White House figures out how it texted secret bombing plans to a reporter
Waltz apparently accepted iPhone contact suggestion without verifying accuracy.
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Jon Brodkin
Senior IT Reporter
jon.brodkin@arstechnica.com
Jon is a Senior IT Reporter for Ars Technica. He covers the telecom industry, Federal Communications Commission rulemakings, broadband consumer affairs, court cases, and government regulation of the tech industry. Jon graduated from Boston University with a degree in journalism and has been a full-time journalist since 2000. He joined Ars in 2011 and previously worked for the Sentinel & Enterprise, MetroWest Daily News, and IDG's Network World. Jon lives in Massachusetts and likes to play beach volleyball. To send Jon encrypted email, his public key is here; he can also be reached securely on Keybase.
Recent stories by
Jon Brodkin
The speech police: Chairman Brendan Carr and the FCC’s news distortion policy
FCC invokes 1960s-era policy to punish media after decades of minimal enforcement.
Jon Brodkin
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157
EU may “make an example of X” by issuing $1 billion fine to Musk’s social network
Regulators discuss size of penalty as X calls punishment "political censorship."
Jon Brodkin
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223
Not just Signal: Michael Waltz reportedly used Gmail for government messages
More damaging reports for Trump official who invited journalist to Signal chat.
Jon Brodkin
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231
“Chaos” at state health agencies after US illegally axed grants, lawsuit says
RFK Jr. killed grants "with no warning or legally valid explanation," states say.
Jon Brodkin
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202
FTC: 23andMe buyer must honor firm’s privacy promises for genetic data
Agency issues warning about privacy of genetic information and DNA samples.
Jon Brodkin
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56
DOGE accesses federal payroll system and punishes employees who objected
Report: IT officials who fought DOGE access put on leave and under investigation.
Jon Brodkin
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362
France fines Apple €150M for “excessive” pop-ups that let users reject tracking
Requiring "double consent" for user tracking is too much, French agency says.
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Most Read
Elon Musk’s X has a new owner—Elon Musk’s xAI
xAI buys X; deal values social network at $33 billion, $11B less than Musk paid.
Jon Brodkin
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Ex-FCC chairs from both parties say CBS news distortion investigation is bogus
CBS probe "unprecedented," say chairs who served under George H.W. Bush and Obama.
Jon Brodkin
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Trump can’t fire us, FTC Democrats tell court after being ejected from office
"A President cannot remove an FTC Commissioner without cause," lawsuit says.
Jon Brodkin
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221
Elon Musk and Trump win fight to keep DOGE’s work secret
Musk and DOGE don't have to comply with discovery order, appeals court rules.
Jon Brodkin
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215
The Atlantic publishes texts showing Trump admin sent bombing plan to reporter
"Nobody was texting war plans," secretary of defense claimed to reporters.
Jon Brodkin
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408
FBI probes arson of Tesla cars and facilities, says “this is domestic terrorism”
FBI director: Agency "investigating increase in violent activity toward Tesla."
Jon Brodkin
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442
Report: Boeing asks Trump admin to weaken penalties in 737 Max crash case
Boeing plea deal opposed by victims' families might be made even weaker.
Jon Brodkin
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102
Trump administration accidentally texted secret bombing plans to a reporter
"Shocking recklessness" in leak of detailed Yemen bombing plan in Signal chat.
Jon Brodkin
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Current SEC chair cast only vote against suing Elon Musk, report says
SEC case over late disclosure of Twitter stock buy still moving ahead, for now.
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California bill would force ISPs to offer 100Mbps plans for $15 a month
Like New York law, Calif. bill demands cheap plans for people with low incomes.
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213
Judge orders Musk and DOGE to delete personal data taken from Social Security
Restraining order blocks DOGE's "unlimited access" to Social Security records.
Jon Brodkin
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164
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr starts granting telecom lobby’s wish list
Rule eliminations make it easier to replace copper networks with wireless.
Jon Brodkin
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109
US tries to keep DOGE and Musk work secret in appeal of court-ordered discovery
Judge's discovery order is too "intrusive," Trump admin tells appeals court.
Jon Brodkin
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192
Trump fires both FTC Democrats in challenge to Supreme Court precedent
Democrats fight "illegal" firings that leave only Republicans at consumer agency.
Jon Brodkin
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255
FCC to get Republican majority and plans to “delete” as many rules as possible
Geoffrey Starks to leave FCC as new chair pushes "Delete, Delete, Delete" plan.
Jon Brodkin
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235
Google inks $32 billion deal to buy security firm Wiz even as DOJ seeks breakup
Merger revived after falling apart in 2024 on concern about regulatory approval.
Jon Brodkin
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35
Trump plan to fund Musk’s Starlink over fiber called “betrayal” of rural US
Director of $42 billion broadband fund pushed out, says program is being ruined.
Jon Brodkin
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355
Starlink benefits as Trump admin rewrites rules for $42B grant program
Trump admin decides fiber Internet won't be prioritized in BEAD grant program.
Jon Brodkin
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308
Elon Musk loses initial attempt to block OpenAI’s for-profit conversion
OpenAI can proceed with for-profit shift while litigation continues, judge rules.
Jon Brodkin
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35
Apple refuses to break encryption, seeks reversal of UK demand for backdoor
Apple appeal to Investigatory Powers Tribunal may be the first case of its type.
Jon Brodkin
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104
Trump’s 25% tariffs take effect; Canadian PM calls it “a very dumb thing”
Stock markets sink; US faces retaliatory tariffs and complaints at the WTO.
Jon Brodkin
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712
Firefox deletes promise to never sell personal data, asks users not to panic
Mozilla says it deleted promise because "sale of data" is defined broadly.
Jon Brodkin
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285
Bitcoin plunges as crypto fans didn’t get everything they wanted from Trump
Bitcoin hit record $109,000 on Inauguration Day but has dropped 23 percent since.
Jon Brodkin
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285
Supreme Court rejects ISPs again in latest bid to kill NY’s $15 broadband law
Supreme Court not swayed by AT&T pulling home Internet service out of New York.
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111
Judge: US gov’t violated privacy law by disclosing personal data to DOGE
Disclosure of personal information to DOGE "is irreparable harm," judge rules.
Jon Brodkin
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409
ISPs fear wave of state laws after New York’s $15 broadband mandate
When the FCC isn't regulating, states have more power to impose broadband laws.
Jon Brodkin
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171
FTC investigates “tech censorship,” says it’s un-American and may be illegal
"Tech firms should not be bullying their users," Chairman Andrew Ferguson says.
Jon Brodkin
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283
ISP sued by record labels agrees to identify 100 users accused of piracy
Legal discovery targets names of Altice users hit with copyright notices.
Jon Brodkin
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