Techdirt guy. I once wrote a paper about "Protocols, not Platforms" that seems to be slightly relevant. Also can follow my Bluesky posts at @mmasnick.bsky.social
Public Key
npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv
Profile Code
nprofile1qqsyp30w5k5wvd0ftf0jdy78ndh83cna9na4nw5797z7g6kj98lf4jspz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dstsupmp
Author Public Key
npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Show more details
Published at
2024-06-18T19:32:11+02:00 Event JSON
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Last Notes npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1g8e…qdqf yup. i'll have more to say on that soon... npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ Sharing over here as well. I'm joining the Bluesky board to help provide them guidance. I remain a supporter of all experiments in decentralized social media, and will write more on that later. I still have high hopes for Mastodon/ActivityPub as well... npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ Testing out Buffer, which in theory will let me post to Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads via a single interface (don't expect to use this that frequently, but at least wanted to test it out...) npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ Me in the Daily Beast pointing out that the Surgeon General seems to be ignoring basically all of the evidence (including some in his own report) in pushing for warnings on social media. https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-surgeon-general-is-wrong-social-media-doesnt-need-warning-labels?ref=author npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1vhz…cgaf i mean, assuming you mean PDS, there are a ton. Don't know who's keeping track, but I know plenty of people who are self-hosting their own PDSs. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1vf6…9z2w either the default masto multi column (which has gotten better) or elkzone. I also like Mastodeck. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub189z…zsrx not pissed. just curious. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1grx…uxfe I think it's typical billionaire brainworms. nonsense about how "the woke are destroying the earth and only through bitcoin/AI can we save the world." npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1grx…uxfe i doubt it? but maybe. i doubt Elon would embrace nostr. fwiw, i just noticed that Jack's post on Twitter that got all this attention was actually a repost from nostr. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ Latest episode of Ctrl-Alt-Speech! We had a guest host (trust & safety expert Alice Goguen Hunsberger) for me while I was off eclipse chasing, and it was a great episode (who needs me?). AI is getting more persuasive (yikes), Brazil is fighting with Elon, and Meta swears it's going to label AI... npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ So, it appears that it doesn't work for everyone, perhaps because the PodcastIndex integration in the fediverse is a little wonky. But at least some people are getting it to work... @npub1830…5ypm npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ Oh hey, you can follow our new Ctrl-Alt-Speech podcast right here in the Fediverse. @npub1830…5ypm Neat! npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ Got this very nice review of our new Ctrl-Alt-Speech podcast, if you aren't subscribed already... npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ 2nd episode of Ctrl-Alt-Speech! We talk about the potential impact of the Murthy case, whether or not Reddit is truly a "content moderation success story," the ways that various governments around the world are seeking to regulate the internet (and the risks associated with that), and how Elon has discovered the value of content moderation... except that he only wants to use it to *protect* neonazis. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub167t…nsam yeah... unfortunately we caught the problems with his volume after recording (he was traveling and did it from a hotel room). We already have plans to make it better going forward. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ On Friday the first episode of our new podcast (me and Ben Whitelaw) came out, in which I got to rant about the potential end of the global internet, look at how the EU is looking at regulating Shein, how Telegram handles things with just 50 employees, and how Bluesky is trying a different form of moderation. Take a listen and (please!) subscribe: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2315966/14698023-the-global-internet-or-is-it npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ A reminder to subscribe to our new podcast here so as not to miss any episodes (first episode coming very, very soon...) https://www.ctrlaltspeech.com/ npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1vhe…33f8 i'm kind of obsessed with the look of the R3X as well. What makes you meh about the R1S? npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ Obviously, the world of online speech is incredibly consequential right now, but somehow doesn't get as deeply explored as other things happening in the world. We're hoping to change that. https://www.ctrlaltspeech.com/ npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ There's a short teaser on the feed now explaining a bit about who we are and why we're doing this. I also wrote some more about it on Techdirt as well: https://www.techdirt.com/2024/03/07/announcing-ctrl-alt-speech-a-new-podcast-about-online-speech/ npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ Cannot begin to tell you how excited I am to be teaming up with Ben Whitelaw from "Everything in Moderation" to launch a new podcast all about what's happening in the world of online speech. Ctrl-Alt-Speech. Subscribe now so you don't miss our first episode, coming out soon: https://www.ctrlaltspeech.com/ npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1jjz…rjqk @npub13m2…0pq3 you should block me then, as I will engage on some of those. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub13ra…qc7a @npub1fg3…3qc4 @npub1l5p…4vh2 @npub1cgs…0c0v if you're going to use that example, how about you talk about Veoh. Veoh was another competitor that actually got sued under the DMCA. And won. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1fg3…3qc4 @npub13ra…qc7a @npub1l5p…4vh2 @npub1cgs…0c0v if we got rid of the community (as would be necessary without 230, we'd get less advertising and still die). if we got rid of advertising... we wouldn't make enough money to survive and would go under as well. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1fg3…3qc4 @npub13ra…qc7a @npub1l5p…4vh2 @npub1cgs…0c0v I run a business. It relies on 230 to host a community and advertising to stay in business. You want me to lose the part of my business that's important to me (the community) if I want to be able to keep it in business. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1fg3…3qc4 @npub13ra…qc7a @npub1l5p…4vh2 @npub1cgs…0c0v "Also, if 230 protection is valuable, sites that currently take ads or sell personal information can change the way they operate." npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub13ra…qc7a @npub1fg3…3qc4 @npub1l5p…4vh2 @npub1cgs…0c0v no, section 230 enabled tons of smaller sites and much greater competition. I did a whole research report on this. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1fg3…3qc4 @npub1l5p…4vh2 @npub1cgs…0c0v your proposal removes it for smaller sites too Dean. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1fg3…3qc4 @npub1l5p…4vh2 @npub1cgs…0c0v because I've explained this to you before. The "cost" of losing 230 is disproportionately placed on smaller entities. The "cost" is in having to face many more ruinous legal threats that are RIDICULOUSLY expensive. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub13ra…qc7a that's incorrect. Only (c)(2) requires "good faith" and it is for anything "otherwise objectionable" which only the site itself can decide. (c)(1) allows for moderation whether in good faith or not. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ And finally, some righteous fire from @npub10zv…pj48 about the managerial incompetence destroying various journalism outlets. https://www.techdirt.com/2024/02/27/the-vice-media-collapse-was-entirely-the-fault-of-incompetent-fail-upward-brunchlords/ npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ Next, an analysis of the astoundingly silly 77 page "threat letter" that Bill Ackman's wife (though, really, Ackman himself) sent to Axel Springer over Business Insider's stories. Ackman seems incapable of comprehending the underlying issue. https://www.techdirt.com/2024/02/27/bill-ackmans-wife-sends-hilarious-misleading-defamation-threat-letter-to-business-insider-that-confirms-bill-ackman-is-a-censorial-hypocrite/ npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ Okay, we've had some banger posts on Techdirt today so I'm sharing. First up, a summary of yesterday's Supreme Court hearing on the future of the internet, in which (incredibly) I try to explain what Alito meant when asking about the weight of YouTube (it was dumb, but not for the reasons everyone thinks). https://www.techdirt.com/2024/02/27/sir-this-is-a-supreme-court-not-a-wendys/ npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1l5p…4vh2 @npub1fg3…3qc4 @npub1cgs…0c0v I've done the counterpoint to Dean thing in the past. I can't do it every time he tweaks his proposal. Last I checked he still misunderstood the nature of the 1st Amendment & distributor liability if you removed 230. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub13q5…vl50 @npub12dd…jscn i've read this post twice, and I'm sorry but I don't understand what you're saying. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub13q5…vl50 @npub12dd…jscn there's a link to it where I name the title. The whole title is linked. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ Never had so many people ask for my take about Wired's piece on getting rid of Section 230 as anything else. So here it is. The piece is terrible and @npub12dd…jscn should be ashamed. https://www.techdirt.com/2024/02/15/has-wired-given-up-on-fact-checking-publishes-facts-optional-screed-against-section-230-that-gets-almost-everything-wrong/ npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1u3t…aszn @npub1mse…3vec unfortunately: https://anti-slapp.org/delaware npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub14ha…yjdy @npub1ql8…rqa3 i agree that would be huge for mastodon, so I hope it comes to that. Though, a year ago people on here were harassing anyone who wanted algorithms until they left the fediverse entirely. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1383…frpr when did they fool you? npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1xq8…7ntg hasn't been that way in my experience, but I imagine that's highly dependent on your interests. Have you tried looking for feeds relevant to your interests? There are many thousands of feeds to choose from? npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub13md…2cch @npub1uyx…dmcm there's a lot in there that's just... wrong. But I'm not in the business of going through and correcting everyone's errors on this as it just seems to get people to yell at me. You can believe what you want. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub16rj…0x0j yup. in total agreement on that. I don't mind nostr either. Let there be a bunch of experiments in building decentralized social media to figure out what works best. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub16x9…8vje @npub1vep…qc0f I made what I thought was a helpful suggestion to try to help you and you call me a shill? JFC. What is wrong with you? npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub16x9…8vje @npub1vep…qc0f @npub1ckm…gutz follow better people? Or use different feeds to find better people? Or use the tools they give you to filter out stuff like that? I've yet to see a single request for money or anything like what you appear to be seeing. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1vep…qc0f @npub1ckm…gutz I say what I believe. If someone is wrong, I feel like it's worth it to point it out. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub10zz…6rg2 no doubt that Mastodon's setup is great for local community discussions. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1a4t…q9yj again, to be clear, I think "solving" systematic harms is a great goal, but probably an impossible one. I'm focused on minimizing them as much as possible. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1a4t…q9yj i mean, currently, that same problem exists here as well. We can defederate the nazis, but they still get to do and say bad shit on their own instances. But there is value in defederating those guys and letting them stew in their own little cesspools rather than harassing people. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1a4t…q9yj fwiw, I discussed this exact point a couple weeks ago at the Informed conference, where Yoel Roth questioned me on stage about this very point, and I highlighted that (1) you're completely correct and no one argued otherwise, but also (2) a protocol approach also opens up new opportunities to address those very real harms as well. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub10zz…6rg2 that's an interesting take. Hasn't been my experience (I've had way more in depth conversations there than here), but is definitely a reasonable concern if that's what you're experiencing. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1z6w…fvhk @npub1ckm…gutz i know, firsthand, that they very, very, very seriously tried to see if they could make activitypub work for what they wanted to do and concluded it just didn't fit what they needed. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1vep…qc0f @npub1ckm…gutz i mean, most of that is wrong. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1umj…nz49 @npub1lrv…tth9 again, the WHOLE POINT of Bluesky is that it is resistant to the Elon Musk problem. They literally have in their mission that "the future version of the company is a threat" and are building accordingly. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1lm2…cszn yeah, people are already building bridges. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1umj…nz49 @npub1lrv…tth9 it's so weird how many people go straight to "dur, jack dorsey site!" when he has nothing to do with it any more, doesn't even have an account there, and switched all his focus to nostr. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1pgn…kr4r they now *kinda* have animated gifs and video (they handle both as embeds for the time being). And search is way better than here. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub19mp…zsye i mean, that's just wrong. Skyfeed exists already and is a third party service that makes it super easy to create feeds. Lots of people do it. https://skyfeed.app/ npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1zxu…83gs having spoken with them about the challenges of decentralized moderation, I actually think they've given it way more thought than most. But, of course, implementation is everything. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1qgr…s7d7 they're experimenting with value add business models, like if you register a domain name for your username. I expect more similar things to continue (optional fees for value added services) npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1pcu…axps @npub1p8s…4tga weird. again, my experience was that mastodon was more so (though it's calmed down of late). But, who knows. I'm sure there's tribalism on any particular network. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1hcc…4xws @npub1p8s…4tga oddly, that's the reverse of my experience. People here were much meaner to me for a while, though it's calmed down. And I haven't see the meanness on Bluesky. Just goes to show how people end up with very different experiences on different apps. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1p8s…4tga huh. I've not seen that at all. My experience on Bluesky has been quite nice? There were a few idiots, but easy enough to block. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub16j5…ls9j none, as far as I know. And because it'll soon be federated, if you don't trust Bluesky itself, you can use a different server. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1agu…j0sk @npub1a24…dkqm gotcha. thanks for explaining. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1q5v…5snr Yeah. The issue is that ActivityPub doesn't enable what they're trying to do. Their PDS setup wouldn't work with ActivityPub. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1xt0…myfg yes, the idea behind Bluesky is also to be "beyond a centralized environment." They just have a different approach to it than ActivityPub. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ I know that lots of folks here don't like Bluesky (and I understand most of the reasons why), But now that it's open, I tried to explain the reasons why I am excited about it and hope it succeeds. https://www.techdirt.com/2024/02/06/bluesky-opens-up/ npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1agu…j0sk @npub1a24…dkqm i'm curious what makes you say they don't care about decentralization? I know a few folks on the team and they care deeply about it, and are extraordinarily thoughtful about the tradeoffs related to it. So I'm curious what you saw that makes you think otherwise? It could be something I've missed. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ In addition, @npub1hru…cu5h has written a thorough piece for @npub12dd…jscn about it as well: https://www.wired.com/story/appin-training-centers-lawsuits-censorship/ npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ Thanks to @npub1sqf…5skr and @npub1lhm…h0pg for sending a letter on our behalf, along with @npub1cea…ar2r, who has written about this separately. https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2024/feb/01/global-censorship-appin-reuters/ npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ So, a couple months back we wrote about how Appin, an Indian company, had forced Reuters to remove an article that presented evidence of Appin's connections to "hack for hire" operations. Appin demanded we remove it. We will not do so. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ Our Gaming Like It's 1928 public domain game jam closes the door for submissions tomorrow night, but tonight, ABC News (owned by Disney!) put out a news report about it: https://abcnews.go.com/US/gamers-turning-public-domain-find-big-trend/story?id=106645056 npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub14cv…t2q0 lol. i feel like this can be ready as a compliment or an insult depending on the tone in which it's said. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1hy4…fw8v yes. so what? npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ This morning we released the latest Sky is Rising report! I spent basically all of last year working on this massive report about the state of the creative/entertainment industries, and showing how much the internet has helped them thrive. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1kvp…f9wh the proposed ballot initiative (routing around the legislature) would allow people to sue social media for up to a million dollars for anything bad they can loosely connect to social media. Eating disorder? Sue! Depressed? Sue! Bullied? Sue! Etc. Would lead to a big mess, and the initiative literally says that legislature can only ratchet up penalties, never decrease them. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ Common Sense Media has submitted a very dumb, no good, bad, and problematic California ballot initiative "to protect children" on social media. Today is the deadline for submitting comments. Here's the comment I just submitted: npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1z25…e58w have you seen https://futurism.com/amazon-products-ai-generated npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ I have written about the dude who has sued everyone he could possibly think of because a few women in Chicago said he wasn't a very good date. https://www.techdirt.com/2024/01/12/filing-a-badly-drafted-mistargeted-bullshit-slapp-suit-is-no-way-to-convince-women-youre-not-an-asshole/ npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1gvl…xakp it's on the roadmap, but we're so ridiculously busy. we'll get to it! npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub13zy…3zww Oh no npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1ek5…a0yh as someone who was at this event as well, I think this is a great writeup npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1k6f…jp0a that's a @npub10zv…pj48 piece, not mine... But I haven't seen news of anyone suing individual infringers in years. Doesn't mean it's not happening, but haven't heard of any cases. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1ey5…58n2 in my experience there was a lot more scolding here, and less useful conversation. it's not a condemnation of all, obviously, but just makes it more of a mental burden to post actively here. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1lax…zpj9 they seem to get fairly scoldy. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ Okay, so people are encouraging me to post more here, but maybe to ignore the replies... So I'll post my latest on Elon/Bill Ackman and their rather confused take on free speech that seems focused on punishing journalists for reporting on things these billionaires don't like. https://www.techdirt.com/2024/01/10/free-speech-absolutist-elon-musk-temporarily-bans-journalists-as-free-speech-absolutist-bill-ackman-threatens-slapp-suit-against-journalists/ npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1yuh…0t7j @npub1hyp…aehm @npub1wf4…94wn would be nice if there were a setting for that. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1hyp…aehm @npub1wf4…94wn I'm still here, but not as often. I just find I get a lot more scolding here (especially from people who are very sure, but very wrong, about stuff), and the conversations on bsky are just simply better. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1rzl…l096 @npub1zsj…hn6g No, I covered those scenarios as well and called out Meta for bad behavior. But the company does have a history of working with researchers as well, including just recently. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1h8h…ryz3 @npub1zsj…hn6g there is not. but the lack of evidence, despite many, many, many people looking for it, suggests that we should take a cautious approach, one that is targeted towards ACTUAL harms that can be documented. Not moral panics about generalized harms. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub19s7…j4uc it seems like every 3 to 6 months someone sends me this image. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1rzl…l096 @npub1zsj…hn6g this is false. Old twitter worked closely with researchers. Meta has regularly worked with researchers. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1v2v…vemr my post mentioned that harms exist, and I have regularly called for *targeted* solutions to help those where the harms are real. My issue is with broad based proposals that assume social media is inherently harmful to children. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1v2v…vemr @npub1zsj…hn6g I discuss some of those in the post, but most of the research shows no *causal* link, and the few that show correlational links have evidence that the correlation is the other way (i.e., those facing other problems end up spending more time on social media...). npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ Common Sense Media (who appears short on common sense) is pushing a ridiculous and dangerous California ballot initiative to let anyone sue social media companies for perceived harm to kids. It's a disaster and CSM's boss has made it clear that he does not care about what the actual data says on this issue. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1ju6…yalh @npub1rmd…6z7p I simply pointed out that scanning, even for corporate, for profit reasons, can be fair use. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1ju6…yalh @npub1rmd…6z7p i mean, now you're moving the goalposts. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1ju6…yalh @npub1rmd…6z7p Both HathiTrust and the Google Books cases involved scanning of tons of copyright-covered books, and both were found to be fair use, even for Google, a large giant tech company, which used it to build a book search tool. npub1grz7afdguc67jkjly6fu0xmw0r386t8mtxafutu9u34dy207nt9ql335cv Mike Masnick ✅ @npub1ju6…yalh @npub1rmd…6z7p fair use does say that scanning to build a useful tool is allowed and not infringing. even for big corporate entities. no one is saying magic words. i can quote you cases if you'd like. but I feel like you don't care about facts, just emotions.
