Entertainment
Homeland security pushes social media giants to dox anonymous accounts critical of ICE
In the latest escalation of their efforts to push back against opposition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Homeland Security is issuing hundreds of subpoenas to the largest social media companies, including Google, Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Discord and Reddit, seeking to learn the personal information behind accounts that have either criticized ICE or alerted the general public to the locations of ICE agents, according to reporting conducted by the New York Times.
Under the conditions of anonymity, four government officials and tech employees with privileged access to these DHS subpoena requests spoke to the Times, revealing that Google, Meta, and Reddit have complied with at least some of these government requests for private information.
When pressed for comment by The New York Times, Meta, Reddit, and Discord declined to comment, while a Google spokeswoman offered this statement:
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When we receive a subpoena, our review process is designed to protect user privacy while meeting our legal obligations. We inform users when their accounts have been subpoenaed, unless under legal order not to or in an exceptional circumstance. We review every legal demand and push back against those that are overbroad.
DHS told the Times that the agency had “broad administrative subpoena authority,” but declined to answer questions about these social media requests, while their lawyers have argued that the information is necessary to protect the safety of ICE agents operating in the field. In practice, however, the subpoenas have often been withdrawn before they could be presented to a judge, placing the onus on the accused to seek restitution in court.
This legal battle is just the latest in a larger confrontation between the powers of technology and the long-established rights to privacy and free expression, and understandably, it has drawn the attention of civil liberties advocates. In Minneapolis and Chicago, for example, ICE agents have warned protesters that they would be recorded and identified with facial recognition technology, while border czar Tom Homan has publicly called for a database of people “arrested for interference, impeding, and assault.”
The ACLU has stepped in, offering legal representation for people whose social media accounts have been subpoenaed by the Department of Homeland Security, while Steve Loney, senior supervising attorney for the ACLU of Pennsylvania, issued this warning: “The government is taking more liberties than they used to. It’s a whole other level of frequency and lack of accountability.”
Topics
Privacy
Government
Entertainment
Access all your AI tools in one spot with this Chrome extension, now $75 for life
TL;DR: See answers from multiple AI models in one convenient spot thanks to ChatPlayground AI, now $74.97 for a lifetime subscription (reg. $619) through May 10.
Credit: ChatPlayground AI
Every AI model has its strengths and weaknesses. ChatPlayground AI lets you see results from all the major models side by side — from ChatGPT and DeepSeek to Llama and Perplexity.
You can save yourself time and get the best possible results all at once with a lifetime subscription to this handy tool — on sale now for just $74.97 through May 10.
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Hopping between different AI models really slows down your workflow. If you’d like to streamline how you use these tools, ChatPlayground AI saves you time, letting you see responses from over 20 AI models in a convenient spot.
This Chrome extension lets you enter prompts and see answers from Gemini, Claude, ChatGPT, Llama, and more in one window. Easily see the best answer for your prompt, while avoiding paying all the different subscription fees.
Whether you need help generating code or images, or you just need to ask a simple question, ChatPlayground AI provides an answer for everything. It can even help you build better prompts with prompt engineering tools.
Image and PDF chat features let you get context-aware answers even faster, as they save you from typing things out. You can also reference past conversations when you need to — ChatPlayground AI saves them all.
Your Unlimited Plan includes unlimited monthly messages, priority customer service, and priority access to any new features and future models.
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Get a lifetime subscription to ChatPlayground AI’s Unlimited Plan, now for just $74.97 through May 10.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
Topics
Artificial Intelligence
Entertainment
This $10 upgrade transforms your PC — but it’s only on sale until midnight
TL;DR: Upgrade a PC affordably with this Microsoft Windows 11 Pro license, on sale for just $9.97 (reg. $199) through tonight at midnight.
Want to get the feeling of a new computer without having to shell out all the money for one? A new operating system gives your device a whole new feel, and if you’ve got a PC lying around, it could probably use this Microsoft Windows 11 Pro upgrade. If you act fast, you can get it for only $9.97 through tonight at 11:59 p.m. PT.
Windows 11 Pro breathes new life into an old computer, extending its lifespan for less than the cost of your lunch. Unlike older operating systems, this one was made with the modern professional in mind.
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Rest easy knowing Windows 11 Pro is filled with features that can improve your workflow — from an easy-to-use interface that enhances usability to snap layouts, seamless redocking, a more powerful search experience, and improved voice typing.
Take advantage of unique professional tools like Azure AD, Hyper-V, Windows Sandbox, and BitLocker device encryption. Then take a break and check out the impressive gaming experience offered by DirectX 12 Ultimate graphics.
Windows 11 Pro includes Copilot, Microsoft’s very own AI-powered assistant, which can assist you with a wide range of tasks. Get some help kickstarting your writing process, summarizing web pages, changing your settings, or even opening your apps.
You can also enjoy improved cybersecurity with Windows 11 Pro, as it adds biometric logins, encrypted authentication, and enhanced antivirus protection.
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Get your PC a Microsoft Windows 11 Pro license for only $9.97 tonight through midnight.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
Entertainment
3 AdultFriendFinder red flags — how to avoid scams on AFF
Depending on who you ask, AdultFriendFinder is either the Wild West of hookup sites, an “anything goes” paradise for adult fun, or a total scam replete with bots, fake profiles, and inactive accounts.
After months of personal testing, I can confidently say which AFF you experience ultimately boils down to how you use the site. If you approach it naively, without a strategy, you’re probably going to have some frustrating experiences. On the other hand, if you exercise a modicum of caution and common sense, you’ll discover a huge, fun, and kink-friendly community.
Here are three red flags to look out for as you use AFF, to help you spot potential scammers and separate the authentic users from the fake profiles.
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AdultFriendFinder
—
readers’ pick for casual connections
Tinder
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top pick for finding hookups
Hinge
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popular choice for regular meetups
Credit: AdultFriendFinder
Unverified accounts
AdultFriendFinder already offers a fantastic first step in combatting fake profiles that they call ConfirmID. Once you’ve created an account, you can, at any time, upload a clear scan of a government-issued ID card and then, using a webcam, undergo a quick face verification scan to confirm that you are indeed the person identified in the government document.
This step strikes the perfect balance between not being onerous enough to annoy the average user but still requiring enough effort to deter scammers, who notoriously go after the low-hanging fruit.
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Once you’ve completed the ConfirmID sequence, you’ll be rewarded with a verification badge on your profile, and we strongly recommend that you limit your one-on-one interactions on the site to other verified users.
Perfect profile photos
Alright, admittedly this one requires some personal judgment, as everyone should strive to upload good, high-quality photos of themselves to dating websites. But if every photo looks like it belongs in a magazine, or if the person in the photo looks a little too good to be true, you should exercise caution.
In the age of generative AI and filters, it’s trivially easy to create a fake photo or series of photos, so you should also be on the lookout for what isn’t in the photos. Are there recognizable local landmarks (clubs, restaurants, well-known parks, or street corners) in the photos, or are they all equally generic?
Over-eager chatters
Ever since chat bots became a thing, dating sites have become plagued with them, and as AI improves more and more, it’s not always easy to know, right away, if the “person” you’re talking to is really human. One dead giveaway, though, is how much they chat and how quickly they reply.
Real people go off on tangents, employ non sequiturs, and sometimes stumble with awkward questions or comments. Chat bots, on the other hand, are typically always chipper and extremely fast-talking, so much so that a paragraph-long answer can come back to you in seconds.
They also almost always have an agenda, too, whether that’s directing you to click on a link (“Follow my Instagram profile”) or getting you to divulge some potentially compromising bit of personal information about yourself.
Access all your AI tools in one spot with this Chrome extension, now $75 for life
This $10 upgrade transforms your PC — but it’s only on sale until midnight
