IT & Technology News
Reporting on information technology, cybersecurity, and tech policy. The Daily Signal includes analysis, commentary, and opinion on technology’s impact.
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- Opinion
Liberals Finally Find Some Media Bias They Dislike
Last month, news anchors at Sinclair Broadcast Group’s TV stations were required to read a script critical of “fake stories” and general bias in the major news networks. Because some of the phrasing mirrored President Donald Trump’s overcooked critique of liberal media outlets, the story triggered widespread and overwrought warnings about authoritarianism and the rise…David Harsanyi -
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- Opinion
Podcast: How Facebook May Have Illegally Helped Obama Campaign
President Barack Obama revolutionized the way campaigns are run with the use of social media, but it turns out Facebook may have been in the tank for Obama all along—and may have broken the law. Hans von Spakovsky joins the podcast to explain the situation. We also discuss liberal outrage over the Trump administration’s decision…Daniel Davis -
- News
Judge Tosses PragerU Lawsuit Accusing Google, YouTube of Censoring Conservative Content
A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit filed by conservative nonprofit PragerU against Google, arguing that subsidiary YouTube did not violate First Amendment rights by partially censoring or limiting the organization’s YouTube videos. Presiding U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh ruled Monday that, inherently serving as a privacy company, Google has no obligation to equally…Eric Lieberman -
- Opinion
Facebook’s ‘Favors’ for Obama Campaign May Have Violated Federal Law
Controversy continues to swirl around how the consulting firm Cambridge Analytica obtained personal data from over 50 million Facebook users without their knowledge and used it to target ads to individuals in an effort to help Donald Trump be elected president in 2016. But a more serious case of apparent misconduct involves Facebook data going…Hans von Spakovsky -
- News
March for Our Lives: A Perspective You Won’t Get From the Mainstream Media
Thousands of people descended upon Washington, D.C., for the first-ever March for Our Lives, an anti-gun march following February’s horrific shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The Daily Signal went to the march and spoke with attendees. “I try to keep an open mind and I’ve looked at some of the…Genevieve Wood -
- Opinion
US Is Right to Sanction Russia for Cyberattacks and Meddling
The Trump administration Thursday issued sanctions on Russia for a series of cyberattacks and for its meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The Treasury is targeting five Kremlin intelligence agencies, including the Federal Security Service and Internet Research Agency, and 19 individuals indicted by FBI special counsel Robert Mueller for interfering in the election….Alexis Mrachek -
- News
Russia Uses Facebook to Undermine Dakota Access Pipeline, Other US Energy Projects
Russian agents working to undermine America’s fossil fuel industry use Facebook, Twitter, and other social media tools to spread propaganda and try to turn U.S. public opinion against domestic energy production, according to a new congressional report. The report found that between 2015 and 2017, “an estimated 9,097 Russian posts or tweets regarding U.S. energy…Kevin Mooney -
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Conservative Nonprofit PragerU Is Suing Google for Alleged Discrimination
Prager University, a conservative nonprofit that creates educational videos, is suing Google for allegedly discriminating against the digital media organization for its fairly moderate ideological slant. Specifically, PragerU is accusing YouTube, which is owned by Google parent company Alphabet, of restricting or “demonetizing” videos even though they all appear to be innocuous and compliant with…Eric Lieberman -
- Opinion
Cyberthreats Are Only Growing. Here’s How Congress Can Improve Cybersecurity.
Whether it’s a new data breach, a scary new vulnerability to cyberattack, or fears of election meddling, it is more important than ever for U.S. authorities to have the tools they need to stop or mitigate cyber aggression. It is also essential for the government to harness the expertise and innovation of the private sector….David Inserra -
- News
Fired Googler Warns Social Media Users About Censored Speech
Bias and mass censorship from extraordinarily powerful tech companies create an enormous problem that Americans have to come to terms with, says a former Google employee who was fired for his politically incorrect views. While tech companies in Silicon Valley and elsewhere are incentivized to create a “safe and civil” environment for their customers, problems…Jarrett Stepman -
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Daily Caller Is One Step Closer to Becoming Facebook Fact-Checker
The Daily Caller is now part of the Poynter Institute’s International Fact-Checking Network, which is one of the necessary qualifications to become an official fact-checker for Facebook and Google. The news organization’s Check Your Fact project is “loyal to neither people nor party—only the truth.” The Daily Caller is now one of only two conservative…Kyle Perisic -
- Opinion
Facebook Suspended Me for Sharing My Religious Beliefs About Homosexuality
Editor’s note: After The Daily Signal contacted Facebook for a response to this op-ed prior to publication, the company notified author Michelle Rioux as follows: “A member of our team accidentally removed something you posted on Facebook. This was a mistake, and we sincerely apologize for this error. We've since restored the content, and you…Michelle Rioux -
- Opinion
How Congress Can Help Protect US Companies From Cyberattack
One of the fastest growing threats to the United States lies in the realm of cyberspace. With the touch of a button, foreign hackers and malicious governments can deliver blows to the U.S. economy by targeting American companies. Recognizing the need to address this issue, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, asked Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen…Paul Fredrick -
- News
Google Removes Fact-Check Feature Targeting Conservative Media
Google says it is discontinuing its fact-check feature because it proved to be too faulty for public use, directly attributing the decision to an investigation by The Daily Caller News Foundation. The company has no date set for when it will return, if ever. “We launched the reviewed claims feature at the end of last…Eric Lieberman -
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Washington Post: We Didn’t Attack The Daily Caller, and Don’t Know Why Google Is
Google’s relatively new “fact check” feature proves there’s something fundamentally wrong with at least some of its highly influential algorithms, after an investigation by The Daily Caller News Foundation found that the widget is both blatantly biased and tremendously faulty. The most powerful search engine in the world and a massive arbiter of online information, Google…Eric Lieberman -
- News
Twitter Says Employees Were Openly Speaking of Censorship ‘in a Personal Capacity,’ Not for Company
Twitter says that individuals shown in an undercover video casually talking about how they plan on censoring certain viewpoints on the social media platform were speaking only “in a personal capacity.” They “do not represent or speak for Twitter,” a company spokeswoman said. The video in question, secretly recorded by Project Veritas, shows eight current…Eric Lieberman -
- Opinion
Podcast: Google’s Double Standard for Conservative, Liberal News Sites
The Federalist’s David Harsanyi joins us today to discuss why Google is presenting “fact checks” to some conservative news sites like The Federalist and The Daily Caller, but not to other sites that have gotten issues wrong, such as CNN. Plus: we talk about whether Democrats are embarrassed about their tax reform “no” votes in…Katrina Trinko -
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Lawsuit Claims Rank Internal Bias at Google, Sweeping Commitment to Identity Quotas
James Damore, a former Google engineer who was fired after criticizing the company’s diversity policies, filed a class-action lawsuit against the tech giant Tuesday. The lawsuit describes a corporate culture in which managers and employees alike conspire to stifle conservative views and retaliate against conservative employees, while implementing race- and gender-based hiring and advancement criteria that…Kevin Daley -
- Opinion
Podcast: Former Employee Sues Google, Alleges Discrimination Against Conservatives
Former Google employee James Damore is suing Google, accusing the tech giant of discrimination against conservatives and whites. The Heritage Foundation’s Mike Gonzalez joins us to discuss that lawsuit, Silicon Valley’s diversity problem, and why the Census should stop dividing Americans into six ethnic categories. Plus: President Donald Trump shows his love for the national…Katrina Trinko