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California’s Journalism Protection Act Is An Unconstitutional Clusterfuck Of Terrible Lawmaking

2 years 2 months ago
The California legislature is competing with states like Florida and Texas to see who can pass laws that will be more devastating to the Internet. California’s latest entry into this Internet death-spiral is the California Journalism Protection Act (CJPA, AB 886). CJPA has passed the California Assembly and is pending in the California Senate. The CJPA […]
Mike Masnick

Federal Judge Blocks South Dakota County’s Attempt To Silence Ballot Petitioners The Government Doesn’t Like

2 years 2 months ago
Full disclosure time, Techdirt peeps! I am a resident of this state. And, as such, I am painfully familiar with the governor’s pro-Trump performativeness, as well as the state legislature’s general disdain for the people it serves. South Dakota is basically an on-shore tax shelter camouflaged by farmland and ultra-patriotic tourist traps. Governor Kristi Noem […]
Tim Cushing

Daily Deal: The Agile Expert Project Management Bundle

2 years 2 months ago
The Agile Expert Project Management Bundle has three courses to help you master Agile. Originally developed for the software industry, Agile is the project management methodology that leverages quick, iterative sessions to rapidly identify defects and improve a product. Now that more companies are going digital, Agile is seeing even more popularity in the working […]
Gretchen Heckmann

US Broadband Monopolies Once Again Push Idea That Tech Giants Should Pay Them Billions For No Reason

2 years 2 months ago
We’ve noted several times how European telecom giants have somehow convinced European policymakers that technology giants like Netflix and Google should annually give them billions of dollars… for no coherent reason. The proposal is dressed up to sound like a sensible adult policy aimed at shoring up broadband access to the downtrodden. In reality it’s net […]
Karl Bode

Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt

2 years 2 months ago
This week, our first place winner on the insightful side is TFG responding to the suggestion that the Reddit protest will be quelled by simply removing the mods: As the polls show: the mods aren’t alone. The mods aren’t the only ones posting the john oliver pics – there’s no way that they could do […]
Leigh Beadon

This Week In Techdirt History: June 18th – 24th

2 years 2 months ago
Five Years Ago This week in 2018, Ajit Pai was trying to pretend that everybody supported repealing net neutrality, while ISP lobbyists were trying and then succeeding at derailing California’s own net neutrality law. Pai was also pushing for rule changes that would benefit Sinclair Broadcasting, while being under investigation for his relationship with the […]
Leigh Beadon

DOJ Releases Report On Minneapolis PD, Says It’s No Surprise This Problematic Cop Shop Produced A Murderer

2 years 2 months ago
Any investigative report of any police department in the United States composed by the DOJ’s Civil Rights division can be described as “scathing.” Bad cops doing bad things trigger these investigations, which invariably find evidence of biased policing, excessive force deployment, and a general disregard — if not actual disdain — for the people these […]
Tim Cushing

Broadband ISP Customer Satisfaction Ranked Second Worst, Above Only Gas Stations

2 years 2 months ago
We’ve noted for years how the steady, mindless consolidation by telecom monopolies has resulted in patchy broadband access, slow speeds, and high prices. But another longstanding trademark of the industry has been its abysmal customer service, created by mindless growth and a subsequent refusal to scale customer service to match. The latest customer satisfaction rankings […]
Karl Bode

As Canada Passes Corrupt Link Tax, Meta Says No More News Links In Canada

2 years 2 months ago
Two weeks ago, Canada’s Heritage Minister, Pablo Rodriguez, who has been the main Canadian government official pushing for C-18, the bullshit link tax bill, that is just a corrupt wealth transfer from one disliked industry to a favored industry, insisted that it was “unacceptable” that Meta might stop allowing links to news if the bill […]
Mike Masnick

New York City Business Owners Aren’t Happy About Facial Recognition Ban Prompted By New York City Business Owner

2 years 2 months ago
Things are getting heated in the city that never sleeps stops bitching. Private business owners don’t much care for the city telling them how to run their business, even when said business involves perhaps careless use of problematic tech. Grocery store owners in New York City oppose a bill that would limit use of facial recognition software, […]
Tim Cushing

Daily Deal: MagPRO Smartwatch with Magnetic Band & Activity Tracker

2 years 2 months ago
MagPRO Smartwatch is a tracker with multiple features that make your daily life easier. Customize the face of the watch with hundreds of different custom backgrounds to fit your needs or make your own. It comes with a magnetic no-buckle wraparound band that’s sweatproof and waterproof. It’s available in four different colors and is on sale […]
Gretchen Heckmann

FTC Cites ‘Starfield’ Exclusivity In Response To Microsoft’s Opposition To Injunction Motion

2 years 2 months ago
Actions, as they say, have consequences. Or potential consequences, at least, in the case of Microsoft battling with the FTC. In the ongoing drama that is Microsoft’s attempted purchase of Activision, the FTC filed for a temporary restraining order barring the consummation of the purchase while its lawsuit remains unresolved. The first trial date in […]
Dark Helmet

Petty Corruption On Display As Chicago Cop Uses Bogus ‘Girlfriend Stole My Car’ Excuse To Get Out Of 44 Traffic Tickets

2 years 2 months ago
Some more great reporting based on public records has emerged from ProPublica. This one shows how willing cops are to exploit the system they’re supposed to be protecting and upholding. Now former officer Jeffrey Kriv certainly isn’t one of Chicago’s worst cops. There’s simply too much competition, given the PD’s long history of internal corruption […]
Tim Cushing

Techdirt Podcast Episode 355: The Reddit Meltdown

2 years 2 months ago
If you’re a Techdirt reader, a Reddit user, or both, then you probably know all about the chaos engulfing the site as users and moderators of popular subreddits protest CEO Steve Huffman’s recent changes to the site’s API. This week, we’re joined by Jay Peters from The Verge to talk about the situation, the protests, […]
Leigh Beadon

Important And Needed New Report: Scaling Trust On The Web

2 years 2 months ago
We talk a lot about the concept of “trust & safety” at internet companies, but the entire concept is relatively new, and still very confusing to many, including some who work in the field! Over the last few years we’ve seen a growing movement to organize and somewhat “professionalize” the space, with very important and […]
Mike Masnick