Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt

This week, our first place winner on the insightful side is an anonymous comment about New York’s blatantly unconstitutional investigation into online platforms in the wake of the Buffalo shooting: So, what the’re saying is… This guy was able to leave a HUGE trail of information about his hate crimes… But now they want to demonize the same platforms...

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This Week In Techdirt History: May 15th – 21st

Five Years Ago This week in 2017, the NSA was pushing for a smooth renewal of Section 702 while more details were revealed about the process, and more info was emerging on the agency’s abuse of other programs. Meanwhile, we looked at the FCC’s efforts to make net neutrality supporters seem unreasonable, even though it was clear that most people support...

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Stone Brewing, Sycamore Brewing Reach Settlement

You will recall that we have been discussing a trademark suit between Sycamore Brewing and Stone Brewing recently. As you can see in images in the post we did about the lawsuit, and then the follow up post on the battle over an injunction requiring Stone Brewing to sticker over the offending branding, it’s pretty clear that this constituted trademark...

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The FBI Definitely Wanted NSO Group Malware For Investigative Use Despite Its Earlier (Non)Denial

The New York Times has obtained more information about the FBI’s courting of NSO Group, something that has since raised questions from its oversight. An earlier report from the Times stated that NSO Group had arrived at FBI headquarters in 2019 to allow the agency to test drive a version of its Pegasus malware, one that allowed it to target US phone...

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$100 Bluetooth Hack Can Unlock All Kinds Of Devices, Including Teslas, From Miles Away

While they’re not impervious, at least you know where you stand with a good, old fashioned dumb lock. That’s in stark contrast to so-called “smart” locks, which studies have repeatedly shown to be easily compromised with minimal effort. One report showed that 12 of 16 smart locks they tested could be relatively easily hacked thanks to flimsy security...

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No, Twitter Doesn’t Want To ‘Censor’ Anyone, It Just Wants Everyone To Stop Attacking Each Other

Last month I wrote about how, contrary to the weird narrative, Twitter has actually been among the most aggressive companies fighting for free speech online. While many people criticize it, they are wrong, or just uninformed. Mostly, they think (falsely) that because Twitter doesn’t want some speech that you like on their site, it somehow means they’re...

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Report Shows ICE’s Massive Surveillance Apparatus Is All Up In Americans’ Everything

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has long made its own case for abolishment. Before ICE earned its current reputation as a fake-school running, report-altering, rogue agency interested in ejecting as many non-white people from America as possible, ICE ran interference for entrenched industries. This led to things like ICE officers raiding...

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Daily Deal: The 2022 Cisco Certified Technician Training Prep Bundle

The 2022 Cisco Certified Technician Training Prep Bundle has 4 courses to help you pass the Cisco and CompTIA Network Exams. You’ll learn about the latest networking technologies, IPv4 and IPv6, advanced routing, switching, and more. It’s on sale for $35. Note: The Techdirt Deals Store is powered and curated by StackCommerce. A portion of all...

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If You Think Free Speech Is Defined By Your Ability To Be An Asshole Without Consequence, You Don’t Understand Free Speech (But You Remain An Asshole)

One of the more frustrating things about the various “debates” regarding “free speech” lately, is how little they are actually about free speech. Quite often, they are actually about people who are quite upset about having to face social consequences for their own free speech. But facing social consequences has always been part of free speech. Indeed,...

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Appeals Court Hands Qualified Immunity To Cops Who Arrested Someone Over Satirical Facebook Posts

Back in early 2016, Parma, Ohio resident Anthony Novak decided to have a little fun. He created a parody of the Parma Police Department’s Facebook page and began posting obviously satirical announcements, like the following: The Parma Civil Service Commission will conduct a written exam for basic Police Officer for the City of Parma to establish...

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