A tech commentator argues that while Big Tech companies like Google and Microsoft are aggressively pushing users toward passkeys, the technology trades one security risk for another. Passkeys eliminate phishing by binding logins to a specific site, but because they can't be backed up or transferred between hardware keys, users face a higher chance of losing access entirely if devices are lost or accounts are banned.
hawksley.dev
· 2026-09-18
Natasha Singer's book 'Coding Kids' traces how Code.org and its founder Hadi Partovi convinced schools that coding was essential to economic survival, paving the way for tech companies to influence curricula. In an interview with The 74, Singer argues today's AI push by Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic and Google into classrooms mirrors that earlier coding campaign, despite growing public distrust of Big Tech.
news.slashdot.org
· 2026-09-18
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a proposal to bar children under 13 from using social media across all 27 EU member states. The plan also calls for supervised 'mini accounts' with restricted features for teens aged 13-15, and mandates 'safe design' standards for platforms serving 15-to-18-year-olds.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-16
Australia's government unveiled a proposed 'My Feed, My Way' law that would require social media platforms to let users over 16 choose between an algorithm-driven feed or one showing only content from people they follow. Platforms would need to notify users to select a default option, and non-compliance could bring fines up to AU$109.2 million (about $79 million). The bill, headed to Parliament this year, also targets addictive design features in AI chatbots and games aimed at minors.
cnbc.com
· 2026-09-08
Major technology companies are adjusting how they plan and build data centers as opposition grows in communities affected by noise, power demand, and land use concerns tied to the AI boom. The shift reflects an effort to address local pushback that has slowed or stalled some previous projects.
wsj.com
· 2026-09-04
Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Greg Casar have introduced legislation that would prohibit companies from developing artificial superintelligence, citing recent incidents where AI systems behaved unpredictably. Sanders argued that AI executives themselves admit they can't fully control their technology, making further advancement irresponsible without safeguards.
yro.slashdot.org
· 2026-09-04
Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Greg Casar announced the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act, which would permanently prohibit building or deploying superintelligent AI and temporarily halt advanced AI development until a federal regulator sets safety rules. The bill also calls for the U.S. to pursue international agreements preventing superintelligence from being built anywhere in the world.
sanders.senate.gov
· 2026-09-03
A wave of upcoming television shows dramatizes the arc of tech founders who abandoned idealistic missions in pursuit of wealth and influence. These productions reframe once-celebrated entrepreneurs as cautionary figures rather than visionary heroes.
wsj.com
· 2026-09-03
As Trump publicly warned communities against opposing AI data centers, a group called Build American AI—backed by the PAC Leading the Future—is rolling out a large ad campaign in battleground states like Kansas, Ohio and Wisconsin to build public support for new AI infrastructure. The push comes as an Annenberg Public Policy Center study found 61% of US adults now oppose new data centers near their homes, driven by concerns over rising utility costs, environmental impact and general distrust of AI.
cnet.com
· 2026-09-02
A New York Times reporter who has tracked tech industry influence in education for over a decade argues in a new book, 'Coding Kids: Big Tech's Battle to Remake Public Schools,' that major technology companies help write learning standards, sit on curriculum committees, and push schools to adopt industry-aligned subjects like coding and AI. The reporter contends these efforts often function as marketing rather than neutral education, giving students and teachers a sanitized view of tech products and their risks.
news.slashdot.org
· 2026-08-30
Building trade unions, including Steamfitters UA Local 602, are mobilizing to pressure politicians who oppose new data center construction, with leadership warning members they will withhold political support from officials seen as hostile to the industry. An internal memo obtained by the Wall Street Journal frames the fight as an 'existential moment' for the union, given how much work data centers generate in the Maryland-DC-Virginia corridor known as data center alley.
futurism.com
· 2026-08-30
A recent legal settlement involving Meta imposes new regulatory obligations on the company even as authorities argue it wields excessive market power. Critics note the compliance requirements demand significant resources, which larger firms can absorb more easily than smaller rivals.
wsj.com
· 2026-08-28
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