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Supreme Court Curbs Online Sex Writing with Heavy Age-Verification Laws đŸš«

7/13/2025

The Supreme Court’s Ruling Practically Wipes Out Free Speech for Sex Writing Online

  • First Amendment protections no longer cover adult-oriented sex writing online due to a recent Supreme Court decision.
  • States like Tennessee and South Dakota can prosecute website owners across state lines for “harmful to minors” content without strict age verification.
  • Laws impose invasive technical requirements such as biometric ID checks and hourly re-verification, burdening indie creators and small sites.
  • Disproportionate impact affects independent writers, LGBTQ+ educators, and sex-positive creators, chilling creativity and free expression.
  • The ruling highlights cultural inconsistency by criminalizing sexual content while permitting violent content accessible to minors.
  • Author advocates rejecting invasive compliance measures and supports civil disobedience to defend online free speech.

A Legacy JavaScript Bug Bypasses Chrome Manifest V3 Restrictions, Restoring Adblocker Power

  • Chrome’s MV3 update removed the webRequestBlocking API, impairing adblockers’ dynamic blocking capabilities.
  • A bug exploiting legacy JavaScript binding for deprecated platform apps allowed spoofing of WebView instance IDs, circumventing MV3 limits.
  • This loophole temporarily restored full web request blocking for extensions before being patched in Chrome 118.
  • The exploit revealed how outdated code components can unintentionally create security gaps.
  • The vulnerability posed limited security risk and no bounty was granted; reported responsibly to Google.
  • Highlights ongoing tensions between browser ecosystem control, adblocking efficacy, and privacy.

Proposed NOAA Budget Cuts Endanger Critical Satellite Collision Prevention Program

  • NOAA’s budget proposal calls to eliminate a key program that monitors and warns about satellite collisions, increasing space debris risk.
  • The program’s tracking capabilities protect operational satellites vital for communications, navigation, and weather services.
  • Experts emphasize the program’s high value per dollar spent and warn cuts risk long-term operational and safety consequences in orbit.
  • Political motives and corporate influences appear to drive dismantling of government scientific functions under the guise of budget discipline.
  • Debate includes prospects of international governance or privatization, with concerns over effectiveness and profit-driven safety compromises.
  • Maintaining robust space traffic management infrastructure is critical to mitigating diffuse risks in a congested orbital environment.

MacPaint Art From The Mid-80s Still Looks Great Today

  • Over 18,000 MacPaint images from the early Macintosh era demonstrate impressive 1-bit pixel art despite extreme technical constraints.
  • Artworks exhibit strong aesthetic completeness, where creative expression is inseparable from the limitations of hardware and software.
  • The collection spans from detailed street scenes to portraits, highlighting mastery of monochrome bitmap tools.
  • The article compares MacPaint art’s charm to historical forms like cave paintings, attributing nostalgia and unique creativity to the medium.
  • Resources such as “Zen & The Art of The Macintosh” are recommended for those interested in recreating this style.
  • Appeals to retro computing enthusiasts and digital artists interested in how constraints foster distinctive visual expressions.

new Date("wtf") – How Well Do You Know JavaScript's Date Class?

  • JavaScript’s Date parser interprets input strings unpredictably, often producing inconsistent or nonsensical results.
  • The Date class tries to be “helpful” by guessing date formats, leading to silent errors that complicate application logic.
  • Robust development practice requires input validation and avoiding reliance on JavaScript’s forgiving default parsing.
  • Recommended formats include UTC ISO 8601 strings or Unix timestamps, though real-world date-time handling remains complex, especially across time zones.
  • The article combines humor with technical critique, reflecting shared frustration among JavaScript developers.
  • Interest in newer Date handling APIs such as Temporal signals the need for more predictable, comprehensive solutions.

Supreme Court's ruling practically wipes out free speech for sex writing online

The Supreme Court's recent decision fundamentally shifts the landscape for sexually explicit content online by allowing states to enforce stringent age verification requirements—such as biometric ID checks—on website owners whose material could be deemed "harmful to minors." The ruling effectively narrows First Amendment protections for adult sex writing on the Internet, exposing independent creators and site operators to felony charges and steep civil liabilities across state lines if they fail to implement invasive compliance mechanisms. With definitions of "harmful content" often broad and subjective, adult-oriented platforms now risk criminal prosecution simply for insufficient technical safeguards, even when their content is legal and intended for adults.

Legal mandates stemming from this decision require extensive and often intrusive technical solutions, including hourly biometric re-verification, placing a disproportionate compliance burden on indie creators, small platforms, and marginalized groups—particularly those producing LGBTQ+ or sex education material. Sweeping distinctions persist between the treatment of sexual and violent online content: many laws targeting sex-focused work leave violent games or films accessible to minors, revealing cultural contradictions and raising concerns about selective moral enforcement. Critics, including the article's author, raise alarms about the chilling effect on creative expression and digital livelihoods, urging creators to resist compliance through civil disobedience and to seek legal support from free speech coalitions.

Hacker News commenters broadly share apprehension about the new laws, with many describing the measures as state-sanctioned censorship disguised as child protection. The technical and privacy demands of real-time age checks drew widespread criticism, with observations that such rules could devastate independent sites while doing little to curb actual harm. Others highlighted the striking inconsistency that violent content often escapes similar scrutiny, leading to humorous but pointed comparisons about societal taboos. Community members recommend that creators seek guidance from advocacy groups, while some propose practical solutions focused on parental controls and education rather than blanket legal enforcement.

Bypassing Google's big anti-adblock update

The article centers on a creative bypass discovered in Google Chrome’s transition to its new extension platform, Manifest Version 3 (MV3). While MV3 was intended to cripple adblockers by removing the webRequestBlocking API—key for dynamic ad-blocking—researcher Derin Eryılmaz found a vulnerability that allowed extensions to regain full blocking powers. This loophole revolved around leftover legacy code for deprecated Chrome platform apps, which could be exploited to circumvent MV3 restrictions and effectively re-enable advanced ad blocking.

The technical details reveal that Chrome's extension API retained old JavaScript binding modules, particularly one accepting a spoofed WebView instance ID. By leveraging the obscure opt_webViewInstanceId parameter in extension code, an attacker could trigger legacy permission checks that ‘unlock’ restricted APIs, enabling previously sidelined adblocking features. Google prioritized mitigating this, patching the issue in Chrome 118. However, they judged the bug less critical since it did not allow data exfiltration or escalate privileges, and no bug bounty was granted for the report. The author’s account underscores the unpredictable ways legacy code can undermine major platform changes.

Commentary on Hacker News strongly focused on the tension between technical workarounds and broader, structural solutions to browser policy changes. While some praised the ingenuity, there was considerable cynicism about Google's motivations and skepticism over the sustainability of adblockers on Chrome. A recurring theme in the discussion is the community’s preference to switch browsers—such as Firefox—over depending on hacks to preserve user agency, reflecting broader concerns about corporate influence and web standards. Many also appreciated the humorous spirit of the discovery, highlighting the perennial impact of legacy code and the challenges facing extension developers under ever-shifting browser ecosystems.

Proposed NOAA Budget Kills Program Designed to Prevent Satellite Collisions

The proposed NOAA budget aims to eliminate a program dedicated to preventing satellite collisions, raising alarm among scientists, policymakers, and industry stakeholders. The program is pivotal for space situational awareness, using sophisticated technology to track operational satellites and debris, delivering early warnings essential for avoiding in-orbit crashes. Loss of this service could accelerate the proliferation of space debris, undermining the safety of global satellite infrastructure that underpins crucial communication, navigation, and weather prediction systems.

Industry and technical experts highlight that the collision prevention effort is a low-cost, high-value asset, and assert that eliminating such government-run monitoring undermines the shared foundation of safe space operations. Key concerns include the possibility of increased satellite collisions, economic harm from disrupted services, and the growing risk of a "Kessler syndrome" cascade, where debris from collisions triggers further impacts and orbital congestion. The discussion also touches on the complexities of assigning responsibility for orbital safety: privatization could introduce profit-driven motives, while internationalization faces questions of efficacy and funding reliability.

Hacker News commenters express sharp criticism of the political motivations behind the proposed cuts, arguing that they signify a broader retreat from science-driven governance rather than genuine cost-saving. Several voices stress that such fundamental public-good services are poorly handled by profit-seeking markets, drawing analogies to other shared risks like air pollution. The forum reflects a consensus that orbital safety is a global stewardship responsibility and calls for robust, cooperative public investment to ensure both present and future generations’ access to the space domain.

MacPaint Art from the Mid-80s Still Looks Great Today

The article explores a vast collection of classic MacPaint artwork from the mid-1980s, resurfacing over 18,000 monochrome pixel images originally created under tight technological constraints. The key takeaway is that artistic ingenuity flourished on early Macintosh computers, with artists producing visually compelling and surprisingly sophisticated 1-bit pixel art despite limitations like tiny screens, low resolutions, and a restricted palette. Instead of seeing these constraints as barriers, creators embraced the unique possibilities, resulting in works whose minimalist style remains engaging and evocative decades later.

Expanding on this, the article highlights specific examples—ranging from detailed cityscapes to expressive portraits—while noting how MacPaint’s design tools and workflows shaped the distinctive look of its era. The inclusion of references, such as the book Zen & The Art of The Macintosh, emphasizes the disciplined craft behind these images and points to resources for those interested in the historical techniques of early digital art. The preserved works stand as artifacts of a period when creativity and technological boundaries were intimately linked, acting both as documents of digital history and as inspiration for modern pixel artists or nostalgic enthusiasts.

Commentary from the Hacker News community underscores a deep appreciation for the enduring aesthetic and historical significance of MacPaint art. Many commenters reflect on the notion that limitations can breed creativity, invoking comparisons to other creative mediums shaped by their available tools—from ancient cave paintings to iconic video game graphics. The discussion also touches on related platforms, particularly the Amiga, and expresses curiosity about the trajectories of the original artists. Overall, the dialogue adds cultural and technical context to the artwork, blending nostalgia, critique, and renewed interest in exploring similar archives.

New Date("wtf") – How well do you know JavaScript's Date class?

The article demonstrates that JavaScript's Date class exhibits unpredictable and sometimes illogical behavior when parsing date strings, especially those that deviate from standardized formats. Through hands-on testing within a current NodeJS environment, it becomes clear that inputs considered nonsensical or ambiguous by humans can generate obscure or "Invalid Date" outputs, undermining reliability in applications that depend on precise date manipulation.

The author underscores that JavaScript’s default date parsing is overly permissive, often attempting to interpret almost any input as a date, which can silently introduce errors. As a result, seasoned developers are encouraged to bypass raw string parsing in favor of rigorously validated formats such as UTC ISO 8601 strings or Unix timestamps. However, the article recognizes that even with care, complexities tied to time zones, week numbering, and locale differences make bulletproof date-handling challenging, further motivating adoption of modern solutions like the Temporal API for greater consistency.

Hacker News commenters reflect widespread developer frustration, with many sharing anecdotes of encountering subtle bugs caused by JavaScript’s date quirks. There is consensus that robust validation and explicit formatting are essential, and that blindly relying on built-in parsing is risky in production systems. The community also debates best practices for maintaining cross-environment consistency, acknowledges lingering needs for improvements in the language, and points to the promise of new APIs as a path forward.