Here’s my compendium of the best tech reporting, writing, and commentary of 2019:
January
Facebook pays teens to install VPN that spies on them
Josh Constine, TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/29/facebook-project-atlas/
Josh Constine, TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/29/facebook-project-atlas/
I Gave a Bounty Hunter $300. Then He Located Our Phone
Joseph Cox, Motherboard (Vice)
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/nepxbz/i-gave-a-bounty-hunter-300-dollars-located-phone-microbilt-zumigo-tmobile
Joseph Cox, Motherboard (Vice)
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/nepxbz/i-gave-a-bounty-hunter-300-dollars-located-phone-microbilt-zumigo-tmobile
Explainer: What is a quantum computer?
Martin Giles, MIT Technology Review
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612844/what-is-quantum-computing/
Martin Giles, MIT Technology Review
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612844/what-is-quantum-computing/
February
The Trauma Floor: The secret lives of Facebook moderators in America
Casey Newton, The Verge
Illustrations: Corey Brickley, Photos: Jessica Chou
https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/25/18229714/cognizant-facebook-content-moderator-interviews-trauma-working-conditions-arizona
Casey Newton, The Verge
Illustrations: Corey Brickley, Photos: Jessica Chou
https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/25/18229714/cognizant-facebook-content-moderator-interviews-trauma-working-conditions-arizona
Russia to disconnect from the internet as part of a planned test
Catalin Cimpanu, ZDNet
https://www.zdnet.com/article/russia-to-disconnect-from-the-internet-as-part-of-a-planned-test/
Catalin Cimpanu, ZDNet
https://www.zdnet.com/article/russia-to-disconnect-from-the-internet-as-part-of-a-planned-test/
When Kids Realize Their Whole Life Is Already Online
Taylor Lorenz, The Atlantic
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/02/when-kids-realize-their-whole-life-already-online/582916/
Taylor Lorenz, The Atlantic
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/02/when-kids-realize-their-whole-life-already-online/582916/
NASA’s Opportunity Rover Dies on Mars
Jonathan Corum, The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/13/science/opportunity-rover-mars-map.html
Jonathan Corum, The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/13/science/opportunity-rover-mars-map.html
March
Myspace lost all the music its users uploaded between 2003 and 2015
Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing
https://boingboing.net/2019/03/17/facebook-is-next.html
Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing
https://boingboing.net/2019/03/17/facebook-is-next.html
Silicon Valley’s inequality machine
Greg Epstein, TechCrunch (ExtraCrunch)
https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/02/silicon-valleys-inequality-machine-anand-giridharadas/
Greg Epstein, TechCrunch (ExtraCrunch)
https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/02/silicon-valleys-inequality-machine-anand-giridharadas/
I Rode an E-Scooter as Far From Civilization as Its Batteries Could Take Me
Joe Veix, Gizmodo
Photos, Brandon Tauszik
https://gizmodo.com/i-rode-an-e-scooter-as-far-from-civilization-as-its-bat-1833434599
Joe Veix, Gizmodo
Photos, Brandon Tauszik
https://gizmodo.com/i-rode-an-e-scooter-as-far-from-civilization-as-its-bat-1833434599
Who Controls Diners’ Data? OpenTable Moves to Assert Control
Micah Maidenberg, The Wall Street Journal
https://www.wsj.com/articles/who-controls-diners-data-opentable-moves-to-assert-control-11552644121
Micah Maidenberg, The Wall Street Journal
https://www.wsj.com/articles/who-controls-diners-data-opentable-moves-to-assert-control-11552644121
As Mark Zuckerberg Tightens Grip on Facebook, 2 Top Deputies Leave
Mike Isaac, The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/14/technology/facebook-chris-cox.html
Mike Isaac, The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/14/technology/facebook-chris-cox.html
April
Facebook still tracks you after you deactivate account
Alfred Ng, CNET
https://www.cnet.com/news/facebook-is-still-tracking-you-after-you-deactivate-your-account/
Alfred Ng, CNET
https://www.cnet.com/news/facebook-is-still-tracking-you-after-you-deactivate-your-account/
15 Months of Fresh Hell Inside Facebook
Nicholas Thompson and Fred Vogelstein, Wired
https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-mark-zuckerberg-15-months-of-fresh-hell/
Nicholas Thompson and Fred Vogelstein, Wired
https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-mark-zuckerberg-15-months-of-fresh-hell/
China’s hi-tech war on its Muslim minority
Darren Byler, The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/apr/11/china-hi-tech-war-on-muslim-minority-xinjiang-uighurs-surveillance-face-recognition
Darren Byler, The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/apr/11/china-hi-tech-war-on-muslim-minority-xinjiang-uighurs-surveillance-face-recognition
A Programmer Solved a 20-Year-Old, Forgotten Crypto Puzzle
Daniel Oberhaus, Wired
https://www.wired.com/story/a-programmer-solved-a-20-year-old-forgotten-crypto-puzzle/
Daniel Oberhaus, Wired
https://www.wired.com/story/a-programmer-solved-a-20-year-old-forgotten-crypto-puzzle/
May
Why I (Still) Love Tech: In Defense of a Difficult Industry
Paul Ford, Wired
https://www.wired.com/story/why-we-love-tech-defense-difficult-industry/
Paul Ford, Wired
https://www.wired.com/story/why-we-love-tech-defense-difficult-industry/
The Hidden Radicalism of Chris Hughes’s Call to Break Up Facebook
Nathan Heller, The New Yorker
https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-hidden-radicalism-of-chris-hughess-call-to-break-up-facebook
Nathan Heller, The New Yorker
https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-hidden-radicalism-of-chris-hughess-call-to-break-up-facebook
A year after GDPR, how is Ireland tackling the data giants?
John Kennedy, Siliconrepublic
https://www.siliconrepublic.com/enterprise/gdpr-ireland-dpc-investigations
John Kennedy, Siliconrepublic
https://www.siliconrepublic.com/enterprise/gdpr-ireland-dpc-investigations
June
Bodies in Seats: At Facebook’s worst-performing content moderation site in North America, one contractor has died, and others say they fear for their lives
Casey Newton The Verge
Illustrations: Corey Brickley, Photos: Amelia Holowaty Krales
https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/19/18681845/facebook-moderator-interviews-video-trauma-ptsd-cognizant-tampa
Casey Newton The Verge
Illustrations: Corey Brickley, Photos: Amelia Holowaty Krales
https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/19/18681845/facebook-moderator-interviews-video-trauma-ptsd-cognizant-tampa
Three Years of Misery Inside Google, the Happiest Company in Tech
Nitasha Tiku, Wired
https://www.wired.com/story/inside-google-three-years-misery-happiest-company-tech/
Nitasha Tiku, Wired
https://www.wired.com/story/inside-google-three-years-misery-happiest-company-tech/
Amazon’s helping police build a surveillance network with Ring doorbells
Alfred Ng, CNET
https://www.cnet.com/features/amazons-helping-police-build-a-surveillance-network-with-ring-doorbells/
Alfred Ng, CNET
https://www.cnet.com/features/amazons-helping-police-build-a-surveillance-network-with-ring-doorbells/
YouTube looks to demonetization as punishment for major creators, but it doesn’t work
Julia Alexander, The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/25/18744246/youtube-demonetization-steven-crowder-patreon-advertising-merch
Julia Alexander, The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/25/18744246/youtube-demonetization-steven-crowder-patreon-advertising-merch
Aggression Detectors: The Unproven, Invasive Surveillance Technology Schools Are Using to Monitor Students
Jack Gillum and Jeff Kao, ProPublica and Wired
Photos: Adrienne Grunwald
https://features.propublica.org/aggression-detector/the-unproven-invasive-surveillance-technology-schools-are-using-to-monitor-students/
Jack Gillum and Jeff Kao, ProPublica and Wired
Photos: Adrienne Grunwald
https://features.propublica.org/aggression-detector/the-unproven-invasive-surveillance-technology-schools-are-using-to-monitor-students/
July
Capital One Data Theft Impacts 106M People
Brian Krebs, KrebsonSecurity
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2019/07/capital-one-data-theft-impacts-106m-people/
Brian Krebs, KrebsonSecurity
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2019/07/capital-one-data-theft-impacts-106m-people/
The Tech Industry Is Building a Vast Digital Underclass
Farhad Manjoo, The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/24/opinion/doordash-tipping.html
Farhad Manjoo, The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/24/opinion/doordash-tipping.html
My Frantic Life as a Cab-Dodging, Tip-Chasing Food App Deliveryman
Andy Newman, The New York Times
Photos: Christopher Lee
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/21/nyregion/doordash-ubereats-food-app-delivery-bike.html
Andy Newman, The New York Times
Photos: Christopher Lee
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/21/nyregion/doordash-ubereats-food-app-delivery-bike.html
What happens when a country’s entire adult population is hacked?
Patrick Howell O’Neill, MIT Technology Review
https://www.technologyreview.com/f/613973/what-happens-when-a-countrys-entire-adult-population-is-hacked/
Patrick Howell O’Neill, MIT Technology Review
https://www.technologyreview.com/f/613973/what-happens-when-a-countrys-entire-adult-population-is-hacked/
How “stalkerware” apps are letting abusive partners spy on their victims
Charlotte Jee, MIT Technology Review
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/613915/stalkerware-apps-are-letting-abusive-partners-spy-on-their-victims/
Charlotte Jee, MIT Technology Review
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/613915/stalkerware-apps-are-letting-abusive-partners-spy-on-their-victims/
My browser, the spy: How extensions slurped up browsing histories from 4M users
Dan Goodin, Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/07/dataspii-inside-the-debacle-that-dished-private-data-from-apple-tesla-blue-origin-and-4m-people/
Dan Goodin, Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/07/dataspii-inside-the-debacle-that-dished-private-data-from-apple-tesla-blue-origin-and-4m-people/
How Cyberweapons Are Changing the Landscape of Modern Warfare
Sue Halpern, The New Yorker
https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/how-cyber-weapons-are-changing-the-landscape-of-modern-warfare
Sue Halpern, The New Yorker
https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/how-cyber-weapons-are-changing-the-landscape-of-modern-warfare
The Mechanical Turk: How a Chess-playing Hoax Inspired Real Computers
Jennifer Walter, Discover Magazine
https://www.discovermagazine.com/technology/the-mechanical-turk-how-a-chess-playing-hoax-inspired-real-computers
Jennifer Walter, Discover Magazine
https://www.discovermagazine.com/technology/the-mechanical-turk-how-a-chess-playing-hoax-inspired-real-computers
August
WeWork Isn’t a Tech Company, It’s a Soap Opera
Elizabeth Lopatto, The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/15/20806366/we-company-wework-ipo-adam-neumann
Elizabeth Lopatto, The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/15/20806366/we-company-wework-ipo-adam-neumann
Inside DeepMind’s epic mission to solve science’s trickiest problem
Greg Williams, Wired UK
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/deepmind-protein-folding
Greg Williams, Wired UK
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/deepmind-protein-folding
Yelp swaps restaurant phone numbers with Grubhub’s to boost referral revenue
Wes Schlagenhauf, The Hustle
https://thehustle.co/yelp-grubhub-restaurant-controversy/
Wes Schlagenhauf, The Hustle
https://thehustle.co/yelp-grubhub-restaurant-controversy/
Python is eating the world: How one developer’s side project became the hottest programming language on the planet
Nick Heath, TechRepublic
https://www.techrepublic.com/article/python-is-eating-the-world-how-one-developers-side-project-became-the-hottest-programming-language-on-the-planet/
Nick Heath, TechRepublic
https://www.techrepublic.com/article/python-is-eating-the-world-how-one-developers-side-project-became-the-hottest-programming-language-on-the-planet/
September
Google claims to have reached quantum supremacy
Madhumita Murgla and Richard Waters, Financial Times
https://www.ft.com/content/b9bb4e54-dbc1-11e9-8f9b-77216ebe1f17
Madhumita Murgla and Richard Waters, Financial Times
https://www.ft.com/content/b9bb4e54-dbc1-11e9-8f9b-77216ebe1f17
Revealed: How a secret Dutch mole aided the U.S.-Israeli Stuxnet cyberattack on Iran
Kim Zetter and Huib Modderkolk, Yahoo News
https://news.yahoo.com/revealed-how-a-secret-dutch-mole-aided-the-us-israeli-stuxnet-cyber-attack-on-iran-160026018.html
Kim Zetter and Huib Modderkolk, Yahoo News
https://news.yahoo.com/revealed-how-a-secret-dutch-mole-aided-the-us-israeli-stuxnet-cyber-attack-on-iran-160026018.html
He Who Must Not Be Tolerated
Kara Swisher, The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/08/opinion/joichi-ito.html
Kara Swisher, The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/08/opinion/joichi-ito.html
The Dark Side of Techno-Utopianism
Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/09/30/the-dark-side-of-techno-utopianism
Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/09/30/the-dark-side-of-techno-utopianism
Four Years in Startups
Anna Wiener, The New Yorker
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/09/30/four-years-in-startups
Anna Wiener, The New Yorker
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/09/30/four-years-in-startups
October
All Hands On Deck
Casey Newton, The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/1/20756701/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-leak-audio-ftc-antitrust-elizabeth-warren-tiktok-comments
Casey Newton, The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/1/20756701/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-leak-audio-ftc-antitrust-elizabeth-warren-tiktok-comments
The Sum of Zuckerberg’s Fears
Kara Swisher, The New York Times
Kara Swisher, The New York Times
Turkish ISP Blocks Social Media Sites Near Syrian Border
Paris Martineau, Wired
https://www.wired.com/story/turkish-isp-blocks-social-media-syrian-border/
Paris Martineau, Wired
https://www.wired.com/story/turkish-isp-blocks-social-media-syrian-border/
Bruce Schneier makes the case for “public interest technologists”
Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing
https://boingboing.net/2019/10/10/public-interest-at-scale.html
Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing
https://boingboing.net/2019/10/10/public-interest-at-scale.html
The 2010s Broke Our Sense Of Time
Katherine Miller, Buzzfeed News
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/katherinemiller/the-2010s-have-broken-our-sense-of-time
Katherine Miller, Buzzfeed News
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/katherinemiller/the-2010s-have-broken-our-sense-of-time
November
How the Iranian Government Shut Off the Internet
Lily Hay Newman, Wired
https://www.wired.com/story/iran-internet-shutoff/
Lily Hay Newman, Wired
https://www.wired.com/story/iran-internet-shutoff/
Google’s ‘Project Nightingale’ Gathers Personal Health Data on Millions of Americans
Rob Copeland, The Wall Street Journal
https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-s-secret-project-nightingale-gathers-personal-health-data-on-millions-of-americans-11573496790
Rob Copeland, The Wall Street Journal
https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-s-secret-project-nightingale-gathers-personal-health-data-on-millions-of-americans-11573496790
Open Source Code Will Survive the Apocalypse in an Arctic Cave
Ashlee Vance, Bloomberg
Images: Guy Martin
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-11-13/microsoft-apocalypse-proofs-open-source-code-in-an-arctic-cave
Ashlee Vance, Bloomberg
Images: Guy Martin
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-11-13/microsoft-apocalypse-proofs-open-source-code-in-an-arctic-cave
The Architect of Modern Algorithms
Susan D’Agostino, Quanta Magazine
Photos: Cody O’Loughlin
https://www.quantamagazine.org/barbara-liskov-is-the-architect-of-modern-algorithms-20191120/
Susan D’Agostino, Quanta Magazine
Photos: Cody O’Loughlin
https://www.quantamagazine.org/barbara-liskov-is-the-architect-of-modern-algorithms-20191120/
Will the future of work be ethical?
Greg Epstein, TechCrunch (ExtraCrunch)
https://techcrunch.com/2019/11/28/will-the-future-of-work-be-ethical/
Greg Epstein, TechCrunch (ExtraCrunch)
https://techcrunch.com/2019/11/28/will-the-future-of-work-be-ethical/
December
How to fight lies, tricks, and chaos online
Adi Robertson, The Verge
Illustrations by Alex Castro /
https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/3/20980741/fake-news-facebook-twitter-misinformation-lies-fact-check-how-to-internet-guide
Adi Robertson, The Verge
Illustrations by Alex Castro /
https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/3/20980741/fake-news-facebook-twitter-misinformation-lies-fact-check-how-to-internet-guide
New crypto-cracking record reached, with less help than usual from Moore’s Law
Dan Goodin, Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/12/new-crypto-cracking-record-reached-with-less-help-than-usual-from-moores-law/
Dan Goodin, Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/12/new-crypto-cracking-record-reached-with-less-help-than-usual-from-moores-law/
Instagram still doesn’t age-check kids. That must change.
Josh Constine, TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2019/12/03/instagram-age-limit/
Josh Constine, TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2019/12/03/instagram-age-limit/
Larry Page is the tech world’s Dr. Manhattan
Casey Newton, The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/interface/2019/12/4/20993633/larry-page-sergey-brin-quit-google-dr-manhattan-watchmen-strained-metaphor
Casey Newton, The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/interface/2019/12/4/20993633/larry-page-sergey-brin-quit-google-dr-manhattan-watchmen-strained-metaphor
Emotional Baggage
Zoe Schiffer, The Verge
Illustrations by Grayson Blackmon and Will Joel
https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/5/20995453/away-luggage-ceo-steph-korey-toxic-work-environment-travel-inclusion
Zoe Schiffer, The Verge
Illustrations by Grayson Blackmon and Will Joel
https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/5/20995453/away-luggage-ceo-steph-korey-toxic-work-environment-travel-inclusion
How Ring Transmits Fear to American Suburbs
Caroline Haskins, Motherboard (Vice)
Image: Hunter French
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ywaa57/how-ring-transmits-fear-to-american-suburbs
Caroline Haskins, Motherboard (Vice)
Image: Hunter French
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ywaa57/how-ring-transmits-fear-to-american-suburbs
Twelve Million Phones, One Dataset, Zero Privacy
Stuart A. Thompson and Charlie Warzel, The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/19/opinion/location-tracking-cell-phone.html
Stuart A. Thompson and Charlie Warzel, The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/19/opinion/location-tracking-cell-phone.html