Lobbyists for major tech firms like Cisco and IBM are trying to push through legislation in Colorado that would drastically roll back a groundbreaking right to repair law under the guise of protecting national security and data centers. The legislation, which passed through a Colorado state senate committee on Thursday, would exempt hardware from the…

At least three people warned Quittr, an app that wants to help men stop masturbating, about serious security issues for months, but the creators of the app didn’t fix them until weeks after 404 Media reached out for comment multiple times.  “I emailed the founders and explained the vulnerability. A developer responded, said he was…

Across most of the U.S., if you want to watch porn online, you have to hand over a government ID or submit to a biometric scan to determine you’re over 18 years of age. But people in Wisconsin can keep freely accessing porn sites—and any other website that hosts more than one third adult content—after…

Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) police are performing dozens of license plate lookups on Flock cameras for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to public records that show details of the searches. The practice highlights how ICE, which does not have a contract with Flock, continues to get access to Flock’s AI-powered license…

Welcome back to the Abstract! Here are the studies this week that rolled with it, went out on a limb, gravitationally waved, and spotted relics in our midst. First, hundreds of prehistoric dice sets shed light on the dawn of gambling. Then: these disembodied arms are horny, the forbidden fruits of supernovae, and baby food…

This is Behind the Blog, where we share our behind-the-scenes thoughts about how a few of our top stories of the week came together. This week, we discuss crypto, journalists using AI, and a cool photo of Earth. JOSEPH: I can’t talk about the story just yet, but recently I had to acquire some cryptocurrency…

Minnesota photojournalist Rob Levine and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press are suing the Federal Aviation Administration over a recently issued restriction that prevents drones from flying within 3,000 feet of Department of Homeland Security buildings and vehicles, an amorphous no-fly zone that encompasses Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents. The FAA issued the…

In 1969, the three astronauts of the Apollo 10 mission conducted a momentous “dress rehearsal” for putting humans on the lunar surface for the first time. It was a historic, inspiring moment for humanity; Astronaut John Young watched from a command module spacecraft as Thomas Stafford and Gene Cernan broke away and flew a lunar…