ICE
You Opened a Credit Card. ICE Now Knows Where You Live
Here's how your personal address travels from your credit card provider, through middlemen companies, and ends up with ICE.
Flock
Flock ‘Objects to Our Removing Their Equipment’: Emails Reveal Why a Town Put Bags Over Its Flock Cameras
"For the time being, if you or someone on your crew has availability to secure black plastic bags (or something else) over the cameras, that would be great."
Podcast
Podcast: Flock is Tracking People, Not Just Cars
How cops are using Flock to look for specific people; the company buying mountains of books for AI companies; and the big Suno hack.
ICE
You Opened a Credit Card. ICE Now Knows Where You Live
Here's how your personal address travels from your credit card provider, through middlemen companies, and ends up with ICE.
voting
What Does Olive Garden’s Never-Ending Pasta Have to Do With Voting Rights?
Do you have to show ID to get unlimited pasta at Olive Garden? Yes. Is this the same as secure voting? Definitely not.
Impact
Apple Fixes Hide My Email Vulnerability After 404 Media Coverage
For a year, Apple knew that an issue in its Hide My Email feature was exposing customers’ real email addresses. Apple only fixed the issue after 404 Media covered it.
News
AI Companies Are Buying Tons of Old Books Because They're Free of AI Slop
ISBNdb, a company that sources printed books for AI companies to turn into training data, tells clients “the optics problem is real.”
Drones
New Orleans Cops Published Policy Document Allowing Weaponized Drones
Cops and drone companies seem increasingly eager to put weapons on their drones.
The Abstract
Ancient Princesses Were Weapon-Wielding Badasses, Scientists Discover
The mummified remains of 4,000-year-old Egyptian royals suggest that they were buried with weapons because they could use them, not for symbolic reasons.
party
You're Invited: 404 Media's Third Anniversary Live Podcast and Party!
We're celebrating with TWO NIGHTS of good times: A live taping of the podcast, and a party the following night! Paid 404 Media subscribers get free and discounted access. Details below.
Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: Infinite Bowl Machine
This week, we discuss AI music, slop bowls, and the endless quest for optimization.
ICE
ICE to Pay Thomson Reuters $125 Million to Find ‘Voter Fraud’
A new procurement record says ICE wants access to personal data, including names, Social Security numbers, and ethnicity, to investigate in part what the agency calls “voters fraud.” It also plans to use the data to investigate immigration fraud.
The Abstract
Scientists Discover Planet Has Everything to Host ‘Earth-Like Life’ In Breakthrough
For the first time, scientists found that a rocky planet in the habitable zone of its star has an atmosphere. It’s the best place to look for alien biosignatures, scientists say.