People always assume content moderation is easy. Remove the bad stuff. Keep the good stuff. The reality is that it's all a series of tradeoffs where every decision has problems, and the decisions *you* think are obvious, often turn out to have really negative consequences.

NEW: An AI-generated LEGO movie out of Iran depicting Trump as a war hungry pedophile has gone viral online and in the US. It's one of many. Meanwhile, Trump's AI slop isn't resonating with anyone but his own base. And yes, to be clear, this just speaks to how bad things are.

In response to the anonymously-briefed article in the FT last week floating new restrictions to FOI, Alex Parsons breaks down what’s proposed, and why it’s not a good solution www.mysociety.org/2026/03/19/r...

God forbid a woman have hobbies...

The AP's story on the IOC's new policy mentions that it "also restricts" athletes like two-time Olympic gold medalist Caster Semenya. That word "also" is doing a lot of work. New piece on who this policy is actually about: www.readtpa.com/p/the-iocs-n...

once got told off for drawing the cool S on a band-new homework diary on first day of a school year. some teachers just didn't appreciate my epic art.

obligatory @tomscott.com video www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WHm...

Just had a look around the Postal Museum's archive... and its parade of pillars.

after much deliberation and giving AI the benefit of the doubt, Wikipedia editors have had enough of AI slop. New policy bans LLM generated content, periodt www.404media.co/wikipedia-ba...

The Oversight Board flagged that a global Community Notes expansion in repressive human rights regimes, and conflict and election-sensitive countries, could create significant human rights risks and tangible harms that Meta must address, reports Ramsha Jahangir.

Starting April 24, GitHub Copilot will use your interaction data for training by default. Be sure to manually opt-out in your settings if you'd rather not. github.blog/news-insight...

Blog Post: Comments on the Jury Verdict in the Los Angeles Social Media Addiction Bellwether Trial blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/202...

Well this is pretty obviously a bollocks claim. It isn't like parties are not printing the leaflets in English, just that some ensure they are inclusive by printing them in other languages as well. Banning that actively excludes people, not the other way round. news.sky.com/story/electi...

There’s currently no legal requirement for Apple to carry out device-level age checks in the UK. Ofcom is, of course, as happy as Larry that Apple is rolling them out anyway.

If you can't pass the age check rolling out in the UK via today's iOS update, Apple enables its web browsing restrictions device wide, blocking access to sites deemed "adult" or otherwise inappropriate for kids. If a site you want to visit is on that list, you’re shit out of luck. #censorship

The disinformation being spread, particularly by anti-trans activists (who are in lock step with the Christian Right) is wild. Abortion is still tightly regulated and gate kept and still requires two doctors to agree. The limit remains 24 weeks. 90% of abortions happen before 10 weeks.

Reform UK has lost a lot of momentum of late - which is exactly what happens when you’re chronically incapable of actually running a council and keep hiring the people you’re supposed to be replacing. Almost as though there isn’t very much of a plan, right?

What number of UK users constitutes a 'significant number' for the purposes of the Online Safety Act 2023? decoded.legal/blog/2026/03...

Had to write about the monumental stupidity of @sanders.senate.gov "interview" with Claude was, and how the only thing it really revealed is that Sanders has no fucking clue how the tech works, which is not great for someone planning to regulate it.

Google's AI overview is helping spread bullshit again because its returning out of date info. Hatzola Northwest was in process of replacing older ambulances...3 to 4 years ago in 2022/23. Page cited is at least 3 year olds according to the Wayback machine. web.archive.org/web/20231201...

So, the biggest podcaster on the planet, Joe Rogan, is an HIV/AIDS denier. This will have significant trickle-down effects. My latest for @mcgilloss.bsky.social. www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/...

UK authors - I urge you to read this article about a school in Manchester who removed hundreds of our books from their library they deemed ‘inappropriate’ and share. This is appalling censorship - and it’s coming from the school’s head and SLT themselves. @indexoncensorship.org

NEW EPISODE OF #MAPMEN!!! 🗺️ Is this the world’s most annoying road? Come with Mark and me on what turns out was an impossible road trip. 🇺🇸🚗🇦🇷 Share and enjoy! youtu.be/knCojy_3bmk Also, can you work out how we did The Special Effect?

New: Group member labels, a way to describe yourself or your role in a group chat, only visible to that group chat. Label yourself the “Goalie” to your soccer team or “Favorite Child” to your family to stir some drama. Available on Android, Desktop & iOS signal.org/blog/group-m...

🚨Essex Police has halted its use of facial recognition tech after identifying potential “bias risks”. This should serve as a wake-up call for the Government and police. We need urgent safeguards in place to protect us from the dangers of this tech. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Perhaps it’s my warped sense of humor, but I’m quite enjoying watching Ofcom's abortive attempts to enforce the Online Safety act on 4chan.

North Oaks is the only city in the U.S. not on Google Street View. Because homeowners own the roads too, Google can't map them. So Chris Parr flew a drone through the city, got it on Street View. Interesting experiment in who gets or affords privacy vs those who don't www.404media.co/mapping-goog...

Ok. I wrote about the Afroman trial, including this incredible image of him being sworn in on the witness stand.

I can categorically say I don't want to know.

Officials have been anonymously briefing about the threat of FOI laws to national security in the FT. I've written a blog on Relight My FOI as to why a crackdown on transparency using the vague excuse of China would be a bad move. relightmyfoia.blog/2026/03/18/p...

Building all the aircraft and pod vehicles from the 1960s TV show Thunderbirds.

STICK IT ON A FIVE POUND NOTE

I may be crazy, but I think that if you are holding a Senate hearing about Section 230, the witnesses should have, maybe, read the statute?

New post from Neil Brown: The OSA, sex blogs, erotica, and Ofcom's approach to enforcement decoded.legal/blog/2026/03...

Today, the House of Lords will continue debating the Crime and Policing Bill. The debate will cover a Government amendment to confer sweeping delegated powers to rewrite online safety legislation. See our briefing on the amendment published last week 🔽 www.hansardsociety.org.uk/publications...

Open Iftar project has held events in Trafalgar Square since 2019. Eg: 2023. Easter, Chanukah Diwali + Vaisakhi also marked annually at Trafalgar Square. Nick Timothy - the Shadow Lord Chancellor - says "it shouldn't happen again" claiming it was "an act of domination and therefore division"

This will give platforms WAY more power over what we publish AND they will over-police content as they will avoid liability at ALL COST. They will not go to bat for users especially considering the sheer amount of content published by its users. This is not how you restrain big tech

Tom Scott returns to Nebula March 23.

Because if there’s one thing we really need to throw into the mess that is UK online safety rules, it’s our notoriously open to abuse defamation laws. 🙄

Coming round to that time of year when we find out how much Ofcom will reckon to spend on #OnlineSafetyAct in the coming year. Cumulatively, £279m so far.

Firefox is getting a free built-in VPN with 50GB monthly data. Launching March 24th in US, France, Germany and UK. 👀 blog.mozilla.org/en/firefox/f...

Good news!? John Oliver has never f*cked a couch. 🛋️

What is supremely daft about this line of attack from Phillipson is that any lawyer motivated by profit would not be acting in special needs cases. There are far more lucrative areas for any lawyer motivated by profit. www.theguardian.com/education/20...

You've Been Murdoched: Australia's Teen Ban Offers a Warning for Europe www.techpolicy.press/youve-been-m... In the UK, News UK "holds the same commercial position … a once-dominant publisher hollowed out by the platforms now being targeted." #socialmediaban #censorship #openweb #techpolicy

torrents are undefeated: www.404media.co/the-removed-...

I've just reviewed my 52nd Sticky Toffee Pudding. But what did it get out of 10?

can this be a solution?