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OMFG Here Come The ‘News’ Outlets To Do ShotSpotter’s PR Heavy Lifting For It

1 year 6 months ago
Generally speaking, a private company’s press release is not “news.” If anyone wants to watch companies stroke themselves off in public, there are plenty of sites dedicated to that kink. If it’s cop tech purveyors seeking to redeem themselves after a bunch of negative press and/or the loss of high-profile government contracts, we should be […]
Tim Cushing

Daily Deal: The Complete Cisco Training Bundle

1 year 6 months ago
The Complete Cisco Training Bundle has 6 courses to help you get ready to become certified. Courses cover al you need to know as a CCNA, CCEA, and more. It’s on sale for $40. Note: The Techdirt Deals Store is powered and curated by StackCommerce. A portion of all sales from Techdirt Deals helps support […]
Gretchen Heckmann

Major SS7 Vulnerability In Wireless Networks Oddly Gets A Fraction Of The Hysteria Reserved For TikTok

1 year 6 months ago
While lawmakers, looking to get on cable TV, spent much of the last few years performatively hyperventilating about TikTok privacy and national security issues, few of those same folks seem quite as bothered by the parade of obvious, nasty vulnerabilities in the nation’s telecom networks. For example, we still haven’t somehow addressed  longstanding flaws in Signaling […]
Karl Bode

NFL Inks Deal With Netflix To Stream A Handful Of Xmas Day Games Only

1 year 6 months ago
Are you an NFL fan? If you are, are there particular teams or games you want to watch? The obvious answer to that second question would be “yes”, though the answer to whether you’ll actually be able to watch those games is much less obvious and much more convoluted. It depends which team, and which […]
Dark Helmet

Five Section 230 Cases That Made Online Communities Better

1 year 6 months ago
The House Energy and Commerce Committee is holding a hearing tomorrow on “sunsetting” Section 230. Despite facing criticism, Section 230 has undeniably been a cornerstone in the architecture of the modern web, fostering a robust market for new services, and enabling a rich diversity of ideas and expressions to flourish. Crucially, Section 230 empowers platforms to maintain community […]
Mike Masnick

The Horribly Stupid Saga Of Craig Wright, The Fake Satoshi, Should Now Be Over

1 year 6 months ago
It’s been a while since we last mentioned Craig Wright here on Techdirt. We’ve been pretty clear all along, like pretty much everyone else, that Wright was so obviously full of shit in claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto, and then trying to claim patents and copyrights over all kinds of Bitcoin/cryptocurrency related things. Over the […]
Mike Masnick

Daily Deal: The Ultimate Adobe CC Training Bundle

1 year 6 months ago
The Ultimate Adobe CC Training Bundle has 12 courses to help you get the most out of the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite. Courses cover Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver, After Effects, and more. It’s on sale for $40. Note: The Techdirt Deals Store is powered and curated by StackCommerce. A portion of all sales from Techdirt […]
Gretchen Heckmann

FTC Hints At Regulatory Action Against Automakers For Terrible Privacy Practices

1 year 6 months ago
In 2023, Mozilla released a report noting that modern cars had the worst security and privacy standards of any major technology industry the organization tracks. That was followed by a NYT report earlier this year showing how automakers routinely hoover up oodles of consumer driving and phone info, then sell access to that data to […]
Karl Bode

Social Media’s Electoral Power: More Hype Than Reality?

1 year 7 months ago
It’s been almost an article of faith among many (especially since 2016) that social media has been a leading cause of our collective dumbening and the resulting situation in which a bunch of fascist-adjacent wannabe dictators getting elected all over the place. But, we’ve always found that argument to feel massively, if not totally overblown. […]
Mike Masnick

Daily Deal: StackSkills Unlimited

1 year 7 months ago
StackSkills is the premier online learning platform for mastering today’s most in-demand skills. Now, with this exclusive limited-time offer, you’ll gain access to 1000+ StackSkills courses for life! Whether you’re looking to earn a promotion, make a career change, or pick up a side hustle to make some extra cash, StackSkills delivers engaging online courses […]
Gretchen Heckmann

Pennsylvania Once Again Shows What Broadband Corruption Looks Like: Doles Out Millions In Dodgy, Non-Transparent Grants To Comcast, Verizon In Favored Political Districts

1 year 7 months ago
By now we’ve laid out the case that U.S. broadband is spotty, expensive, and slow due to regional monopolies and the corruption that protects them. Despite this, every time the U.S. decides to spend taxpayer money on broadband, said corruption usually ensures that we throw most of that money into the laps of the same […]
Karl Bode

Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt

1 year 7 months ago
This week, both our winners on the insightful side come from our post about a facts-free op-ed defending the bipartisan bill to repeal Section 230. In first place, it’s Stephen T. Stone reiterating a rule that holds true: Once more, with feeling: No one can oppose Section 230 without lying about it. In second place, […]
Leigh Beadon