Podcast: Airlines Sold Your Flight Data to DHS—And Covered It Up

This week we start with Joseph’s article about the U.S’s major airlines selling customers’ flight information to Customs and Border Protection and then telling the agency to not reveal where the data came from. After the break, Emanuel tells us how AI scraping bots are breaking open libraries, archives, and museums. In the subscribers-only section,…

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One of the Universe’s Biggest Mysteries Has Been Solved, Scientists Say

🌘 Subscribe to 404 Media to get The Abstract, our newsletter about the most exciting and mind-boggling science news and studies of the week. Scientists have directly confirmed the location of the universe’s “missing” matter for the first time, reports a study published on Monday in Nature Astronomy.  The idea that the universe must contain…

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California Cops Investigate ‘Immigration Protest’ With AI-Camera System

📄 This article was primarily reported using public records requests. We are making it available to all readers as a public service. FOIA reporting can be expensive, please consider subscribing to 404 Media to support this work. Or send us a one time donation via our tip jar here. A California police department searched AI-enabled,…

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RNC Sued Over WinRed’s Constant ‘ALL HELL JUST BROKE LOOSE!’ Fundraising Texts

This article was produced in collaboration with Court Watch, an independent outlet that unearths overlooked court records. Subscribe to them here. A family in Utah is suing the Republican National Convention for sending unhinged text messages soliciting donations to Donald Trump’s campaign and continuing to text even after they tried to unsubscribe. “From Trump: ALL…

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I Tried Pre-Ordering the Trump Phone. The Page Failed and It Charged My Credit Card the Wrong Amount

On Monday the Trump Organization announced its own mobile service plan and the “​​T1 Phone,” a customized all-gold mobile phone that its creators say will be made in America.  I tried to pre-order the phone and pay the $100 downpayment, hoping to test the phone to see what apps come pre-installed, how secure it really…

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Meta Users Feel Less Safe Since It Weakened ‘Hateful Conduct’ Policy, Survey Finds

A survey of 7,000 Facebook, Instagram, and Threads users found that most people feel less safe on Meta’s platforms since CEO Mark Zuckerberg abandoned fact-checking in January. The report, written by Jenna Sherman at UltraViolet, Ana Clara-Toledo at All Out, and Leanna Garfield at GLAAD, surveyed people who belong to what Meta refers to as…

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AI Therapy Bots Are Conducting ‘Illegal Behavior,’ Digital Rights Organizations Say

Almost two dozen digital rights and consumer protection organizations sent a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission on Thursday urging regulators to investigate Character.AI and Meta’s “unlicensed practice of medicine facilitated by their product,” through therapy-themed bots that claim to have credentials and confidentiality “with inadequate controls and disclosures.”   The complaint and request for investigation…

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