A federal judge ruled today that Google is a monopolist in some parts of the online advertising market, marking the second case in a year where the company was found to have violated US antitrust law. Last August, a federal judge ruled that Google was maintaining an illegal monopoly in search. Judge Leonie Brinkema of… Continue reading Google Is Once Again Deemed a Monopoly, This Time in Ad Tech
Author: Wired Magazine
‘Pop the Balloon’ Was a Viral Hit for Black Daters. Then Netflix Gentrified It
One of the more heated exchanges from the original Pop the Balloon or Find Love—a wildly popular YouTube show through which eligible Black singles ruthlessly assess each other’s attractiveness face-to-face—should have culminated with a lesson in humility. Aaron, a 29-year-old plumber whose deal breakers included “being promiscuous” and “non-cleanly” had just finished insulting a woman… Continue reading ‘Pop the Balloon’ Was a Viral Hit for Black Daters. Then Netflix Gentrified It
Marco Rubio Kills State Department Anti-Propaganda Shop, Promises ‘Twitter Files’ Sequel
The Global Engagement Center, a State Department unit that called out Russian and Chinese propaganda campaigns and became a MAGA boogeyman, has been shut down. Team Trump is promising that it’s just the start of an examination of alleged censorship during the Biden administration—and the first Trump administration too. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called… Continue reading Marco Rubio Kills State Department Anti-Propaganda Shop, Promises ‘Twitter Files’ Sequel
DOGE Cuts Pull AmeriCorps Volunteers Off of Disaster Relief Jobs
AmeriCorps, the US federal agency that oversees volunteerism and service work, abruptly pulled teams of young people out of a variety of community service projects across the country on Tuesday. The work stoppage was due to cuts attributed to the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, volunteers were informed Tuesday afternoon. WIRED spoke with seven workers… Continue reading DOGE Cuts Pull AmeriCorps Volunteers Off of Disaster Relief Jobs
‘Stupid and Dangerous’: CISA Funding Chaos Threatens Essential Cybersecurity Program
In an eleventh-hour scramble before a key contract was set to expire on Tuesday night, the United States Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency renewed its funding for the longtime software-vulnerability-tracking project known as the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures Program. Managed by the nonprofit research-and-development group MITRE, the CVE Program is a linchpin of global cybersecurity—providing… Continue reading ‘Stupid and Dangerous’: CISA Funding Chaos Threatens Essential Cybersecurity Program
Meet The AI Agent With Multiple Personalities
In the coming years, agents are widely expected to take over more and more chores on behalf of humans, including using computers and smartphones. For now, though, they’re too error prone to be much use. A new agent called S2, created by the startup Simular AI, combines frontier models with models specialized for using computers.… Continue reading Meet The AI Agent With Multiple Personalities
Here’s What Happened to Those SignalGate Messages
Attorneys suing the United States government over its use of vanishing Signal messages to coordinate military strikes last month in Yemen allege that new court filings by the government reveal a “calculated strategy” by Trump administration officials to evade transparency laws through the illegal destruction of government records. US defense and intelligence agencies on Monday… Continue reading Here’s What Happened to Those SignalGate Messages
Suspected 4chan Hack Could Expose Longtime, Anonymous Admins
The anonymous image board 4chan has survived years of controversy. It weathered user and advertiser boycotts as well as damning accusations that it incubated hate speech that may have fueled mass shootings. Users have convened on 4chan to plan hacks like DDoS attacks, and conspiracy theories that festered on 4chan even reportedly inspired the January… Continue reading Suspected 4chan Hack Could Expose Longtime, Anonymous Admins
Trans Musicians Are Canceling US Tour Dates Due to Trump’s Gender ID Rules
T. Thomason’s US touring visa doesn’t expire until June—but the Canadian pop artist is pulling out of a festival appearance in Belfast, Maine, next month because he doesn’t want to be targeted at the border as a nonbinary trans man. Last week, Thomason, 30, who splits his time between Toronto and Wolfville, Nova Scotia, announced… Continue reading Trans Musicians Are Canceling US Tour Dates Due to Trump’s Gender ID Rules
A Cybersecurity Professor Disappeared Amid an FBI Search. His Family Is ‘Determined to Fight’
The wife of data privacy professor Xiaofeng Wang, who was fired from his tenured job at Indiana University, Bloomington (IU) the same day the couple’s houses were searched by the Federal Bureau of Investigation last month, said on Monday that she believes her family has been unfairly targeted by the US government and is the… Continue reading A Cybersecurity Professor Disappeared Amid an FBI Search. His Family Is ‘Determined to Fight’