Dad of student slain in Paris terror massacre sues Google, Twitter, Facebook for their ‘material support’ of ISIS • The Register

No tweets, no YouTube, no likes, no killings, court told

Source: Dad of student slain in Paris terror massacre sues Google, Twitter, Facebook for their ‘material support’ of ISIS • The Register

Police and Prison Guard Groups Fight Marijuana Legalization in California

Police and prison guard groups are terrified that they might lose some of the drug war money to which they have become so deeply addicted.

Source: Police and Prison Guard Groups Fight Marijuana Legalization in California

Filmmakers Ask “Pirate” to Take Polygraph, Backtrack When He Agrees – TorrentFreak

The makers of the Oscar-winning movie Dallas Buyers Club are displaying some dubious tactics in their ongoing crackdown on BitTorrent pirates. In California, the filmmakers recently asked an accused pirate to submit to a polygraph test, but changed their opinion after he agreed.

Source: Filmmakers Ask “Pirate” to Take Polygraph, Backtrack When He Agrees – TorrentFreak

Comcast failed to install Internet for 10 months then demanded $60,000 in fees | Ars Technica


Tech startup needs a new office because it can’t get Comcast Internet.

Source: Comcast failed to install Internet for 10 months then demanded $60,000 in fees | Ars Technica

ISPs Are Blocking Google Fiber’s Access To Utility Poles In California | Techdirt

And while this is generally an idea that would benefit all broadband providers, it would benefit new providers like Google Fiber the most. That’s why companies like AT&T, Comcast and Time Warner Cable have been blocking this pole-attachment reform, in some cases trying to claim such policies violate their Constitutional rights. The ISPs figure that if they can’t block Google Fiber from coming to town, their lawyers can at least slow Google Fiber’s progress while they try to lock customers down in long-term contracts.

Source: ISPs Are Blocking Google Fiber’s Access To Utility Poles In California | Techdirt

California Legislator Says Encryption ‘Threatens Our Freedoms’ Calls For Ban On Encrypted Cell Phones | Techdirt

California assembly member Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove) introduced the legislation, bill 1681, that would require any smartphone manufactured “on or after January 1, 2017, and sold in California after that date” to be “capable of being decrypted and unlocked by its manufacturer or its operating system provider.”

Any smartphone that couldn’t be decrypted on demand would subject a seller to a $2,500 fine.

Source: California Legislator Says Encryption ‘Threatens Our Freedoms’ Calls For Ban On Encrypted Cell Phones | Techdirt

George Washington University Allows Flags to Fly From Dorm Rooms — Unless They’re Palestinian


Civil rights organizations say this is the latest in a long string of incidents targeting pro-Palestinian speech on college campuses across the U.S.

Source: George Washington University Allows Flags to Fly From Dorm Rooms — Unless They’re Palestinian

Secret source code pronounces you guilty as charged [Updated] | Ars Technica

When a computer “spits out something, you’d like to know how it did it.”

Source: Secret source code pronounces you guilty as charged [Updated] | Ars Technica

DEA Takes $16,000 From Train Passenger Because It Can

After scraping together enough money to produce a music video in Hollywood, 22-year-old Joseph Rivers set out last month on a train trip from Michigan to Los Angeles, hoping it was the start of something big.

Rivers changed trains at the Amtrak station in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on April 15, with bags containing his clothes, other possessions and an envelope filled with the $16,000 in cash he had raised with the help of his family, the Albuquerque Journal reports. Agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration got on after him and began looking for people who might be trafficking drugs.

Rivers said the agents questioned passengers at random, asking for their destination and reason for travel. When one of the agents got to Rivers, who was the only black person in his car, according to witnesses, the agent took the interrogation further, asking to search his bags. Rivers complied. The agent found the cash — still in a bank envelope — and decided to seize it on suspicion that it may be tied to narcotics. River pleaded with the agents, explaining his situation and even putting his mother on the phone to verify the story.

No luck.

Link (Techdirt)