Feeding the machine
Following 1998, when the The post Feeding the machine appeared first on net.wars .
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Opportunity costs
Last week, many media reported that in January 2025 a US citizen named Sam Tunick, arriving at the international airport in Atlanta, was stopped for questioning and told to hand over his phone. It appears that he gave the border agent a duress password an unlocking code that wiped the phone when the agent Continue reading "Opportunity costs" The post Opportunity costs appeared first on net.wars .
Journeys through online harms
X.AI the company was-trillionaireElon Musk built in 2025 by smashing together X (the former Twitter) and xAI, which he founded in 2023 is suing the state of Minnesota, claiming that its new law banning access to nudification technology violates the First Amendment. X.AI, which SpaceX swallowed early this year, argues that it s already Continue reading "Journeys through online harms" The post…
Escaping the sandbox
This week, France became the first European country to pass a social media ban. Under-15s will be blocked from opening new accounts on social media from September, and banned entirely from January 2027. As the BBC notes, implementation will require everyone in France to prove they are over 15 to use social media. Other European Continue reading "Escaping the sandbox" The post Escaping the sandbox…
How the other half scams
Years ago, when landlines were still common and Internet shopping was not, I got a phone call from a policeman, who said he was in Selfridges and did I know where my credit card was? Suppressing the triggered memories of It s 10 PM. Do you know where your children are?, I said, yes, yes, I Continue reading "How the other half scams" The post How the other half scams appeared first on net.wars .
Change of plan
It feels like the beginning of an inflection point that plans for a gigantic data center are being abandoned after years of litigation trying to block it. The story, as told by Etiido Uko at Tom s Hardware, is that the last of several stakeholders has abandoned the Virginia Digital Gateway, which was going to be Continue reading "Change of plan" The post Change of plan appeared first on net.wars .
International relations
The US Supreme Court s decision this week in Trump v. Slaughter, giving the US president the power to control supposed-to-be independent agencies set up and funded by Congress, may be as profound internationally as it is domestically. In his newsletter, the economist Paul Krugman calls the president s new power dictatorial , and notes the Court s exception Continue reading "International…
Parting glances
So Britain will soon wave off yet another prime minister; they ve been dropping like flies ever since the 2016 Brexit vote. At the Guardian, John Crace snarks that come Remembrance Sunday they ll need more space around the Cenotaph for all the former prime ministers (nine, plus whoever s next). I had hoped for two things from Continue reading "Parting glances" The post Parting glances appeared…
Banned
Some policies are popular until people examine the details. This may be happening with social media bans like the one UK prime minister Keir Starmer announced this week. It will prohibit under-16s from using the main social media platforms or livestreaming, ban under-18s from using romantic simulation chatbots, and limit strangers ability to contact under-16s Continue reading "Banned" The post…
Technology distinguishable from magic
This week, a regional court in Munich issued what may be a landmark decision: it ruled that Google is liable for the content of its AI Overviews . The court was careful to distinguish between these, which Google s algorithms generate, and search results, which link to content on third-party websites Google does not control. In other Continue reading "Technology distinguishable from magic" The post…