Taylor Hatmaker
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Mueller report details the evolution of Russia’s troll farm as it began targeting US politics
On Thursday, Attorney General William Barr released the long-anticipated Mueller report. With it comes a useful overview of how Russia leveraged U.S.-based social media platforms to achieve its politi
Congress readies for Mueller report to be delivered on CDs
If there weren’t enough obstacles already standing between Congress and the results of the special counsel’s multiyear investigation, lawmakers are expecting to need an optical drive to re
Co-Star raises $5 million to bring its astrology app to Android
Nothing scales like a horoscope. If you haven’t heard of Co-Star, you might just be in the wrong circles. In some social scenes it’s pretty much ubiquitous. Wherever conversations regularl
Facebook’s Portal will now surveil your living room for half the price
No, you’re not misremembering the details from that young adult dystopian fiction you’re reading — Facebook really does sell a video chat camera adept at tracking the faces of you and yo
YouTube’s algorithm added 9/11 facts to a live stream of the Notre-Dame Cathedral fire
Some viewers following live coverage of the Notre-Dame Cathedral broadcast on YouTube were met with a strangely out of place info box offering facts about the September 11 attacks. BuzzFeed first repo
Facebook taps Peggy Alford for its board, Reed Hastings and Erskine Bowles to depart
Facebook’s board is undergoing its biggest shakeup in memory. On Friday, the company announced that Peggy Alford would be nominated to join the company’s board of directors. “Peggy i
Nancy Pelosi warns tech companies that Section 230 is ‘in jeopardy’
In a new interview with Recode, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made some notable comments on what by all accounts is the most important law underpinning the modern internet as we know it. Section 230 of t
Democrats draw up bill that would require tech platforms to assess algorithmic bias
Democratic lawmakers have proposed a bill to address the algorithmic biases lurking under the surface of tech’s biggest platforms. The bill, known as the Algorithmic Accountability Act, was intr
‘Hateful comments’ result in YouTube disabling chat during a live-streamed hearing on hate
At today’s House Judiciary hearing addressing “Hate Crimes and the Rise of White Nationalism,” hate appears to have prevailed. As the hearing’s live stream aired on the House J
Proposed bill would forbid big tech platforms from using dark pattern design
A new piece of bipartisan legislation aims to protect people from one of the sketchiest practices that tech companies employ to subtly influence user behavior. Known as “dark patterns,” th
Cybercrime groups continue to flourish on Facebook
You might be surprised what you can buy on Facebook, if you know where to look. Researchers with Cisco’s Talos security research team have uncovered a wave of Facebook groups dedicated to making
HyperSciences raises an untraditional $9.6M for its hypersonic drilling vision
We profiled HyperSciences in February, when the team had just successfully completed a launch milestone for a small business grant with NASA. The last time we checked in, the hypersonic drilling compa
Google’s anti-trans controversy is the latest case of big tech overcorrecting to the right
Google just smoothed over one spat with the LGBT community, but it’s already well into the next one. Last week, in an effort to monitor the ethical development of artificial intelligence and pre
Google pulls controversial anti-gay religious app from the Play Store
The same day the Human Rights Campaign downranked the company in its index of the best LGBTQ-friendly employers, Google decided to yank from the Play Store a controversial app accused of promoting con
Facebook’s handling of Alex Jones is a microcosm of its content policy problem
A revealing cluster of emails reviewed by Business Insider and Channel 4 News offers a glimpse at the fairly chaotic process of how Facebook decides which content crosses the line. In this instance, a
Palantir wins $800 million contract to build the US Army’s next battlefield software system
Palantir just landed a landmark contract with the U.S. Army worth north of $800 million. The Washington Post reports that the Silicon Valley data analytics company was tapped over traditional defense
Facebook is finally banning white supremacy that goes by other names
Facebook is abandoning a longstanding policy of allowing white supremacy to flourish on its platform under the guise of terms like white nationalism and white separatism. Motherboard first reported th
FAA proposal aims to ‘streamline’ regulations for future space launches
On Tuesday, the FAA and Department of Transportation published a proposal that greases the wheels for the commercial space industry, long bound by outdated regulations that were not created with a mod
No Man’s Sky’s next update will let you explore infinite space in virtual reality
No Man’s Sky just figured out a way to make a wildly absorbing space exploration game even more immersive. Announced during Sony’s first PlayStation State of Play update, No Man’s Sk
Trump promotes Michael Kratsios to US Chief Technology Officer
More than two years into the Trump administration, the long-vacant post of U.S. chief technology officer will be filled. Bloomberg first reported that today Trump is elevating Michael Kratsios, curren