Taylor Hatmaker
TechCrunch
Portland, OR, United States
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Past articles by Taylor:
Chelsea Manning is back in jail after refusing to cooperate with WikiLeaks investigation –
Following a week-long release from an Alexandria, Virginia detention center, Chelsea Manning is back in jail. Manning was jailed in March for her refusal to cooperate with a grand jury investigation into WikiLeaks. Manning has made her position on the grand jury well known and refuses to cooperate with its proceedings on principle. Her release […] → Read More
San Francisco passes city government ban on facial recognition tech –
On Tuesday, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors voted to approve a ban on the use of facial recognition tech by city agencies. The measure, known as the Stop Secret Surveillance Ordinance, will be the first ban of its kind for a major American city and the seventh major surveillance oversight effort for a municipality in California. […] → Read More
The Pentagon and CIA have a secret missile that shreds targets with giant flying knives –
A report by The Wall Street Journal last week revealed a secretive U.S. military weapon designed explicitly to reduce civilian casualties in targeted strikes. Unlike a traditional Hellfire missile dispatched from an aerial drone, the missile variant packs no payload, no explosive. The catch? It drops 100 pounds of metal on a target, shredding them […] → Read More
Chelsea Manning released from jail as grand jury expires –
Chelsea Manning walked free today for the first time after spending two months in Virginia’s Alexandria Detention Center for refusing to cooperate with a grand jury probing her relationship with WikiLeaks. Gizmodo first reported news that Manning left the facility today. Manning was found to be in contempt of court, remaining in custody until the […] → Read More
Facebook bans a fresh batch of mostly far-right figures –
Facebook just announced its latest mini-purge of controversial accounts that violate its rules against “dangerous individuals and organizations.” In this round Facebook newly cracked down on Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson, Laura Loomer, Paul Nehlen, Louis Farrakhan. The company also doubled down on its position toward Alex Jones and his conspiracy hub Infowars. While most […] → Read More
SpaceX confirms its Dragon crew capsule exploded in testing –
For the first time after a video of an exploding Dragon capsule leaked in late April, SpaceX confirmed the spacecraft’s destruction during testing. In statements made today, SpaceX’s vice president of mission assurance Hans Koenigsmann provided a little insight on the mysterious ground test gone wrong. As CNBC reports, Koenigsmann said during a press event […] → Read More
TurboTax and H&R Block hide their free tax filing tools from Google on purpose –
Low income Americans can file their taxes for free, but odds are they ended up paying anyway. ProPublica found that tax filing giant Intuit is deliberately concealing search results for its free filing service, instead pointing all consumers toward its paid products. While users visiting TurboTax’s homepage will be greeted with what looks like free […] → Read More
Jack Dorsey just met with Trump to talk about the health of Twitter’s public discourse –
Twitter’s co-founder and CEO historically doesn’t have the most discerning tastes when it comes to who he decides to engage with. Fresh off the podcast circuit, today a thoroughly beardy Jack Dorsey sat down with President Trump for his most high-profile tête-à-tête yet. Unlike his recent amble onto the Joe Rogan show, Dorsey’s 30-minute meeting […] → Read More
Mueller report details the evolution of Russia’s troll farm as it began targeting US politics –
On Thursday, Attorney General William Barr released the long-anticipated Mueller report. With it comes a useful overview of how Russia leveraged U.S.-based social media platforms to achieve its political ends. While we’ve yet to find too much in the heavily redacted text that we didn’t already know, Mueller does recap efforts undertaken by Russia’s mysterious […] → Read More
Congress readies for Mueller report to be delivered on CDs –
If there weren’t enough obstacles already standing between Congress and the results of the special counsel’s multiyear investigation, lawmakers are expecting to need an optical drive to read the document. A Justice Department official told the Associated Press that a CD containing the Mueller report would be delivered to Congress tomorrow between 11 and noon […] → Read More
Congress readies for Mueller report to be delivered on CDs
If there weren’t enough obstacles already standing between Congress and the results of the special counsel’s multiyear investigation, lawmakers are expecting to need an optical drive to read the document. → Read More
Co-Star raises $5 million to bring its astrology app to Android
Nothing scales like a horoscope. If you haven’t heard of Co-Star, you might just be in the wrong circles. In some social scenes it’s pretty much ubiquitous. → Read More
Facebook’s Portal will now surveil your living room for half the price
No, you’re not misremembering the details from that young adult dystopian fiction you’re reading — Facebook really does sell a video chat camera adept at tracking the faces of you and your loved ones. → Read More
YouTube’s algorithm added 9/11 facts to a livestream of the Notre-Dame Cathedral fire
Some viewers following live coverage of the Notre-Dame Cathedral broadcast on YouTube were met with a strangely out of place info box offering facts about the September 11 attacks. → Read More
Facebook taps Peggy Alford for its board, Reed Hastings and Erskine Bowles to depart
Facebook’s board is undergoing its biggest shakeup in memory. On Friday, the company announced that Peggy Alford would be nominated to join the company’s board of directors. → Read More
Nancy Pelosi warns tech companies that Section 230 is ‘in jeopardy’
In a new interview with Recode, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made some notable comments on what by all accounts is the most important law underpinning the modern internet as we know it. → Read More
Democrats draw up bill that would require tech platforms to assess algorithmic bias
Democratic lawmakers have proposed a bill to address the algorithmic biases lurking under the surface of tech’s biggest platforms. → Read More
‘Hateful comments’ result in YouTube disabling chat during a livestreamed hearing on hate
At today’s House Judiciary hearing addressing “Hate Crimes and the Rise of White Nationalism,” hate appears to have prevailed. → Read More
Proposed bill would forbid big tech platforms from using dark pattern design
A new piece of bipartisan legislation aims to protect people from one of the sketchiest practices that tech companies employ to subtly influence user behavior. → Read More
Researchers find thriving Facebook cybercrime groups with 385,000 total members
You might be surprised what you can buy on Facebook, if you know where to look. → Read More