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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news
GOP Senators ‘Increasingly Concerned’ Surveillance of Trump Associates Began Earlier Than Previously Known
Two Republican senators dramatically expanded their request for so-called Obama administration unmasking records on Tuesday, saying in a letter to the U.S. government’s top spy chief that they are “increasingly concerned” that surveillance of Trump campaign aides began earlier than the FBI has previously acknowledged. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson sent a letter to… -
news
Sen. Lindsey Graham Sets Vote to Subpoena Comey, Brennan, Others Involved in FBI Surveillance
The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on June 4 whether to authorize subpoenas for documents and testimony from more than 50 current or former government officials, including James Comey and John Brennan, as part of the panel’s investigation into abuse of the surveillance process during Crossfire Hurricane. The committee will debate and vote June 4… -
opinion
What Does Facebook’s New Oversight Board Mean for Conservative Posts?
Facebook recently announced the first 20 members of its new oversight board. The role of the board is to guide Facebook through decisions on what controversial content should be allowed to stay up or be deleted. Michael McConnell, professor and director of the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School and a co-chair of Facebook’s… -
news
Christian Missionary’s ‘Hold the Line’ Group Aims to Engage the Flock Politically
Only about 20% to 30% of America’s churchgoers practice their constitutional right to vote, according Sean Feucht, the founder of Hold the Line. The mission of Hold the Line is to engage and educate both the church and young people on policy issues, encouraging them to vote their values and become politically active in their… -
opinion
Sen. Cruz Seeks to Flip the SCRIPT on Hollywood’s Kowtowing to Chinese Censors
A bill proposed by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, that seeks to dissuade Hollywood studios from submitting their movies to the censorship of the People’s Republic of China seems to strike the right policy balance. It would limit government interference in businesses decisions, but exposes an outrage that most Americans likely are unaware of. The Stopping… -
opinion
Liberal Media’s Double Standard: Censor Trump’s Briefings, Air China’s Propaganda
The lack of regular White House press briefings used to be decried as the end of democracy. Now it’s daily White House briefings that represent the end of democracy. Actress Jane Lynch demanded on Twitter on Monday that President Donald Trump end his daily press briefings and that the media stop covering them. Lest one… -
news
9th Circuit Rules Facebook, YouTube Not Bound by First Amendment
Facebook, YouTube, and other big tech companies are not bound to abide by the First Amendment of the Constitution, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday, dealing a blow to conservatives online. The decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals came in a case brought by Prager University, a nonprofit that produces videos promoting… -
news
Mark Meadows: GOP Will Appeal to Surveillance Court Over Choice to Oversee FBI Reforms
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said Monday that congressional Republicans plan to appeal to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) over its choice to oversee the FBI’s surveillance reforms in the wake of a damning inspector general’s report regarding the bureau’s wiretapping of Carter Page. In an interview with journalist Sara Carter, Meadows criticized the FISC’s pick of… -
news
Surveillance Footage Outside Jeffrey Epstein’s Jail Cell Goes Missing
Surveillance footage showing the outside of alleged child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein’s jail cell the night he first tried to commit suicide is missing, prosecutors say. >>> Update: The missing footage actually was preserved and has been found, the New York Daily News reported Thursday night. Epstein, arrested in July, died in an apparent suicide while… -
news
DOJ Watchdog Finds ‘Significant Inaccuracies’ in Surveillance Warrants Against Trump Aide
The Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General found “significant inaccuracies” in the FBI’s applications for warrants to conduct surveillance against a Trump campaign adviser, according to a report released Monday. Michael Horowitz, the inspector general, said that the FBI’s decision to open investigations against Trump campaign advisers in July 2016, as well as to… -
news
4 Big Questions About the IG Report on FBI Surveillance of Trump Campaign
An internal watchdog’s report on Justice Department surveillance of President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign is slated to arrive in early December—about the same time as a likely House vote on whether to impeach the president. “Now what you’re going to see, I predict, will be perhaps the biggest scandal in the history of our country,”… -
opinion
Facebook Isn’t Broken. Government Shouldn’t ‘Fix’ It.
In a divided Washington, hating Facebook has brought the left and right together. It’s a dangerous collaboration. But when you take a closer look at the complaints lodged by each side, you see how thin their arguments really are. Most of the left-wing criticism of Facebook amounts to criticisms of human nature. People lie. People… -
news
Facebook Announces Effort to Clearly Mark Fake News
Facebook announced Monday an effort to “protect the 2020 U.S. elections” by clearly marking fake news posts, offering protections to politicians’ accounts and offering more transparency. The effort comes after Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg defended the social media site’s new advertisement policies, which will effectively allow political campaigns to release misinformation to voters, in an… -
opinion
What Changed Eric Metaxas’ Mind About Trump
Conservative Christians have been a core constituency for President Donald Trump, and one of the more visible Christians supporting the president is bestselling author and radio host Eric Metaxas. Our Editor-in-Chief Kate Trinko recently got to sit down with Metaxas to discuss why he supports the president, as well as his latest book. Today, we’ll… -
opinion
Conservatives Are Being Censored Online, Warns Dennis Prager
Dennis Prager’s commentary is in high demand. His PragerU videos get millions of views on social media, and his audience is growing. But not everyone likes his message. He’s run into censorship trouble with YouTube, which led him to file a lawsuit. Our colleague Virginia Allen recently sat down with Prager, and today we’ll share… -
news
Trump Jilts Google in Copyright Dispute at Supreme Court
The Trump administration has urged the Supreme Court to stay out of a long-running copyright dispute between Google and Oracle Corp., dealing a considerable blow to Google’s efforts to avoid an $8 billion damages award. At issue in the dispute, billed as the copyright fight of the decade, are software interfaces called API declarations, which… -
opinion
ICE-Hating Groups Used Facebook to Incite Violence
Abolish ICE thugs in Colorado want to see the homes and families of immigration enforcement officials set aflame. Denver communists want alien detention facility employees dead, swinging from nooses with broken necks. Both groups are brazenly using Facebook to spread their inflammatory and violent messages. So, where is Silicon Valley—whose top companies partner with the… -
opinion
The Good News the Mainstream Media Doesn’t Report
I rarely watch cable news anymore. It’s all hysteria, all the time. CNN: “We are destroying the planet.” MSNBC: “The middle class is disappearing!” President Donald Trump says drug trafficking “is worse than ever!” I’m glad my favorite magazine, Reason, cuts through the gloom and tells us the truth: There is less war and more… -
news
Google Defends YouTube Restrictions on PragerU’s Educational Videos in Federal Court
A lawyer representing PragerU in federal court says Google’s reasons for denying some viewers access to videos produced by the conservative education organization on the tech giant’s YouTube subsidiary defy belief. “To suggest that PragerU’s content is obscene, violent, hate speech is an absolute insult to the intelligence of the American public and people like… -
opinion
Exclusive: Jon Kyl Spoke to 133 Conservatives About Facebook Bias. He Reveals the Findings and Rebuts His Critics.
Last year, Facebook hired former Sen. Jon Kyl, senior counsel at the firm Covington & Burling, to investigate allegations of anti-conservative bias at the social media company. In his first interview since its release, Kyl tells The Daily Signal what he discovered and how Facebook should move forward. He also responds to criticism of the…