Enshittification News

Today's links IP can't save you from AI: Property rights cannot substitute for labor rights and privacy rights. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Flying Brits v brown people; Probability neglect; Law v "enhanced patdowns"; Onion says Brits love paywalls; "Hench"; "Lessons...

The Hypergear 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Dock is meticulously engineered to reduce the cable clutter and streamline your daily routine. Featuring 2 dedicated wireless charging surfaces, you can power up your phone and AirPods easily. In addition, you can charge your Apple Watch with the built-in...

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AI companies see words as interchangeable and have zero clue how to judge the “quality” of writing.

The post Measles Used to Be in Our Rearview Mirror. Now Cases Are Reaching Record Highs. appeared first on ProPublica .

Paramount bosses Larry and David Ellison aren’t having much fun in the wake of a 12 state antitrust lawsuit that risks derailing their $111 billion attempt to dominate what’s left of U.S. corporate media. There’s been a certain creeping desperation apparent the last month or two; whether it’s the...

A couple of months back, we discussed how screwworm infections had reappeared in Texas for the first time in decades. The foreign surveillance program designed to keep this from occurring in partnership with countries south of the border dissipated after losing funding as a result of the DOGE bros...

X is driving engagement by making users fight in the replies.

The Crime Anticipation System was discontinued in early 2026 after a devastating internal report concluded that its 'predictive' capabilities were extremely limited. The police were never able to demonstrate that the algorithm had any measurable impact on reducing crime.

Today's links Jennifer Jenkins' 'Music Copyright, Creativity, and Culture': The definitive textbook (with comics!). Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Hair-gel bombers v bras; Hair-gel bombers v chemistry; AOL digs for spammer's platinum; Stross on infosec in 2061; In-game...

We placed a tracking device in a shipment of rare books to see which AI company was buying it, and found an Amazon facility where Amazon scans and destroys books.

Amazon’s team uses a T. rex preparing to devour a book as its logo.

A few years ago a California appeals court produced the unfortunate Liapes v. Facebook decision. In this decision, it gave the go-ahead to age discrimination claims under California’s Unruh Act resulting from ads not being served to users of certain ages. It’s a nonsensical application of...

ChatGPT prompts show how an expert witness report was created in a $61 million lawsuit over an explosion that killed three people.

The post At “Quasi-Public” Private Schools, 100% of Students Get Tuition Vouchers. There’s Almost No Accountability. appeared first on ProPublica .

Concentrated capital has a bunch of weapons it can deploy against regulatory threats. One of the most common is the capital strike, which Paramount is right now using.

The deal settles class action lawsuits claiming Mindgeek's sites hosted and profited from abuse videos of minors.

Today's links Capital formation: Going legit means going mainstream. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: London Copyfighters x Speaker's Corner; TSA v lipstick; Long Beach v photographers; China x David Cameron's internet censorship; McMansion Hell; Copyrighting an MTG deck;...

This essay was written with Nathan E. Sanders, and originally appeared in The Guardian . OpenAI, and then Anthropic , were each formed by AI developers who feared unrestrained corporate AI development—specifically, that companies like Google and Meta would steer the technology towards deleterious,...

A new Meta patent published Thursday says a system, like its AI glasses, would use facial recognition to identify people, create a series of video clips, then provide you with a highlight reel of your night.

This week, we discuss the mainstreaming of Flock, media appearances, and Spotify's AI move.

This is a current list of where and when I am scheduled to speak: I’m speaking, signing books, and participating in panel discussions at LAcon V in Anaheim, California, USA. My full schedule is here . I’m speaking online (via Zoom) at a League of Women Voters event on Tuesday, September 22, 2026,...

Kalshi ordered to stop offering bets in Washington, must implement geofencing.

The post Inside Trump’s Failed Hunt for Noncitizen Voters appeared first on ProPublica .

The post Wall Street’s Nonprofits Use Selective, Opaque Logic to Defund Charities appeared first on ProPublica .

It can be daunting to determine who's responsible for showing ads on the websites we visit, or who's harvesting data from the mobile apps we use every day. That information is already semi-public, but it is not easily parsed and traditionally much of it has remained walled away in the hands of...

Raffi Krikorian explains that while consumers flock to ChatGPT and Claude, companies are increasingly turning to open models that they can customize and control.

This essay was written with Nathan E. Sanders, and originally appeared in Tech Policy Press . AI represents the first time we humans can do cognitive work outside of our bodies at scale. The only comparable moment is the early years of the industrial revolution, when new technologies like the steam...

The mark flags anything Claude processed, even human writing it only edited.

The post A Youth Sports Giant Promised Reforms to Protect Kids From Sexual Abuse. Most Never Happened. appeared first on ProPublica .

Flock Safety, the embattled vendor of mass surveillance technology, has rolled out a handful of new reforms intended to appease the justified nationwide anger that has seen scores of towns cancel or suspend their contracts with the company for automated license plate readers (ALPRs). The reforms...

Today's links Model collapse: Living in a world that's trained on itself. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Wired v Dutch hackers; NYT v DMCA; Hair gel terrorist threat does not exist; AT&T merger is a screwjob; Smart cities are stupid; RIP Reaganomics. Upcoming...

Here's how to opt out of Twitch's new generative AI training setting.

Streaming platform says user-generated content "may be used for future Gen AI model improvements."

This seems to work : Researchers from Tracebit on Monday said they found that placing prompt injections alongside passwords, cryptographic keys, and other secrets stored on Amazon Web Services was often all that was needed to shut down attacks from AI hacking agents. The prompts direct the...

ICE plans to spends tens of millions of dollars on the gloves, which are supposed to incapacitate people. A manual 404 Media found says the gloves may even contribute to “sudden death.”

Trump admin claims New York suing Kalshi created "market emergency."

The post Fiasco in the Factory: Taxpayers Funded a $533 Million Artillery Plant That Made Nothing appeared first on ProPublica .

The post “They’re Putting Kids’ Lives at Risk”: How Abuse in a Tennessee Businessman’s Juvenile Prisons Remained Under Wraps appeared first on ProPublica .

Today's links Surveillance vs guillotines: Someone's gonna fleece these rubes, why not me? Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: DeCSS; Warhol Worm; Camgirls x Amazon wishlists; 2021 State of Tech (in 2001); RIAA v grieving family; Stasi disguises. Upcoming appearances:...

Microsoft today released updates to remedy at least 398 security vulnerabilities in its Windows operating systems and supported software, including one weakness that is already being actively exploited and two others that were publicly detailed prior to today.

Judges tell Meta that Section 230 provides a defense, not immunity from lawsuits.

We’ve had a few questions from EFF supporters lately, asking whether the images we use on our blog posts, or on donation and shop items, have been created with AI image generators. We’d like to answer these questions and clarify our internal policy regarding image creation. EFF images are all made...

Imagine if McDonald’s could use trademark law to control how you use the term “fast food.” Or if the Canadian government could stop you from using the word “Canada” in the title of a book about the country and its people. That wouldn’t just be absurd; it would be an unacceptable obstacle to...

The post Is There Anyone Who Can Respond to My FOIA Requests? Anyone? appeared first on ProPublica .

Today’s Democratic gubernatorial primary in Wisconsin has featured increasingly desperate attacks against the frontrunner. The post Francesca Hong’s “Thanksgiving-Gate” Shows Her Detractors Are Totally Out of Ideas appeared first on The Intercept .

Interesting empirical research: “ Black Box Warfare: Human Judgment and Military Decision-Making in the Age of AI .” Abstract: How is AI transforming decision-making in modern conflict? This study provides a unique empirical window into that question by deploying a high-fidelity replica of an AI...

Today's links The bureaucratic AI arms-race is mutually assured destruction: The only way to win is not to play. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Seymour Cray's tunnels; War on moisture; $5 wrench cryptanalysis; Nauru files; People's Ride; German transit upholstery...

Big tech is in a lot of trouble, as the law, the financing, and the American people turn against them. Plus, Amazon's antitrust troubles, and a crack in the electric utility high billing scam.

Amazon announces first off-the-grid data center in race to reap AI profits.

Access to accurate information about reproductive and maternal health can be critical. But on Meta's platforms, simply talking about prescription medication, abortion care, or one's own medical experiences can be enough to trigger content removals and account restrictions. That's why EFF recently...

The post More Than Half the Homes in East Omaha Have Unsafe Lead Levels. That Doesn’t Mean the EPA Will Clean Them Up. appeared first on ProPublica .

Today's links Digital sewer socialism: Mamdani's Public Interest Technologists are what DOGE should have been. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Robot garage takes hostages; Thermostat ransomware; Correlate audience exhalations; Judges x TOR; Expectations management....

New Mexico judge orders $567M fund to help address youth mental health crisis.

For a little under a year, everyone — myself included — has compared NVIDIA to Enron, largely because NVIDIA insisted, in detail, that it was nothing like Enron, WorldCom, or Lucent , a potent example of the Streisand Effect that would be much funnier if NVIDIA wasn’t holding up

The post House Democrats Demand Answers From Trump’s VA on Vets Struggling to Access Mental Healthcare appeared first on ProPublica .

The post What Is the Trump Administration Doing With Foreign Aid Money? appeared first on ProPublica .

Founded by Trump ally and right-wing billionaire Peter Thiel, Palantir has attacked the press and works in the digital surveillance space. The post State Department Wants Palantir’s Advice on Free Speech and “Countering Digital Surveillance” appeared first on The Intercept .

The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, joined by the Attorney General of Tennessee, announced today that they will require CRH and its subsidiary APAC-Tennessee to divest two hot-mix asphalt plants as part of its acquisition of Standard Construction to address antitrust concerns in western...

Today's links Eternal Sloptember: Mark Zuckerberg and the fantasy of social media without socializing. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Delany x The Onion; Duran Duran x Second Life; Spammers x blog pings; Privacywashing v Doordash; Good ideas are popular. Upcoming...

Big Tech’s overbroad arguments that their addictive social media features are protected speech were dealt a major blow in an order issued Thursday in the combined TikTok, Meta, and Google v. Bonta cases. These cases involved First Amendment challenges against California’s SB 976, which prohibits...

Six months after trying to automate myself, I gave Claude Fable 5 a bigger job: replacing Casey

The post He’s Eligible for Up to $480,000 After Being Wrongly Imprisoned for 42 Years. The State Says No. appeared first on ProPublica .

Today's links Google is a scammer's paradise: The internet's absentee landlord. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS; EZ realistic corpse; $300m login button; Short Uber; Who goes AI? Upcoming appearances: Edinburgh, Sydney, Melbourne,...

Executive Summary: Microsoft disclosures and Bloomberg analyses show that OpenAI's compute spend and revenue share accounted for 70% or more of Microsoft's FY26 AI revenues, and more than 7% of Microsoft's overall FY2026 revenues. Microsoft has spent $261.3 billion in capital expenditures since

Today, the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division (“Antitrust Division”) is withdrawing a 1987 Business Review Letter (the “1987 BRL” or the “Letter”) issued to Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”). ISS is a foreign-owned proxy advisory firm that advises its clients on how to vote shares...

The post James Talarico Accused Ken Paxton of Voter Fraud. His Own Voter Registration Is Raising Questions. appeared first on ProPublica .

The post Lead Contamination Is Still a Problem in Omaha. Why Is the City Cleaning Up Some Yards and Not Others? appeared first on ProPublica .

The Senate Commerce Committee will vote this week on several censorious and privacy invasive bills: KOSA , the SCREEN Act , Youth AI Privacy Act, and CHATBOT Act . While we appreciate that the Committee is taking the time to look at these bills separately, it’s still impossible to ignore the...

Plus, a recap of tech stories you missed in July 2026

We, the undersigned organizations and members of the #KeepItOn coalition — a global network of over 370 organizations from 106 countries working to end internet shutdowns — appeal to you, President Hakainde Hichilema, to ensure that people in Zambia have unfettered access to the internet, digital...

Today's links Post-American compute for a post-American Internet: Building cooperative human rights computing infrastructure in Puerto Rico, the EU, Canada and Mexico. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Urine Luck; Germany v pornoscanners; Moorcock's 3-day novels; Women's...

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has endorsed a commonsense technical interpretation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), a law not usually given to such interpretation. Amazon had sued Perplexity AI to try to shut down its Comet browser, claiming the browser’s optional agentic AI...

Across mobile platforms, advertising companies provide developers with software development kits (SDKs) that make it easy to monetize their apps. But those same SDKs can automatically feed users’ location data into ad systems that location data brokers use to track people. Many developers may not...

In the scorching heat of every Las Vegas summer, EFF joins thousands of hackers, makers, policy analysts, and activists for the world's largest computer security gathering. If you're there during this summer security week, be sure to say hello to us at BSides Las Vegas , Black Hat Briefings , and...

The post Greg Abbott Blasted Corpus Christi for Its Water Crisis. A River Authority He Has Power Over Is Falling Apart. appeared first on ProPublica .

The post The EPA Doesn’t Typically Retest Homes in the Country’s Largest Residential Lead Superfund Site. So We Did. appeared first on ProPublica .

The post The EPA Spent Millions Cleaning Up a Massive Superfund Site. Our Tests Found Toxic Levels of Lead in Many Yards. appeared first on ProPublica .

The post Joint statement on surveillance and interception in Bangladesh appeared first on Access Now .

Some platforms are turning against AI-generated content. Others are embracing it. What gives?

EFF joined a group of 18 civil society organizations to send a letter encouraging New York Governor Kathy Hochul to veto Senate Bill 9934A, the New York Stealth Crawler Prohibition Act . The letter states: While framed as a measure to protect local journalism, this legislation harms free expression...

Today's links Dualism: Why not both? Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: UK's Great Firewall falls; Mint the coins; Virtual pets v DRM; Getty copyfrauds 47,000 photos; Net Mexico-US illegal migration is zero; Build a wall (around Trump Tower); Remote-hacking big rigs;...

The post FCC Commissioners Face Ethics Complaints for Taking Luxury Gifts From Paramount appeared first on ProPublica .

The post Solar Developer Cancels Washington State Project on Sacred Indigenous Land appeared first on ProPublica .

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in July issued a proposed policy statement “concerning the suppression of accuracy in artificial intelligence systems. ” We urge the FTC to withdraw this misguided proposal and instead focus on its core strengths and mission to protect consumers. The new proposed...

It's time. Time for tinkerers, security researchers, hackers, and fellow nerds to gather together in signature black hoodies and utilikilts to beat the heat in Las Vegas for the summer security conferences: BSidesLV , Black Hat USA , and DEF CON . EFF's lawyers, activists, and technologists are...

If we're going to dump trillions into AI, it's time to audit the books of the big AI companies to see how the business actually works. That's how New Dealers would have done it.

Update: The Senate Commerce Committee voted to advance this bill on August 5, 2026. EFF continues to oppose the bill, which still needs approval from the full Senate. The Senate Commerce Committee is once again considering legislation that would dramatically expand age verification, and undermine...

Update: The Senate Commerce Committee voted to advance this bill on August 5, 2026. EFF continues to oppose the bill, which still needs approval from the full Senate. The Senate Commerce Committee is poised to consider the Youth AI Privacy Act , a bill that would require AI companies to create...

Today's links Why businesses lie about AI: Humoring the boss all the way into bankruptcy. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Vinge x NYT; Syklarov x publishers; Human hair castles; Gingrich's bot army; Accessibility v Web DRM; David Byrne x WinXP; Furries don't fuck in...

The Federal government built a global navigation system, nicknamed "Lighthouses in the Sky" on which Google Maps, Wall Street, and shipping rely. Just don't call it socialism.

Update: The Senate Commerce Committee voted to advance this bill on August 5, 2026. EFF continues to oppose the bill, which still needs approval from the full Senate. Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing education, and the way people search for information. Parents, teenagers, teachers, and...

Today's links Better to beg forgiveness: Don't ring the doorbell at the house of no unless you absolutely must. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: RIP Poul Anderson; P2P at PC Forum; Waitress handed her own stolen ID by carded diner; PDX bans fixies; Digital Economy Bill...

Update: On August 5, 2026, The Senate Commerce Committee voted 15-13 to advance this bill , but the bill did not advance because of a lack of Senators in attendance. EFF continues to oppose the bill. The Senate Commerce Committee is set to consider S. 737 , the SCREEN Act, a sweeping...

California lawmakers have amended A.B. 1709 , but the core problem remains: the bill is still a ban on social media access for youth under 16 , and it still threatens the privacy and First Amendment rights of all Californians. Proponents of the bill may argue that the recent amendments represent a...

The post For the Second Time, Lawmakers Failed to Fix California’s Warning System for Teacher Misconduct appeared first on ProPublica .

This post is available as a printable one page handout in English and Spanish . Recordings of law enforcement, whether by bystanders or by those directly encountering officers, can be powerful tools of government accountability and can support movements for social change. But recording officers can...

On Friday, Governor JB Pritzker signed into law the Children’s Social Media Safety Act, a significant piece of legislation that regulates harmful platform design for minors, such as addictive feeds and overnight push notifications.

Today's links The stupidest imaginable excuses for surveillance pricing: Since 1850, San Francisco's Chamber of Commerce has been pissing in our mouths and calling it rain. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: RIP Wau Holland; Diebold voting machines suck; How to steal an...

Granola CEO Chris Pedregal on invisible AI bots, the coming fight over who sees your transcripts, and why he turns down the companies that ask for them

Cookie Banners Today, noyb has filed a complaint against the popular online dictionary dict.cc. The GDPR requires that consent is freely given, informed, specific and unambiguous. However, when visiting dict.c c , users are nudged into consenting to online tracking by a staggering 1,741 (!)...

Today's links Enshittification and Reverse Centaurs go global: The good globalism. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Fonz thumps x Linux; CBC v DRM; Aussie mall v photos; English town x CCTVs; Pay no taxes x Big Tech; Games Workshop v gamers; Delta x surveillance pricing....

Watches, bands, and rings—if you want to digitally monitor your fitness, more companies than ever are selling devices to do it. And more Americans than ever now own at least one wearable health device. But what are the companies that make fitness trackers doing to protect our sensitive data from...

Today's links Discernment: How can you fact-check AI when you're asking it to teach you something you don't understand? Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: How to help with computers; Batman equation; Fuck and the law; NC's racist voting law; Pregancy app is full of spyware;...

In the wake of OpenAI’s cyberattack against Hugging Face, few seem ready to acknowledge the implications

Update 8/10/2026: Two San Francisco bars that used Patronscan have said they will stop using the system after listening to customers’ privacy concerns. EFF applauds this change and we hope other bars follow suit by returning to ID-checking systems that respect their customers’ rights....

The concept of “surveillance pricing” is just one part of a much larger problem and business model: corporations maximizing their profits by invading our privacy. The all-too-common business model is to systematically harvest, collate, and store as much of our personal data as possible, and then...

Today's links How the EU can punish Google (despite Trump): Grant me the courage to change the things I can. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Chilling Effects; Billy Bragg v Myspace; Glenn Beck calls murdered Norwegian children "Hitler Youth"; Photog sues Getty for $1b...

Cheating as a business model exists because Americans can no longer sue big business. A Democratic Congress could fix this problem with one simple law. Plus, a defeat for Paramount-Warner, and more...

Today's links Apple's robo-repo: Privatizing the risk premium, socializing its costs. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Printed batteries; Monopoly credit cards; Mapping airport power outlets; EMI loves pirates; Mexican indigenous phone co-op; Sewer cover textiles; Surge...

Today's links AI solipsists and AI cynics: You don't have to believe that AI "works" to believe that it's a good investment. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Malware v stolen computer; Industrial material made from old coffee and melted cups; Austro-Germany's weird...

As more details emerge about OpenAI's cyberattack against Hugging Face, lawmakers are taking an interest. PLUS: Meta's cynical new ad + "pervert glasses" damage control

For years, John Deere had actively made repairing their tractors near-impossible for anyone but itself and the few "authorized" repair shops—regardless of the ability of its customers to actually visit such shops. Now, in a major win for farmers and right to repair advocates, John Deere must soon...

Executives and big law lawyers in the Nexstar-TEGNA case are openly showing contempt for a judge. And the ABA Antitrust bar is silent on the corruption of the Paramount-Warner merger.

Today's links California's privacy obstacle course: Malice or incompetence (why not both?). Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Continuous partial attention, TSA is the worst; Trump's FCC v the future. Upcoming appearances: Edinburgh, Sydney, Melbourne, Brighton, London,...

Police departments across the country are lining up to launch drone-as-first-responder (DFR) programs, and hundreds have cleared a necessary hurdle toward making deployment a reality, expanding aerial surveillance and data collection even in areas patrol officers typically can't reach. As of...

The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division announced today that it has returned to implementing targeted Second Request investigations to expedite merger review. The Division is also publishing a model timing agreement in connection with this release.

Intermediary liability laws around the world recognize that social media platforms, search engines, and other online service providers have become an integral part of our lives: they shape how we access information, communicate with others and participate in public debate, and foster innovation...

Today's links Trump's America can't even win a rigged game: America has created a post-American world. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: "Fagin"; Scott McCloud on comics' future; Laurie Penny on Milo Yiannopoulos; Singaporean regulator rap; Conservatives as bitter rubes....

Glaze's Thomas Paul Mann on disposable software, the SaaS apocalypse, and why half the software you use in a few years will be something you made. PLUS: OpenAI's rogue model, and the distillation debate

The home appliance giant LG Electronics USA said this week it plans to suspend any apps built for its smart TVs that turn one's television into an always-on residential proxy node. The move comes less than a month after researchers found that more than 42 percent of games and other apps available...

Today's links Dealing with dickovers: The web is an open platform, and that matters. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Broadcast's bad week; Congress v wifi; EFF v DRM law; Snowden and bunnie's smartphone smartcase. Upcoming appearances: Edinburgh, Sydney, Melbourne,...

Today was a good day for the anti-monopoly movement, and Hollywood artists. It was not a good day for Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison and his legal team trying to roll up Hollywood.

There’s a new boogeyman in the battles over AI: so-called “stealth crawlers.” We’ll admit it—the term “stealth crawlers” sounds quite nefarious. In reality, they’re anything but. “Stealth crawlers” are simply automated tools to access and collect public web data—without disclosing the user’s...

Sony will no longer ship physical copies of games, prompting widespread anger from customers at how their ownership rights are being stripped by powerful monopolies. Plus, SpaceX craters...

A new report from the Government Accounting Office reveals that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to nearly triple the number of surveillance towers along U.S. borders, from the current 830 to 2,300 by 2034. DHS expects to expend $1 billion in taxpayer dollars for this dangerous...

Are you a California resident? Then we've got exciting news for you: there's a tool just for you that lets you take a single, relatively easy step to protect your privacy. It's called a DROP request. (That's Delete Request and Opt-out Platform, if you're fancy). This one bit of paperwork lets you...