New from 404 Media: Flock exposed some of its AI-powered cameras to the internet. We know because we tracked ourselves with them. These cameras zoom in on passersby, sometimes so close we could read a random person's phone screen. Required no login to view cameras www.404media.co/flock-expose...

This is the correct take on the whole Trump AI EO situation and it amazes me how many folks in the industry and tech policy circles are falling for the grift. Kudos @mmasnick.bsky.social for saying it. www.techdirt.com/2025/12/12/t...

Holy shit. Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa. www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...

tfw you aren't a billioinaire so you have to do a gofundme for your powertrip 🥺

Ok Bluesky, let’s give this a go: I found this postcard in the back of a photo frame I bought at a London thrift shop. It’s an unsent postcard from a woman called Linda to her parents. The front shows the Kremlin in Moscow and the stamp says 1984 (!). I’d love to return it to Linda - can you help?

Holy shit.

I don’t want to seem out of touch but I don’t actually understand the economy anymore.

I’m petitioning to add a tuna protein option at Chipotle. Who’s with me?

For some reason, I'm suddenly recalling how all of MAGA has been claiming that Biden's pardons don't count because they were done by "autopen" meaning he didn't really know about them or approve them. Not sure why I'm suddenly thinking about that, but it just sprang to mind.

Words can hardly capture how proud I am of my students. I'm so excited about this new student organization dedicated to the First Amendment and I'm honored to serve as their faculty advisor.

I love that my local library makerspace enables me to fight for a less smelly apartment walkway.

Over the past week, the president said the DOJ should pay him a quarter billion dollars, bulldozed half the White House to build himself a gaudy ballroom, bragged about murdering civilians in international waters, pardoned some more criminals, directed federal prosecutors to indict his opponents ...

wow, which common vaccine was it?

I’ve been looking forward to this for half a year :) Time to take true ownership of my Kindle.

Folks. I'm going to suggest that the interim United States attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia is... not very bright.

President Denies Reality Of Massive Nationwide Protests While Posting Videos of Himself Dumping Shit On Citizens "The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command…. And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed–if all records…

EXCLUSIVE: Embattled Trump nominee Paul Ingrassia told Republicans that the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday should be “tossed into the seventh circle of hell” and that he has “a Nazi streak,” according to a group chat viewed by POLITICO.

Please tell me a First Amendment lawyer is willing to step up here and defend this woman.

Normalize riding your bike to Costco.

The participation of big name funnymen, including Dave Chappelle, Aziz Ansari and Kevin Hart, provoked criticism from fellow comedians and human rights groups.

Will be exciting to see World Cup games limited to Jacksonville, Fort Worth, Oklahoma City, Fresno, Bakersfield and Tulsa

This weak, brazen attempt by Stephen Miller both to chill free speech and to set up a premise to criminalize it — and, to be clear, this is the very type of speech most central to First Amendment protections — would be laughably embarrassing if this man did not have the power that he has.

Wait till they give me tenure.

This is an abuse of government authority from Rep. Clay Higgins. It's jawboning. It's a violation of the First Amendment. And Americans on the left and right *must* condemn it. The government using censorship to "protect" speech is utterly repulsive. clayhiggins.house.gov/wp-content/u...

For 17 years working in trust and safety, I've watched talented people burn out on impossible tasks. The problem isn't the people, it's the systems. Traditional moderation requires months of retraining for every policy change. Only big companies can afford it, and even then it works poorly. 🧵 1/9

Wrote about the DOJ's investigation into the faculty at George Mason for daring to... support their President after a series of bogus DOJ investigations into him and the school. And I wonder where all the "but mah academic freedom" people are, noting that Bari Weiss's Free Press is silent...

My piece in @techdirt.com commends South Park for their bold and unapologetic political clap-back at Trump. Today's tenuous climate around the First Amendment makes it a huge risk, especially with a federal deepfake law on the books that carries criminal charges. www.techdirt.com/2025/07/28/o...

Oh My God, TAKE IT DOWN Kills Parody Donald Trump is a notorious media bully. He uses lawsuits, executive power, and political pressure to punish critics and bend institutions to his will. Disney, Meta, and Paramount have since paid out multi-million-dollar settlements over content disputes. CBS…

Seems bad that the head of the DOJ's "civil rights division" is cheering on Elon Musk using SLAPP suits to silence non-profit media orgs. But what do I know? But tell me again how MAGA is the "free speech" party.

📢 @teslatakedown.com 🚨 ALL HANDS ON DECK in LA We're calling on ALL SoCal crews to come together at the newly opened TESLA DINER this weekend. Elon thinks he can destroy democracy, take innocent lives, and celebrate with a milkshake? We say HELL NO ✊ 📍 actionnetwork.org/events/tesla...

Technically reverse chronological is an algorithm... *ducks*

I thought the TikTok ban was an idiotic moral panic and a gross curtailment of expressive freedom, but I’m at least as uncomfortable about a scenario where a platform with 170m US users exists entirely on the personal sufferance of Donald Trump (or any president).

important note: the LAPD has figured out it can get footage from Waymos: www.404media.co/lapd-publish...

According to the official White House account, the US is in the midst of an "insurrection" that warrants federalization of the National Guard, which is why the President is attending a UFC fight and hanging out with Dana White.

My thoughts on the Take It Down Act as someone who used to handle copyright takedown (and other) requests at Google. 🧵 As many have said, this law will be used as the ultimate weapon for the Trump Admin to censor speech from their political opponents (and more). www.theverge.com/policy/62497...

I am not at IAPP GPS, but reading my LinkedIn feed right now, I'm seeing /so many/ posts from privacy friends who are outraged at the keynote from Sam Altman, who was apparently expected to talk about AI and privacy and instead spent the whole time doing a sales pitch for Worldcoin.

Some of you might remember my old pal John Ruiz. That's right, the one who threatened frivolous defamation suits, told me he was a "litigator of national magnitude" and filed a bar complaint against me for being mean to him online. He's back! platformpolemics.aricohn.com/p/john-ruiz-...

Twelve of them! They got Zuck too

Another day, another online government snitch form that you know damn well what to do with. enddei.ed.gov

the shift from “I never thought leopards would eat MY face” to “eat my face harder leopard daddy” must be studied

Pretty surreal moment! Next week, I’ll be testifying to the house judiciary committee to discuss #government #surveillance of U.S. citizens. A very timely and important conversation given #FISA is up for reauthorization in 2026. judiciary.house.gov/committee-ac... Cc: @dell.bsky.social

FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson requests public comment about content moderation practices because he wants declare social media "censorship" an unfair/deceptive trade practice--which the First Amendment doesn't allow. Here's the comment form. Do your thing, Internet: www.regulations.gov/commenton/FT...

Maybe I wasn’t clear about this. I wanted more egg and no plane crash, not many plane crash and no egg.

Brendan Carr's biggest accomplishment in life is to make a mockery of the First Amendment he pretended to support to win the praise of a dictator who barely knows he exists.

I have to say that the fact that the people destroying the country are such fucking morons kind of stings.

This is an excellent essay and should be shared widely. "Musk, a man who appears to view the United States government as merely another acquisition target for his interplanetary ambitions, is participating in the dismantling of constitutional governance."

This article includes a reference to my post suggesting that Musk is violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

Yeah, one of the few current reporting groups I have no problems putting money towards. (Though, I don't know why my old, supposedly recurring membership, did not actually reoccur...).

So I posted this late yesterday on a whim, because I always forget to ask people to support Techdirt, and... wow. So many of you donated to us, and I'm so thankful for every donation, no matter how much. The Bluesky community is amazing. And stay tuned to what articles we've got lined up today...