Policy / Civilization & Discontents
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TikTok vaguely disputes report that it’s making a US-only app
TikTok has spent months separating code for US-only algorithm, insiders claim.
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NYT targets Street View Worldle game in fight to wipe out Wordle clones
Worldle creator surprised by fight, refuses to bow to NYT.
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Musk can’t avoid testifying in SEC probe of Twitter buyout by playing victim
Class action alleges secret Twitter stock scheme ahead of Musk's SEC testimony.
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Washing machine chime scandal shows how absurd YouTube copyright abuse can get
Samsung's catchy end-of-cycle jingle gets caught up in YouTube copyright drama.
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Amazon execs may be personally liable for tricking users into Prime sign-ups
Emails reveal Amazon has pushed back on FTC demands for data on all Prime users.
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Google accused of secretly tracking drivers with disabilities
Google recklessly violated privacy laws to spike ad profits, lawsuit says.
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Families of Uvalde shooting victims sue Activision over Call of Duty’s role
Suit: Activision is "manipulating players' brain chemistry," ignoring "use by minors."
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Nvidia denies pirate e-book sites are “shadow libraries” to shut down lawsuit
Will quibbling over the meaning of "shadow libraries" help Nvidia's case?
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Another US state repeals law that protected ISPs from municipal competition
With Minnesota repeal, number of states restricting public broadband falls to 16.
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Biden’s new import rules will hit e-bike batteries too
The tariffs’ effects on the bike industry are still up in the air.
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OpenAI backpedals on scandalous tactic to silence former employees
OpenAI releases employees from evil exit agreement in staff-wide memo.
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Democratic consultant indicted for Biden deepfake that told people not to vote
Steven Kramer charged with voter suppression and faces possible $6 million fine.
Paul Sutter walks us through the future of climate change—and things aren’t great
This episode of Edge of Knowledge focuses on our rapidly transforming world.
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Sky voice actor says nobody ever compared her to ScarJo before OpenAI drama
OpenAI’s feud with Scarlett Johansson could cost Hollywood AI deals.
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US sues Ticketmaster and owner Live Nation, seeks breakup of monopoly
Live Nation has monopolized "nearly all live music in America today," US says.
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T-Mobile imposes $5 monthly price hike on customers using older plans
T-Mobile raises rates $2 or $5 per line on "some of our oldest rate plans."
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Lawmakers say Section 230 repeal will protect children—opponents predict chaos
Repeal bill is bipartisan but has opponents from across the political spectrum.
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Investigation shows how easy it is to find escorts, oxycodone on Eventbrite
The site even promotes illegal opioid sales to folks seeking addiction support.
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Google sends DOJ unexpected check in attempt to avoid monopoly jury trial
Google steals DOJ tactic to dodge owing damages by paying DOJ upfront.
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Tesla shareholder group opposes Musk’s $46B pay, slams board “dysfunction”
Letter urges shareholders to reject CEO pay plan and boot two board members.
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“CSAM generated by AI is still CSAM,” DOJ says after rare arrest
Software engineer arrested, suspected of grooming teen with AI-generated CSAM.
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Municipal broadband advocates fight off attacks from “dark money” groups
"Social welfare" groups spread industry talking points against public broadband.
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23-year-old man accused of running $100 million online narcotics marketplace
The dark web's Incognito Market allowed people to buy and sell narcotics worldwide.
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Scarlett Johansson says Altman insinuated that AI soundalike was intentional
OpenAI pauses use of "Sky" voice after threat of legal action.
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Judge: Craig Wright forged documents on “grand scale” to support bitcoin lie
Wright "lied repeatedly and extensively" in response to forgery allegations.
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BLM ends future coal mining on Powder River Basin federal lands
The move compounds pressure on coal communities to diversify their economies.
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Financial institutions have 30 days to disclose breaches under new rules
Amendments contain loopholes that may blunt their effectiveness.
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Slack users horrified to discover messages used for AI training
Slack says policy changes are imminent amid backlash.
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Twitter URLs redirect to x.com as Musk gets closer to killing the Twitter name
X.com stops redirecting to Twitter.com over a year after company name change.
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sues Meta, citing chatbot’s reply as evidence of shadowban
Presidential candidate believes Meta’s chatbot can reliably reveal shadowbans.
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Tesla must face fraud suit for claiming its cars could fully drive themselves
Lawsuit targets 2016 claim that all Tesla cars "have full self-driving hardware."
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Bumble apologizes for ads shaming women into sex
Bumble admits "mistake" after critics explained why celibacy is a valid choice.
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Concerns over addicted kids spur probe into Meta and its use of dark patterns
EU is concerned Meta isn't doing enough to protect children using its apps.
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MIT students stole $25M in seconds by exploiting ETH blockchain bug, DOJ says
Brothers charged in novel crypto scheme potentially face decades in prison.
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DOJ says Boeing faces criminal charge for violating deal over 737 Max crashes
DOJ determined that Boeing violated 2021 agreement spurred by two fatal crashes.
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Downranking won’t stop Google’s deepfake porn problem, victims say
Delisting non-consensual deepfake porn on Google is "draining," victim says.
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AT&T paid bribes to get two major pieces of legislation passed, US gov’t says
Payments helped AT&T obtain key legislative wins in Illinois, prosecutors say.