Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: Sinkholes and Site Seizures
This week, we discuss a ransomware gang, book bans, and infrastructure.
News
Trump Has Dropped a Third of All Government Investigations Into Big Tech
Tech companies spent $1.2 billion on political influence since 2024. It’s paid off.
News
ICE Adds Random Person to Group Chat, Exposes Details of Manhunt in Real-Time
The texts were sent to a group called “Mass Text” and show ICE using DMV and license plate reader data in an attempt to find their target, copies of the messages obtained by 404 Media show.
Media
4K Blu-Ray of 22-Year-Old 'Master and Commander' Is Sold Out Everywhere, Being Scalped on eBay
The cult classic 2005 film is selling for double the MSRP on the secondary market.
FOIA
Trump Administration Outlines Plan to Throw Out an Agency's FOIA Requests En Masse
The Department of Energy said it will close FOIA requests from last year unless the requester emails the agency to say they are still interested. Experts say it's an "attempt to close out as many FOIA requests as possible."
Immigration
ICE Propaganda Video That Used Jay-Z Song Hit With Copyright Takedown
A DHS sizzle reel that used "Public Service Announcement" got hit with a copyright takedown request and has been deleted off of X.
age verification
Wyoming and South Dakota Age Verification Laws Could Include Huge Parts of the Internet
By omitting the "one-third" provision that most other states with age verification laws have adopted, Wyoming and South Dakota are placing the burden of verifying users' ages on all sorts of websites, far beyond porn.
Podcast
Podcast: Why Are DHS Agents Wearing Meta Ray-Bans?
CBP's use of Meta Ray-Bans; the bargain that voice actors are having to make with AI; and how Flock tech is being essentially hacked into by the DEA.
FOIA
LAPD Eyes ‘GeoSpy’, an AI Tool That Can Geolocate Photos in Seconds
Emails obtained by 404 Media show the LAPD was interested in GeoSpy, an AI tool that can quickly figure out where a photo was taken.
News
UK Asks People to Delete Emails In Order to Save Water During Drought
As Britain experiences one of its worst droughts in decades, its leaders suggest people get rid of old data to reduce stress on data centers.
Flock
Feds Used Local Cop's Password to Do Immigration Surveillance With Flock Cameras
A DEA agent used a local cop's password "for federal investigations in late January 2025 without [the cop's] knowledge of said use."
party
You're Invited: 404 Media's Second Anniversary Party and LIVE PODCAST!
Come celebrate with us and catch a LIVE recording of the 404 Media podcast.
AI
Voiceover Artists Weigh the 'Faustian Bargain' of Lending Their Talents to AI
The human voiceover artists behind AI voices are grappling with the choice to embrace the gigs and earn a living, or pass on potentially life-changing opportunities from Big Tech.