IT & Technology News
Reporting on information technology, cybersecurity, and tech policy. The Daily Signal includes analysis, commentary, and opinion on technology’s impact.
-
- News
Republican AGs Set to Speak at Gathering Sponsored by Arabella, Amazon, Facebook
At a time when many Republicans are expressing frustration with what they consider a liberal tilt by one national group that represents state attorneys general, several GOP officials are participating in another coalition of attorneys general with liberal sponsors. The annual meeting of the AG Alliance convened Monday in Sun Valley, Idaho, and is scheduled…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Soros-Backed Media Consortium Is Buying, to Censor, Conservative Radio Stations
Wait until Americans with origins in Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and other lands demolished by communism find out that their favorite conservative radio stations are being bought by a media consortium headed by a longtime henchman of the Marxist founder of Black Lives Matter, Alicia Garza. And wait until Mexican Americans, with roots in this country…Mike Gonzalez -
- Opinion
What’s the Metaverse? 3 Things to Know
If the metaverse sounds like something from a science fiction novel, that’s because it is. Neal Stephenson’s 1992 novel “Snow Crash” tells the story of a young man who delivers pizzas in the real world, but is a warrior prince in the virtual metaverse. But 30 years later, the metaverse is moving from the pages…Virginia Allen -
- Opinion
Unchecked by Courts, Government Censorship of Social Media Platforms Will Prove Fatal to Free Speech in Digital Age
The Biden administration’s increasingly aggressive efforts to combat so-called misinformation, along with the prospective acquisition of Twitter by free speech advocate Elon Musk, have sparked a national debate about what role, if any, the government should play in censoring social media. While some have applauded the administration’s campaign to police online “misinformation” about COVID-19 and…Jenin Younes -
- Opinion
Social Media Is Hurting Kids, but a Fix May Be on Horizon
The Big Tech problem is a moral crisis first. As Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts wrote last month: Big Tech is the enemy of the people not merely because they have taken advantage of our free-market principles. They have earned this untoward distinction because of what Big Tech does to us in our relationships with…Kara Frederick -
- News
Biden ‘Disinformation’ Board Gives Ammo to Court Action on Big Tech Censorship, Louisiana AG Says
The Biden administration’s formation of a “disinformation” board has sparked momentum for two states to sue the U.S. government, alleging pressure and collusion with Big Tech corporations to censor political content that challenges the government line. “If we would’ve tried to bring this lawsuit two or three months ago, I think they would’ve laughed us…Fred Lucas -
- News
What Should Be Done About Big Tech Censorship? Panelists Disagree
Panelists at a discussion of censorship by Big Tech agreed it was a grave threat to the American republic, but they clashed over what to do about it. “What these platforms are doing is not right,” said Niam Yaraghi, an assistant professor of business technology at the University of Miami and a Brookings Institution senior…Douglas Blair -
- Opinion
‘Misinformation’: YouTube Censors Donald Trump Speech
Once again, YouTube is trying to affect Americans’ access to the news. Former President Donald Trump spoke at The Heritage Foundation’s Annual Leadership Conference in Florida on April 21. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.) Trump discussed “rising inflation, disruptions in the supply chain, a southern border overrun by ‘millions’…Katrina Trinko -
- Opinion
The Conservative Surge in Twitter Followers—the Elon Musk Effect?
In January, I wrote about a USA Today article centered around a New York University study that supposedly disproved the claim that social media platforms, like Twitter, discriminate against conservatives. USA Today said, “Despite repeated charges of anti-conservative bias from former President Donald Trump and other GOP critics, Facebook, Twitter and Google’s YouTube are not…Larry Elder -
- Opinion
Reddit Censors Forum That Makes Leftists Look Like Nazis
The radical left is driven purely by hate. They don’t try to hide it as they openly scorn straight white men for merely existing. When one forum on Reddit sought to expose that vile hatred from the left, it found itself censored by the platform. The forum, Men Kampf, was temporarily banned from the platform before it was quietly…Douglas Blair -
- Opinion
YouTube U-Turn: Censors Strike Again for No Good Reason, Just as Inexplicably Reverse Course
YouTube’s censors have struck again, removing a podcast discussing election integrity that it claims violates its “misinformation policy.” The podcast, hosted by Jacob Kersey, was an interview of me at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, in February 2021 and had been on YouTube for more than a year before it was suddenly…Hans von Spakovsky -
- Opinion
Questions Elon Musk Must Answer to Assure Us He Can Reform Twitter
The impending acquisition of Twitter by the world’s wealthiest person, Elon Musk, is one of the most improbable developments out of the business world—and, indeed, the political world—in decades. Though a fairly modest percentage of adult Americans use Twitter, at least when compared with more popular social media outlets like Facebook and Instagram, the platform…Josh Hammer -
- Opinion
Under Biden, Government Forces Social Media Companies to Censor Americans
The Biden administration began a public, coordinated campaign last May to combat dissemination of “health misinformation” related to COVID-19, especially across social media platforms. Administration officials, including Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and President Joe Biden himself, often through White House press secretary Jen Psaki, made clear that they blame Big Tech for American deaths from…Jenin Younes -
- Opinion
Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover Reveals the Left for What It Is
This week, in one of the most shocking business moves in recent memory, Twitter reversed itself and decided to sell itself after all to Elon Musk, who paid some $44 billion for the privilege. The move was made, at least in part, for ideological reasons; Musk has been vocally critical of Twitter’s management of information…Ben Shapiro -
- News
Elon Musk Buys Twitter. Will He Bring Back Banned Users?
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is buying Twitter. News broke Monday afternoon that the social media platform had accepted Musk’s $44 billion offer to buy it. Musk, who also runs the rocket company SpaceX, previously had expressed frustration at Twitter’s perceived anti-free speech policies. The billionaire began seriously implying that he might buy Twitter following the…Douglas Blair -
- Opinion
Elon Musk Could End Twitter’s Suppression of Conservatives
The richest man in the world, Elon Musk, recently purchased a 9% stake in Twitter, the social media platform that permanently banned former President Donald Trump and that conservatives accuse of suppressing their content. Musk’s purchase made him Twitter’s largest shareholder, and he vowed to take it over, possibly to turn it into a private…Larry Elder -
- Opinion
Why The Washington Post Targeted Libs of TikTok
According to The Washington Post, simply reposting videos by rabid leftist activists from TikTok merits having your entire private life revealed in one of the world’s most influential newspapers. Taylor Lorenz, the Post’s internet culture commentator, published a story on Tuesday titled “Meet the woman behind Libs of TikTok, secretly fueling the right’s outrage machine.”…Douglas Blair -
- Opinion
How Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg Rigged the 2020 Election to Defeat Trump
Mark Zuckerberg is best known for creating and leading Facebook, a company that’s made him one of the wealthiest men in the world. With an estimated worth of $80 billion, he poured hundreds of millions of his fortune into the 2020 election. Here’s the thing: You probably had no idea at the time Zuckerberg was…Robert B. Bluey -
- News
Elon Musk Won’t Join Twitter Board After All
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is no longer joining Twitter’s board of directors, the company’s CEO announced Sunday. Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal issued a statement announcing Musk, who purchased over 9% of Twitter earlier this month, will remain the company’s largest shareholder but will not take the board seat. Musk’s appointment would have begun Saturday after a background…Harry Wilmerding -
- Opinion
Big Abortion’s Big Tech Allies Aim to Censor Pro-Lifers. They Won’t Win.
The future of abortion law in the U.S. hinges on the forthcoming ruling in a Supreme Court case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, but the pro-life movement must begin gearing up to fight another insidious foe—Big Tech censorship. Organizations standing for the sanctity of life are well aware of the uphill battle they face. …Douglas Blair