattling AI industry

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 15:06:28 +0000

New York’s data center moratorium may become the blueprint for anti-AI movement.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

Ed Husic says weakening copyright to benefit AI companies would betray Labor party’s ethos

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 05:40:52 +0000

Labor MP says ‘a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work’ was a founding principle of the ALP as media union calls for tougher new rules on AI use of creative workFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Labor MP Ed Husic says any moves to water down copyright law to benefit AI companies would be “going against the ethos” of the party and undermining the principle of “a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work”.Husic also urged his colleagues to place stricter rules on the big tech firms or be “doomed to failure”. Continue reading...

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Former Mayo Clinic Leader Sues System Over Alleged AI Cover-Up: 6 Things To Know

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 14:03:00 +0000

A former Mayo Clinic research director claims she was silenced, demoted, and ultimately fired for sounding the alarm on AI safety and patient privacy lapses at the health system. Traci Tamiko Eto is now suing Mayo for retaliation. The post Former Mayo Clinic Leader Sues System Over Alleged AI Cover-Up: 6 Things To Know appeared first on Above the Law.

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Sam Altman didn’t need another lawsuit

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 14:01:07 +0000

OpenAI has spent the better part of the year involved in lawsuit after lawsuit, including one from the world's richest man. But last Friday, the company was hit with one of the highest-profile legal actions yet - from Apple. OpenAI's expensive hardware bet is what's on the line. Apple's lawsuit against OpenAI, filed in Northern […]

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Chris Cartrett to Step Down as CEO of Aderant, Departing Legal Tech to Lead Public Safety Software Company; Former CEO Deane Price to Return on Interim Basis

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 14:00:57 +0000

In a major leadership change at one of legal technology’s largest companies, Chris Cartrett will step down as president and CEO of Aderant, effective Aug. 1, the company announced today. He is leaving the legal industry to become chief executive officer of ImageTrend, a provider of software and data analytics for emergency medical services, fire […]

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The feedback paradox: Why AI critique lands differently

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 13:34:04 +0000

AI has unexpectedly revealed that lawyers' resistance to feedback stems not from an inability to receive it, but from interpersonal friction.

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Let’s build a children’s public internet

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 11:00:00 +0000

An increasing number of people seem to agree the internet is terrible for children - allegedly addictive, destructive to self-esteem, possibly a portal to predators. Over the past year, several countries have started requiring stringent age verification or outright bans for minors. At the end of June in the US, the House of Representatives passed […]

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New York becomes the first state to enact a data center moratorium

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000

New hyperscale data centers can't set up shop in New York for up to a year now that Governor Kathy Hochul (D) has signed the nation's first statewide moratorium. But a bill passed by the state legislature that could restrict even more developments still awaits her signature. The order blocks new environmental permits for data […]

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Albanese to compare pivotal moment in AI to renewable energy transition as he outlines approach

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 15:00:50 +0000

Labor sources say the PM will discuss safety concerns in speech this week but will not provide an update on copyright reforms to protect artistsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAnthony Albanese will describe the progress of AI as an inflection point for society on par with the renewable energy transition, but is not expected to detail progress on copyright reforms to protect creative industries.The prime minister will deliver a highly anticipated speech in Sydney on Wednesday to address growing concerns around social licence and the necessary policy guardrails for AI, datacentres and the ability of big tech to profit from Australian intellectual property. Continue reading...

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The loudest warning about AI and jobs yet

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 00:00:37 +0000

200 economists and AI leaders say something big is happening. What should we do about it? Plus: Apple sues OpenAI

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The UK’s New Under-16 Social Media Ban Will Cause More Harm Than It Prevents

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 22:25:08 +0000

Recently, politicians in the UK pushed forward with plans to eviscerate privacy and free speech on the internet by announcing a ban on social media for users under 16 that is set to take effect in Spring 2027.  The UK government continues to falsely characterize this policy as a necessary response to growing concerns about online harms […]

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Apple sues OpenAI after ex-engineer allegedly used bug to steal trade secrets

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 19:17:51 +0000

OpenAI accused of conspiring with former Apple employees to steal trade secrets.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

Percipient Launches Certera.AI, A Blind Head-to-Head Testing Ground for Legal AI, with a Lawyer-Voted Leaderboard On the Way

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 19:02:18 +0000

Which AI models are actually best at legal work? A new platform launched in beta by the alternative legal services provider Percipient aims to answer that question by letting legal professionals put the models to the test themselves, in blind, head-to-head comparisons, and all at no cost. The platform, Certera.AI, lets a user submit a […]

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The wildest allegations in Apple’s trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 18:22:10 +0000

Apple’s trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI contains allegations that range from employees joking about unauthorized access to Apple’s systems to claims that job candidates were asked to bring Apple hardware to interviews. Here are the complaint’s most eye-catching claims.

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Sony Nerfs Videogame Ownership

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 17:30:45 +0000

Legal intern Suzanne Castillo co-authored this post. Playstation’s decision to kill physical game discs is the latest attack on our diminishing rights to access and engage with culture digitally. Rent-seeking corporations and negligent lawmakers share the blame–and they can do better. We’ve seen the same playbook used in the move to digital distribution of film, TV, and music: draw in customers with the convenience of a digital download, then limit physical access and move the goalpost on what it actually means to “own” a piece of media. The end goal is to turn the customer into a renter, stuck making regular subscription payments for access. Gamers are right to sound the alarm, and we must take this moment to fight for digital ownership before it’s too late. Disk Space Invaders Depriving gamers of physical discs leads to another obvious and immediate cost: data. Unlike other digital media like film and TV, video games require a ton of storage. Access to high speed internet is still abysmal in the US, making the high-speeds needed for digital game downloads a luxury some of us may take for granted. For many, a modern game can take days and exceed their data caps. This made physical discs, particularly for the biggest AAA titles, a logical choice that also largely spared gamers from losing traditional ownership rights. With physical disks, the cost of storing the game was included in the purchase. Own or Be Pwned Limiting customers to digital copies also pushes gamers further into rent-only copyright culture. Physical media comes with a "right of first sale," which means you can lawfully share, resell, alter, or destroy your own copy of a copyrighted work. This right has also helped protect the emergence of alternative community servers, and emulator addition of online play to games from the dial up era. But courts have held that digital media doesn't carry the same right, meaning no such protection is afforded to digital purchases. Your ability to freely share games with friends or pass them on to family members becomes totally subject to the whims of the distributor. So, for example, a digital-only approach effectively guts the second-hand market for games. Saving some money with a used game and recouping the costs by reselling are no longer an option. Even with steep discounts and holiday sales, this raises the minimum cost of engaging with the medium at all. The inevitable conclusion of the move to digital-only purchases is to lock gamers into subscription models, making their access totally dependent on the distributor— or, several distributors, as we’ve seen with major TV and movie streamers. A handful of companies actually own the games, and your only option is to regularly pay for fractured libraries of games you may never play and will never truly own. Achievement Locked Since digital games are easy to copy, distributors and publishers argue that they are in an arms race against piracy. The irony is that law-abiding customers consistently suffer collateral damage. Most digital distributors lock down the content they offer with restrictive user agreements and digital rights management (DRM) software. DRM software, in particular, imposes onerous controls on the game — like forcing internet connection for single player games or modifications that harm performance — and can even introduce serious privacy and security concerns. Any gamer or researcher in the US who wants to reduce this burden by removing or modifying that DRM risks a lawsuit, thanks to Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). This federal law makes it illegal to alter DRM software, and is a beloved tool for companies trying to restrict how we can lawfully use our purchases — whether it’s a copy of the newest tractor simulator or a literal tractor. And since much of this DRM is tied to user accounts, ownership of a game is also revocable and modifiable for any number of reasons outside of your control. Error in your subscription payment? Your account got hacked? Licensing deal falls through with a major publisher? Developers want to kill the game in an update? All of this can limit or change your ability to access the game long after your so-called “purchase.” Level-up Ownership Policymakers can and should work to restore our ownership rights for the digital age. That starts with legal protections ensuring that the same rights that apply to physical media apply to digital media. Next up? Reform Section 1201 of the DMCA to clarify that it does not forbid fair uses. At the state level, we need meaningful consumer protections. Some promising models include California’s AB 1921, which would clarify what customers are actually paying for on digital storefronts and ensure some protections for maintaining discontinued games. The gaming industry has done its best to kill the bill, including claiming that private community servers are illegal. If you bought it, you should own it, and EFF will continue working to mitigate some of the worst harms of the DMCA 1201, defending modders, and fighting deceptive licensing that makes culture less free.

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Legal Ethics Roundup: Lawyer ‘Negligence’ For Not Using AI, Cameras At SCOTUS, Law School Laptop Ban & More

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 17:11:26 +0000

Your tour of all things related to lawyer and judicial ethics, with University of Houston law professor Renee Knake Jefferson. The post Legal Ethics Roundup: Lawyer ‘Negligence’ For Not Using AI, Cameras At SCOTUS, Law School Laptop Ban & More appeared first on Above the Law.

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The 6 wildest claims in Apple’s lawsuit against OpenAI

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 17:00:00 +0000

When Apple employees interviewed for jobs at OpenAI, the AI startup's hardware head allegedly asked them to show up with something unusual: components they were working on and unreleased product samples. That's according to a blockbuster lawsuit filed by Apple, which accuses OpenAI of stealing confidential documents, spying on hardware prototypes, and tricking one of […]

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Surprise, Surprise: More Evidence That What You Say To Your Chatbot Isn’t Always Private

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 14:49:33 +0000

Those of us in the legal profession have a responsibility to sound the alarm about what our clients and the public as a whole put in chatbots The post Surprise, Surprise: More Evidence That What You Say To Your Chatbot Isn’t Always Private appeared first on Above the Law.

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Morning Docket: 07.13.26

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 13:25:31 +0000

* Lindsey Graham died over the weekend, removing a key Trump ally from the Judiciary Committee in advance of Todd Blanche's already controversial nomination hearings. [PBS] * Civil rights coalition calls for Senate to reject Blanche. [Ms] * Audit reveals the broken California alternative bar exam process. [ABA Journal] * Judges embark on whistlestop tour to explain the increasing threats against the judiciary. [Washington Post] * DOJ opens investigation into UAW president. If only a working person could invest in Trump's crypto business to get out of it. [WSJ] * Rightful FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter eviscerates Yale over settlement plans. [Yale Daily News] * Apple sues OpenAI claiming trade secret theft. [Law360] * After convincing the Supreme Court to rip up immigration law, the Trump administration went ahead and extended work permits for Haitian refugees upon realizing the economic chaos deportation would cause. [Reuters] The post Morning Docket: 07.13.26 appeared first on Above the Law.

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Uber’s robotaxi lobbying effort puts it on a collision course with Waymo

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 12:30:00 +0000

Washington D.C. has become a battleground for Uber and Waymo's competing views.

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The New York nurses replaced by AI: ‘It should concern every patient who cares about quality of care’

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 12:00:47 +0000

The union for 12 nurses laid off by Montefiore hospital say company broke contract they recently won through a strikeMarilyn Shuler has worked as a utilization review nurse for 39 years at Montefiore hospital in the Bronx in New York City, helping to read patient charts and communicate with insurance companies over coverage.After nearly four decades in her job, Shuler is one of 12 nurses who was laid off Sunday after being replaced with AI-powered software, according to the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), which represents nurses at the hospital. Continue reading...

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Social media limits are coming for teens across Europe

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 09:22:52 +0000

The European Union is weighing sweeping new restrictions on children's and teenagers' access to social media, including age limits, an outright ban, and phased access. Social media platforms could also be forced to prove their services are not harmful before young people are allowed to use them. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said […]

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‘This was a righteous case. A holy war’: the lawyer who took on Meta and Google – and won

Sun, 12 Jul 2026 11:00:16 +0000

When Mark Lanier and his young client Kaley faced the tech giants in an LA courtroom earlier this year, it seemed a bigger battle than David v Goliath. But they scored a landmark victory, proving that the social media giants had created ‘addiction machines’ that harmed mental health. How did they pull it off?When Mark Zuckerberg walked into a Los Angeles courtroom on 18 February flanked by an entourage bedecked in Meta Ray-Bans, some people laughed. If this was an attempt at product placement for the company’s newest range of smart glasses, it was jarringly ill-judged: Zuckerberg was about to testify before a jury in a landmark lawsuit that sought to prove that Instagram and YouTube are addictive by design, and he had passed a throng of bereaved parents on his way into the courthouse. But the prosecution team, led by Mark Lanier, were not laughing.This was a serious trial. For the first time, the most powerful names in social media were being held to account for the inherent design of their platforms, rather than the content hosted on them. They were accused of deliberately and maliciously building products that keep children hooked, with disastrous consequences for the mental wellbeing of young people. It was a landmark case – a big tobacco moment for big tech. Continue reading...

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AI companies want to water down Australia’s copyright laws. Artists are outraged, Labor is split

Sat, 11 Jul 2026 20:00:59 +0000

Anthony Albanese will deliver a landmark speech on AI this week as MPs are torn between attracting datacentre investment and protecting the rights of creativesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesWhen Anna Funder stood before a pack of journalists at Parliament House this month, she presented herself not just as a writer but also a “victim of crime”.The Stasiland author was using the analogy to illustrate how technology companies have flagrantly “hoovered up” her literary works for their own profit. Continue reading...

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Safe from AI: which jobs will help you thrive in the future?

Sat, 11 Jul 2026 11:00:47 +0000

Experts say there will still be opportunities ahead in everything from teaching to hotels and the lawEntering the world of work often brings some uncertainty, but now there is another question: how can I AI-proof my career?We asked people from across various industries what they think the impact of AI will be on careers, and which jobs may be less affected. While it is still early days for the tech, many had ideas about how you can best prepare yourself for a successful career in this new world. Continue reading...

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Meta Removes A.I. Feature on Instagram After Days of Backlash

Sat, 11 Jul 2026 12:34:16 +0000

Users and Hollywood agencies raised privacy and copyright concerns about the new tool, Muse Image.

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Pluralistic: Workplace "flexibility" isn't (11 Jul 2026)

Sat, 11 Jul 2026 08:54:28 +0000

Today's links Workplace "flexibility" isn't: What the gig economy calls flexibility is just risk-shifting. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: "Alanya to Alanya"; ToS are the internet's biggest lie; Soviet jokes; Fox rapists v gag orders; GBAO is the future; "Fun Family"; Sacklers get to keep the loot. Upcoming appearances: London, Edinburgh, Sydney, Melbourne, Brighton, London, South Bend. Recent appearances: Where I've been. Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em. Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em. Colophon: All the rest. Workplace "flexibility" isn't (permalink) Here's an irony: the "gig economy" is a statistical black hole. Workers, customers and regulators know very little about the most basic aspects of it: how much workers get paid, for example, or much unpaid time on the clock a worker puts in before they get a job from the app. The reason this is ironic is that the "gig economy" is dominated by a handful of massive, data-driven firms that know the precise, up-to-the-second answer to these questions. The problem is that they won't share the data. Of course, workers and customers have the data, too, but our data is widely diffused, with each worker and each customer only representing a single, infinitesimal pixel in this massive picture. Most of our industry-wide figures about the sector come from painstaking, expensive survey work. The expense and effort involved in conducting this analysis means that the public's understanding of the gig companies' business is fragmentary and thin. But every now and again, we get a flashbulb glimpse of the full picture. One of those glimpses was captured by David Weil, the former labor standards boss at the US Department of Labor. In 2024, the Massachusetts Attorney General sued Uber over worker misclassification, with Weil serving as an expert witness, who was able to access the raw data on Uber's business operations. In a new American Prospect longread called "The Dangerous Myth of Flexibility," Weil builds on the public record developed in the case to demolish the central myth of the gigwork companies: that they enter into a mutually beneficial arrangement with their workers by offering "flexibility" that lets workers "choose work that fits the rhythms of their lives, not the other way around": https://prospect.org/2026/07/09/dangerous-myth-of-flexibility-uber-lyft-gig-economy/ This quote comes from Tony West, the Uber executive who has led the company's efforts to formalize its worker misclassification program, notably California's Prop 22, a $225m statewide campaign that overturned the state's landmark gig work standards. West is also Kamala Harris's brother-in-law, and he served as her campaign's corporate liaison, senior strategist and economic policy advisor. On its face, West's statement sounds reasonable, and most of us have heard a version of it, possibly even from an Uber driver. But what Uber calls "flexibility" is really a way for the company to offload its operational risks onto its drivers. Anyone who runs a business has to manage a key operational risk: staffing levels. A restaurateur who doesn't schedule enough cooks, bussers and servers might have to turn away business at the door if there's a rush. But if the restaurateur schedules too many people for a shift, they'll end up paying for those workers to stand around scrolling Tiktok. In America, Congress and state legislatures have created a system that allows restaurateurs to transfer this risk onto their employees: the "tipped minimum wage." Federally, the minimum wage for tipped employees is only $2.13/hour, with the caveat that employees are obliged to "top up" their workers' pay if the tips from their shift don't add up to $7.25/hour. So if you work five hours and don't wait on a single table, your boss has to pay you $36.25 ($7.25/hour * 5 hours). But if you have a busy shift and you make $40 in tips, your boss only has to pay you $10.65 ($2.13 * 5 – the tipped minimum). This is a transfer of risk from bosses to workers. The boss can schedule extra servers and offload most of their wages to diners who come through the doors. If your boss overestimates the amount of business, much of the cost of that miscalculation comes out of your paycheck. This is quite a sweet deal for bosses. After all, servers have virtually no control over the amount of business a restaurant attracts. It's the boss, not the server, who decides where the restaurant will be, which hours it will keep, which food it will serve, how much the food costs, what advertisements to run, and where and when to run them. The boss controls the decor, staff attire and the music. They make the decisions, and workers pay the price if they decide poorly. For most businesses, workers are less exposed to risks from their boss's strategic errors. If your boss screws up, you might see a lower annual bonus, or take a career hit thanks to the bad company's presence on your CV. Of course, if your boss really messes up they might lay you off or go out of business altogether, but it's a rare business that gets to externalize its risks onto its workers on a shift-by-shift basis the way restaurants get to. But as sweet as restaurateurs have it, that's nothing compared to the incredible deal that gig platforms get. Companies like Uber and Lyft get to shift nearly all their risk to their workers, and then insist that they're doing workers a favor by offering them "flexibility." Like a restaurateur, Uber and Lyft control all the mechanisms by which the number of riders is set. They decide how to advertise and how to price their rides. When a driver signs on and makes themselves available – at no charge – to Uber, it is the company's actions, not the driver's, that determine whether that driver gets a job, and how much they'll get paid. Uber and Lyft claim that drivers have control, too – when (if) they're offered a job, they get to decide whether to take it. This is true, but it's more complicated than that. Drivers get about 15 seconds (!) to decide whether to accept a job, which means they have 15 seconds to calculate the mileage and time-based rate on offer, all while operating a vehicle in traffic. Drivers who accept lowball offers risk having their base pay permanently eroded through "algorithmic wage discrimination," which is when the gig platforms infer that workers who accept very low wages are economically desperate and can be offered even lower wages in the future: https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/12/algorithmic-wage-discrimination/#fishers-of-men But workers can't simply refuse offers and wait for the wage on offer to increase. That increase may happen, but if a driver is too picky, the platform will punish them for turning down too many offers by excluding them from future opportunities. If this happens often enough, the driver may end up broke enough to start accepting those lowballs, triggering the inexorable downward trajectory of their expected earnings. This is "flexibility," but mostly it's flexibility for Uber, not for drivers. Uber controls when a driver gets paid, and they control the data about that payment. This allows Uber to claim to be paying well north of minimum wage, while drivers average less than $2.50/hour. Uber exploits its information asymmetry to publish only the numerator (the amount a driver makes when a passenger is in the car) while hiding the denominator (how many hours it takes for Uber to put a passenger in that car): https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/29/geometry-hates-uber/#toronto-the-gullible Uber has perfected a system of algorithmic pricing that allows it to dangle just enough money in front of drivers to maximize their number on the road, irrespective of how many riders are looking for cars. The fact that they have all the information (while drivers have none) allows them to extract vast amounts of totally unpaid labor from those drivers. And then, once a passenger gets in the car, Uber's informational systems let it pay that driver the absolute minimum they will accept for the ride. Of course, it works the same way for passengers, each of whom is offered a different price for the same rides, based on the company's surveillance data and its realtime calculations about how much the rider is willing to pay. When Uber launched, driver pay and passenger fares were linked (the same way a server's tips and the cost of a meal are linked). Today, these are fully decoupled. Uber runs a kind of cod-Marxist operation where workers are paid according to their desperation, and passengers are gouged according to their ability to pay: https://pluralistic.net/2025/01/11/socialism-for-the-wealthy/#rugged-individualism-for-the-poor This works so well (for Uber) that Uber has launched a side hustle selling algorithmic pricing and algorithmic wage discrimination systems to companies in other sectors, so expect this arrangement to infect ever-wider swathes of the economy: https://investor.uber.com/news-events/news/press-release-details/2025/Uber-Expands-AI-Data-Platform-to-Power-Next-Gen-Enterprise-and-AI-Lab-Needs/default.aspx (And this is neither here nor there, but holy shit, is Uber's investor relations site seriously serving ASPX pages in 2026?! Hey Khosrowshahi, the DOJ called and it wants its Clinton-era antitrust evidence back!) Back to algorithmic pricing: this opaque, take-it-or-leave-it algorithmic pricing arrangement sets Uber apart from other platforms where sellers offer temporary use of their property to buyers. As Weil writes, at least Airbnb hosts get to override the nightly rate suggested by the platform (though I'd add that the platforms will downrank and bury people who resist their suggestions). As Weil points out, even if Uber had to pay the minimum wage and assume other operational risks associated with running a business, they'd still have access to these algorithmic tools, albeit with different parameters. Rather than setting the wage floor for drivers at $0/hour, they'd have to pay $7.25/hour (the federal minimum wage, or more, depending on the state). This would force the company to refuse shifts to drivers when there were enough workers on the road to handle demand, but drivers would benefit from this arrangement – rather than driving around for a shift, burning gas and putting wear on your car without getting paid, Uber would just tell you to stay home. Uber could try to offload those risks onto passengers, but remember, Uber is already charging riders a personalized price based on massive troves of surveillance data that is continuously re-analyzed to guess the largest sum you're willing to pay for any given ride. You're already paying the highest price Uber can set for you, in other words. Weil has been in many forums – including that Massachusetts courtroom – where Uber touted its "flexibility" as a benefit to drivers. But as he shows, Uber could offer all the same flexibility to drivers without the downside risk of driving around for hours without earning a dime. Sure, forcing Uber and Lyft to extend rights and protections that every employee gets would raise their costs – but "the same is true for any company having to comply with employment law and work protections." Outside of the US, these companies are being forced to shift the risk from their workers' backs to their own balance sheets. As Weil writes, the UN's International Labor Organization has set binding labor standards for gig companies, called Convention 193, "Decent Work in the Platform Economy": https://onlabor.org/a-win-for-platform-workers-ilo-convention-no-193/ The US government is pulling out all the stops to prevent these standards from being applied to US gig companies, even abroad. Trump's labor boss Keith Sonderling told the world that the US government "will not sit on the sidelines while some foreign governments push to hamper American innovation in the gig economy worldwide": https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/3435961/america-must-lead-gig-economy/ But, as Weil says, this isn't about innovation, flexibility or AI. It's about gig companies changing the distributional outcome of whole sectors, to shift money from workers to investors. The rest of the world has its own ideas. In Switzerland, the Supreme Court found that gig companies' businesses were illegal and ordered them to extend normal labor protections to gig workers. Naturally, the gig companies just ignored the law and continued to screw those workers. Gig workers, as noted, are diffused. They don't work in the same place. They have no way to find out who else works for the same boss as they do. The same factors that keep us from gathering stats on gig work also keeps gig workers from comparing notes on how they're getting shafted. What's a labor organizer to do? The Swiss labor union Syndicom came up with an ingenious solution. They partnered with a popular, pro-union pizza restaurant, listed it on the delivery platforms, and then placed orders for tons of pizzas through the scofflaw food-delivery platforms. They transformed the pizzeria into a pop-up union labor hub, and had an organizing conversation with every rider the company dispatched to the restaurant: https://vimeo.com/1203473793 This is deliciously ingenious, and the labor organizing need not stop there. Companies like Para have shown how, by jailbreaking the apps used by gig workers, they can allow those workers to comparison shop for the best wage. Rather than getting 15 seconds while navigating traffic to decide whether a job is worth taking, drivers and riders could use a "counter-app" that evaluates all the offers on all the platforms and coordinates with other workers to mass-reject lowball offers: https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/07/hr-4193/#boss-app The only problem is the "anticircumvention" laws that criminalize this kind of reverse-engineering and modifications of apps. These laws make it a literal crime to change how an app running on your own phone works. These laws were invented in America, with 1998's Digital Millennium Copyright Act, but in the ensuing years, the US Trade Rep has used the threat of tariffs to force every country in the world to adopt their own anticircumvention laws. By caving into US bullying, all of America's trading partners have left their workers and consumers vulnerable to technological surveillance, manipulation and price-gouging, to the great benefit of the US tech companies that have fused with the Trump regime. This is the hidden silver lining to Trump's lunatic tariffs: they take away the threat that kept all those US-protecting foreign IP laws in force. When someone threatens to burn your house down unless you do as you're told, and then they burn your house down anyway, you really don't have to keep complying: https://pluralistic.net/2026/01/01/39c3/#the-new-coalition The possibilities for counterapps in gig work are endless. In Indonesia, gig rider co-ops commission "Tuyul" apps that mod their dispatch apps in ways small (upsizing the font) and large (spoofing the GPS): https://pluralistic.net/2021/07/08/tuyul-apps/#gojek In his article, Weil cites a study showing that customers for gig apps tend not to comparison shop – once you choose your default taxi-hailing app, that becomes your go-to. But with counter-apps, your default could be a price-comparison app that bids out your job to all the platforms and chooses the cheapest one, forcing the gig companies to compete with each other: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5729723 The platforms like to pitch themselves as "frictionless," but the reality is that they don't reduce friction so much as reallocate it. Because they control the technology, because the law makes it a literal crime to wrestle that control away, they can shift all the friction from their side of the ledger to yours, whether you're a worker or a customer: https://pluralistic.net/2025/08/23/become-unoptimizable/#downward-redistribution Tony West isn't lying when he says Uber values flexibility – they value their flexibility, which arises out of the constraints (technical, legal) they impose on us: the drivers and passengers. Hey look at this (permalink) Farmers Finally Get a John Deere Right to Repair Agreement That Doesn’t Screw Them Over https://www.404media.co/farmers-finally-get-a-john-deere-right-to-repair-agreement-that-doesnt-screw-them-over/ Stuff of Legends https://store.warlordgames.com/products/stuff-of-legends Revenue is just an agreement between friends https://www.larp.website/ Brown Professor Suspects Most of His Class Used AI to Cheat https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty/learning-assessment/2026/07/08/brown-professor-suspects-most-his-class-used-ai-cheat Google's new remote attestation scheme is every bit as terrible as its old remote attestation scheme https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/07/googles-new-remote-attestation-scheme-every-bit-terrible-its-old-remote Object permanence (permalink) #20yrsago Alanya to Alanya: feminist science fiction adventure https://memex.craphound.com/2006/07/12/alanya-to-alanya-feminist-science-fiction-adventure/ #20yrsago Soviet jokes https://web.archive.org/web/20060708144926/http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=7412 #10yrsago Empirical proof that Terms of Service are “the biggest lie on the Internet” https://web.archive.org/web/20160712233511/https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/07/nobody-reads-tos-agreements-even-ones-that-demand-first-born-as-payment/ #10yrsago Fox’s employee contracts may mean Gretchen Carlson will never get her day in court https://web.archive.org/web/20160712123858/https://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/07/11/3797060/dirty-trick-fox-news-using-undercut-gretchen-carlsons-sexual-harassment-suit/ #10yrsago To see the future, visit the most remote areas of the GBAO https://medium.com/studio-d/6-1-glimpses-of-the-future-e3fdb510dcc1#.iwyo4x141 #10yrsago Benjamin Frisch’s “Fun Family”: good old American narcissism https://memex.craphound.com/2016/07/12/benjamin-frischs-fun-family-good-old-american-narcissism/ #5yrsago The Sacklers will get to keep billions https://pluralistic.net/2021/07/12/monopolist-solidarity/#sacklers-billions Upcoming appearances (permalink) London: Idler Festival, Jul 11 https://www.idler.co.uk/festival/ Edinburgh International Book Festival with Jimmy Wales, Aug 17 https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/events/the-front-list-cory-doctorow-and-jimmy-wales Sydney: The Festival of Dangerous Ideas, Aug 23-24 https://festivalofdangerousideas.com/cory-doctorow/ Melbourne: Enshittification at the Wheeler Centre, Aug 25 https://www.wheelercentre.com/events-tickets/season-2026/cory-doctorow-enshittification Brighton: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI with Carole Cadwalladr (Brighton Dome), Sep 8 https://brightondome.org/whats-on/LSC-cory-doctorow-the-reverse-centaurs-guide-to-life-after-ai/ London: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI with Riley Quinn (Foyle's Picadilly), Sep 9 https://www.foyles.co.uk/events/enshittification-cory-doctorow-riley-quinn South Bend: An Evening With Cory Doctorow (Notre Dame), Oct 6 https://franco.nd.edu/events/2026/10/06/an-evening-with-cory-doctorow/ Recent appearances (permalink) You Bought it, They Break It (What Now? with Trevor Noah) https://www.podbean.com/media/share/dir-ir36t-2f4a1ac6 Can AI be Saved From Capitalism? (Everyday Anarchism) https://www.everydayanarchism.com/192-can-ai-be-saved-from-capitalism-cory-doctorow/ Lawfare Daily https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1KIwaYRs1g How to Think About AI (Organized Money) https://www.organizedmoney.fm/p/how-to-think-about-ai-with-cory-doctorow Breaking Points https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJmUbkRqXeE Latest books (permalink) "The Reverse-Centaur's Guide to AI," a short book about being a better AI critic, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, June 2026 https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374621568/thereversecentaursguidetolifeafterai/ "Canny Valley": A limited edition collection of the collages I create for Pluralistic, self-published, September 2025 https://pluralistic.net/2025/09/04/illustrious/#chairman-bruce "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, October 7 2025 https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/ "Picks and Shovels": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about the heroic era of the PC, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2025 (https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865908/picksandshovels). "The Bezzle": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about prison-tech and other grifts, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2024 (thebezzle.org). "The Lost Cause:" a solarpunk novel of hope in the climate emergency, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), November 2023 (http://lost-cause.org). "The Internet Con": A nonfiction book about interoperability and Big Tech (Verso) September 2023 (http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org). Signed copies at Book Soup (https://www.booksoup.com/book/9781804291245). "Red Team Blues": "A grabby, compulsive thriller that will leave you knowing more about how the world works than you did before." Tor Books http://redteamblues.com. "Chokepoint Capitalism: How to Beat Big Tech, Tame Big Content, and Get Artists Paid, with Rebecca Giblin", on how to unrig the markets for creative labor, Beacon Press/Scribe 2022 https://chokepointcapitalism.com Upcoming books (permalink) "The Post-American Internet," a geopolitical sequel of sorts to Enshittification, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2027 "Unauthorized Bread": a middle-grades graphic novel adapted from my novella about refugees, toasters and DRM, FirstSecond, April 20, 2027 "Enshittification, Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It" (the graphic novel), Firstsecond, 2027 "The Memex Method," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2027 Colophon (permalink) Today's top sources: Currently writing: "The Post-American Internet," a sequel to "Enshittification," about the better world the rest of us get to have now that Trump has torched America. Fourth draft completed. Submitted to editor. A Little Brother short story about DIY insulin PLANNING This work – excluding any serialized fiction – is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. That means you can use it any way you like, including commercially, provided that you attribute it to me, Cory Doctorow, and include a link to pluralistic.net. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Quotations and images are not included in this license; they are included either under a limitation or exception to copyright, or on the basis of a separate license. Please exercise caution. How to get Pluralistic: Blog (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): Pluralistic.net Newsletter (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://pluralistic.net/plura-list Mastodon (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic Bluesky (no ads, possible tracking and data-collection): https://bsky.app/profile/doctorow.pluralistic.net Medium (no ads, paywalled): https://doctorow.medium.com/ Tumblr (mass-scale, unrestricted, third-party surveillance and advertising): https://mostlysignssomeportents.tumblr.com/tagged/pluralistic "When life gives you SARS, you make sarsaparilla" -Joey "Accordion Guy" DeVilla READ CAREFULLY: By reading this, you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies ("BOGUS AGREEMENTS") that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer. ISSN: 3066-764X

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Phia accused of ‘cookie stuffing,’ taking affiliate credit on purchases it didn’t earn

Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:29:25 +0000

Phia, the shopping startup founded by Bill Gates’ daughter, Phoebe, and her friend, Sophia Kianni, is under fire for a practice known as “cookie stuffing,” which helped the product receive commissions and credit for sales it did not actually generate, per a Bloomberg investigation.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

No, Flock isn’t threatening people for debating surveillance

Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:10:38 +0000

On Thursday, the Instagram account for a lecture series in Newport Beach, CA posted a photo of what appeared to be a cease and desist letter from the surveillance technology company Flock Safety. Flock has received significant backlash over its technology and work with law enforcement agencies, and this letter kicked off yet another wave […]

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Increased drone surveillance of illegal July 4th fireworks led to $100K fine

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 22:37:22 +0000

More police and firefighters use drones to catch and deter illegal fireworks.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

Apple sues OpenAI, its employees claiming theft of trade secrets

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 22:54:16 +0000

Apple said in a Friday lawsuit that OpenAI’s nascent hardware business is “rotten to its core.”

Source feed: https://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/technology/rss.xml

The FCC is cracking down on DJI tech that dodged the foreign drone ban

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 22:35:18 +0000

Last year, we told you about Xtra, the company that lets DJI sneak its popular cameras into the US, and Skyrover, a brand seemingly selling DJI drones in disguise. They're just two of the many firms DJI is suspected of starting to skirt the United States' foreign drone ban. But it appears the FCC is […]

Source feed: https://www.theverge.com/rss/index.xml

Apple sues OpenAI, alleging artificial intelligence company stole trade secrets

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 22:33:21 +0000

Suit claims OpenAI poached Apple workers, coaxing them to share confidential material in bid to create hardwareApple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI on Friday alleging the artificial intelligence firm stole company trade secrets in a move to create its own hardware device.The suit claims OpenAI poached Apple employees, coaxing them to hand over confidential material, product designs and other tightly held information. Continue reading...

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Apple sues OpenAI for allegedly stealing hardware secrets

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 21:36:51 +0000

Apple has sued OpenAI, alleging that former employees that now work for the AI company have stolen Apple's trade secrets "for the benefit of OpenAI." In its complaint, Apple alleges that it has uncovered "a pattern of theft of Apple's trade secrets by OpenAI employees who were formerly at Apple," and it names IO Products […]

Source feed: https://www.theverge.com/rss/index.xml

The Death Of Organic Reach On Social: What Lawyers Can Do

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 21:31:00 +0000

Position your law firm as an approachable source of quality information, and showcase your legal expertise. The post The Death Of Organic Reach On Social: What Lawyers Can Do appeared first on Above the Law.

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Apple Sues OpenAI, Accusing It of Stealing Company Secrets

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 21:08:14 +0000

The two companies struck a deal in 2024 to offer A.I. services on Apple devices, but their partnership has soured.

Source feed: https://rss.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/nyt/Technology.xml

‘Adventures In Legal Tech’: You, Too, Can Tame Your ESI. Here’s How.

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 21:04:00 +0000

Law firms and legal departments sit on mountains of electronically stored information. And many have no real system for dealing with it. The post ‘Adventures In Legal Tech’: You, Too, Can Tame Your ESI. Here’s How. appeared first on Above the Law.

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Apple sues OpenAI over alleged trade secret theft

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 20:32:00 +0000

Apple alleges the misconduct was directed by OpenAi's senior leadership, including a long-time former employee.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

Lawyers Do Not Need An AI Ban. They Need An AI Duty Of Care.

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 20:00:00 +0000

Lawyers must remember that ethical responsibility cannot be delegated to software. The post Lawyers Do Not Need An AI Ban. They Need An AI Duty Of Care. appeared first on Above the Law.

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Ransomware negotiator hired to represent victims was working for the attackers

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 19:40:11 +0000

Six years in prison for man who "sold out the very victims he was hired to represent."

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

Filing: College app Fizz accuses VC of sharing confidential startup information with rival Sidechat

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 17:42:36 +0000

Fizz has expanded its lawsuit against rival Sidechat, alleging that a Maveron VC shared its confidential information obtained during a fundraising meeting with the competing startup.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

Small Law Firms Billing More Hours Per Case — The Opposite Of What AI Promised — But At Least They’re Getting Paid!

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 16:12:00 +0000

8am releases its SMB Law Financial Health Report and the impact of AI shines between the lines. The post Small Law Firms Billing More Hours Per Case — The Opposite Of What AI Promised — But At Least They’re Getting Paid! appeared first on Above the Law.

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Disable auto-play and infinite scroll or risk massive fines, EU tells Meta

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 15:46:18 +0000

Digital Services Act may force Meta to make big changes on its platforms.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

Building Our Future Together

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 15:00:03 +0000

In my first weeks as Executive Director of EFF, I’ve been reminded every day how consequential this moment is in determining what kind of future we will have. We are on the edge. What each one of us steps up to do – with our expertise, energy, and resources – will determine whether our future is one of openness, security, and fundamental rights, or one controlled through fear, surveillance, and centralized power. I am proud to take the torch and help lead our EFF community forward at this pivotal time in history. And we need you in the fight. Right now, we are celebrating an important U.S. Supreme Court win in Chatrie v. United States that reaffirmed our right to privacy in our location data and will help curb one flank of supercharged government surveillance. But in another case, the Court overturned 90 years of precedent limiting executive power and rubber-stamped the President’s firing of FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter. The U.S. government also issued a chilling directive to Anthropic to prohibit the company from allowing foreign nationals to access its newest technology – then rescinded it two weeks later. And legislation limiting access to social media is advancing in many places around the world. Each headline is different, but they tell one story: Many of the threats that once seemed hypothetical are now reality, and EFF’s work to ensure technology supports rights, justice, freedom, and innovation for all people has never been more critical. Governments and large corporations possess surveillance capabilities that were unimaginable just a few years ago. Ever greater concentrations of power are shaping speech, creativity, markets, and democratic institutions. Governments are increasingly seeking to control the internet and people’s ability to access information and communicate freely. Our community’s work is fundamental to the future of our countries, our livelihoods, and literally our lives. I am also mindful that the United States marked its 250th anniversary last week and that this week is EFF’s 36th birthday. Anniversaries, like leadership changes, naturally invite reflection on where we are in history and challenge us to look ahead. What does it mean for a democracy, founded in an analog age, to survive in the digital world? It is also an opportunity to ask how our EFF community can be even stronger, so we can help bring more people into the work of making sure technology serves everyone. I began my career in public-interest work in Silicon Valley at the height of the 1990s dotcom boom, working at some of the earliest nonprofit “digital divide” programs that provided community access to computers and the internet, because I have always believed in the power of technology to create greater opportunity for all, not just profit for a few. I have dedicated my career to public interest technology because I am driven to see technology’s promise realized in my lifetime, and there is no other organization in the world that can do more to meet this moment and build a future where technology truly works for people than EFF. These are perilous times. It is also a moment of extraordinary possibility. The future of AI has not been written and we can work together to get it right. We can make sure our laws reflect the needs of the modern digital age. We can build the technologies that empower rather than marginalize communities. For me, the work starts with recognizing that digital rights are not a siloed policy issue. We must fight and win on the digital terrain to organize, speak freely, access healthcare, find work, receive an education, and participate fully in democracy. We can and must reject a false choice between innovation and civil liberties, and build power across movements to make sure technology truly works for people. This challenge is what EFF was purpose-built to tackle. When EFF was founded in 1990, the World Wide Web did not yet exist, cell phones were the size of bricks, and EFF’s founders understood something remarkably prescient: Technology and civil liberties would become inseparable. Now we all live digital lives, and the important digital rights issues that EFF has worked on since 1990 have become kitchen-table issues all around the world. EFF’s founders understood that how technology is built, developed, used, and controlled deeply intersects with rights, justice, freedom, and democracy. EFF’s unique combination of world-class lawyers, activists, and public interest technologists pursue change simultaneously in the courts, legislatures, companies, and our communities, and pierce through false choices. This integrated, intersectional approach, grounded in deep legal, policy, and technical expertise, is a linchpin in fighting and winning against some of the most powerful forces in the world – both governments and trillion-dollar companies. We defend people against unlawful government data collection and challenge license plate and face surveillance in our communities. We shape AI law and policy to protect civil liberties and support creativity and innovation. We push companies to strengthen encryption, fight to ensure you have the right to own what you buy, and build public interest technologies like Privacy Badger and Certbot that millions of people rely on every day. This work matters because it all answers the same question: Will technology empower or control us? As I look ahead, there are major battles on the horizon. We must: Challenge increasingly sophisticated government and corporate surveillance systems that endanger our rights, democracy, safety and security Preserve strong encryption and online anonymity Ensure AI is developed and used in ways that respect fundamental rights and works for those who build it, use it, and are affected by it Confront the concentrations of power that limit access to new creativity and defend the rights of developers to build and innovate To meet these challenges, we must not only utilize the powerful levers of successful litigation, smart policy interventions, and effective public interest technology tools. We must also build a broader movement that recognizes that fights on the digital terrain are integral to all our fights for rights and justice – from civil rights and immigrants’ rights to reproductive rights, disability rights, LGBTQ+ rights, workers' rights, economic justice, and more. Together, our EFF community can help broaden the public conversation about technology's role in society and continue building the collective power necessary to shape the future rather than react to it. I have hit the ground running, working with EFF’s exceptional staff and Board and starting to meet many of you in the broader EFF community. Every conversation has reinforced my confidence that our community is uniquely prepared for the work ahead. I’m looking forward to meeting more of you at my first EFFecting Change livestream on August 12 with Cory Doctorow, and hope this conversation is just the beginning of finding new ways to work together. Please stay tuned for additional in-person events with me around the country this fall. As we celebrate EFF's birthday, I am energized by all the opportunities ahead for us to build on EFF’s strong foundation and make it even mightier. And we need you and others in the fight. Please renew your membership, become a recurring monthly supporter, and introduce someone new to EFF by snagging them a gift membership. Everything we accomplish—every lawsuit, every policy victory, every public interest technology tool, every campaign—is possible because people like you are committed to ensuring technology strengthens freedom, privacy, creativity, and opportunity for everyone. The future we want and need will be built by people and movements working together to ensure technology empowers rather than oppresses. Let’s build that future together.

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Bank of England handed powers to regulate key tech firms including Amazon and Google

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 14:37:13 +0000

Direct oversight of ‘critical third parties’ such as Oracle and Microsoft given to ensure resilient cyber-defences and help safeguard UK economyThe Bank of England has been handed powers to regulate important tech firms including Amazon and Google from next week, amid fears that system failures could threaten financial stability and harm consumers.From Monday, the Bank and fellow City regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will be in charge of ensuring that four large-scale providers of cloud and tech services to banks are resilient and actively reducing the risk of cyber-attacks and major outages that could disrupt services for millions of people and businesses across the UK. Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

EU threatens Meta with fines over addictive features on Facebook and Instagram

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 14:19:40 +0000

The tech giant is in breach of the Digital Services Act by focusing on features like infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and the highly personalized recommendation algorithms, the European Commission said.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

When tools aren’t enough: Why understanding AI evidence metrics is now a courtroom requirement

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 14:14:49 +0000

The lawyers that courts will learn to trust will be the ones who can best explain how their AI tools work and why their results will hold up.

Source feed: https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en-us/posts/feed/

Florida ransomware negotiator convicted for helping ransomware gang extort US companies

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 14:11:03 +0000

A third ransomware negotiator has been jailed for helping a notorious ransomware group extort American victim companies into paying the hackers.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

Meta Ordered by E.U. to Alter ‘Addictive Design’ of Instagram and Facebook

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 10:28:58 +0000

European Union authorities said the company’s use of “addictive design” violated a digital safety law.

Source feed: https://rss.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/nyt/Technology.xml

Automated Moderation Is Here to Stay—Accountability Must Keep Pace

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 13:19:46 +0000

This post is part 2 in a series about automated content moderation. Read the first post here. When whistleblower Frances Haugen leaked a set of documents from Meta in 2020, among the revelations was a jarring statistic: The company’s algorithms designed to detect terrorist content incorrectly deleted nonviolent Arabic-language content 77 percent of the time, while failing to detect hate speech under the company’s own policies in many instances. Meta’s own transparency report released later that year demonstrated similar findings. Five years later, researchers in the region report that overzealous moderation remains a problem, while paths to remedy have all but collapsed. Where these systems are faltering in Arabic, they’re positively failing in less-resourced languages. As a 2025 report from the Center for Democracy and Technology found, labeled datasets in certain languages and dialects such as Maghrebi Arabic and Kiswahili contain inconsistencies, bias, and inaccuracies due to the limited hiring of annotators who actually speak the languages as well as shifts in the languages themselves. An investigation into ChatGPT’s outputs in several low-resource languages demonstrates the depth of problem. But language disparities are just one of several concerns as automated moderation becomes more widespread. From the systemic suppression of content from Palestine to the repeated misclassification of LGBTQ+ content as adult or explicit material, these varied examples demonstrate the risks of overreliance on automated moderation—and the need for stronger safeguards. Transparency, Cultural Competence, Appeals As we discussed in Part 1 of this series, automated systems can process content at a scale that humans never could, potentially enabling better moderation at scale and alleviating the psychological load on ill-paid moderators whose jobs require them to view incredibly disturbing content. But automated systems also reproduce existing biases, struggle to understand context, and often make mistakes that disproportionately affect journalists, activists, artists, and other vulnerable and marginalized communities. As Rachel Griffin wrote in 2023, “Perfectly accurate moderation is not only technically out of reach but intrinsically impossible.” Despite those intrinsic flaws, there is a great deal companies, policymakers, and civil society can do to help ensure that highly-automated systems operate in ways that respect human rights, minimize predictable harms, and provide meaningful accountability when they fail. If companies are going to continue relying on automation to moderate users’ speech—and there is little reason to believe they won’t—then accountability must evolve alongside these technologies. That evolution can start with committing to the Santa Clara Principles 2.0. These principles, first outlined in 2020 and re-launched in 2021 after substantial international input, reflect the needs and expectations of the global community and specifically address automation. The first Foundational Principle states: Companies should ensure that human rights and due process considerations are integrated at all stages of the content moderation process, and should publish information outlining how this integration is made. Companies should only use automated processes to identify or remove content or suspend accounts, whether supplemented by human review or not, when there is sufficiently high confidence in the quality and accuracy of those processes. Companies should also provide users with clear and accessible methods of obtaining support in the event of content and account action. Drawing on the Santa Clara Principles 2.0, international human rights standards, and years of research documenting the shortcomings of automated moderation, we propose eight recommendations for policymakers thinking about regulation and companies deploying AI-assisted content moderation systems. Automated technologies should help, not replace, human moderators. For example, automated systems can help flag and prioritize content for review, while humans can interpret context, handle sensitive cases, and refine system performance. Companies must be transparent about when and how automation is used in content decisions. Companies must regularly audit their automated systems for bias, with particular attention to low-resource languages, vulnerable and marginalized communities, and conflict zones. Users must have the ability to appeal, and to provide context when they believe human or automated moderation decisions have wrongfully removed their content. Appeals should be promptly evaluated and decided by human moderators. Companies should regularly assess the human rights impact of their moderation decisions, and issue public statements of the results If they rely on third-party vendors, companies should carefully (and regularly) audit those vendors for compliance with these same principles Lawmakers should avoid promoting and passing legislation that effectively or explicitly mandates automated moderation systems Policymakers should also refrain from attempting to dictate platforms technical and design choices to favor or disfavor particular expression. These recommendations understand that automated content moderation isn’t just a technical problem for clever engineers and product teams to solve. Because content moderation shapes public discourse and fundamental rights, its design and oversight must respond to the concerns of policymakers, civil society, independent researchers, and the communities most affected by these systems. This is the second post in a 2-part series on automated content moderation. Read the first post here.

Source feed: https://www.eff.org/rss/updates.xml

UChicago Law Bans Laptops from 1L Classrooms As Part of Sweeping New AI Strategy for Legal Education

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 13:06:29 +0000

The University of Chicago Law School yesterday released a comprehensive AI Strategy Statement that will reshape how it teaches first-year students, how it assesses upper-level writing, and how it integrates AI tools across its curriculum — including a pilot program that will prohibit laptops, tablets and phones in all core 1L classes starting this fall. […]

Source feed: https://www.lawnext.com/feed

FTC Strikes Settlement With John Deere On ‘Right To Repair’

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 12:22:41 +0000

To be clear, the FTC under Donald Trump and new boss Andrew Ferguson has been a dangerous embarrassment. Whether it’s the firing of both Democratic Commissioners, the politically motivated investigations, the extremist attacks on trans people, the agency’s useless attacks on porn, or its efforts to undermine free speech, the Trump FTC has largely been […]

Source feed: https://www.techdirt.com/feed/

EU threatens Meta with fines over 'addictive' Facebook and Instagram

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 12:02:40 +0000

Regulators say features such as infinite scroll contribute to "compulsive use" and "unhealthy habits".

Source feed: https://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/technology/rss.xml

EU accuses Meta of failing to tackle mental health risks of ‘addictive design’

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 11:38:29 +0000

Regulators say Facebook and Instagram features such as autoplay and infinite scroll contribute to ‘compulsive use’EU regulators have accused Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, of failing to tackle the risks of its “addictive design” on the physical and mental health of users.In an official charge sheet against Meta released on Friday, the European Commission said features such as video autoplay and infinite scroll, which provides an endless stream of content, “shift the brain into autopilot mode, contributing to unhealthy habits and compulsive use”. Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

AI Surveillance and Social Progress

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 11:02:04 +0000

In the near future, AI-powered surveillance systems will be able to track everything we do in public, and much of what we do in private. And if we do something wrong—shoplift, litter, jaywalk, you name it—the system will notice, retain it, tie it to your official government record, communicate that fact to you, and provide real-time alerts to any relevant authorities… and maybe also to the general public. Think of these systems as automated speed cameras, but on steroids. Only they’ll enforce not just speed limits, but any other rule you can imagine. And you won’t receive a ticket weeks later by mail; you’ll be informed about and fined for your violation immediately...

Source feed: https://www.schneier.com/feed/

Instagram and Facebook will likely require a redesign after EU rules they’re ‘addictive’

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 10:52:53 +0000

Meta is in breach of the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), a preliminary investigation has found, over the "addictive" design of Instagram and Facebook. It's likely to be forced to redesign both apps and could face a fine of up to $12 billion. The European Commission said Meta "did not adequately assess the risks of […]

Source feed: https://www.theverge.com/rss/index.xml

Alarm over launch of facial recognition in UK shops that instantly alerts police

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 10:19:41 +0000

Civil liberties groups say Facewatch system in stores such as Sainsbury’s and B&M is ‘dangerous escalation’Facial recognition technology in shops will soon alert police in real time to the presence of serious offenders, with civil liberties groups warning of a “dangerous escalation” towards surveillance and criminalisation in the retail sector.Facewatch, a facial recognition system used by more than 100 businesses including Sainsbury’s, B&M and Spar to monitor thieves, said it was launching a UK-first feature to “alert police instantly when the most serious offenders trigger a live facial recognition match”. Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

Big tech must deal with scam ads under Ofcom proposals

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 09:59:19 +0000

Ofcom says more than half of UK adults have encountered potentially fraudulent ads online.

Source feed: https://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/technology/rss.xml

Pluralistic: "Rights for robots" and the AI slavery fantasy (10 Jul 2026)

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 09:52:06 +0000

Today's links "Rights for robots" and the AI slavery fantasy: When we were robots in Egypt… Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Awkward questions for the entertainment industry; ISP v record label death penalty; Coming out on Splash Mountain; Negative Swiss bond yields; Are We Having Fun Yet? Upcoming appearances: London, Edinburgh, Sydney, Melbourne, Brighton, London, South Bend. Recent appearances: Where I've been. Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em. Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em. Colophon: All the rest. "Rights for robots" and the AI slavery fantasy (permalink) While the AI bubble is primarily a material phenomenon (driven by the calculation that bosses are easy marks for a sales pitch that sees them replacing workers with software), there is an inescapable ideological component to it: the desire for a world without people in it: https://pluralistic.net/2026/05/13/vibe-governance/#k-hole If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog: https://pluralistic.net/2026/07/10/posthuman-as-in-no-humans/#hell-is-other-people AI dangles the possibility of a world without ego-shattering confrontations between bosses who tell themselves they're in charge, and the workers who know how to do things and insist on telling bosses that their ideas are dangerous, illegal and/or unworkable: https://pluralistic.net/2026/01/05/fisher-price-steering-wheel/#billionaire-solipsism A world without people might be lonely, but it sure would be convenient. How maddening it must be to invest billions in Amazon warehouse automation, only to have to slow down or (gasp!) stop the machines so that the workers who serve as "humans in the loop" can stop to pee! Isn't there some way we can make that their problem, not ours? https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/06/one-click-to-quit-the-union/#foxglove With AI, the fact that you need to pee – or get paid – does become your problem, rather than your boss's. After the majority of your colleagues have been fired ("because AI will do their jobs"), you become painfully aware that there are plenty of people who need your job, who will happily step in to take it if you complain too much about your bladder or your paycheck. Even better is when the "human in the loop" can be outsourced to a company overseas, which allows bosses to simply set-and-forget a set of requirements for how the human part of the AI's labor is to be done without ever having to meet or even think about those workers' conditions. This is the illusion of full automation, in which the AI does the job "like magic." The "magic"? A human being stuck in AI Omelas, tormented by an algorithm that sets an inhuman pace, demands inhuman perfection, and metes out pitiless punishments for any misstep – or perceived misstep – without appeal or explanation. So often, "AI" stands for "Absent Indians": low-waged call-center workers pretending to be robots: https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/29/pay-no-attention/#to-the-little-man-behind-the-curtain There are many differences between jobs performed by machines and jobs performed by people, of course. But the biggest difference between a machine and a person is moral consideration. A person deserves and demands moral consideration: for their wellbeing, their feelings, even their bladders. A machine gets none of this: you can curse at it, kick it, snap out orders without a "please" or "thank you." There's only one kind of person you get to treat like this: a slave. Slavery is labor without even the pretense of moral consideration. AI, then, isn't just the fantasy of a world without people – it's the fantasy of a world without people…except for slaves. It's the fantasy of a world where the skilled workers who tell you your ideas are stupid are replaced with pliable chatbots who tell you they're brilliant, and then uncomplainingly do the job to your specifications. It's a world where the cab driver who has all kinds of shit going on in their life – health problems, family problems, (especially) money problems – is replaced by a "robo-taxi" that is being overseen and (often) driven by a remote worker you can't talk to or see, whose problems you therefore never need consider. The "AI safety" world is a key piece of the AI hype machine, pulling focus away from the idea that AI has shitty economics, produces substandard goods, and fails to do the jobs it takes from human workers, and shifting that focus to the idea that AI is so powerful that it constitutes an existential risk to the human race. The idea that teaching too many words to the word-guessing program risks creating a "superintelligence" that awakens and converts all into paperclips is absurd, a silly idea akin to the notion that if we breed horses to run ever faster, one of our mares will foal a locomotive. Nevertheless, the elevation of "AI takeoff" from a thought-experiment to an "existential risk" is a powerful marketing tool, because any technology that is indistinguishable from god is also going to be extremely valuable (at least, up to the moment that it turns us all into paperclips): https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/17/fake-it-until-you-dont-make-it/#twenty-one-seconds Once the superintelligence thought-experiment is upgraded to an X-risk, lots of other thought experiments are sucked along in its wake. That's where "rights for robots" comes in, the idea that we should spend time thinking about whether chatbots should have human rights. The best argument for this is that every time we extend rights to the nonhuman world, we end up treating each other better. Movements to extend moral consideration to animals raised uncomfortable questions about the treatment of humans: slaves, workers, poor people, women, children. The Rights for Nature movement, which seeks to extend legal and moral personhood to watersheds and forests, has been key to winning legal and moral victories to protect the environment, and thus the animals and people who depend on it. But while extending rights to natural things produces positive spillovers for human thriving and rights, the opposite happened when we extended personhood to artificial constructs. Corporate personhood has been a catastrophe for human thriving, conjuring into existence a new race of immortal, pluripotent colony organisms we call "limited liability corporations" that use us as disposable, inconvenient gut flora even as they consume our environment, our political system, and our lives: https://pluralistic.net/2026/04/16/pascals-wager/#doomer-challenge There's every reason to think that extending personhood to AI will produce the same outcome as "rights for corporations," which is the opposite of the outcome of "Rights for Nature." Rights for nature come at the expense of corporations. Rights for corporations come at the expense of nature. Humans are part of nature, so we benefit from the former, and suffer under the latter: https://pluralistic.net/2026/04/15/artificial-lifeforms/#moral-consideration But here's the kicker: as soon as you start arguing about whether chatbots have rights, you elevate them to personhood, which means that all those chatbots your boss just bought are people. And because they're the kind of people who don't warrant moral consideration (let alone a please or thank you), they are slaves (hence "rights for robots"). The AI sales pitch relies on convincing bosses that we've invented a new kind of slave – a worker who neither deserves nor demands rights or consideration. "Rights for robots" affirms that sales pitch. "Rights for robots" implies that robots are slaves. Wittingly or unwittingly, the transformation of "rights for robots" from a thought experiment to a campaign is a massive convincer for any AI salesman who's hunting for would-be slavers to sell chatbots to. Hey look at this (permalink) Apple held accountable under the DMA – A victory for developers and computer users! https://fsfe.org/news/2026/news-20260708-01.en.html Over Leveraged https://www.todayintabs.com/p/over-leveraged FCC to end Biden-era rule that forces ISPs to list all their fees https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/07/fcc-to-end-biden-era-rule-that-forces-isps-to-list-all-their-fees/ Connected and Captured https://democracyatwork.substack.com/p/connected-and-captured Locus Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year: Volume 1 https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2040521099/locus-anthology-2025 Object permanence (permalink) #20yrsago Advice for science fiction/fantasy cover artists https://igallo.blogspot.com/2006/07/in-response-to-old-question-what-do-i.html #20yrsago Embarrassing questions for the entertainment industry https://web.archive.org/web/20060719200608/https://www.eff.org/IP/faq/ #20yrsago UK ISP to British recording industry: get lost https://craphound.com/tiscalibpiresponse.txt #20yrsago Felten’s paper on the complexities of Network Neutrality https://web.archive.org/web/20060719095720/https://itpolicy.princeton.edu/pub/neutrality.pdf #15yrsago 3D printed hair-clips inspired by Bruce Sterling’s “Kiosk” https://myriadwhimsies.wordpress.com/2011/07/11/jovanicas-hair-toys-3d-printed-hair-clips/ #10yrsago Teen comes out to her family on Disneyland’s Splash Mountain https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/stephaniemcneal/this-teen-came-out-to-her-family-in-the-most-awesomely-funny#.rlDowJe6 #10yrsago On the bewildering regional names for corner stores https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-do-you-call-the-corner-store #10yrsago Amazon is full of Chinese counterfeits and they’re driving out legit goods https://web.archive.org/web/20160708152442/http://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/08/amazons-chinese-counterfeit-problem-is-getting-worse.html #10yrsago Negative Swiss 50-year bond yields just shattered the global insecurity barometer https://web.archive.org/web/20160708134915/http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/07/07/investors_are_paying_to_lend_switzerland_money_for_50_years_at_a_time.html #10yrsago How can the media regain its credibility in reporting on race in America? https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jul/09/dallas-shooting-racism-and-the-us-media-micah-johnson #10yrsago Flawed police drug-test kits, railroading prosecutors and racism: the police-stop-to-prison pipeline https://www.propublica.org/article/common-roadside-drug-test-routinely-produces-false-positives #10yrsago China bans mentions of newly discovered species of beetle from social media https://globalvoices.org/2016/07/11/a-new-species-of-beetle-named-after-president-xi-is-blacklisted-on-chinese-social-media/ #10yrsago Pokemon Go privacy rules are terrible (just like all your other apps) https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/josephbernstein/heres-all-the-data-pokemon-go-is-collecting-from-your-phone #5yrsago Are we having fun yet? https://pluralistic.net/2021/07/11/are-we-having-fun-yet/ Upcoming appearances (permalink) London: Idler Festival, Jul 11 https://www.idler.co.uk/festival/ Edinburgh International Book Festival with Jimmy Wales, Aug 17 https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/events/the-front-list-cory-doctorow-and-jimmy-wales Sydney: The Festival of Dangerous Ideas, Aug 23-24 https://festivalofdangerousideas.com/cory-doctorow/ Melbourne: Enshittification at the Wheeler Centre, Aug 25 https://www.wheelercentre.com/events-tickets/season-2026/cory-doctorow-enshittification Brighton: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI with Carole Cadwalladr (Brighton Dome), Sep 8 https://brightondome.org/whats-on/LSC-cory-doctorow-the-reverse-centaurs-guide-to-life-after-ai/ London: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI with Riley Quinn (Foyle's Picadilly), Sep 9 https://www.foyles.co.uk/events/enshittification-cory-doctorow-riley-quinn South Bend: An Evening With Cory Doctorow (Notre Dame), Oct 6 https://franco.nd.edu/events/2026/10/06/an-evening-with-cory-doctorow/ Recent appearances (permalink) You Bought it, They Break It (What Now? with Trevor Noah) https://www.podbean.com/media/share/dir-ir36t-2f4a1ac6 Can AI be Saved From Capitalism? (Everyday Anarchism) https://www.everydayanarchism.com/192-can-ai-be-saved-from-capitalism-cory-doctorow/ Lawfare Daily https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1KIwaYRs1g How to Think About AI (Organized Money) https://www.organizedmoney.fm/p/how-to-think-about-ai-with-cory-doctorow Breaking Points https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJmUbkRqXeE Latest books (permalink) "The Reverse-Centaur's Guide to AI," a short book about being a better AI critic, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, June 2026 https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374621568/thereversecentaursguidetolifeafterai/ "Canny Valley": A limited edition collection of the collages I create for Pluralistic, self-published, September 2025 https://pluralistic.net/2025/09/04/illustrious/#chairman-bruce "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, October 7 2025 https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/ "Picks and Shovels": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about the heroic era of the PC, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2025 (https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865908/picksandshovels). "The Bezzle": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about prison-tech and other grifts, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2024 (thebezzle.org). "The Lost Cause:" a solarpunk novel of hope in the climate emergency, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), November 2023 (http://lost-cause.org). "The Internet Con": A nonfiction book about interoperability and Big Tech (Verso) September 2023 (http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org). Signed copies at Book Soup (https://www.booksoup.com/book/9781804291245). "Red Team Blues": "A grabby, compulsive thriller that will leave you knowing more about how the world works than you did before." Tor Books http://redteamblues.com. "Chokepoint Capitalism: How to Beat Big Tech, Tame Big Content, and Get Artists Paid, with Rebecca Giblin", on how to unrig the markets for creative labor, Beacon Press/Scribe 2022 https://chokepointcapitalism.com Upcoming books (permalink) "The Post-American Internet," a geopolitical sequel of sorts to Enshittification, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2027 "Unauthorized Bread": a middle-grades graphic novel adapted from my novella about refugees, toasters and DRM, FirstSecond, April 20, 2027 "Enshittification, Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It" (the graphic novel), Firstsecond, 2027 "The Memex Method," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2027 Colophon (permalink) Today's top sources: Currently writing: "The Post-American Internet," a sequel to "Enshittification," about the better world the rest of us get to have now that Trump has torched America. Fourth draft completed. Submitted to editor. A Little Brother short story about DIY insulin PLANNING This work – excluding any serialized fiction – is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. That means you can use it any way you like, including commercially, provided that you attribute it to me, Cory Doctorow, and include a link to pluralistic.net. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Quotations and images are not included in this license; they are included either under a limitation or exception to copyright, or on the basis of a separate license. Please exercise caution. How to get Pluralistic: Blog (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): Pluralistic.net Newsletter (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://pluralistic.net/plura-list Mastodon (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic Bluesky (no ads, possible tracking and data-collection): https://bsky.app/profile/doctorow.pluralistic.net Medium (no ads, paywalled): https://doctorow.medium.com/ Tumblr (mass-scale, unrestricted, third-party surveillance and advertising): https://mostlysignssomeportents.tumblr.com/tagged/pluralistic "When life gives you SARS, you make sarsaparilla" -Joey "Accordion Guy" DeVilla READ CAREFULLY: By reading this, you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies ("BOGUS AGREEMENTS") that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer. ISSN: 3066-764X

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‘AI accountability agenda’: US senator unveils package of bills to curb tech’s harms

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 09:00:16 +0000

Exclusive: Senator Ed Markey on why he has proposed legislation aimed at curbing datacenters, automated hiring systems and harm to childrenUS senator Ed Markey is worried about the perils of unregulated artificial intelligence.What part? All of it: the costs associated with thirsty, energy-guzzling datacenters, intrusive workplace surveillance, bias in discriminatory algorithms, AI overriding workers’ judgments, and deepening economic inequality – as those who profit most from AI rake in extraordinary windfalls. Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

Donald Trump Doesn’t Understand The Adage About Catching Flies With Honey — See Also

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 23:33:00 +0000

Discovery Really Is The Best Part Of Litigation: ABA wants the deets on the Trump Biglaw executive orders. The World's Best Law Schools: Of course the USA features prominently on this ranking. CSI Agentic: Exterro releases an agentic AI tool for forensics. Courts will take a while to come to grips with this. Born To Lose: Donald Trump asks Supreme Court for big favor by calling them insane. The post Donald Trump Doesn’t Understand The Adage About Catching Flies With Honey — See Also appeared first on Above the Law.

Source feed: https://abovethelaw.com/feed/

Instagram’s AI image generator alarms privacy experts

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 22:15:29 +0000

Instagram users should check privacy settings after rollout of new Meta AI image generator, advocates warnMeta has sparked blowback from privacy advocates for allowing its new AI image maker to generate photos of users with public profiles by default.Users of Meta’s Muse Image AI tool, released Tuesday, can tag public Instagram profiles and generate pictures that pull from faces of people featured in these social media posts. Instagram users aren’t notified when their posts are integrated into what the company describes as its “most advanced image generation model yet”. Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

Lawyers’ Use Of AI Notetakers And Client Conversations: Ethics Rules, Risks, And Best Practices (2026 Update)

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 22:12:00 +0000

Now with guidance from NYC Opinion 1270 on ethical issues related to attorneys using AI transcription, and more. The post Lawyers’ Use Of AI Notetakers And Client Conversations: Ethics Rules, Risks, And Best Practices (2026 Update) appeared first on Above the Law.

Source feed: https://abovethelaw.com/feed/

The House Passed The KIDS Act—The Senate Should Reject It

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 20:58:33 +0000

Last week, the House voted on the KIDS Act, a disjointed package of legislation that seeks to control Americans’ web browsing and private messaging. The package combines a revised version of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), with several other internet bills, study bills, reporting requirements, and new regulations. Different parts of the bill pressure online services to impose different age-gating schemes, using different standards. EFF opposed this bill, along with many of our members and supporters. Take action Tell Congress: no internet age-gates The bill passed the House, 267-117. It now heads to the Senate, where its fate remains uncertain. But this fight is not over. Even if you took our earlier action to contact the House, we need you to reach out to your Senators today. The KIDS Act Will Lead to Mandatory Age Checks Many of the bills in the KIDS Act share the same premise: that children and teenagers should have different experiences online than adults. In practice, that requires websites and apps to determine who is under 18—and who isn’t. That’s where the problems with the KIDS Act start. EFF certainly supports giving all users better privacy and safety tools online. But those protections should not, and do not need to, come at the expense of privacy or free expression. Unfortunately, that’s exactly the tradeoff the KIDS Act makes. There is no way to determine a user’s age online that is both privacy protective and accurate. Some age verification processes may rely on collecting government-issued ID, while others may use biometric scans. Others will use algorithms to guess a user’s age based on facial images or online behavior. But no matter the method, every system demands users hand over sensitive personal information that links their offline identity to their online activity. And then, once that valuable data is collected, it can be leaked, hacked, or misused. In fact, we’ve already seen several breaches of age verification providers. The Bill Still Regulates Online Speech The revised KOSA language within the KIDS Act still pressures companies to police lawful speech online. Platforms must “establish, implement, maintain, and enforce” policies that address content like gambling or the use of alcohol or cannabis. This encourages platforms to broadly restrict speech on these topics, which could include a teen seeking advice on a parent’s gambling problem or searching for substance abuse recovery resources. When platforms are required to create and enforce content moderation policies that regulators can sue them over, they will often err on the side of deleting speech. Protect Privacy For Everyone There is a better way to protect young people online. Instead of encouraging a complicated system of age checks, more monitoring, and more restrictions on access to information, Congress could finally pass a strong, comprehensive privacy law that benefits all users. A great place to start would be to ban behavioral advertising that tracks us across the web—again, for users of all ages. We urge the Senate to oppose the KIDS Act and instead focus on a strong, bipartisan privacy package for all users. Take action Tell the senate to reject the kids act

Source feed: https://www.eff.org/rss/updates.xml

Allstate accuses Broadcom of auditing it because it quit VMware, CA

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 20:28:55 +0000

Broadcom accuses Allstate of dodging VMware audits.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

"We Want Texans to Know Their Rights": Q&A with Mayday Health on the Impact of Surveillance on Abortion Care

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 23:15:59 +0000

Last May, EFF reported that a sheriff’s office in Texas searched data from more than 83,000 automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras to track down a woman suspected of self-managing an abortion. ALPRs are promoted as tools for keeping communities safe by finding missing persons and locating stolen vehicles, but this case showed how ALPRS can be weaponized to investigate people’s private healthcare decisions. And these aren’t the only tools in the surveillance arsenal: others include location tracking tools like Locate X, which can show a person’s visit to an abortion clinic, or search histories which might be used as evidence of a person’s interest in obtaining abortion pills. Taken together, these tools create a dangerous surveillance pipeline that threatens everyone’s health privacy. Too often, though, the public is unaware of the threat, and one nonprofit is working to change that. Following EFF and 404 Media’s report on Texas’s use of Flock cameras, eye-catching billboards popped up in Houston, warning drivers that if they’re pregnant, the state of Texas could be tracking them. Photo provided by Mayday Health These billboards came from Mayday Health, a nonprofit dedicated to sharing information about abortion pills, birth control, and gender-affirming care. We spoke with Leo Raisner, Executive Director of Mayday Health, about the billboards to learn more about the campaign and organization and to discuss how surveillance affects reproductive freedom. *** THOMAS: Why did Mayday Health start this campaign in Texas? RAISNER: Well, we read the incredible reporting coming from EFF about Texas's surveillance. We want Texans to know their rights, to know their options, and to know that there are organizations and people who have their back. So we decided to put up a few billboards around the Houston area to remind people that they still have options. Digital advertising in the space, as I know you're well aware of, faces enormous platform restrictions from Meta and Google, whereas billboards reach people in the physical world without algorithmic gatekeeping and without requiring anyone to search for information. So at the very least, if a driver's passing by the billboard, we’re spreading information that they should be careful that they might be surveilled, and also there are different options. There's a website where they can come learn more about those options. THOMAS: And how have the billboards been received so far? Have you heard anything from folks in the Houston area yet? RAISNER: Yeah, we've heard some messages of support on social media DMs. We're just thrilled about how many drivers these messages are going to reach. They'll be up for 4 weeks, and are expected to hit over 1,000,000 drivers during that 4-week campaign period. THOMAS: Are there other ways that Mayday Health has seen surveillance systems impact people seeking healthcare? RAISNER: You know, we go all over the country and talk to folks who are seeking reproductive healthcare options in states where clinics are banned, and we direct folks to our website where they can learn more about abortion pills. We make privacy very central to how we operate. Privacy is not just an afterthought for us. When people arrive at our website, we direct them to the Digital Defense Fund, which offers people privacy and security resources as they're navigating reproductive healthcare in states where they might be being surveilled. We don't collect cookies, we don't collect identifying information from visitors to our site. We want people to know their options, and we don't have any interest in knowing who they are. THOMAS: Why do you think the work of the digital rights movement is so important to the work of the reproductive health rights and justice movement? RAISNER: I mean, those two movements are inextricably linked. The anti-abortion movement is using every tool in their toolbox to prevent people from getting the healthcare access they need, whether that's surveilling people online or closing down brick-and-mortar clinics, but we encourage people to visit Mayday Health and learn that they still have options no matter where they live. THOMAS: Is there anything else that you would like the readers of our blog to know about Mayday Health? RAISNER: I'd love for people to know that abortion pills are FDA approved. They're safe, they're effective, and they're available through the mail. *** EFF has said it time and time again – surveillance and reproductive freedom cannot coexist. Whether the tracking occurs over the internet or through license plate reader systems with over 83,000 cameras, it is an invasion of privacy. Protecting our digital privacy is more critical now than ever. Help EFF fight back against this digital dragnet and protect reproductive freedom for all by making a donation.

Source feed: https://www.eff.org/rss/updates.xml

New York Times says OpenAI hid evidence in ChatGPT copyright trial

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 19:05:58 +0000

News publishers say OpenAI hid tools and datasets that could identify copyrighted journalism in ChatGPT outputs, escalating their lawsuit with a new motion for sanctions.

Source feed: https://techcrunch.com/feed/

OpenAI may have made a fatal misstep in copyright fight with news orgs

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 18:57:53 +0000

OpenAI may be sanctioned for hiding, deleting ChatGPT logs in NYT copyright fight.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index

OpenAI releases latest ChatGPT model after delay over White House cybersecurity concerns

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 18:48:23 +0000

Staggered release of ChatGPT 5.6 follows similar restrictions on rival firm Anthropic’s latest AI modelsOpenAI released its latest advanced AI model, called ChatGPT 5.6, on Thursday after earlier delaying the public rollout over US government concerns about cybersecurity. The Trump administration had requested last month that OpenAI limit the release to a small group of government-approved users.OpenAI complied with the White House’s request last month. The company stated in a blogpost that it had briefed government officials on ChatGPT 5.6’s capabilities and restricted the model to trusted partners at their behest. The product’s wider release came after additional testing by the government’s Center for AI Standards and Innovation agency, according to Axios. Continue reading...

Source feed: https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology/rss

European Commission Chooses to Keep EU Users Locked Up Behind Big Tech’s Gates

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 18:30:12 +0000

Users are always seeking more control over their social networking experience to make it better, whether to improve privacy or enhance flexibility. Interoperability between social networking platforms like Facebook and TikTok has so many benefits that solve those issues. Say you’re on multiple platforms because you have friends you follow on different networks, but you’ve decided to choose one platform with better privacy practices. With interoperability, you could switch and still interact with friends who remain on larger platforms. It could also enable independent apps with better privacy controls and more user choice. These are the untapped possibilities that could benefit users in the European Union under the 2022 Digital Markets Act (DMA). Yet, the European Commission, in its first review of the DMA, announced in April it had decided not to extend the DMA’s interoperability mandate to social networking and didn’t give a deadline or a timeline for enforcing that part of the Act. The Commission said “there is no clear demand” from users and businesses for social networking interoperability and, in any case, it’s too technically complex at the moment. Meanwhile, the Big Tech platforms that have been slow-walking interoperability over the last two years, erecting a myriad of hurdles for users seeking more freedom to choose other platforms, get a pass. This is a huge disappointment and a missed opportunity by the Commission. Interoperability dismantles one of the biggest barriers faced by users who want to leave the tech giants’ platforms: the choice between changing to a platform you prefer or staying behind on a platform where all your friends, communities, and customers are. The DMA, which went into force in 2024, aims to foster more choices for European Union users and encourage competition and innovation by forcing so-called gatekeeper platforms like Meta, Apple, and Google, to open their ecosystems to competitors. The regulation does a great deal to foster the integration of competing services and devices with the ecosystems of very large online platforms that act as gatekeepers. It even requires interoperability for messaging services, despite the significant technical and privacy challenges involved. So, it’s odd that the Commission is using complexity as a shield against taking on social networking interoperability. The internet already runs on complex interoperable systems. Approaches like ActivityPub, the decentralized networking protocol behind the “Fediverse,” which gave rise to decentralized networks like Mastodon, already exist. The DMA shouldn’t mandate a specific protocol, but it can require meaningful interoperability outcomes. The argument that there’s no real demand for social networking interoperability also falls flat. Users want the ability to move across platforms, choose the content they’d like to see from platforms, and not be tied down to a single platform. But there’s no way to get there—the platforms are doing little to open their social networking ecosystems. And now you have the DMA’s enforcer saying it’s not going to make them change. Demand for alternatives won’t materialize at scale until users see real progress towards interoperability, something the Commission has the power to do. Having decided there’s little demand and too much complexity to proceed with mandating social networking interoperability, the Commission said it “will continue to monitor and assess how these services evolve.” This wait-and-see-posture only hurts users and strengthens and further entrenches Big Tech incumbents. The DMA is supposed to center on the rights of technology users and be the pathway to an internet experience where you decide which software runs on your devices, where it’s easy to find the best products and services, and where you can leave a platform for a better one without forfeiting your social relationships. Meanwhile, Big Tech is also resisting the DMA’s openness requirements. For example, Apple is supposed to be opening up iOS devices to rival app stores. Yet, the smartphone giant’s plan for opening its App Store levies junk fees and onerous conditions on app makers and is effectively impossible for any competitor to use. It’s not just Apple pushing back against DMA enforcement. Meta's response is a “pay for privacy “system, in which users who do not consent to Meta’s surveillance will have to pay to use the service, or be blocked from it. Whether their plan complies with the DMA remains under review. Nowhere in the DMA does it say social networking companies get to install a toll booth for users seeking to benefit from privacy rights the regulation grants them. The future EU Digital Fairness Act is another opportunity to protect users from such practices by declaring them unfair. The Commission has responded to these developments with investigations, preliminary rulings, and fines. Meanwhile, users are missing out on greater choice and flexibility in how they communicate and connect online.

Source feed: https://www.eff.org/rss/updates.xml

Agentic AI For Forensics Investigations Is Fast, Auditable, And About To Bloody Daubert

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 17:51:38 +0000

Exterro's ARMOUR for FTK brings agentic AI to digital forensics. The post Agentic AI For Forensics Investigations Is Fast, Auditable, And About To Bloody Daubert appeared first on Above the Law.

Source feed: https://abovethelaw.com/feed/

Crimson, Midpage + BeSavvy Join New Fuse Cohort

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 15:26:37 +0000

A&O Shearman’s Fuse incubator has announced its new cohort of legal tech companies, along with some digital asset startups (not listed here). They include Crimson, ...

Source feed: https://www.artificiallawyer.com/feed/

Large Roundup of Section 230 Rulings

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 15:11:47 +0000

This blog post rounds up nearly 20 Section 230 cases (and adjacent cases), mostly from the past four months, that for whatever reason I didn’t cover in a standalone blog post. Section 230’s effects are waning overall, but this post... The post Large Roundup of Section 230 Rulings appeared first on Technology & Marketing Law Blog.

Source feed: https://blog.ericgoldman.org/feed

Fractional General Counsel: A Win-Win Proposition For Certain Clients, And Certain Lawyers

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 14:51:37 +0000

With the advent of AI, it becomes much more realistic for a fractional GC concept to work. The post Fractional General Counsel: A Win-Win Proposition For Certain Clients, And Certain Lawyers appeared first on Above the Law.

Source feed: https://abovethelaw.com/feed/

The AI success pyramid for corporate legal departments

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 14:13:46 +0000

AI success requires careful planning that includes understanding how advance technologies and innovation fits within your legal department.

Source feed: https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en-us/posts/feed/

A Majority of European Lawmakers Voted Against Letting Big Tech Read Our Messages. They’re Going to Anyway.

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 13:55:08 +0000

Companies will once again be allowed to scan citizens’ personal texts, emails, and social media messages via the “chat control” bill to find child abuse material online.

Source feed: https://www.wired.com/feed/category/security/latest/rss

MuskCorp Tries To Bribe Memphis With Cheaper Starlink So They’ll Ignore xAI Data Center Pollution

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 12:34:48 +0000

Civil rights groups like the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) have noted how Elon Musk’s Colossus xAI data centers in Memphis disproportionately pollute the air in minority neighborhoods. A joint lawsuit by SELC, Earthjustice, and the NAACP filed last April argued that Musk and friends didn’t bother to get the necessary permits to run the 57 gas turbines […]

Source feed: https://www.techdirt.com/feed/

Two Years After Launching Its AI Assistant Archie, Smokeball Rolls Out the ‘Next Generation’ Built on Agentic AI, and Embedded in Word and Outlook

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 12:32:01 +0000

Two years ago, the law practice management company Smokeball gave me an exclusive preview of its plans for an AI ecosystem spanning the full client lifecycle, anchored by an AI matter assistant called Archie, which it formally launched in July 2024. Now the company has released the next generation of Archie AI, a major overhaul […]

Source feed: https://www.lawnext.com/feed

Google's new remote attestation scheme is every bit as terrible as its old remote attestation scheme

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 09:15:49 +0000

Google owes its existence to the open web, but today, its technological “innovations” have much to do with locking users into a “walled garden.” The latest of these is “reCAPTCHA Mobile Verification,” an experimental initiative that will let companies block users if they are running independent, "de-googled" versions of Android. These “indie Android” versions are favored by people who want to protect their privacy and their attention by blocking trackers and ads. Worse, this is just the latest in a line of similarly user-hostile measures. Long before “agentic AI,” we had the idea that software would act as your agent on the internet. That's why the old-fashioned technical term for a browser is a “user agent.” Your browser acts on your behalf to retrieve information and then show it to you, in the format you choose. It's your agent. This is a powerful and profound idea. It is because browsers are our “agents” that we expect them to accept our directives, say, by blocking pop-ups, or by turning off autoplay sound, or by blocking commercial surveillance trackers. Your browser does all that because your browser works for you. The reason your browser can work for you is that the web is an open, standardized technology. In theory, anyone who follows the standards published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) can make a browser, and that web browser can connect to any web server. Browsers and servers are interoperable. It's the same force that means you can put anyone's gas in your gas-tank, or anyone's shoelaces in your shoes, or anyone's milk on your cereal. But what if manufacturers could dictate those choices to you? What if your light socket refused to use a lightbulb unless it was officially blessed by the socket's manufacturer? What if your dishwasher refused to wash your dishes unless you bought them from one of the manufacturer's “dish partners?” What if your toaster refused to toast “unauthorized bread?” It's hard to see how a company could win its market with this strategy. After all, if the dishes are really better than the competition's, you'd buy them voluntarily, without any need for law or technology to force the matter. The only reason to make a dishwasher that refuses a rival's dishes is if the manufacturer's own dishes are ugly, expensive, and/or badly made. But once a company owns the market—once they've achieved dominance by buying out their rivals; by bribing potential competitors to stay out of their lane; and by engaging in deceptive conduct to trap key suppliers and customers—they can cement their dominance by blocking interoperability, keeping out rival dishes, milk, gas, lightbulbs, shoelaces and bread, capturing their whole market and squeezing it. That's what Google has done, and that's what Google wants to do more of Google's commercial behavior has been so unethical, deceptive and abusive that the company just lost three federal antitrust cases. This thrice-convicted monopolist paid Apple—more than $20b/year— to stay out of the search market: It cheated app vendors, ripping them off with sky-high junk fees and onerous conditions that raised prices while lowering the share of your spending that went to the companies whose products you were paying for. It cheated advertisers, rigging the ad market to gouge businesses on ad prices and underinvesting to fight rampant ad-fraud, sucking hundreds of billions out of the productive economy for overpriced ads that no one saw. Google wasn't always this way. The “don't be evil” company owes its very existence to the open web ecosystem. When the company started to index the web in 1998, it was playing on an open field, where any web server could talk to any “user agent,” even one whose user was a startup like Google, that was making a copy of every page on the server. For years, Google thrived on the open web, and built open technologies. Android—the mobile operating system that Google bought in 2005 —was presented as an “open” alternative to existing mobile offerings, and as the mobile market collapsed into two companies—Google and Apple—Google always presented Android as the open alternative to Apple's “walled garden.” But there were always ways in which Google's “open” Android wasn't exactly open. The company engaged in illegal “tying” arrangements that forced hardware vendors and carriers to lock out versions of Android that were created by Google's competitors. In other words, even though Google offered a mobile platform that was (mostly) technically open, it found other ways to try to choke off the market oxygen for alternative Android versions that tried to capitalize on that technical openness. But life finds a way. The existence of an open, modifiable, tinkerer-friendly mobile operating system meant Android hackers could create alternatives to Google's (de facto) walled garden, which thrived in the cracks in that garden wall. Operating systems like CalyxOS, PureOS and Graphene offered a more private, more secure Android experience, one that was largely “de-Googled,” blocking Google's relentless acquisition of your private data. And Google's data-hunger is relentless. Android exfiltrates a chunk of your personal and behavioral data every five minutes. The “resting heartbeat” of Android surveillance pulses and pulses, irrespective of whether you're using your device, and the instant you unlock your screen, that heartbeat quickens, sending even more data to the company. All that data has proven irresistible to authoritarian governments. Donald Trump's enforcers have seized on Google data as a vital source of information about the identity of protesters and the location of migrants hunted by ICE. So there are plenty of reasons why users would seek out these de-Googled alternatives to Android, finding them in spite of Google's efforts to block access to competing technologies. The worse it got, the better those alternatives looked. Perhaps this explains Google's years-long effort to increase the technical barriers to using modified versions of Android, beefing these up to match the commercial restrictions that stand in the way of a de-Googled existence. Back in 2023, Google floated the idea of “Web Environment Integrity” (WEI), a set of modifications to web standards that would force your computer to disclose its operating environment to the web servers it connected to, even if you objected to this disclosure. WEI was a form of “remote attestation.” That's when your device uses a sub-processor (sometimes called a “Technical Protection Module” or “TPM”) or a walled off part of its main processor (sometimes called a “secure enclave”) to produce a cryptographically signed description of your device and its configuration: which hardware, software, plug-ins, and settings you're running. When you connect to a server, it demands that your device send this “attestation” before it handles your request. If your device won't provide this data, or if the server doesn't like (or recognize) your device and its details, it can refuse to deal with you. And because the attestation is prepared by a TPM or a secure enclave that you can't modify or override, you don't get to decide which facts about your device it's allowed to see. Practically speaking, this means that remote attestation lets a server refuse to deal with you until you turn off your ad-blocker and your tracker-blocker. It means that the server can discriminate against users who block auto-play sound and video, who block pop-ups, who put the tab in the background when it's playing a mandatory pre-roll ad. WEI was especially disturbing in light of Google's plan to kill ad-blockers and privacy blockers through updates to Chrome, an effort that continues to this day. These blockers are an important part of the dynamic between web publishers and their users. In the real world, when you get an offer, you can make a counter-offer. That's all an ad-blocker is: a way for users to respond to a server whose opening bid is, “How about you give me all your data and let me take over your computer in exchange for showing you this page?” with “How about 'Nah?'” We didn't get rid of pop-up ads by making them illegal, or by boycotting advertisers who used them. We got rid of pop-up ads when web users installed pop-up blockers, which made pop-up ads pointless. Take away our ability to block obnoxious digital content and you guarantee that we will be flooded with it. These kinds of modifications aren't just used to block ads—they're also key to accessibility. People who have photosensitive epilepsy or suffer from low-contrast vision problems use add-ons to reformat pages so they can safely and legibly access them. WEI's creators said they were only trying to put the web on a level playing field with apps, which routinely disclose facts about your device to the companies whose servers you connect to, without asking you, and even if you don’t want them to. Apps are a source of bottomless enshittification, not least because (unlike the web), they enjoy special, dangerous legal protections that make it very legally risky to modify them. WEI wasn't an effort to level the playing field between apps and the web—it was a race to the bottom, an attempt to make the web as enshittification-friendly as apps. Public outrage to WEI killed the project, but Google's commitment to augmenting its illegal commercial lockdown efforts with technical lockdowns never ended. Now, Google has rolled out an experimental “reCAPTCHA Mobile Verification” that uses an app, your camera, and your device's TPM or secure enclave to produce an attestation about your Android device. This will make it much easier for the apps and other services you interact with to block your device if you run an Android alternative, or if you install a mod that overrides the actions of Google's stock Android. This is a terrible idea—it's every bit as bad as WEI was. In an age in which Big Tech is ever-more tied to authoritarian governments, redesigning our devices to tell strangers things we don't want them to know isn't just shortsighted, it's inexcusable.

Source feed: https://www.eff.org/rss/updates.xml

A Puerto Rico Government Agency Exposed 1 Million Social Security Numbers

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000

The post A Puerto Rico Government Agency Exposed 1 Million Social Security Numbers appeared first on ProPublica.

Source feed: https://www.propublica.org/feeds/propublica/main

Darrow Cuts Roles as Part of Strategic Restructure

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 08:12:33 +0000

Darrow, the pioneering litigation intelligence platform, has undergone a restructuring with multiple roles cut. However, the Israel-based company underlined they had ‘consistent year-over-year growth’ and ...

Source feed: https://www.artificiallawyer.com/feed/

Why Adoption Starts Where Go-Live Ends

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 06:40:34 +0000

By Jennie Strickland, Clio. The feeling of a successful go-live is one most legal technology leaders will recognize. The project has hit its milestones. Training ...

Source feed: https://www.artificiallawyer.com/feed/

Pluralistic: Post-political (09 Jul 2026)

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 06:37:55 +0000

Today's links Post-political: What a "leftist" is. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: MSFT x OSCON; Parental spyware; "Resurrection Man"; Brexit do-over petition; Workplace email spying; Record label internet death penalty; News should be cheap, free and chaotic; "Jughead". Upcoming appearances: London, Edinburgh, Sydney, Melbourne, Brighton, London, South Bend. Recent appearances: Where I've been. Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em. Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em. Colophon: All the rest. Post-political (permalink) There's plenty of reasons to be skeptical of centrists who bemoan "political polarization" and call for a politics that abandons the "tribalism of left and right." Obviously there's the false equivalence: on the right, you have fascists who want to send masked, armed goons into the streets to beat, kidnap and murder your neighbors. On the left, you have calls for higher taxes, unions, environmental impact reviews for data-centers, and an end to the genocide in Gaza. "Leftist extremism" is moving some zines around: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/jun/24/prairieland-texas-ice-protests-zines Right wing extremism is attempting the overthrow of the government, murdering brown people in gulags, and the earth's richest man slaughtering the world's poorest children for the lulz: https://hsph.harvard.edu/news/usaid-shutdown-has-led-to-hundreds-of-thousands-of-deaths/ "Horseshoe theory" (the idea that the far right and the far left actually bend around to meet each other) is bullshit: https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/26/horsehoe-crab/#substantive-disagreement The reality is that the right and left have large, substantive disagreements that are matters of life and death. Anyone dismissing these as "tribalism" doesn't know what "left" and "right" mean. At best, they have mistaken a collection of cultural signifiers – pronouns, MMA, brands of beer – for politics. Mistaking cultural signifiers and identity markers for politics is centrism's most dangerous pathology, the thing that makes centrism the handmaiden of the right. If you think identity markers are politics, then you'll be tempted to think the answer to a world run by 150 rich, white, cis straight guys is to replace half of them with women, POCs and queer people. The difference between the left and the right isn't the identities of the ruling class – it's whether we have a ruling class at all. I collect definitions of "right" and "left." There's Corey Robin's definition from The Reactionary Mind, that conservatism is the belief that some people were born to rule, and others to be ruled over, and that any attempt to elevate the latter group to positions of power (through civil rights movements, affirmative action, etc) will result in dire misrule and disaster: https://pluralistic.net/2025/07/22/all-day-suckers/#i-love-the-poorly-educated This explains how the right can encompass white nationalists (rule by white people), Hindu nationalists (rule by high-caste Hindus), libertarians (rule by bosses), imperialists (rule by military aggressors), etc. It also explains the right's obsession with learning the racial and gender markers of anyone involved in a plane crash or other disaster: "See, the oil tanker was being piloted by a DEI hire when it crashed into that bridge!" Another important definition is Wilhoit's Law: Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect. https://pluralistic.net/2025/08/26/sole-and-despotic-dominion/#then-they-came-for-me This one hardly needs explanation in this era of "it's not a crime if the president does it," where Alex Jones can owe billions to the parents of dozens of murdered children and somehow not have to pay or give up his assets: https://www.status.news/p/infowars-the-onion-alex-jones-ben-collins But when it comes to a "post-politics that is neither right nor left," the definition I turn to most often comes from science fiction writer Steven Brust, who once told me: "Left" and "right" have had the same meaning since the French Revolution. If you want to know if someone is on the left or the right, ask them, "What is more important: human rights or property rights?" If they say "Property rights are a human right," then they are on the right. https://pluralistic.net/2021/03/16/wage-theft/#ppp That's it. That's the crux. If you think that property rights are a tool for achieving human rights, then you're on the left. You might support the right of farmers to block attempts to expropriate them via eminent domain in order to build a data center, or the right of people to not have their homes or devices searched by cops, or a library's right to own and archive digital books, even if the publishers insist that ebooks are never "sold," merely "licensed." If property rights are a tool to achieve human rights, then property rights can be set aside when they impede other rights. Human beings have the right to health care, which is why we should have taken away the pharma companies' patents and copyrights, ending vaccine apartheid and letting the poor world make its own vaccines: https://pluralistic.net/2021/05/25/the-other-shoe-drops/#quid-pro-quo Human beings have the right to shelter. If your town has a million empty homes and a million homeless people, there's an obvious solution. At the very least, you can tax the shit out of empty homes to discourage the creation of derelict, empty blights: https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/owners-homes-left-empty-more-28622796 Human beings have the right to food. If a cartel claims that you may not legally sell your 100,000lbs of nectarines, you can just give them away and tell the cartel to fuck off: https://apnews.com/article/california-farmer-nectarines-lawsuit-patent-4f7bc8ab185e8b9cbdd6d6ad4f2aabd1 As Brust says, this fight is as old as the French Revolution. It's literally the plot of Les Miz ("In days gone by, I stole a loaf of bread in order to live"). Note that this framework leaves plenty of room for disagreement among leftists: we can disagree about who should get taxed and how, when a company should be ordered to destroy its ill-gotten loot and when that loot should be divided up among its victims, and what to do about empty houses and homeless people. We can disagree about reparations, about collectivization and co-operatives, about land reform. Very (very!) few leftists want to abolish property, but to be a leftist is to agree that property is only ever a means, and never an end. In systems thinking, we are counseled that the most profound and durable changes come from shifts in paradigms, from which all rules, laws and arrangements flow: https://pluralistic.net/2026/05/12/donella-meadows/#paradigmatic "Left" and "right" represent two radically different paradigms. The right's paradigm is that property rights are human rights, which cashes out to "property rights are the only human right." If property rights are a human right, then I can burn down my orchard and laugh as you starve outside the gates. If property rights are human rights, I can leave an apartment building empty while you freeze to death on its sidewalk. If property rights are human rights, I can fill my factory with death-traps and insist that the workers I kill freely chose to assume that risk (as economists would say, they have a "revealed preference" for being killed at work): https://pluralistic.net/2026/03/30/players-of-games/#know-when-to-fold-em Leftists view property rights as a tool, like laws, or regulations, or polls, or voting. Used well, these tools can produce prosperity for all. But "voting" and "laws" aren't good unto themselves. The Swiss practice of voting on whether your neighbors qualify for citizenship is barbaric: https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-38595807 Good regulations and laws are good, but simply passing any law is stupid and gets you into terrible trouble, even if the stupid law you've passed is designed to solve a real problem: https://pluralistic.net/2026/06/23/destroy-the-village/#to-save-it Viewed as tools, property rights are perfectly useful ways of achieving the primary purpose of a civilization: to safeguard the human rights of its people. Viewed as ends unto themselves, property rights are a terrible danger to our civilization and species. If you believe property rights are tools, then you can pass laws banning corporations from electioneering: https://sos.mn.gov/media/3k4hu2if/minnesota-election-laws-statutes-and-rules.pdf If you believe property rights are human rights, then you end up supporting unlimited dark money spending in elections: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-621_h315.pdf If you believe property rights are tools, you can order landlords who want to ban their tenants from installing balcony solar to fuck off. If you believe property rights are human rights, then landlords can force their tenants to pay every dime the fossil fuel industry demands of them. "Property right as tool" allows you to defend a farmer's right to install a wind-farm, and still, to block a data-center from installing a gas turbine on its own land. "Post-political" movements are made up of people who don't know what politics are. A "centrist" is ultimately a rightist, because the foundation of rightism is the supremacy of property. It is the ideology that breeds hereditary aristocracy ("property is a human right" means that it's a violation of your human rights to expect you to work for a living if you emerged from a lucky orifice). It's the ideology that breeds oligarchy. Politics aren't a bunch of cultural signifiers or identity markers. Politics aren't about who rules – it's about whether we are ruled at all, or whether we are free. (Image: Lewis Clarke, CC BY-SA 2.0, modified) Hey look at this (permalink) Hell Is Other People https://locusmag.com/feature/commentary-cory-doctorow-hell-is-other-people/ Incarcerated People Lose Treasured Media When Prisons Change Tablet Contracts https://truthout.org/articles/incarcerated-people-lose-treasured-media-when-prisons-change-tablet-contracts/ Jay Rosen’s Internet Archive: an Introduction https://pressthink.org/2026/07/jay-rosens-internet-archive-an-introduction/ Zohran Mamdani on the Promise of America https://jacobin.com/2026/07/zohran-mamdani-independence-day-address The official website of Nand to Tetris courses https://www.nand2tetris.org/ Object permanence (permalink) #25yrsago Why Microsoft was invited to OSCON https://web.archive.org/web/20010701102931/http://www.oreilly.com/news/osconint_0601.html #25yrsago The Extent of Systematic Monitoring of Employee E-mail and Internet Use https://web.archive.org/web/20010711204804/http://www.privacyfoundation.org/workplace/technology/extent.asp #20yrsago BPI: We should be able to cut off your Internet https://memex.craphound.com/2006/07/10/bpi-we-should-be-able-to-cut-off-your-internet/ #20yrsago Technology for parents to spy on kids https://web.archive.org/web/20060711084212/http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/07/09/BIGMOTHER.TMP #20yrsago Dale Bailey's "The Resurrection Man" https://memex.craphound.com/2006/07/09/southern-gothic-science-fiction-collection/ #10yrsago A law prof responds to students who anonymously complained about #blacklivesmatter tee https://backspace.com/notes/2016/07/law-professors-response-to-black-lives-matter-shirt-complaint.php #10yrsago UK government rejects Brexit do-over petition with 4.1m signatures https://web.archive.org/web/20160709101514/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-government-rejects-eu-referendum-petition-latest-a7128306.html #10yrsago New Zealanders raise millions to buy beach and donate it to the public https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-36759321 #10yrsago Jughead: Zdarsky’s reboot is funny, fannish, and freaky https://memex.craphound.com/2016/07/10/jughead-zdarskys-reboot-is-funny-fannish-and-freaky/ #5yrsago Biden's Right to Repair will include electronics, too https://pluralistic.net/2021/07/10/unnixing-the-fix/#r2r-plus-plus Upcoming appearances (permalink) London: Idler Festival, Jul 11 https://www.idler.co.uk/festival/ Edinburgh International Book Festival with Jimmy Wales, Aug 17 https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/events/the-front-list-cory-doctorow-and-jimmy-wales Sydney: The Festival of Dangerous Ideas, Aug 23-24 https://festivalofdangerousideas.com/cory-doctorow/ Melbourne: Enshittification at the Wheeler Centre, Aug 25 https://www.wheelercentre.com/events-tickets/season-2026/cory-doctorow-enshittification Brighton: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI with Carole Cadwalladr (Brighton Dome), Sep 8 https://brightondome.org/whats-on/LSC-cory-doctorow-the-reverse-centaurs-guide-to-life-after-ai/ London: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI with Riley Quinn (Foyle's Picadilly), Sep 9 https://www.foyles.co.uk/events/enshittification-cory-doctorow-riley-quinn South Bend: An Evening With Cory Doctorow (Notre Dame), Oct 6 https://franco.nd.edu/events/2026/10/06/an-evening-with-cory-doctorow/ Recent appearances (permalink) Can AI be Saved From Capitalism? (Everyday Anarchism) https://www.everydayanarchism.com/192-can-ai-be-saved-from-capitalism-cory-doctorow/ Lawfare Daily https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1KIwaYRs1g How to Think About AI (Organized Money) https://www.organizedmoney.fm/p/how-to-think-about-ai-with-cory-doctorow Breaking Points https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJmUbkRqXeE A.I. Enshittifies Everything (Slate) https://slate.com/podcasts/what-next-tbd/2026/06/cory-doctorow-thinks-a-i-is-overvalued-and-overrated-and-still-a-threat Latest books (permalink) "The Reverse-Centaur's Guide to AI," a short book about being a better AI critic, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, June 2026 https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374621568/thereversecentaursguidetolifeafterai/ "Canny Valley": A limited edition collection of the collages I create for Pluralistic, self-published, September 2025 https://pluralistic.net/2025/09/04/illustrious/#chairman-bruce "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, October 7 2025 https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/ "Picks and Shovels": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about the heroic era of the PC, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2025 (https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865908/picksandshovels). "The Bezzle": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about prison-tech and other grifts, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2024 (thebezzle.org). "The Lost Cause:" a solarpunk novel of hope in the climate emergency, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), November 2023 (http://lost-cause.org). "The Internet Con": A nonfiction book about interoperability and Big Tech (Verso) September 2023 (http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org). Signed copies at Book Soup (https://www.booksoup.com/book/9781804291245). "Red Team Blues": "A grabby, compulsive thriller that will leave you knowing more about how the world works than you did before." Tor Books http://redteamblues.com. "Chokepoint Capitalism: How to Beat Big Tech, Tame Big Content, and Get Artists Paid, with Rebecca Giblin", on how to unrig the markets for creative labor, Beacon Press/Scribe 2022 https://chokepointcapitalism.com Upcoming books (permalink) "The Post-American Internet," a geopolitical sequel of sorts to Enshittification, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2027 "Unauthorized Bread": a middle-grades graphic novel adapted from my novella about refugees, toasters and DRM, FirstSecond, April 20, 2027 "Enshittification, Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It" (the graphic novel), Firstsecond, 2027 "The Memex Method," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2027 Colophon (permalink) Today's top sources: Currently writing: "The Post-American Internet," a sequel to "Enshittification," about the better world the rest of us get to have now that Trump has torched America. Fourth draft completed. Submitted to editor. A Little Brother short story about DIY insulin PLANNING This work – excluding any serialized fiction – is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. That means you can use it any way you like, including commercially, provided that you attribute it to me, Cory Doctorow, and include a link to pluralistic.net. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Quotations and images are not included in this license; they are included either under a limitation or exception to copyright, or on the basis of a separate license. Please exercise caution. How to get Pluralistic: Blog (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): Pluralistic.net Newsletter (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://pluralistic.net/plura-list Mastodon (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic Bluesky (no ads, possible tracking and data-collection): https://bsky.app/profile/doctorow.pluralistic.net Medium (no ads, paywalled): https://doctorow.medium.com/ Tumblr (mass-scale, unrestricted, third-party surveillance and advertising): https://mostlysignssomeportents.tumblr.com/tagged/pluralistic "When life gives you SARS, you make sarsaparilla" -Joey "Accordion Guy" DeVilla READ CAREFULLY: By reading this, you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies ("BOGUS AGREEMENTS") that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer. ISSN: 3066-764X

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Sony Announces An End To PlayStation Discs & Everyone Hates It

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 03:06:52 +0000

Sony just gave the world another lesson in how they don’t actually own the content they’ve bought digitally generally, and particularly not through Sony’s digital storefronts. Instead, as readers here will largely know, what is actually being bought is a temporary license to download and play these games, movies, music, whatever. Sony has done this […]

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Truecaller clashes with India’s telecom regulator over anti-spam rules

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 02:30:00 +0000

The caller ID company says users are increasingly ignoring and blocking calls from India's dedicated business number series.

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Feds demand autonomous vehicle companies stop interfering with first responders

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 21:49:33 +0000

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said emergency scenes are not "edge cases."

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The End Of Physical PlayStation Games: Ownership, Licenses, And The Digital Backlash

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 21:33:00 +0000

There seems to be discussion about the legal issues surrounding this move. The post The End Of Physical PlayStation Games: Ownership, Licenses, And The Digital Backlash appeared first on Above the Law.

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Lawsuit: Man used Grok to make 7K sex images of stepdaughter, then shot himself

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 19:56:37 +0000

More young girls sue X over Grok CSAM; X accused of shielding child predators.

Source feed: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/arstechnica/index