Over the last few years, there have been a ton of lawsuits, pretty much all of them dubious, arguing that social media is inherently harmful to children (something the research does not show) and that therefore there is some sort of magic product liability claim that will hold social media companies responsible. A bunch of those lawsuits have been rolled up into a massive single multidistrict litigation case in California, under the catchy name: “In re: social media adolescent addiction/personal injury products liability litigation.” The docket is massive, currently with well over 750 document ..read more

The FCC on Thursday once again voted along party lines to restore popular net neutrality rules stripped away during the Trump administration in a flurry of protest and sleazy industry behavior. You might recall the 2017 repeal was so unpopular that telecom giants were caught using fake and dead people to create the illusion of public support. The Trump FCC was also caught making up a DDOS attack to explain away public outrage. And the repeal was a flurry of debunked lies, such as the claim that net neutrality would “stifle broadband investment” and represented “draconian government overreach ..read more

Envy those picture-perfect vlogs and YouTube channels? You can easily re-create them Aduro’s U-STREAM Home Streaming Studio. The 10″ ring light offers 3 distinct lighting options — white, warm yellow, and warm white. The brightness feature on the remote offers 10 different levels of brightness so you can choose what’s best for you. Not only that, this kit lets you shoot in all the right angles with its adjustable tripod stand that extends from 18″ to 52″ high. The phone holder has a non-slip rubber grip to hold your phone securely in place while streaming. U-STREAM is USB-powered so you can pl ..read more

Apparently TikTok is so evil and pernicious that it must be banned from the United States… and so useful that the man who signed the ban, President Joe Biden, made sure to post a few new videos to the platform. It feels like maybe his concerns are a bit overblown? It seems that TikTok users noticed. Makena Kelly from Wired reached out to the White House to ask the journalistic question of “wtf are you doing?” and basically got no answer. It doesn’t seem like the administration or campaign has plans for Biden to address it either. After the Wednesday speech, I reached out to the White House t ..read more

Last month the New York Times’ Kashmir Hill published a major story on how GM collects driver behavior data then sells access (through LexisNexis) to insurance companies, which will then jack up your rates. The absolute bare minimum you could could expect from the auto industry here is that they’re doing this in a way that’s clear to car owners. But of course they aren’t; they’re burying “consent” deep in the mire of some hundred-page end user agreement nobody reads, usually not related to the car purchase — but the apps consumers use to manage roadside assistance and other ..read more

MAGA SLAPP suits apparently aren’t going out of style, but yet another one has been tossed out of court. Remember lawyer Steven Biss? He was the grand filer of tons of SLAPP suits for the MAGA crowd against media outlets. He had quite a losing streak, with nearly all of those cases failing. Last fall, I heard some rumors that Biss had either died or was facing serious health problems. In September, reporter Josh Gerstein broke the news that he’d had a stroke. In January, Biss’ law license was suspended, not for all of his frivolous cases, but “on impairment grounds.” However, many of his cases ..read more

Back in October last year, Walled Culture wrote about a proposed law in France that would see a tax imposed on AI companies, with the proceeds being paid to a collecting society. Now that the EU’s AI Act has been adopted, it is being invoked as another reason why just such a system should be set up. The French collecting society SPEDIDAM (which translates as “Society for the collection and distribution of performers rights”) has issued a press release on the idea, including the following (translation via DeepL): SPEDIDAM advocates a right to remuneration for performers for AI-g ..read more

As case law continues to be developed, it continues to look as though the best way to hold onto your Fifth Amendment rights is to secure your devices with a passcode. There’s no solid consensus at this point, and the Supreme Court has yet to set precedent, but unless law enforcement really screws up while linking an arrestee to a seized device, most courts appear to feel that producing a fingerprint to unlock a phone is pretty much the same thing as producing a fingerprint when being booked. It’s “non-testimonial” — a biometric marker that not only can be used to identify you, but used against ..read more

The failures of the NCMEC CyberTipline to combat child sexual abuse material (CSAM) as well as it could are extremely frustrating. But as you look at the details, you realize there just aren’t any particularly easy fixes. While there are a few areas that could improve things at the margin, the deeper you look, the more challenging the whole setup is. There aren’t any easy answers. And that sucks, because Congress and the media often expect easy answers to complex problems. And that might not be possible. This is the second post about the Stanford Internet Observatory’s report on the NCMEC Cybe ..read more

This Little Wonder Solo Bluetooth Speaker may look small, but it produces as clear and powerful a sound as any other speaker. It comes in a solid and metallic look that is great for any setting and decor at your home, office, pool, picnic spot, and more! Connect this speaker to your smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth and enjoy your favorite music. It has a built-in mic and a lanyard to take with you anywhere you go. It’s available in a range of colors and is on sale for $20. Note: The Techdirt Deals Store is powered and curated by StackCommerce. A portion of all sales from Techdirt Deals help ..read more