151
Topics /
Society, Policy & Culture
The most popular blog posts about society, policy & culture on Hacker News. 304 posts.
152
153
Why California is so expensive: It’s not just the weather, it’s the regulation
The state of California has some of the most expensive housing in the country. In new research, Kristoffer (Kip) Jackson investigates why homes in the Golden State have come to cost so much. He finds that it's down to how land use is regulated; each new land-use regulation reduces a Californian city's housing supply by
154
Cisco’s Attempt to Dodge Responsibility for Facilitating Human Rights Abuses
Cisco custom-built the so-called “Great Firewall of China,” also known as the “Golden Shield.” This system enables the Chinese government to conduct Internet surveillance and censorship against its citizens. As if that weren’t bad enough, company documents also revealed that, as part of its...
155
Technology in Hostile States: Ten Principles for User Protection
This blog post is meant to generate a conversation about best practices for using cryptography...
156
Playpen: The Story of the FBI’s Unprecedented and Illegal Hacking Operation
In December 2014, the FBI received a tip from a foreign law enforcement agency that a Tor Hidden Service site called “Playpen” was hosting child pornography. That tip would ultimately lead to the largest known hacking operation in U.S. law enforcement history. The Playpen investigation—driven by...
157
Web Scraping to Create Open Data
Web Scraping to Create Open Data - Embrace the power of web scraping in generating open data. Contribute to the open data movement.
158
Introducing “Ask a Female Engineer”
Read more on Y Combinator's blog.
159
For life expectancy, money matters
A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that income is closely correlated with life expectancy, with the richest Americans living as much as 15 years longer than the poorest — and even the poor living longer in wealthy areas.
160
161
The Real Rates of Business Survival
8 out of 10 businesses successfully survive their first year and increase their chances of survival with every year they stay in business.
162
Netherlands parliament makes open standards mandatory
Law to be introduced in 2017 The use of open standards is to be made mandatory for public administrations in the Netherlands. A law proposed by MP Astrid Oosenbrug was adopted by the Lower House of...
163
164
Launching the Electronic Frontier Alliance
We're excited to announce the formation of a new grassroots network, the Electronic Frontier Alliance. Bringing together community and campus organizations across the U.S., the Alliance will serve as an increasingly vital hub for activism and organizing addressing a spectrum of civil liberties and...
165
Decentralization is about diversity
Take control of your web by running your own personal cloud server with Sandstorm.
166
Verizon Routing Millions of IP Addresses for Cybercrime Gangs
Over the past few years, spammers have sought out large ranges of IP addresses. By spreading out their sending patterns across a wide range of IP addresses, they can attempt to defeat spam filters and get spam and malware emails delivered where they are not wanted. However, IPv4 addresses are getting scarce and hard…
167
168
169
170
We Shouldn’t Wait Another 15 Years for a Conversation About Government Hacking
With high-profile hacks in the headlines and government officials trying to reopen a long-settled debate about encryption, information security has become a mainstream issue. But we feel that one element of digital security hasn’t received enough critical attention: the role of government in...
171
An MIT Underwear Exposé (and Sorting Hat)
Archived MIT Admissions blog post 'An MIT Underwear Exposé (and Sorting Hat),' published April 11, 2016. Preserved for historical context; not maintained as current admissions policy.
172
Govtech: The $400B Market Hiding in Plain Sight
The Govtech Fund is the first-ever venture capital fund dedicated to government technology startups.
173
You are being followed: The business of social media surveillance
Anubis could not load its JavaScript. The server may be overloaded. Please reload the page to try again.
174
Ask a Female Engineer: Interviewing and Company Culture
Read more on Y Combinator's blog.
175
Statistician calls for audit to address election hacking fears
Double-check needed before Electoral College cements presidential results on Dec. 19
176
177
Why Thieves Steal Soap
Stealing soap is almost as good as stealing cash.
178
EFF to Court: Government Must Inform People That It’s Accessing Their Data
Seattle, Washington—The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) told a federal court today that the government is violating the U.S. Constitution when it fails to notify people that it has accessed or examined their private communications stored by Internet providers in the cloud. EFF is supporting...
179
Magnet Ban Cleared
It seems like just the other day that magnet spheres were regulated more restrictively than cars, cigarettes or alcohol in the US. A week ago there was no acceptable warning, no acceptable age, no sales restriction nor waiver that allowed production of magnets like Zen Magnets, Buckyballs, Neoballs, Magnicube or…
180
European Court Allows Copyright Owners to Demand Open Wifi Networks be Secured
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) recently announced its decision in Sony v McFadden with important consequences for open wireless in the European Union. The court held that providers of open wifi are not liable for copyright violations committed by others, but can be ordered to prevent further...