1 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:05,920 Speaker 1: There Are No Girls on the Internet, as a production 2 00:00:05,960 --> 00:00:13,640 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio and Unbossed Creative. I'm Bridgett and this is 3 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:18,079 Speaker 1: There Are No Girls on the Internet. I am here 4 00:00:18,079 --> 00:00:20,200 Speaker 1: with my producer Mike. Mike, thank you so much for 5 00:00:20,239 --> 00:00:20,599 Speaker 1: being here. 6 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:22,959 Speaker 2: Thanks for having me Bridget and I'm excited to talk 7 00:00:23,079 --> 00:00:24,320 Speaker 2: all about the tech news. 8 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:26,439 Speaker 1: And here's what you may have missed this week on 9 00:00:26,520 --> 00:00:30,000 Speaker 1: the Internet. So we're gonna be kind of mixing it 10 00:00:30,080 --> 00:00:33,920 Speaker 1: up a little bit today. Honestly, there was so much 11 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:36,960 Speaker 1: to talk about. A lot of it is related to Twitter. 12 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:39,239 Speaker 1: So we're gonna start with some news that you might 13 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:40,920 Speaker 1: have missed and then do a bit of a deep 14 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:42,680 Speaker 1: dive on Twitter. Mike, how does that sound? 15 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:43,920 Speaker 3: It sounds pretty good. 16 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:46,440 Speaker 2: I hope people are ready, because there's a lot to 17 00:00:46,479 --> 00:00:47,280 Speaker 2: say about Twitter. 18 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:51,320 Speaker 1: I know it's like a we do our little segment 19 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:56,120 Speaker 1: what's Elon Musk up to? And this is like an extended, 20 00:00:56,440 --> 00:01:00,080 Speaker 1: supersized version of what Elon Musk is up to. I 21 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 1: hope y'all are ready, But first let's talk about what 22 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 1: else is going on. So this is a little bit delicate. 23 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:10,000 Speaker 1: I don't make any kind of judgments about what kind 24 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:17,440 Speaker 1: of extra curricular internet searching activities listeners and folks are 25 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:21,119 Speaker 1: up to. However, here is some news because if you've 26 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:24,759 Speaker 1: tried to watch pornography online recently, you might have encountered 27 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:27,760 Speaker 1: some trouble. And that's because a handful of states have 28 00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:31,760 Speaker 1: rolled out age verification policies to access adult sites, where 29 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:35,440 Speaker 1: folks have to essentially prove that they're over eighteen. So, 30 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:37,600 Speaker 1: if you've ever spent any time at all on adult 31 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:41,560 Speaker 1: sites more recently, it's been like a little checkbox that 32 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:43,720 Speaker 1: you have to check to confirm that you are over 33 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:46,560 Speaker 1: the age of eighteen. It feels pretty loose, like I 34 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:48,560 Speaker 1: think you could probably just say I am over the 35 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:50,880 Speaker 1: age of eighteen, and I don't think it doesn't really 36 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:53,680 Speaker 1: stop you from lying about that if that's what you 37 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:56,640 Speaker 1: want to do. But that is no longer the case now. 38 00:01:56,680 --> 00:01:59,200 Speaker 1: When you go to sites like porn hub in these states, 39 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:02,040 Speaker 1: it redirects you to a government run website to prove 40 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:04,920 Speaker 1: that you were over eighteen by submitting your government ID, 41 00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:10,920 Speaker 1: driver's license, or passport information. Currently, Louisiana, Mississippi, Virginia, and 42 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:14,519 Speaker 1: Utah all have these policies in place. Virginia's went into 43 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:17,920 Speaker 1: effect just last week, and according to the Verge, traffic 44 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:21,000 Speaker 1: dropped by eighty percent for Pornhub after it first began 45 00:02:21,120 --> 00:02:24,919 Speaker 1: enforcing age verification in Louisiana earlier this year, and after that, 46 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:29,600 Speaker 1: it sounds like Pornhub just decided to start taking its 47 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:34,760 Speaker 1: sites offline instead of enforcing this age verification policy, so 48 00:02:35,320 --> 00:02:39,440 Speaker 1: just sidestepping the issue altogether, kind of in protest. So 49 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:42,440 Speaker 1: that also goes for other porn tube sites that its 50 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:45,160 Speaker 1: parent company runs, like red Tube. So that means that 51 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:48,080 Speaker 1: thanks to Virginia's new rollout of this law, users in 52 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 1: Virginia will not be able to access porn tube sites 53 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:56,960 Speaker 1: like red Tube or Pornhub either. Perhaps not surprisingly last week, 54 00:02:57,000 --> 00:02:59,639 Speaker 1: in the days immediately following this policy going into effect, 55 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:03,720 Speaker 1: according to Google Trends, Virginia ranked as the highest state 56 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:07,000 Speaker 1: when it came to searches for VPNs or virtual private 57 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:12,160 Speaker 1: networks networks that allow you to circumvent these location specific 58 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 1: barriers to accessing websites. So I don't know if this 59 00:03:15,639 --> 00:03:20,280 Speaker 1: is tacky to mention, but at one point ExpressVPN as 60 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:22,000 Speaker 1: a sponsor of the show. I don't think they are 61 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:25,560 Speaker 1: anymore as a as a What's Your Producer had on Mike, 62 00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:29,360 Speaker 1: is it taky to throw out the promo code for 63 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:31,240 Speaker 1: folks who want to try out ExpressVPN? 64 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:36,680 Speaker 2: I don't think so. You know, it's a useful service. 65 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:40,600 Speaker 2: We like ExpressVPN. Maybe they want to sponsor us again, 66 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:43,760 Speaker 2: we'd love to have them back. But in the meantime, yeah, 67 00:03:43,880 --> 00:03:47,880 Speaker 2: maybe listeners want a three three months off their subscription. 68 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:49,240 Speaker 2: Where can they go to get that? 69 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:52,080 Speaker 1: Bridget You can go to ExpressVPN dot com slash no 70 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:54,360 Speaker 1: girls to get an extra three months off with a 71 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:58,520 Speaker 1: twelve month plan. Yeah, I this is again, this is 72 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:01,000 Speaker 1: They're not paying me to say this. I'm a big 73 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:04,400 Speaker 1: fan of VPNs. I think it's just a good thing 74 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:06,400 Speaker 1: to have, especially when that's like super easy to use, 75 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:09,040 Speaker 1: hit a button and then you know it's working behind 76 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:13,640 Speaker 1: the scenes. But I do think that legislation like this, 77 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:16,000 Speaker 1: I think that we're going to be seeing more and 78 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:21,320 Speaker 1: more location specific internet legislation, and so having a VPN 79 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:23,560 Speaker 1: knowing how to use one wouldn't be the worst idea 80 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:25,680 Speaker 1: in the world for somebody, even if you were you know, 81 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:27,880 Speaker 1: don't think of yourself as a techie who's going to 82 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:29,640 Speaker 1: need it. Do you remember that time that I was 83 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:31,599 Speaker 1: in South Africa? And you were in the United States 84 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:34,279 Speaker 1: and you wanted to watch Weekend at Bernie's two, and 85 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:37,000 Speaker 1: it was available in its entirety on YouTube in South 86 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:40,520 Speaker 1: Africa but not in the United States. So you used 87 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:43,360 Speaker 1: a VPN to try to access it, and then you couldn't, 88 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:46,400 Speaker 1: and we ended up doing like a zoom screen share 89 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:48,960 Speaker 1: so that we can both be watching at the same time. 90 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:53,679 Speaker 2: It was a very bad cinematic experience, but we did 91 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:56,039 Speaker 2: technically watch that movie. 92 00:04:55,880 --> 00:05:00,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, thanks to VPNs. So I think that age verification 93 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:03,320 Speaker 1: online is a terrible idea for so many reasons, not 94 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:06,000 Speaker 1: the least of which is that it just doesn't really work. 95 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:08,400 Speaker 1: The day that the Virginia law took up that last week, 96 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:11,080 Speaker 1: people on Reddit were complaining about not being able to 97 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:14,880 Speaker 1: access porn sites despite not living in or near the 98 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:18,160 Speaker 1: states where it's the law. That's because IP addresses are 99 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:22,040 Speaker 1: notoriously kind of janky at being able to actually locate 100 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:25,240 Speaker 1: where a user is. For instance, here in DC, it's 101 00:05:25,279 --> 00:05:28,360 Speaker 1: not terribly unusual for a user's IP address to say 102 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:30,880 Speaker 1: that they're in a nearby state like Virginia or Maryland, 103 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:33,000 Speaker 1: even if they have never been to one of those states. 104 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:34,480 Speaker 1: Because it's a little bit chanky. 105 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:36,279 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's true. 106 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:40,200 Speaker 2: So in some of my research, we try to geolocate 107 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:44,440 Speaker 2: people who use various digital tools that we provide, and 108 00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:47,480 Speaker 2: it's hard to geolocate people. 109 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:51,640 Speaker 3: IP addresses just very unreliable. 110 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:53,839 Speaker 1: And personally, I don't think that we should be getting 111 00:05:53,839 --> 00:05:55,960 Speaker 1: in the habit of being comfortable with having to give 112 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:59,560 Speaker 1: over our real names and government information and IDs in 113 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:03,240 Speaker 1: order to access the Internet. Our government does not keep 114 00:06:03,279 --> 00:06:06,720 Speaker 1: our private data secure and private right now. In our 115 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:09,960 Speaker 1: episode about Doc Saying with Shanna Sigelow, the digital security expert, 116 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:12,600 Speaker 1: we talked all about how if you've ever voted, or 117 00:06:12,680 --> 00:06:16,400 Speaker 1: paid a parking ticket, or had the power or electricity 118 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:19,800 Speaker 1: turned on in your apartment, your state or local government 119 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:22,400 Speaker 1: could be selling your personal data to whoever wants it 120 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:25,600 Speaker 1: because that's what they do. And so I think giving 121 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:29,120 Speaker 1: over more of our information under the guise of like, 122 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:31,840 Speaker 1: keeping us safer, just does it make sense to me, 123 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:35,200 Speaker 1: especially when it's under the guise of like, quote protecting 124 00:06:35,279 --> 00:06:38,320 Speaker 1: kids online, because if we really cared about protecting kids online, 125 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:40,640 Speaker 1: there's one hundred other things that we would be doing 126 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:44,840 Speaker 1: to actually protect them from the corporate Internet forces that 127 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:47,400 Speaker 1: we know are exploiting and harming them, and I think 128 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:51,040 Speaker 1: Wired really summarized it well. They right, the Internet isn't 129 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:54,960 Speaker 1: a child friendly place. However, introducing age verification across the 130 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:58,279 Speaker 1: web is technical and complex. In twenty nineteen, the UK 131 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:01,120 Speaker 1: ditched a multi year plan to in introduced age checks 132 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:04,800 Speaker 1: after encountering myriad problems. The porn we watch is also 133 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:08,880 Speaker 1: highly sensitive, kinks are incredibly personal, and leaks of data 134 00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:12,640 Speaker 1: online can be devastating. Privacy advocates, porn companies, and some 135 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:17,560 Speaker 1: regulators say the move to introduce age verification introduces significant problems. 136 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:20,880 Speaker 1: The concerns about young people accessing adult websites are real 137 00:07:20,880 --> 00:07:24,520 Speaker 1: and widespread. Less widespread is the understanding of the limitations 138 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:27,640 Speaker 1: of various age verification tools and the new dangers they 139 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:30,720 Speaker 1: might pose. This is from Arena Resu, director of the 140 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:34,640 Speaker 1: Internet Ethics Program at Santa Clara University's Marcula Center. Many 141 00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:37,640 Speaker 1: regulators and others seem to think of age verification as 142 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:42,440 Speaker 1: a solved problem. Technologists and privacy activists, including activists focused 143 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:45,160 Speaker 1: on protecting children, are trying to explain that that's not 144 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:49,480 Speaker 1: the case. And I think that's absolutely true. I think 145 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:53,679 Speaker 1: that you know, when we talk about legislation state specific legislation, 146 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:57,200 Speaker 1: for instance, around TikTok bands and things like that. I 147 00:07:57,320 --> 00:08:02,920 Speaker 1: think that giving giving states and platforms more access to 148 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:06,280 Speaker 1: information about us, I find that a really wonky explanation 149 00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:08,680 Speaker 1: for how that's supposed to make us more secure online. 150 00:08:08,760 --> 00:08:11,559 Speaker 1: And we just know how legislation can creep when people 151 00:08:11,560 --> 00:08:14,440 Speaker 1: feel motivated by a desire to protect kids online, like 152 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:18,120 Speaker 1: in Mississippi. For example, Another piece of new legislation means 153 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:21,120 Speaker 1: that nobody under the age of eighteen will have access 154 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:24,800 Speaker 1: to digital materials made available through public and school libraries 155 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:29,600 Speaker 1: without explicit parent or guardian permission, So no Libby access 156 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:33,000 Speaker 1: for ebooks for teens, and book Riot reports that even 157 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:36,200 Speaker 1: if they do get a parent's permission, miners can't access 158 00:08:36,200 --> 00:08:39,560 Speaker 1: digital materials if vendors do not ensure that every single 159 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:43,720 Speaker 1: item within their offerings meets this new, wide reaching definition 160 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:47,760 Speaker 1: of quote obscendity. Per the state, This legislation went to 161 00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:51,120 Speaker 1: affect July first, and libraries had to sort of scramble 162 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:53,160 Speaker 1: to figure out how to comply with it. 163 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:58,280 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's not clear what harm they're trying to solve here. 164 00:08:58,320 --> 00:09:00,640 Speaker 2: I guess they're going to I guess the goal here 165 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:06,560 Speaker 2: is to protect kids from pornography, which, like I said, 166 00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:11,000 Speaker 2: is a reasonable, laudable goal that I think. 167 00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:12,160 Speaker 3: Most people could get behind. 168 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:16,679 Speaker 2: But it seems like the result of this law is 169 00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:22,200 Speaker 2: like huge numbers of adults not being able to access 170 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:25,800 Speaker 2: something that they should have every right to be able 171 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:31,240 Speaker 2: to access. And I completely agree that it is scary 172 00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:35,240 Speaker 2: to have to enter your government ID to do something 173 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:41,280 Speaker 2: that some people in power have decided is not okay, right, 174 00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:43,720 Speaker 2: because you have to imagine that part of the goal 175 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:48,720 Speaker 2: here is just to like eliminate pornography entirely, which is 176 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:52,440 Speaker 2: a laughable goal. But you know, these a lot of 177 00:09:52,440 --> 00:09:56,240 Speaker 2: these people who are caught up in this moral panic 178 00:09:56,320 --> 00:09:57,600 Speaker 2: about protecting the kids. 179 00:09:57,920 --> 00:09:58,600 Speaker 3: It's not like. 180 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:03,760 Speaker 2: They are coming from a place of you know, evidence 181 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:08,800 Speaker 2: based concern or evidence based solutions to actual problems, right. 182 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:12,319 Speaker 2: They're like living in a fantasy land where librarians are 183 00:10:12,440 --> 00:10:17,040 Speaker 2: grooming children by reading them stories that feature gay people. 184 00:10:18,160 --> 00:10:20,720 Speaker 2: And these are the same people who you know are 185 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:26,000 Speaker 2: pushing for these sorts of age restrictions like you said 186 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:28,800 Speaker 2: in Louisiana, and I guess Virginia now too, where you 187 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:35,560 Speaker 2: have to put in your government driver's license, which is nuts. 188 00:10:35,679 --> 00:10:41,240 Speaker 2: You know, I absolutely wouldn't want to give those same 189 00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:46,560 Speaker 2: people who are putting these laws in place access to 190 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:50,160 Speaker 2: data about what I'm looking at online. 191 00:10:50,280 --> 00:10:51,920 Speaker 3: That is like the last thing I want to do. 192 00:10:52,520 --> 00:10:54,960 Speaker 1: And it really I completely agree, And it really comes 193 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:57,839 Speaker 1: down to something that doctor Olivia Snow said that when 194 00:10:57,880 --> 00:11:00,599 Speaker 1: we talk to her, that when you hear you're a 195 00:11:00,679 --> 00:11:04,480 Speaker 1: lawmaker talking about legislation regulating the Internet in a new 196 00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:08,040 Speaker 1: way that is meant to keep kids safe, that that 197 00:11:08,080 --> 00:11:12,400 Speaker 1: should be your big red flag that they are talking 198 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:18,480 Speaker 1: about cracking down on the behavior online of consensual adults, right, 199 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:22,880 Speaker 1: And that like how often protecting kids online is used 200 00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:25,880 Speaker 1: as a smoke screen in order to crack down on 201 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:30,200 Speaker 1: what adults are doing online consensually. And like, yeah, I 202 00:11:30,320 --> 00:11:36,480 Speaker 1: just who who out there when they are doing their thing, 203 00:11:36,600 --> 00:11:40,240 Speaker 1: when it's just them in their computer having their private moment. 204 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:44,080 Speaker 1: Who wants to get their government ID with their first, 205 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:48,200 Speaker 1: last and middle name and whatever like their address on it. 206 00:11:48,440 --> 00:11:53,440 Speaker 1: Who wants to get that involved in that exchange? Nobody? Nobody, nobody, 207 00:11:53,520 --> 00:11:55,880 Speaker 1: Like who is this servant? Right? And I think it's 208 00:11:55,920 --> 00:11:59,320 Speaker 1: I think it's really interesting that we're allowing lawmakers to 209 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:03,160 Speaker 1: introduce these new laws into our lives and tell us 210 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:05,520 Speaker 1: they are for our own good. When I think that 211 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:09,520 Speaker 1: anybody who's ever looked at online porn knows that, like, 212 00:12:09,840 --> 00:12:13,200 Speaker 1: you can't close those windows out fast enough. When you're 213 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:15,600 Speaker 1: done doing what you're gonna do, do you want your 214 00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:17,520 Speaker 1: license attached to it? Of course not. 215 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:20,280 Speaker 2: That's a great question. Who is it serving? 216 00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:20,960 Speaker 3: You know? 217 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:25,600 Speaker 2: And relatedly, who would it most harm? You know, it 218 00:12:25,640 --> 00:12:28,920 Speaker 2: doesn't take a whole lot of imagination to picture scenario 219 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:35,360 Speaker 2: where somebody is being taken to you know, they're engaging 220 00:12:35,400 --> 00:12:40,160 Speaker 2: like a custody battle or something, and somebody gets access 221 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:44,160 Speaker 2: to somebody else's records and now it's like part of 222 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:47,040 Speaker 2: the public record that like so and so looked at 223 00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:48,200 Speaker 2: online pornography. 224 00:12:48,679 --> 00:12:50,520 Speaker 1: Yeah, and I think that's a great point. And it 225 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:53,439 Speaker 1: also just reminds me of how often, and we're talking 226 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:56,200 Speaker 1: about the way the Internet is legislated, how often it 227 00:12:56,240 --> 00:13:00,400 Speaker 1: will start in one place with online pornography, and then 228 00:13:00,440 --> 00:13:04,960 Speaker 1: it'll start someplace completely different. When Yahoo bought Tumblr, they 229 00:13:04,960 --> 00:13:06,880 Speaker 1: were like, oh, we're not going to have there be 230 00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:11,040 Speaker 1: sexual content. You might be thinking that's like nudity, but 231 00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:14,000 Speaker 1: by the end it was a whole host of content 232 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:17,800 Speaker 1: that wasn't necessarily sexual was content about people learning about 233 00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:20,679 Speaker 1: their sexual or gender identities, right, and so that's not 234 00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:25,080 Speaker 1: necessarily sexually explicit. But how quickly the bucket of what 235 00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:28,440 Speaker 1: they were cracking down on expanded, And I think with 236 00:13:28,559 --> 00:13:31,080 Speaker 1: legislation like this, you have to imagine that like, yeah, 237 00:13:31,080 --> 00:13:34,600 Speaker 1: maybe they're going to say starting with pornography, but who 238 00:13:34,679 --> 00:13:36,920 Speaker 1: knows where that could end up? And that actually is 239 00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:39,520 Speaker 1: a great segue to what's happening in France. 240 00:13:45,120 --> 00:14:03,240 Speaker 4: Let's take a quick break. 241 00:13:57,559 --> 00:14:03,240 Speaker 1: At or back. So, lawmakers in France's National Assembly passed 242 00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:06,959 Speaker 1: a bill that lets police surveil suspects by remotely activating 243 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:12,360 Speaker 1: their cameras, microphones, and GPS location systems on their phones, laptops, 244 00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:15,840 Speaker 1: cars and connected devices. Now, a judge will have to 245 00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:18,959 Speaker 1: approve the use of these powers, and a recently amended 246 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:22,680 Speaker 1: bill does forbid the use against journalists, lawyers, and other 247 00:14:22,760 --> 00:14:26,680 Speaker 1: people who work in sensitive professions. Now. Proponents of this 248 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:28,760 Speaker 1: measure say that it is meant to be limited in 249 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:32,000 Speaker 1: scope to serious cases, and that the maximum amount of 250 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:34,760 Speaker 1: time that police can surveil suspects is six months, and 251 00:14:34,840 --> 00:14:38,080 Speaker 1: geolocation can only be limited to crimes that are punishable 252 00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:42,240 Speaker 1: by at least five years in prison. Now. Unsurprisingly, digital 253 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:46,720 Speaker 1: privacy experts are, to put it, lightly concerned. According to 254 00:14:46,840 --> 00:14:50,280 Speaker 1: n Gadget, the digital rights group La quadrechur dunet I 255 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:53,480 Speaker 1: apologize for my bad French previously pointed out the potential 256 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:56,640 Speaker 1: for abuse because the bill is just not clear in 257 00:14:56,720 --> 00:15:00,160 Speaker 1: terms of what it constitutes as a serious crime. There 258 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:02,760 Speaker 1: are fears that the French government could use this to 259 00:15:02,880 --> 00:15:06,360 Speaker 1: target environmental activists and others who are not grave threats. 260 00:15:06,400 --> 00:15:08,800 Speaker 1: You'll notice that even though they say that this won't 261 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:12,680 Speaker 1: be used against folks with sensitive professions, does that include activists? Right? 262 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:15,520 Speaker 1: Does that include dissidents? They also point out that just 263 00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:18,680 Speaker 1: like in the United States, security policies do have a 264 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:21,560 Speaker 1: habit of expanding, just like we were talking about with 265 00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:24,360 Speaker 1: that peign legislation, right, that they have a habit of 266 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:27,760 Speaker 1: expanding to less serious crimes. They give the example of 267 00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:30,720 Speaker 1: genetic registration, which used to only be used for sex 268 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:34,280 Speaker 1: offenders in France, but La Quadrature says, has now been 269 00:15:34,280 --> 00:15:37,320 Speaker 1: expanded to being used for almost every crime in France. 270 00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:38,480 Speaker 3: Yeah. 271 00:15:38,600 --> 00:15:41,360 Speaker 2: I don't know about France, but here in the US, 272 00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:44,720 Speaker 2: I feel like every time there's been some law that 273 00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:50,680 Speaker 2: expands police surveillance powers one two. Three years later, there's 274 00:15:50,880 --> 00:15:54,760 Speaker 2: a bunch of stories about how that law was abused, 275 00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:58,680 Speaker 2: used in ways it wasn't intended, targeted people that weren't 276 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:02,520 Speaker 2: supposed to be targeted. You know those newspaper headlines too. 277 00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:05,200 Speaker 2: It's like the most obvious thing in the world. 278 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:08,160 Speaker 1: This is all happening against the backdrop of protests in 279 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:11,680 Speaker 1: France sparked by the police shooting and killing teenager not 280 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:16,120 Speaker 1: Hilim Razzak. Gizmodo reported that French President Macron actually threatened 281 00:16:16,160 --> 00:16:19,160 Speaker 1: to shut down social media platforms as he claimed that 282 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:23,320 Speaker 1: protesters were filming, posting, and organizing on platforms like TikTok, 283 00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:26,320 Speaker 1: Telegram and snapchat. And I think that it really goes 284 00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:28,320 Speaker 1: back to what we were talking about in the last 285 00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:32,440 Speaker 1: story about how it may seem like something that it's 286 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:34,600 Speaker 1: easy to think that these are things measures that we 287 00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:37,480 Speaker 1: should be taking to keep us and our communities safe. 288 00:16:37,640 --> 00:16:42,120 Speaker 1: But it's so often that they sort of start out 289 00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:45,000 Speaker 1: as being about one thing and then can sort of 290 00:16:45,080 --> 00:16:48,560 Speaker 1: slowly become about another. That is a tale as old 291 00:16:48,560 --> 00:16:52,080 Speaker 1: as time when it comes to surveillance policies like this one. 292 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:54,440 Speaker 1: And so I think that these digital rights groups in 293 00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:57,040 Speaker 1: France are really right to be pushing back on this 294 00:16:57,080 --> 00:17:02,520 Speaker 1: and saying, hey, giving the police power to turn on remotely, 295 00:17:02,560 --> 00:17:05,159 Speaker 1: turn on the camera or the microphone to your phone, 296 00:17:05,280 --> 00:17:08,400 Speaker 1: to your car, to your laptop, that should be something 297 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:11,000 Speaker 1: that we're really concerned about and don't just you know, 298 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:13,520 Speaker 1: become okay with lightly. 299 00:17:14,240 --> 00:17:20,720 Speaker 2: Absolutely, I think privacy is something that we all need 300 00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:24,320 Speaker 2: to take very seriously and protect. 301 00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:26,600 Speaker 3: It is under assault. 302 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:30,200 Speaker 2: You know, people have been saying that privacy is dead 303 00:17:30,359 --> 00:17:34,000 Speaker 2: for years, and I don't think that's the case. I 304 00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:37,879 Speaker 2: think we still have a lot of privacy in our lives, thankfully, 305 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:43,160 Speaker 2: and I think it's super important that we all protect 306 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:48,240 Speaker 2: what privacy we have and resist efforts to make us 307 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:51,760 Speaker 2: all register with government ID if we want to watch 308 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:57,280 Speaker 2: corn resist giving the state authority to like turn on 309 00:17:57,600 --> 00:18:02,920 Speaker 2: our phones and record from our cameras without our permission. 310 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:10,720 Speaker 2: It's yeah, it's a scary world. These technologies really enable 311 00:18:10,840 --> 00:18:15,600 Speaker 2: a lot of surveillance activity that would have been unthinkable 312 00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:20,080 Speaker 2: years ago, that like despots of the past wish. 313 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:21,560 Speaker 3: They could have had access to. 314 00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:25,480 Speaker 2: And we've talked a lot on this show about some 315 00:18:25,560 --> 00:18:30,720 Speaker 2: of the paradoxes of the Internet. How at the outset. 316 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:34,760 Speaker 2: It promised this like bright democratic future where everyone would 317 00:18:34,760 --> 00:18:37,959 Speaker 2: have a voice and everyone would be connected, and like, 318 00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:40,760 Speaker 2: we kind of got that, but we also kind of 319 00:18:41,359 --> 00:18:44,600 Speaker 2: got something very different where no one is anonymous and 320 00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:48,840 Speaker 2: everything you say is traced back to people. And that 321 00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:52,520 Speaker 2: comment from Macron that you just read that he was 322 00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:55,720 Speaker 2: going to shut off social media because people were organizing. 323 00:18:56,720 --> 00:19:02,199 Speaker 2: How many despots throughout history have wanted that power but 324 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:07,000 Speaker 2: just like didn't have it. But now that we are all, 325 00:19:07,359 --> 00:19:10,760 Speaker 2: you know, communicating on apps that are centralized across you know, 326 00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:14,760 Speaker 2: maybe half a dozen different apps, suddenly that does become possible. 327 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:17,359 Speaker 2: And what a scary proposition that is. 328 00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:20,520 Speaker 1: Yeah, and I don't know, have you seen that episode 329 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:23,800 Speaker 1: of that first episode of Black Mirror Joan is awful? 330 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:27,040 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, So something I won't give it away if 331 00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:29,720 Speaker 1: folks haven't seen it, But something that that episode really 332 00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:33,960 Speaker 1: makes clear about the current future that we're or there, 333 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:38,320 Speaker 1: the present that we're all in, is how surveillance is 334 00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:41,760 Speaker 1: sold to us as for our own good or even 335 00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:44,960 Speaker 1: for our own entertainment. We should like being surveiled. We 336 00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:48,239 Speaker 1: should find it funny, We should enjoy the information that 337 00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:51,359 Speaker 1: we that you know, our apps and our platforms have 338 00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:53,919 Speaker 1: collected about us and sold us back, sold back to us, 339 00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:56,480 Speaker 1: and so it's kind of scary, how I mean, I'm 340 00:19:56,600 --> 00:19:58,560 Speaker 1: I'm not immune to it either. I like looking at 341 00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:01,560 Speaker 1: my Spotify end of the Year list just like anybody. 342 00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:04,639 Speaker 1: I'm not a monster, of course, I find that fascinating 343 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:07,919 Speaker 1: about information about myself. But the way that we've been 344 00:20:07,960 --> 00:20:11,399 Speaker 1: able to be desensitized to it and sort of more 345 00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:13,760 Speaker 1: and more and more and more of our privacy is 346 00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:18,399 Speaker 1: sort of for sale, and we are consistently told that 347 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:20,080 Speaker 1: it is for our own protection that we should be 348 00:20:20,119 --> 00:20:22,880 Speaker 1: happy that it's happening. And another great example is what's 349 00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:26,119 Speaker 1: happening in Sacramento. So listeners of this show know that 350 00:20:26,119 --> 00:20:29,159 Speaker 1: since the Supreme Court overturned Row last year, we have 351 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:32,800 Speaker 1: been following the very deep connections between technology, digital surveillance, 352 00:20:32,800 --> 00:20:35,280 Speaker 1: and abortion rights. And here's another update on that front. 353 00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:39,119 Speaker 1: The digital rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation sent a 354 00:20:39,200 --> 00:20:42,920 Speaker 1: letter to Sacramento Sheriff Jim Cooper, urging the Sheriff's department 355 00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:46,800 Speaker 1: to stop their practice of sharing automated license plate reader 356 00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:49,879 Speaker 1: data with out of state authorities in anti abortion states 357 00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:54,440 Speaker 1: including Alabama, Oklahoma, and Texas. Adam Schwartz, he's the EFF's 358 00:20:54,560 --> 00:20:57,600 Speaker 1: senior staff attorney, said that this practice is a threat 359 00:20:57,600 --> 00:21:00,960 Speaker 1: to security and privacy, and that a sheriff in Texas, Idaho, 360 00:21:01,119 --> 00:21:03,040 Speaker 1: or any other state with an abortion ban on the 361 00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:07,240 Speaker 1: books could use that data to track people's movement around California, 362 00:21:07,359 --> 00:21:09,840 Speaker 1: knowing where they live, where they work, and where they 363 00:21:09,840 --> 00:21:13,600 Speaker 1: seek reproductive medical care, including abortions. So back in May, 364 00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:16,920 Speaker 1: the Electronic Frontier Foundation released a report showing that seventy 365 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:20,719 Speaker 1: one law enforcement agencies in twenty two California counties, including 366 00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:23,960 Speaker 1: Sacramento County, were sharing this kind of data, and that 367 00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:27,360 Speaker 1: this practice was actually in violation of a twenty fifteen 368 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:31,000 Speaker 1: law that states that a California law enforcement agency shall 369 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:35,120 Speaker 1: not sell, share, or transfer automatic license plate reader information 370 00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:39,880 Speaker 1: except to another California law enforcement agency. And so they're 371 00:21:40,040 --> 00:21:42,800 Speaker 1: just it sounds like, I'm no lawyer, but it sounds 372 00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:46,000 Speaker 1: like they're just not doing that. They're just not following 373 00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:50,080 Speaker 1: that law. The Sacramento Sheriff's Office had a pretty weird 374 00:21:50,359 --> 00:21:55,159 Speaker 1: response to those allegations, accusing Electronic Frontier Foundation and the 375 00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:58,560 Speaker 1: ACLU of being involved in some sort of like vast 376 00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:03,280 Speaker 1: conspiracy to read lawlessness I don't know. You tell me. 377 00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:06,520 Speaker 1: Here's what they said back in May. Law enforcement agencies 378 00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:10,560 Speaker 1: commonly use information from license plate readers to investigate serious 379 00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:14,520 Speaker 1: crimes such as homicide, child kidnapping, human trafficking, and drug 380 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:17,800 Speaker 1: trafficking across state borders. So very much like what we 381 00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:19,800 Speaker 1: were just talking about, right that, like, oh, us collecting 382 00:22:19,840 --> 00:22:21,640 Speaker 1: this data is actually good for you because it makes 383 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:25,640 Speaker 1: you safer. Fine, However, they go on. Some organizations, such 384 00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:30,080 Speaker 1: as the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have lied 385 00:22:30,359 --> 00:22:33,680 Speaker 1: that law enforcement sharing this information is an attempt to 386 00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:37,960 Speaker 1: violate people's legal rights. These false claims are intentional and 387 00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:41,520 Speaker 1: part of a broader agenda to promote lawlessness and prevent 388 00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:44,679 Speaker 1: criminals from being held accountable. So like, I don't know 389 00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:48,399 Speaker 1: if the Electronic Frontier Foundation is in on this, like 390 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:55,400 Speaker 1: vast conspiracy to enable criminals to just be lawless out 391 00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:57,520 Speaker 1: on the streets. I don't know. That seems like a 392 00:22:57,560 --> 00:23:03,199 Speaker 1: pretty big allegation from the Sheriff's office in Sacramento County. 393 00:23:04,320 --> 00:23:12,639 Speaker 2: Just chaos agents. Their only interest is spreading chaos disorder. Yeah, 394 00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:14,880 Speaker 2: that's what they're doing. That's where they get the big 395 00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:19,879 Speaker 2: bucks because they're out there just trying to foment chaos 396 00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:20,840 Speaker 2: anywhere they can. 397 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:25,920 Speaker 1: And honestly, it sounds like Electronic Frontier Foundation was accusing 398 00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:29,960 Speaker 1: the Sheriff's office of not following the law, so then 399 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:32,200 Speaker 1: for the Sheriff's office to turn around and be like, actually, 400 00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:35,679 Speaker 1: y'all are the ones who are lawless liars. And it's interesting, right, 401 00:23:35,720 --> 00:23:41,080 Speaker 1: It's like their allegations are so specific, and the response 402 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:44,720 Speaker 1: is like, well, y'all are lawless liars who are just 403 00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:48,679 Speaker 1: trying to help criminals, you know, murder children. One of 404 00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:52,360 Speaker 1: these allegations seems a lot more believable than the other 405 00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:53,639 Speaker 1: to me. I don't know, that's just me. 406 00:23:54,760 --> 00:23:57,320 Speaker 2: It's such a good follow up to those two stories 407 00:23:57,359 --> 00:23:59,960 Speaker 2: we just talked about about the creep of surveillance authority, 408 00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:04,000 Speaker 2: because exactly like you said, it sounds like from this letter, 409 00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:09,760 Speaker 2: the EFF was saying, hey, you guys are currently violating 410 00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:14,000 Speaker 2: the law by sharing this information that you have collected 411 00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:20,679 Speaker 2: through police surveillance apparatus. I don't know what the term is, 412 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:23,000 Speaker 2: but like, through these license plate readers, thro are reading 413 00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:25,640 Speaker 2: licenses and you're sharing that with people who the law 414 00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:28,439 Speaker 2: forbids you to share it with, and people are going 415 00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:33,160 Speaker 2: to get hurt, and the response was, shut up. We're 416 00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:37,000 Speaker 2: going after criminals, and you're a criminal too, even though 417 00:24:37,480 --> 00:24:40,280 Speaker 2: the police are the ones breaking the law and the 418 00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:45,159 Speaker 2: people pointing that out and pointing out this overreach of 419 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:48,000 Speaker 2: a law that was intended to have limits and the 420 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:52,000 Speaker 2: fact that the police are disrespecting those limits that were 421 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:54,480 Speaker 2: placed around this law to get it passed. But you 422 00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:58,119 Speaker 2: have to assume we're put there by legislators who couldn't 423 00:24:58,119 --> 00:25:01,119 Speaker 2: get the law passed without them, so they were like, Okay, okay, 424 00:25:01,119 --> 00:25:03,679 Speaker 2: we'll put these limits around it. They can't share it 425 00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:06,680 Speaker 2: outside of California to get the law passed, and this 426 00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:10,600 Speaker 2: sheriff is just like uninterested in that right. He's going 427 00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:15,360 Speaker 2: after criminals and lawlessness. And why should any god fearing 428 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:20,719 Speaker 2: good citizens be concerned that their data is just illegally 429 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:22,240 Speaker 2: being shared across state lines. 430 00:25:22,760 --> 00:25:26,160 Speaker 1: Okay, So if you liked that response. After the Electronic 431 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:30,600 Speaker 1: Frontier Foundation sent the Sacramento sheriff their letter asking him 432 00:25:30,640 --> 00:25:33,439 Speaker 1: to stop this practice this week, he replied on Twitter 433 00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:37,040 Speaker 1: that first response I read to you was like Sacramento 434 00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:40,719 Speaker 1: Sheriff's Department like official Twitter this. He took to his 435 00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:45,639 Speaker 1: personal Twitter to give this response. He said quote, the 436 00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:49,040 Speaker 1: bill and this law has absolutely nothing to do with 437 00:25:49,119 --> 00:25:52,679 Speaker 1: reproductive rights. My record on women's and reproductive rights has 438 00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:55,320 Speaker 1: been strong throughout my time in the State Assembly, and 439 00:25:55,400 --> 00:26:00,119 Speaker 1: nothing has changed since becoming sheriff. Electronic Frontier Foundation has 440 00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:04,919 Speaker 1: the track record of protecting child molesters, ventanal traffickers, rapists, 441 00:26:04,960 --> 00:26:08,720 Speaker 1: and murderers. Perhaps they should focus more on helping victims 442 00:26:08,840 --> 00:26:12,360 Speaker 1: rather than continuing to shield criminals from prosecution. So if 443 00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:16,000 Speaker 1: you thought the first response back when eff first made 444 00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:20,159 Speaker 1: these allegations was a little much being like, oh no, no, 445 00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:23,520 Speaker 1: you are too busy holding hands with child molesters and 446 00:26:23,560 --> 00:26:27,440 Speaker 1: fentanal traffickers and rapists and murderers. Like it's just it's 447 00:26:27,440 --> 00:26:31,280 Speaker 1: just a very intense response from what is like a 448 00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:34,960 Speaker 1: very measured letter about about how they are following the 449 00:26:35,040 --> 00:26:37,720 Speaker 1: letter of the law. Now, I should say that Adam Schwartz, 450 00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:41,960 Speaker 1: the attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, does say that 451 00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:45,200 Speaker 1: he was not aware of any cases where license plate 452 00:26:45,280 --> 00:26:48,879 Speaker 1: data was used to prosecute someone forgetting an abortion, but 453 00:26:49,119 --> 00:26:51,960 Speaker 1: added quote, we think we shouldn't have to wait until 454 00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:54,720 Speaker 1: the inevitable happened, And honestly, I could not agree more 455 00:26:54,880 --> 00:26:57,479 Speaker 1: and I think that the fact that the sheriff is 456 00:26:57,520 --> 00:27:01,119 Speaker 1: going back and pointing to his record when he was 457 00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:05,280 Speaker 1: in the Assembly on abortion and reproductive care, I just 458 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:07,479 Speaker 1: I mean, I honestly think this is kind of a 459 00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:11,679 Speaker 1: normal or expected take from somebody who has not really 460 00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:14,960 Speaker 1: thought very seriously about the landscape of abortion rights here 461 00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:16,960 Speaker 1: in twenty twenty three. And I think a lot of 462 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:20,639 Speaker 1: people one did not expect Roe to ever be threatened 463 00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:22,280 Speaker 1: the way that it was, and when it did, Fall 464 00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:26,480 Speaker 1: really had a kind of myopic view on the actual 465 00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:30,680 Speaker 1: threats that folks who are looking for abortions or need abortions, 466 00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:34,080 Speaker 1: are allies to people who need abortions would face. You know, 467 00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:37,360 Speaker 1: It's one of the reasons why when I was in 468 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:40,000 Speaker 1: the reproductive justice space, we're not We were like, oh, 469 00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:42,679 Speaker 1: don't use like coat hanger imagery or talk about like 470 00:27:42,760 --> 00:27:46,119 Speaker 1: back alley abortions, because in twenty twenty three, that's not 471 00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:50,320 Speaker 1: the threat. The threat is surveillance and criminalization. Sheriff Cooper 472 00:27:50,400 --> 00:27:53,720 Speaker 1: saying that this kind of data tracking and sharing with 473 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:56,919 Speaker 1: other states has nothing to do with abortion and reproductive 474 00:27:56,960 --> 00:28:00,240 Speaker 1: rights just goes to show how limited his understanding of 475 00:28:00,280 --> 00:28:02,800 Speaker 1: the reality of our abortion landscape in twenty twenty three 476 00:28:02,920 --> 00:28:05,520 Speaker 1: really is because if he's never thought about how tracking 477 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:08,600 Speaker 1: somebody's license plate data in California and then sending it 478 00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:10,760 Speaker 1: to a state where abortion is criminalized like Texas or 479 00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:14,480 Speaker 1: Idaho could play a role in someone's ability to access 480 00:28:14,480 --> 00:28:17,480 Speaker 1: abortion care, If he's never thought about that, that really 481 00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:19,120 Speaker 1: tells me all I need to know about how he's 482 00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:22,480 Speaker 1: thinking about this issue. Because even if that license plate 483 00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:26,800 Speaker 1: data is not being used today on Thursday, July sixth, 484 00:28:26,920 --> 00:28:30,440 Speaker 1: twenty twenty three, as we've just talked about in this episode, 485 00:28:30,520 --> 00:28:33,000 Speaker 1: that does not mean that they that there will not 486 00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:35,880 Speaker 1: be an expansion of how that data is used. And 487 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:39,760 Speaker 1: in my opinion, it is not a question of if. 488 00:28:39,840 --> 00:28:42,400 Speaker 1: It's a question of when that data will be used 489 00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:45,120 Speaker 1: to criminalize people who are looking for abortions. And just 490 00:28:45,160 --> 00:28:47,520 Speaker 1: because Sheriff Cooper doesn't see it and it is does 491 00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:50,400 Speaker 1: not have that clear of a view of the landscape 492 00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:52,800 Speaker 1: of abortion rights in twenty twenty three does not mean 493 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:55,120 Speaker 1: that it's not our risk. And it's really I can't 494 00:28:55,120 --> 00:28:58,040 Speaker 1: believe that he would say like this has nothing to 495 00:28:58,080 --> 00:29:01,440 Speaker 1: do with abortion when I'm sorry, get real in twenty 496 00:29:01,480 --> 00:29:05,280 Speaker 1: twenty three, when you share license plate data from California 497 00:29:05,360 --> 00:29:08,440 Speaker 1: to stateside, Texas, A and Alabama. It has everything to 498 00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:09,920 Speaker 1: do with abortion rights. 499 00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:14,240 Speaker 2: And the important thing is that I think this isn't 500 00:29:14,280 --> 00:29:18,160 Speaker 2: about this one sheriff getting it wrong, and like, isn't 501 00:29:18,200 --> 00:29:20,520 Speaker 2: he a bad guy or isn't he clueless or something? 502 00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:24,280 Speaker 2: I have no idea about him. The concerning thing is 503 00:29:24,320 --> 00:29:27,680 Speaker 2: that he is the one who has the authority to 504 00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:33,360 Speaker 2: decide how this private data that has been surveiled gets shared. 505 00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:39,200 Speaker 2: And like you just said, he either is clueless about 506 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:43,320 Speaker 2: the landscape of reproductive rights and legal threats to people 507 00:29:43,360 --> 00:29:47,200 Speaker 2: seeking abortions in twenty twenty three, or he's faking it. 508 00:29:47,440 --> 00:29:52,280 Speaker 2: But either way, the data that he is sitting on 509 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:58,120 Speaker 2: of who has been driving around in Sacramento has real 510 00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:04,719 Speaker 2: consequences for people, and he, by his own admission, is 511 00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:07,640 Speaker 2: making decisions about who could access that data and who 512 00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:14,920 Speaker 2: can't without having apparently any clue about the legal risks 513 00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:20,200 Speaker 2: to the people that he has been entrusted to keep safe. 514 00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:24,080 Speaker 1: I would take I agree, I would take it one 515 00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:27,080 Speaker 1: step further, and I would say, because it is he 516 00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:29,600 Speaker 1: like it is not men. I don't think that he. 517 00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:32,680 Speaker 1: I don't this might be a controversial take. I think 518 00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:36,120 Speaker 1: that for a lot of men, it's difficult to see 519 00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:40,680 Speaker 1: the realities and the concerns of people who are not 520 00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:47,120 Speaker 1: also CIS men. Seriously, I think that he's like, I'm 521 00:30:47,960 --> 00:30:51,520 Speaker 1: pro choice. That's all I need to do is like 522 00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:54,880 Speaker 1: be pro choice, And it's like, no, you need to 523 00:30:54,920 --> 00:31:01,520 Speaker 1: also not buttress a vast network of interstate surveillance if 524 00:31:01,560 --> 00:31:06,920 Speaker 1: you truly want to advocate for reproductive rights in this country. 525 00:31:07,080 --> 00:31:09,240 Speaker 1: That's what it looks like in twenty twenty three. It's 526 00:31:09,280 --> 00:31:13,640 Speaker 1: not nineteen eighty, right. Just being supportive of abortion rights 527 00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:17,040 Speaker 1: and voting along those lines is not enough in twenty 528 00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:20,520 Speaker 1: twenty three. If you are propping up a vast surveillance 529 00:31:20,560 --> 00:31:23,000 Speaker 1: network that is going to get people who need abortions 530 00:31:23,040 --> 00:31:27,760 Speaker 1: criminalized one way or another. And if you're it's really 531 00:31:28,160 --> 00:31:33,240 Speaker 1: something to see people who are casked with supporting and 532 00:31:33,280 --> 00:31:37,160 Speaker 1: advocating for these constituents not get that and so loudly 533 00:31:38,080 --> 00:31:40,520 Speaker 1: proclaim that they don't get that, like I would. He 534 00:31:40,560 --> 00:31:45,200 Speaker 1: should be embarrassed. So I looked up his record and 535 00:31:45,240 --> 00:31:47,840 Speaker 1: it does seem to be a little bit all over 536 00:31:47,880 --> 00:31:50,240 Speaker 1: the place in terms of his record on abortion care. 537 00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:54,360 Speaker 1: But he obviously from his statement, wants to think of 538 00:31:54,440 --> 00:31:57,200 Speaker 1: himself as somebody who is a champion of reproductive care. 539 00:31:57,520 --> 00:31:59,920 Speaker 1: And if that is the case in twenty twenty three, 540 00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:01,880 Speaker 1: you have got to be thinking about this issue a 541 00:32:01,960 --> 00:32:04,880 Speaker 1: little bit more thoughtfully and a little bit more with 542 00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:07,600 Speaker 1: a little bit more foresight about how it's playing out, 543 00:32:07,600 --> 00:32:09,920 Speaker 1: because in twenty twenty three, you cannot be propping up 544 00:32:09,920 --> 00:32:12,120 Speaker 1: a vast digital surveillance network and tell me that you're 545 00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:14,120 Speaker 1: on my side when it comes to abortion rights. And 546 00:32:14,160 --> 00:32:15,120 Speaker 1: I'll leave it there. 547 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:32,720 Speaker 4: More after a quick break, let's. 548 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:38,000 Speaker 1: Get right back into it. So it's not all vast 549 00:32:38,040 --> 00:32:41,160 Speaker 1: surveillance networks. Let's talk about the sun. So we have 550 00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:44,800 Speaker 1: talked a bit about Megan Merkle and how the coordinated 551 00:32:44,880 --> 00:32:48,800 Speaker 1: hate campaign that she gets online targets her. But one 552 00:32:48,840 --> 00:32:51,200 Speaker 1: of the weirdest aspects of this story is that it's 553 00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:57,200 Speaker 1: not just random hate mongers on YouTube publishing videos like 554 00:32:57,560 --> 00:33:01,320 Speaker 1: ten of Megan Markle's micro expressions that show that she 555 00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:05,480 Speaker 1: is actually a huge, mean person. I almost said a 556 00:33:05,480 --> 00:33:07,080 Speaker 1: swear word. I'm trying to swear less. I got some 557 00:33:07,120 --> 00:33:09,000 Speaker 1: feedback about my swearing. I was gonna I was gonna 558 00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:11,200 Speaker 1: put a swear word there. But I didn't, So you're 559 00:33:11,240 --> 00:33:15,560 Speaker 1: welcome listeners with children. So it's not just we like 560 00:33:15,800 --> 00:33:20,680 Speaker 1: weird YouTube hate mongers. It's also the press, like big newspapers, 561 00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:24,360 Speaker 1: who are targeting her. Last week, the newspaper The Sun 562 00:33:24,480 --> 00:33:27,280 Speaker 1: had to print a front page apology for an opinion 563 00:33:27,280 --> 00:33:30,640 Speaker 1: piece about Megan Markle written by Grand Tour star Jeremy 564 00:33:30,640 --> 00:33:35,960 Speaker 1: Clarkson the piece, I can only really describe it as 565 00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:40,600 Speaker 1: a lot. Here's a bit from that piece, he writes. 566 00:33:41,080 --> 00:33:44,479 Speaker 1: I hate her, not like I hate Scotland's first Minister, 567 00:33:44,800 --> 00:33:49,400 Speaker 1: Nicola Sturgeon or serial killer Rose West. I hate her 568 00:33:49,640 --> 00:33:54,080 Speaker 1: on a cellular level. Oh no, Megan is definitely worse 569 00:33:54,120 --> 00:33:57,360 Speaker 1: than a serial killer, right obviously, Like what do you 570 00:33:57,360 --> 00:34:00,200 Speaker 1: think of Megan Markle? You think serial killer is her? 571 00:34:00,640 --> 00:34:03,320 Speaker 1: Megan Markle much further on the on the hate spectrum, 572 00:34:03,360 --> 00:34:08,200 Speaker 1: he goes on, quote at night, I'm unable to sleep 573 00:34:08,200 --> 00:34:11,000 Speaker 1: as I lie there, grinding my teeth and dreaming of 574 00:34:11,040 --> 00:34:13,040 Speaker 1: the day when she is made to parade naked through 575 00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:15,960 Speaker 1: the streets on every town in Britain while the crowds 576 00:34:16,040 --> 00:34:20,280 Speaker 1: chant shame and throw lumps of excrement at her. Everyone 577 00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:23,400 Speaker 1: who is my age thinks the same way. I don't know, dude, 578 00:34:23,440 --> 00:34:25,440 Speaker 1: I don't know if that's I don't know if that's correct, 579 00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:27,680 Speaker 1: But like everybody, who is your who is your age? 580 00:34:27,719 --> 00:34:30,440 Speaker 1: Is like, yes, I stay awake at night gritting my 581 00:34:30,520 --> 00:34:33,839 Speaker 1: teeth thinking about her. Now, in his defense, he did 582 00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:36,200 Speaker 1: say that he was going for like a Game of 583 00:34:36,320 --> 00:34:39,000 Speaker 1: Thrones reference with that. I don't watch Game of Thrones, So, like, 584 00:34:39,600 --> 00:34:41,680 Speaker 1: I you watched the show, is this? Does that? Does 585 00:34:41,680 --> 00:34:42,279 Speaker 1: that check out? 586 00:34:43,040 --> 00:34:44,040 Speaker 3: Yeah? That does check out. 587 00:34:44,040 --> 00:34:48,279 Speaker 2: That is a reference to a scene from the show, 588 00:34:48,800 --> 00:34:54,000 Speaker 2: But it doesn't diminish it in any way. Like it's 589 00:34:54,840 --> 00:34:58,000 Speaker 2: it's not like she liked being paraded through the streets 590 00:34:58,120 --> 00:35:01,080 Speaker 2: naked and having excrements throw at her, you know, the 591 00:35:01,160 --> 00:35:04,680 Speaker 2: character who was having to who legitimately was like she 592 00:35:04,760 --> 00:35:07,920 Speaker 2: didn't enjoy it. It was like very bad and it 593 00:35:07,960 --> 00:35:14,279 Speaker 2: was just as sexist in the show as it is 594 00:35:14,320 --> 00:35:15,400 Speaker 2: in real life, you know. 595 00:35:16,400 --> 00:35:19,840 Speaker 1: So even if he was going for like a specific reference, 596 00:35:20,200 --> 00:35:22,160 Speaker 1: I just think it's a little much to be printed 597 00:35:22,160 --> 00:35:25,400 Speaker 1: in the newspaper, Like I can't believe that an editor 598 00:35:25,600 --> 00:35:29,279 Speaker 1: read that and was like, Okay, doesn't sound unhinged at all. 599 00:35:29,400 --> 00:35:32,440 Speaker 1: Definitely dis publish it. It's quick published and the way if. 600 00:35:32,360 --> 00:35:37,839 Speaker 2: We go, Yeah, literary illusions aren't like like get out 601 00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:41,000 Speaker 2: of jail free card for writing messed up stuff, right, 602 00:35:41,120 --> 00:35:45,840 Speaker 2: Like they add some context and maybe some meaning or something, 603 00:35:45,880 --> 00:35:48,799 Speaker 2: but they don't just like make it all okay because 604 00:35:48,840 --> 00:35:49,600 Speaker 2: it was a reference. 605 00:35:50,080 --> 00:35:54,120 Speaker 1: Well, the UK newspaper regulator, the Independent Press Standards Organization, 606 00:35:54,280 --> 00:35:57,320 Speaker 1: agrees with you. After this was published, they got twenty 607 00:35:57,360 --> 00:36:00,560 Speaker 1: five thousand complaints about the piece and they ended up 608 00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:03,600 Speaker 1: launching an investigation into whether the piece breached its editor's 609 00:36:03,760 --> 00:36:09,280 Speaker 1: code of practice. Although interestingly, the IPSO chairman Lord Fox 610 00:36:09,400 --> 00:36:12,480 Speaker 1: said that the article was quote humiliating and degrading towards 611 00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:17,400 Speaker 1: the duchess, but according to Deadline, also rejected complaints that 612 00:36:17,480 --> 00:36:21,680 Speaker 1: the article was racist in tone, inaccurate, or sought to 613 00:36:21,719 --> 00:36:24,319 Speaker 1: harass the duchess. The piece was ultimately removed and The 614 00:36:24,400 --> 00:36:26,480 Speaker 1: Sun was forced to print an apology to Megan on 615 00:36:26,520 --> 00:36:30,040 Speaker 1: the front page. It is so interesting to me that 616 00:36:30,120 --> 00:36:33,360 Speaker 1: they specifically go out of their way to say the 617 00:36:33,400 --> 00:36:39,040 Speaker 1: peace was sexist. It was humiliating, but it was not racist, 618 00:36:39,480 --> 00:36:41,920 Speaker 1: and it was not meant to harass her, nor was 619 00:36:41,960 --> 00:36:45,480 Speaker 1: it inaccurate. I find that so interesting because I mean, 620 00:36:45,520 --> 00:36:49,440 Speaker 1: it really goes back to so much of our conversations 621 00:36:49,480 --> 00:36:51,680 Speaker 1: that we've had on there are No Girls on the Internet, 622 00:36:51,680 --> 00:36:55,000 Speaker 1: and also Internet hate Machine about how the responses to 623 00:36:55,040 --> 00:36:59,640 Speaker 1: Megan Markle kind of work and how it's always right 624 00:36:59,680 --> 00:37:03,920 Speaker 1: online line of racist. So it's like they're not going 625 00:37:03,960 --> 00:37:07,360 Speaker 1: to overtly call her a slur. But I just have 626 00:37:07,400 --> 00:37:10,800 Speaker 1: a hard time believing that if not for Megan's race, 627 00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:12,920 Speaker 1: that this would have been somebody would have found this 628 00:37:12,960 --> 00:37:15,840 Speaker 1: acceptable to print in the newspaper, right. And I also 629 00:37:15,920 --> 00:37:19,640 Speaker 1: think that because of the way that identity works, gender 630 00:37:19,880 --> 00:37:25,719 Speaker 1: and race and class and everything else, it's so linked 631 00:37:25,760 --> 00:37:28,799 Speaker 1: that it is the idea that if someone printed this 632 00:37:28,880 --> 00:37:31,799 Speaker 1: about me in the paper as a black woman, I 633 00:37:31,840 --> 00:37:33,640 Speaker 1: would not be able to say, oh, they printed it 634 00:37:33,680 --> 00:37:37,080 Speaker 1: because I'm a woman, not because I'm black. The idea 635 00:37:37,120 --> 00:37:41,320 Speaker 1: that you could parse it and say like definitively not racist, sexist, 636 00:37:41,320 --> 00:37:44,960 Speaker 1: but not racist. It is not how it works because 637 00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:48,239 Speaker 1: of the way that layered identity and the intersections of 638 00:37:48,280 --> 00:37:51,919 Speaker 1: identity work. And so it's fascinating to me to see this, 639 00:37:53,120 --> 00:37:58,520 Speaker 1: you know, Ethics Board be able to say like, Nope, 640 00:37:58,800 --> 00:38:02,400 Speaker 1: not racist, a big red stamp on that, Like, I 641 00:38:02,480 --> 00:38:04,560 Speaker 1: would be curious to know how they determined that. 642 00:38:05,239 --> 00:38:12,200 Speaker 3: Yeah, me too. It's it's like, how do you prove 643 00:38:12,280 --> 00:38:13,640 Speaker 3: that it's racist. 644 00:38:13,360 --> 00:38:18,920 Speaker 2: Right when, like you said, identity is this big web 645 00:38:19,200 --> 00:38:26,359 Speaker 2: of intersecting identities. Uh, and the systems of oppression that 646 00:38:27,560 --> 00:38:34,239 Speaker 2: traffic and benefit from public sexist and racist attacks are 647 00:38:34,320 --> 00:38:36,080 Speaker 2: so good at writing that line. 648 00:38:36,480 --> 00:38:37,400 Speaker 3: It's it's a tough thing. 649 00:38:37,440 --> 00:38:41,000 Speaker 2: It's it's almost it's almost impossible to look at one 650 00:38:41,080 --> 00:38:44,360 Speaker 2: isolated incident like that, or you know, one isolated piece 651 00:38:44,440 --> 00:38:47,120 Speaker 2: of writing, even as terrible as this, And like you said, 652 00:38:47,120 --> 00:38:51,680 Speaker 2: he didn't include a slur, didn't reference the color of 653 00:38:51,680 --> 00:38:55,719 Speaker 2: her skin, so like prove that it's racist. But then 654 00:38:55,760 --> 00:39:00,080 Speaker 2: when you step back and look at the pattern of 655 00:39:00,120 --> 00:39:05,160 Speaker 2: how this piece fits into a whole ecosystem and industry 656 00:39:05,560 --> 00:39:13,240 Speaker 2: around smearing and harassing her, obviously it's racist. 657 00:39:11,560 --> 00:39:15,560 Speaker 3: It's it's a challenge. I guess. 658 00:39:16,400 --> 00:39:18,400 Speaker 2: It's also hard for me to think about the like, 659 00:39:19,600 --> 00:39:22,080 Speaker 2: what is this guy's title. 660 00:39:22,000 --> 00:39:24,240 Speaker 1: The IPSO chairman. 661 00:39:25,200 --> 00:39:27,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's like it's also a little challenging to me 662 00:39:27,640 --> 00:39:31,920 Speaker 2: to think about this IPSO chairman, who is, like I 663 00:39:31,960 --> 00:39:36,120 Speaker 2: guess in England, he's like the top person in charge 664 00:39:36,320 --> 00:39:39,680 Speaker 2: of the newspapers. Like what would that even look like 665 00:39:39,719 --> 00:39:41,000 Speaker 2: in the United States. 666 00:39:42,080 --> 00:39:44,080 Speaker 3: I can't even wrap my head around it. 667 00:39:44,320 --> 00:39:46,400 Speaker 1: Well, if you asked me, he should come on as 668 00:39:46,440 --> 00:39:49,120 Speaker 1: a producer and co host of the podcast. Yo, is 669 00:39:49,120 --> 00:39:54,760 Speaker 1: this racist? Because this white man apparently is the arbiter 670 00:39:54,920 --> 00:39:57,719 Speaker 1: of what is and is not definitively racist, And we 671 00:39:57,840 --> 00:40:00,760 Speaker 1: got to get him on that podcast as co host 672 00:40:01,040 --> 00:40:10,120 Speaker 1: asap because his talents are being wasted. More. 673 00:40:10,160 --> 00:40:23,279 Speaker 4: After a quick break, let's get right back. 674 00:40:23,200 --> 00:40:27,839 Speaker 2: Into it, all right, bridget we got all the hard 675 00:40:27,880 --> 00:40:30,520 Speaker 2: news out of the way. What's Elon done now? 676 00:40:31,000 --> 00:40:35,240 Speaker 1: Well, something was definitely up with Twitter over the weekend. 677 00:40:35,360 --> 00:40:38,799 Speaker 1: I have so much to say about it. Let's break 678 00:40:38,840 --> 00:40:42,080 Speaker 1: down what was going on. First, Twitter started limiting who 679 00:40:42,239 --> 00:40:45,239 Speaker 1: could and could not read posts on the platform. They 680 00:40:45,360 --> 00:40:48,080 Speaker 1: limited it to only people with Twitter log in, so 681 00:40:48,080 --> 00:40:49,680 Speaker 1: if you didn't have a Twitter log in, you could 682 00:40:49,719 --> 00:40:51,600 Speaker 1: not see Twitter. If he went to Twitter dot com, 683 00:40:51,640 --> 00:40:54,799 Speaker 1: it would redirect you to a login page. Then yesterday 684 00:40:55,200 --> 00:40:59,000 Speaker 1: they quietly walked that policy back without ever acknowledging it. 685 00:40:59,040 --> 00:41:01,640 Speaker 1: So they rolled it with that acknowledging it, walked it 686 00:41:01,680 --> 00:41:05,520 Speaker 1: back with that acknowledging it weird. Then Elon Musk tweeted 687 00:41:05,520 --> 00:41:07,480 Speaker 1: that they were going to start limiting the amounts of 688 00:41:07,520 --> 00:41:11,360 Speaker 1: tweets that users could see. If you were a Twitter 689 00:41:11,400 --> 00:41:13,799 Speaker 1: Blue subscriber, you could see six thousand tweets a day. 690 00:41:14,239 --> 00:41:16,479 Speaker 1: If you were an unverified account, you could see six 691 00:41:16,560 --> 00:41:18,439 Speaker 1: hundred tweets to day, and if you were a new 692 00:41:18,600 --> 00:41:21,359 Speaker 1: unverified account, you could see three hundred tweets per day. 693 00:41:21,480 --> 00:41:24,239 Speaker 1: Elon Musk tweeted that this was a temporary measure to 694 00:41:24,320 --> 00:41:29,040 Speaker 1: prevent data scraping. There was some concern about like AI 695 00:41:29,560 --> 00:41:35,759 Speaker 1: potentially scraping Twitter data to train its models. Seems a 696 00:41:35,840 --> 00:41:38,480 Speaker 1: little suspicious. I'm not we'll get into that, but I'm 697 00:41:38,520 --> 00:41:40,759 Speaker 1: not totally sure. But that's what he tweeted. So I 698 00:41:40,760 --> 00:41:42,440 Speaker 1: don't know how it was for you all. But by 699 00:41:42,520 --> 00:41:46,560 Speaker 1: this happened on Saturday. By Sunday, I was totally unable 700 00:41:46,600 --> 00:41:49,040 Speaker 1: to see any tweets at all. Right, So like when 701 00:41:49,040 --> 00:41:52,960 Speaker 1: I woke up on Sunday, the obviously, like the clock 702 00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:55,360 Speaker 1: should have restarted in that twenty four hour period, but 703 00:41:55,480 --> 00:41:58,200 Speaker 1: the moment I logged in, I was already getting the 704 00:41:58,640 --> 00:42:00,560 Speaker 1: error that I had seen all the tweets that I 705 00:42:00,560 --> 00:42:02,320 Speaker 1: could see, even though I had not been on the 706 00:42:02,360 --> 00:42:04,960 Speaker 1: platform at all. So by Sunday. The platform was just 707 00:42:05,040 --> 00:42:06,319 Speaker 1: a no go for me. I don't know how it 708 00:42:06,360 --> 00:42:08,400 Speaker 1: was for y'all, but let me know. I'm curious. And 709 00:42:08,480 --> 00:42:11,880 Speaker 1: in case you're wondering, this also applied to official Twitter 710 00:42:11,920 --> 00:42:15,600 Speaker 1: accounts for emergency services like a National Hurricane Center or 711 00:42:15,640 --> 00:42:20,120 Speaker 1: Amber alerts. They also could only you know, see the 712 00:42:20,160 --> 00:42:23,200 Speaker 1: six thousand tweets perdy if they were Twitter Blue subscribers, 713 00:42:23,520 --> 00:42:28,120 Speaker 1: or six hundred if they were unverified, which is pretty concerning, 714 00:42:28,200 --> 00:42:30,920 Speaker 1: like had there been a hurricane or had there been 715 00:42:30,960 --> 00:42:33,680 Speaker 1: an Amber alert, maybe there was. It's probably good to 716 00:42:33,719 --> 00:42:37,120 Speaker 1: have these organizations be able to see more than a 717 00:42:37,120 --> 00:42:40,400 Speaker 1: couple of tweets, you know, particularly if they're paying for 718 00:42:40,520 --> 00:42:43,439 Speaker 1: Twitter Blue. That's something that I fully kind of don't 719 00:42:43,520 --> 00:42:49,879 Speaker 1: understand is how if I'm paying for like a subscriber experience, 720 00:42:50,920 --> 00:42:53,279 Speaker 1: am I how am I getting my tweets capped? It's like, 721 00:42:53,400 --> 00:42:55,000 Speaker 1: what was the point of paying If it's like, oh, 722 00:42:55,120 --> 00:42:57,080 Speaker 1: you get all these features and also can only see 723 00:42:57,080 --> 00:42:58,880 Speaker 1: six thousand tweets The amouth like, what's the point of paying? 724 00:42:59,040 --> 00:43:01,880 Speaker 2: What other cons about not being able to say tweets 725 00:43:01,880 --> 00:43:06,520 Speaker 2: if you're not logged in is that it has caused 726 00:43:06,560 --> 00:43:10,000 Speaker 2: Google to remove all tweets from Google results. So it 727 00:43:10,080 --> 00:43:12,400 Speaker 2: used to be that if you were searching for something 728 00:43:12,400 --> 00:43:17,000 Speaker 2: online and Google thought that a tweet was relevant to 729 00:43:17,000 --> 00:43:19,560 Speaker 2: what you were searching for, it would include that tweet 730 00:43:19,560 --> 00:43:22,080 Speaker 2: in your search results. But that's no longer the case 731 00:43:22,160 --> 00:43:26,240 Speaker 2: because because of this change that only logged in users 732 00:43:26,280 --> 00:43:29,840 Speaker 2: can see it. And that's a pretty big deal because 733 00:43:30,000 --> 00:43:33,600 Speaker 2: Google's responsible for over ninety percent of all searches in 734 00:43:33,640 --> 00:43:36,680 Speaker 2: the US and I don't know how much Twitter traffic 735 00:43:36,840 --> 00:43:40,080 Speaker 2: was coming from Google, but I have to assume some, 736 00:43:41,600 --> 00:43:45,719 Speaker 2: and Twitter being removed from Google seems like one more 737 00:43:45,840 --> 00:43:51,640 Speaker 2: big step towards Twitter becoming less relevant in the overall 738 00:43:51,920 --> 00:43:56,160 Speaker 2: information ecosystem that we all live in and get our 739 00:43:56,160 --> 00:43:57,160 Speaker 2: information from. 740 00:43:57,560 --> 00:44:00,759 Speaker 1: So what the heck is going on here? Well, the 741 00:44:00,800 --> 00:44:03,960 Speaker 1: short answer is we don't totally know. So there was 742 00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:07,160 Speaker 1: some speculation that it was related to Twitter not paying 743 00:44:07,200 --> 00:44:10,600 Speaker 1: their bills. This is from BBC data scientist. An ex 744 00:44:10,680 --> 00:44:14,279 Speaker 1: Twitter employee, doctor Rumin Chadri, told the BBC that it 745 00:44:14,280 --> 00:44:17,919 Speaker 1: was unclear if AI organizations had actually been scraping data 746 00:44:17,960 --> 00:44:21,440 Speaker 1: from Twitter, but suggested that financial issues could be behind 747 00:44:21,440 --> 00:44:24,520 Speaker 1: the changes. Frankly, I think I'm in the majority of 748 00:44:24,560 --> 00:44:26,800 Speaker 1: people who believe that it's due to Elon's lack of 749 00:44:26,840 --> 00:44:29,240 Speaker 1: payment of his bills and that he's attempting to produce 750 00:44:29,239 --> 00:44:32,680 Speaker 1: his cost She said, I have since seen other people 751 00:44:32,800 --> 00:44:34,840 Speaker 1: who kind of claim to be in the know saying 752 00:44:34,880 --> 00:44:38,279 Speaker 1: that it was not related to unpaid bills, So I 753 00:44:38,360 --> 00:44:41,440 Speaker 1: really couldn't say. Former Twitter head of Trust and Safety 754 00:44:41,800 --> 00:44:46,240 Speaker 1: Joel Roth said that Elon Musk's official explanation about trying 755 00:44:46,280 --> 00:44:50,360 Speaker 1: to prevent data scraping doesn't sound totally right, saying it 756 00:44:50,520 --> 00:44:53,640 Speaker 1: just doesn't pass the sniff test. That scraping all of 757 00:44:53,680 --> 00:44:57,480 Speaker 1: a sudden created such a dramatic performance problem that Twitter 758 00:44:57,560 --> 00:45:00,680 Speaker 1: had no choice but to put everything behind a log in. 759 00:45:01,080 --> 00:45:04,200 Speaker 1: So a lot of theories being floated around. I should 760 00:45:04,200 --> 00:45:06,440 Speaker 1: be clear that we don't know which one is the truth. 761 00:45:06,760 --> 00:45:11,120 Speaker 1: Don't don't leave me a weird comment on Instagram Elon 762 00:45:11,239 --> 00:45:17,120 Speaker 1: Musk allah a certain magazine because I'm just speculating and 763 00:45:17,160 --> 00:45:20,600 Speaker 1: summarizing other people's theories. We don't know what's going on. 764 00:45:20,880 --> 00:45:23,440 Speaker 1: But Mike, you actually have a theory we were talking 765 00:45:23,440 --> 00:45:26,080 Speaker 1: about the other day. No, yeah, I mean. 766 00:45:25,960 --> 00:45:29,760 Speaker 2: It's not like my theory. But like you said, nobody 767 00:45:29,840 --> 00:45:35,520 Speaker 2: really knows what was behind all of these like large 768 00:45:35,960 --> 00:45:39,040 Speaker 2: surprise changes, some of which were announced, some of which 769 00:45:39,080 --> 00:45:43,000 Speaker 2: just like quietly happened. Uh, but clearly something was up. 770 00:45:43,200 --> 00:45:45,160 Speaker 2: One thing I saw over the weekend was a post 771 00:45:45,200 --> 00:45:51,440 Speaker 2: from someone speculating that this was due to Twitter unintentionally 772 00:45:51,480 --> 00:45:56,680 Speaker 2: releasing some very bad code in their attempts to restrict 773 00:45:56,719 --> 00:45:59,920 Speaker 2: the site to only authenticated users who were logged in. 774 00:46:01,320 --> 00:46:04,240 Speaker 2: So the idea here is that for whatever reason, Twitter 775 00:46:04,280 --> 00:46:06,640 Speaker 2: wanted to make that change so that people who weren't 776 00:46:06,680 --> 00:46:09,200 Speaker 2: logged in and couldn't see it, and to do that, they 777 00:46:09,200 --> 00:46:11,960 Speaker 2: had to change some of their code about how Twitter works, 778 00:46:12,400 --> 00:46:15,960 Speaker 2: and the code that they released to do that was 779 00:46:16,120 --> 00:46:20,120 Speaker 2: just bad and caused a lot of problems. And the 780 00:46:20,239 --> 00:46:22,319 Speaker 2: evidence that this person had for it was that they 781 00:46:22,800 --> 00:46:27,040 Speaker 2: shared a screenshot of their console from their web browser 782 00:46:27,520 --> 00:46:31,680 Speaker 2: showing that, you know, as they were logged into Twitter, 783 00:46:32,440 --> 00:46:36,760 Speaker 2: their computer was just like hammering away at Twitter servers 784 00:46:36,760 --> 00:46:41,200 Speaker 2: with a bunch of network requests. And so they were 785 00:46:41,239 --> 00:46:45,719 Speaker 2: speculating that perhaps that was what caused Twitter to have 786 00:46:45,760 --> 00:46:50,880 Speaker 2: to put up put in place these limits, because you know, 787 00:46:50,960 --> 00:46:53,960 Speaker 2: first they tried to restrict it to only logged in users, 788 00:46:54,200 --> 00:46:58,000 Speaker 2: but they executed that so poorly that it created this 789 00:46:58,280 --> 00:47:01,600 Speaker 2: enormous drain on their on their resources, and so they 790 00:47:01,600 --> 00:47:04,440 Speaker 2: had to put the limits in place just to be 791 00:47:04,520 --> 00:47:07,920 Speaker 2: able to keep things moving at all. And so for 792 00:47:08,000 --> 00:47:13,000 Speaker 2: a while, the hashtag selfdos was going around for self 793 00:47:13,000 --> 00:47:16,560 Speaker 2: distributed denial of service attack, making fun of Twitter for 794 00:47:16,600 --> 00:47:20,040 Speaker 2: crashing its own servers through its bad code. So that 795 00:47:21,120 --> 00:47:25,719 Speaker 2: seems consistent with the screenshot that he had shared, and 796 00:47:25,760 --> 00:47:31,360 Speaker 2: it seems consistent with the chaotic, scattershot approach to decision 797 00:47:31,400 --> 00:47:34,640 Speaker 2: making that Twitter seems to do under Elon Musk. But 798 00:47:35,239 --> 00:47:36,920 Speaker 2: like I said, it's just speculation. 799 00:47:37,120 --> 00:47:37,840 Speaker 3: Who knows. 800 00:47:38,160 --> 00:47:42,120 Speaker 1: I also love the Dave's on vacation theory, the sort 801 00:47:42,120 --> 00:47:45,000 Speaker 1: of joke that Elon has fired or laid off so 802 00:47:45,120 --> 00:47:48,479 Speaker 1: many engineers that Twitter is now operating with a skeleton crew. 803 00:47:48,800 --> 00:47:53,160 Speaker 1: So people are speculating that this engineer named Dave who 804 00:47:53,200 --> 00:47:56,040 Speaker 1: I guess. It's like a fictional engineer took his family 805 00:47:56,080 --> 00:47:59,120 Speaker 1: to make on vacation and there was nobody there to answer. 806 00:47:59,160 --> 00:48:03,320 Speaker 1: The phonel was out and Twitter imploded. I love the 807 00:48:03,440 --> 00:48:06,040 Speaker 1: daves on vacation theory of like, oh yeah, Dave's up 808 00:48:06,040 --> 00:48:07,960 Speaker 1: with the wife and kids up in the adirondecks for 809 00:48:08,000 --> 00:48:10,439 Speaker 1: the weekend. None of this stuff's gonna work. 810 00:48:11,840 --> 00:48:15,120 Speaker 2: Yeah, I like that one too, And it's of all these, 811 00:48:15,320 --> 00:48:18,040 Speaker 2: it's probably the closest to correct. 812 00:48:18,560 --> 00:48:19,480 Speaker 3: Yeah, none of us know. 813 00:48:19,840 --> 00:48:24,319 Speaker 2: And it really seems like the true answer, which we'll 814 00:48:24,600 --> 00:48:28,440 Speaker 2: probably never know, maybe we will, is some version of 815 00:48:28,760 --> 00:48:32,080 Speaker 2: they try to do something stupid, they screwed it up 816 00:48:32,160 --> 00:48:34,600 Speaker 2: and had to do more stupid things to try to 817 00:48:34,680 --> 00:48:36,760 Speaker 2: like dig themselves out of that hole. 818 00:48:37,440 --> 00:48:38,840 Speaker 3: And I think. 819 00:48:38,640 --> 00:48:41,240 Speaker 2: We're still there. Maybe maybe they're up and running. 820 00:48:41,320 --> 00:48:44,719 Speaker 1: They're up and running now, and whatever the rationale was, 821 00:48:44,760 --> 00:48:46,759 Speaker 1: we may never know the truth. What we do know 822 00:48:47,000 --> 00:48:50,520 Speaker 1: is that the vibes on Twitter are not good right. 823 00:48:50,600 --> 00:48:54,520 Speaker 1: The engagement is down, advertising revenue is way down. It's 824 00:48:54,600 --> 00:48:56,400 Speaker 1: kind of funny to me that we're having this conversation 825 00:48:56,480 --> 00:49:00,359 Speaker 1: after the new Twitter CEO, Linda Yakarno, it was just 826 00:49:00,360 --> 00:49:02,040 Speaker 1: going on and on about how she was going to 827 00:49:02,040 --> 00:49:06,320 Speaker 1: make Twitter brand safe again and bring back advertisements. That 828 00:49:06,520 --> 00:49:08,560 Speaker 1: this is not doing that right. Like, I don't know 829 00:49:08,560 --> 00:49:11,319 Speaker 1: why somebody would want to pay to be advertising on 830 00:49:11,360 --> 00:49:15,480 Speaker 1: a platform that would limit how much tweets people could see. 831 00:49:15,719 --> 00:49:18,960 Speaker 1: Advertisement included. Doesn't make any sense to me. What's also 832 00:49:18,960 --> 00:49:20,759 Speaker 1: funny is that we didn't really hear a ton from 833 00:49:20,800 --> 00:49:22,680 Speaker 1: her when this was going on. She was kind of 834 00:49:23,120 --> 00:49:26,600 Speaker 1: doing some sneak likes of Elon's tweets, but like I 835 00:49:26,600 --> 00:49:29,640 Speaker 1: would expect the CEO to be making a statement about this, 836 00:49:29,840 --> 00:49:32,600 Speaker 1: but she didn't really. I guess she's just like, oh, 837 00:49:32,640 --> 00:49:36,040 Speaker 1: whatever Elon says. I also, I'm gonna like that on Twitter, 838 00:49:36,320 --> 00:49:38,440 Speaker 1: and not to mention the fact that it's just a janky, 839 00:49:38,800 --> 00:49:42,520 Speaker 1: confusing experience for folks who were trying to navigate it 840 00:49:42,560 --> 00:49:44,800 Speaker 1: still right, Like, I was trying to use Twitter to 841 00:49:44,880 --> 00:49:47,759 Speaker 1: navigate stuff happening globally, as I often do, and it 842 00:49:47,840 --> 00:49:52,280 Speaker 1: just was impossible to do that. You know, verified tweets 843 00:49:52,280 --> 00:49:54,640 Speaker 1: were coming up at the top that weren't saying anything 844 00:49:54,640 --> 00:49:58,200 Speaker 1: that was accurate or useful. It just wasn't a good experience, 845 00:49:58,200 --> 00:50:00,839 Speaker 1: and so I think the vibes were not good over there. 846 00:50:00,920 --> 00:50:03,680 Speaker 1: And it just seems like it is not well thought 847 00:50:03,719 --> 00:50:05,719 Speaker 1: out in terms of how they are rolling out these 848 00:50:05,800 --> 00:50:07,839 Speaker 1: changes and then quietly rolling them back. 849 00:50:08,320 --> 00:50:12,480 Speaker 2: Not well thought out really captures it, and it's not 850 00:50:12,560 --> 00:50:15,600 Speaker 2: just their users. There's an article in Matchable this week 851 00:50:15,600 --> 00:50:19,480 Speaker 2: about how developers of third party apps are fleeing Twitter too, 852 00:50:19,600 --> 00:50:25,800 Speaker 2: because they are similarly being jerked around and having functionality 853 00:50:25,880 --> 00:50:30,520 Speaker 2: that they were promised taken away or just break on 854 00:50:30,640 --> 00:50:34,440 Speaker 2: them without notification. I don't know, did you ever use 855 00:50:34,480 --> 00:50:36,279 Speaker 2: the app who unfollowed me? 856 00:50:36,680 --> 00:50:38,839 Speaker 1: No, I'm way too anxious for that kind of thing. 857 00:50:38,880 --> 00:50:41,600 Speaker 1: I don't want to know. Okay, yeah, no one would 858 00:50:41,640 --> 00:50:44,160 Speaker 1: ever unfollow me. In my mind, I. 859 00:50:44,080 --> 00:50:45,719 Speaker 3: Guess I'm yeah. 860 00:50:45,760 --> 00:50:48,359 Speaker 2: So it was like a useful and kind of fun thing, 861 00:50:49,680 --> 00:50:52,920 Speaker 2: but it relied on their API, and now it's just 862 00:50:53,040 --> 00:51:00,840 Speaker 2: gone because the API points first the developer had to 863 00:51:00,880 --> 00:51:05,680 Speaker 2: pay for them, and so they paid however much it 864 00:51:05,840 --> 00:51:11,480 Speaker 2: was a month, but then like Twitter, changed what endpoints 865 00:51:11,480 --> 00:51:14,759 Speaker 2: they were able to actually access after they had. 866 00:51:14,680 --> 00:51:15,239 Speaker 3: Paid for it. 867 00:51:16,040 --> 00:51:18,840 Speaker 2: And so even like big developers who've shelled out up 868 00:51:18,880 --> 00:51:21,640 Speaker 2: to forty two thousand dollars a month for enterprise access, 869 00:51:21,880 --> 00:51:24,920 Speaker 2: have been complaining that the APIs just break all the time. 870 00:51:25,200 --> 00:51:28,600 Speaker 2: Twitter will make changes without telling them, which forces them 871 00:51:28,640 --> 00:51:31,440 Speaker 2: to do like emergency maintenance to try to keep their 872 00:51:31,480 --> 00:51:35,840 Speaker 2: apps working, and according to this article, a lot of 873 00:51:35,880 --> 00:51:40,440 Speaker 2: them have just given up and are done with Twitter, 874 00:51:41,760 --> 00:51:43,600 Speaker 2: you know, And so that's just I think one more 875 00:51:43,719 --> 00:51:47,319 Speaker 2: sign that things are going poorly in Twitter Land for 876 00:51:47,520 --> 00:51:48,600 Speaker 2: everyone involved. 877 00:51:48,920 --> 00:51:51,200 Speaker 1: So speaking of giving up and being done with Twitter, 878 00:51:51,800 --> 00:51:53,799 Speaker 1: I can relate, and it seems like a lot of 879 00:51:53,840 --> 00:51:56,800 Speaker 1: other regular users of Twitter can relate as well, because 880 00:51:56,840 --> 00:51:59,279 Speaker 1: with this big roadblock for the platform, a lot of 881 00:51:59,320 --> 00:52:02,439 Speaker 1: people are looking at alternatives for Twitter in a way 882 00:52:02,440 --> 00:52:05,120 Speaker 1: that I have not seen since Elon Musk first took 883 00:52:05,160 --> 00:52:07,520 Speaker 1: over like seven months ago. So let's talk about a 884 00:52:07,520 --> 00:52:11,359 Speaker 1: couple of the different alternatives to Twitter floating around out there. 885 00:52:11,600 --> 00:52:14,120 Speaker 1: There's a Blue Sky, a platform that I've played with 886 00:52:14,160 --> 00:52:17,960 Speaker 1: a little bit. It was a platform conceptualized by Jack Dorsey, 887 00:52:18,120 --> 00:52:20,640 Speaker 1: the former CEO of Twitter, that is still in beta 888 00:52:20,680 --> 00:52:23,920 Speaker 1: and is invite only. It's very similar to Twitter. We're 889 00:52:23,960 --> 00:52:26,160 Speaker 1: gonna be doing an episode about it more in depth, 890 00:52:26,200 --> 00:52:29,480 Speaker 1: but it's kind of like a Twitter alternative where a 891 00:52:29,520 --> 00:52:32,239 Speaker 1: lot of folks who you might see on Twitter are 892 00:52:32,320 --> 00:52:35,759 Speaker 1: there doing their thing. Another is Spill, which launched on 893 00:52:35,840 --> 00:52:39,520 Speaker 1: July twelfth, that was conceptualized by two former Twitter staffers. 894 00:52:39,880 --> 00:52:42,400 Speaker 1: Hopefully we will hear from the creators of Spill on 895 00:52:42,440 --> 00:52:45,799 Speaker 1: this very podcast very soon. Spill kind of strikes me 896 00:52:45,960 --> 00:52:49,200 Speaker 1: as a spot that is meant to be specifically building 897 00:52:49,200 --> 00:52:52,839 Speaker 1: community around marginalized users, black folks, queer folks. When you 898 00:52:52,880 --> 00:52:56,000 Speaker 1: log into Spill, which is still invite only, you have 899 00:52:56,080 --> 00:52:59,760 Speaker 1: to like it's very clear, like we're not about hate speech, 900 00:52:59,800 --> 00:53:01,960 Speaker 1: We're here for marginalized people to be able to show up. 901 00:53:02,520 --> 00:53:05,160 Speaker 1: I find that kind of interesting. I don't think it's 902 00:53:05,160 --> 00:53:08,719 Speaker 1: like explicitly a space just for marginalized people, but I 903 00:53:08,760 --> 00:53:10,279 Speaker 1: think it's clear that they want it to be a 904 00:53:10,280 --> 00:53:14,040 Speaker 1: space where marginalized folks can show up. And there's a 905 00:53:14,080 --> 00:53:17,359 Speaker 1: heavy like black Twitter contingent to Spill. But again, we'll 906 00:53:17,400 --> 00:53:19,600 Speaker 1: hear more from the creators in their own words, hopefully 907 00:53:19,680 --> 00:53:21,840 Speaker 1: very soon. And the one that I really want to 908 00:53:21,880 --> 00:53:25,120 Speaker 1: talk about today is ig Threads. So I have to 909 00:53:25,160 --> 00:53:27,960 Speaker 1: admit I have not tried ig Threads. It has been 910 00:53:28,000 --> 00:53:30,560 Speaker 1: out for like thirty hours, and in that time I 911 00:53:30,600 --> 00:53:33,560 Speaker 1: have not been able to download it. I'm actually not 912 00:53:33,600 --> 00:53:36,959 Speaker 1: sure if I will question Mark. Maybe I'll decide during 913 00:53:36,960 --> 00:53:40,160 Speaker 1: the course of this episode. But it's being called the 914 00:53:40,239 --> 00:53:43,440 Speaker 1: Twitter Killer, so I've seen some people that I trust 915 00:53:43,520 --> 00:53:48,080 Speaker 1: talk about Threads being good. It just launched yesterday overnight, 916 00:53:48,280 --> 00:53:52,360 Speaker 1: thirty million people joined it. It shot to the I 917 00:53:52,400 --> 00:53:55,319 Speaker 1: think the currently it's the hot most downloaded app on 918 00:53:55,360 --> 00:53:58,480 Speaker 1: the App Store. It's only for iOS right now. I 919 00:53:58,480 --> 00:54:00,799 Speaker 1: think one of the reasons I've seen people that I 920 00:54:00,880 --> 00:54:05,880 Speaker 1: trust kind of be like cautiously optimistic about it is 921 00:54:05,880 --> 00:54:09,160 Speaker 1: that it pulls from your current Instagram following, so you 922 00:54:09,239 --> 00:54:11,319 Speaker 1: don't have to start from zero. And I think, like, 923 00:54:12,000 --> 00:54:14,640 Speaker 1: even if you're somebody who is really good at building 924 00:54:14,640 --> 00:54:18,160 Speaker 1: community online and really good at like, you know, engagement 925 00:54:18,200 --> 00:54:20,560 Speaker 1: and getting followers and all of that, nobody wants to 926 00:54:20,600 --> 00:54:22,520 Speaker 1: start from zero. And so I think that that is 927 00:54:22,680 --> 00:54:26,520 Speaker 1: a reason that I've seen people say that it might 928 00:54:26,560 --> 00:54:28,759 Speaker 1: be good. Let's talk about some of the reasons why 929 00:54:28,800 --> 00:54:31,160 Speaker 1: it might not be good. One big thing to know 930 00:54:31,360 --> 00:54:35,040 Speaker 1: is that if you download Threads, it is a separate app, 931 00:54:35,080 --> 00:54:37,640 Speaker 1: separate from your Instagram. So if you download it and 932 00:54:37,680 --> 00:54:39,680 Speaker 1: then you decide you don't like it, you have to 933 00:54:39,760 --> 00:54:43,839 Speaker 1: delete your entire Instagram count to entirely get rid of 934 00:54:43,840 --> 00:54:47,760 Speaker 1: that app. So, according to the Threads Supplemental Privacy Policy, 935 00:54:48,200 --> 00:54:51,080 Speaker 1: you may deactivate your Threads profile at any time, but 936 00:54:51,160 --> 00:54:54,040 Speaker 1: your Threads profile can only be deleted by deleting your 937 00:54:54,080 --> 00:54:58,880 Speaker 1: Instagram account. Ours Technica also quoted my personal nemesis, the 938 00:54:58,920 --> 00:55:02,520 Speaker 1: head of Instagram Adam who said, you can deactivate your 939 00:55:02,560 --> 00:55:05,880 Speaker 1: Threads account, which hides your Threads profile and content. You 940 00:55:05,920 --> 00:55:08,600 Speaker 1: can set your profile to private. You can delete individual 941 00:55:08,640 --> 00:55:11,920 Speaker 1: Threads posts all without deleting your Instagram account. Threads is 942 00:55:11,960 --> 00:55:14,720 Speaker 1: powered by Instagram, so right now it's just one account. 943 00:55:14,760 --> 00:55:16,319 Speaker 1: But we're looking out a way to delete your Threads 944 00:55:16,360 --> 00:55:19,080 Speaker 1: account separately, So I don't know. I just don't like that. 945 00:55:19,200 --> 00:55:22,720 Speaker 1: I think that if you were one of the thirty 946 00:55:22,719 --> 00:55:25,200 Speaker 1: million people who just wanted to try it out and join, 947 00:55:25,880 --> 00:55:31,080 Speaker 1: you shouldn't have to completely delete your Instagram account if 948 00:55:31,120 --> 00:55:33,319 Speaker 1: you decide it's not for you. Now. Again, as you said, 949 00:55:33,360 --> 00:55:36,240 Speaker 1: you can like private your Threads or hide your Threads, 950 00:55:36,239 --> 00:55:38,480 Speaker 1: but if you want out entirely, I think it's a 951 00:55:38,520 --> 00:55:40,960 Speaker 1: little bit much that you have to completely delete a 952 00:55:41,000 --> 00:55:43,920 Speaker 1: completely separate app to do that. I don't like that. 953 00:55:44,719 --> 00:55:48,240 Speaker 1: Another thing to know is that you cannot only follow 954 00:55:48,320 --> 00:55:50,279 Speaker 1: people that you want to follow. The feed is a 955 00:55:50,280 --> 00:55:52,560 Speaker 1: mix of people that you follow and people that you don't. 956 00:55:52,640 --> 00:55:56,000 Speaker 1: As Ours Technical reported, some users have actually complained that 957 00:55:56,040 --> 00:55:58,440 Speaker 1: their feed is flooded with content from accounts that they 958 00:55:58,480 --> 00:56:03,759 Speaker 1: never followed, outnumbering posts from their friends. But in classic 959 00:56:04,040 --> 00:56:07,680 Speaker 1: tech bro style, that this thing that users are complaining 960 00:56:07,719 --> 00:56:11,440 Speaker 1: about and saying is annoying is actually a really great feature. 961 00:56:11,800 --> 00:56:14,560 Speaker 1: They just don't get it yet because in a blog post, 962 00:56:14,719 --> 00:56:18,719 Speaker 1: meta toouted this default feed as a feature, not an annoyance, 963 00:56:19,000 --> 00:56:22,279 Speaker 1: saying quote your feed on threads includes threads posted by 964 00:56:22,320 --> 00:56:25,600 Speaker 1: people that you follow and recommended content from new creators 965 00:56:25,600 --> 00:56:28,799 Speaker 1: you haven't discovered yet. So you know, an influencer that 966 00:56:28,840 --> 00:56:31,359 Speaker 1: you've never heard of and don't care about spamming your 967 00:56:31,360 --> 00:56:34,080 Speaker 1: threads feed is just a friend you haven't met yet. 968 00:56:34,239 --> 00:56:37,319 Speaker 1: So those are some of the logistical reasons that maybe 969 00:56:37,320 --> 00:56:39,279 Speaker 1: It's threads isn't so great. But let's talk about some 970 00:56:39,320 --> 00:56:42,520 Speaker 1: of the bigger, kind of thornier issues. Number one is 971 00:56:42,560 --> 00:56:46,279 Speaker 1: that it is Facebook. People. Do I really need to 972 00:56:46,320 --> 00:56:49,080 Speaker 1: say anything else? It's Facebook. So the people that brought 973 00:56:49,120 --> 00:56:52,040 Speaker 1: you everything that comes with Facebook, they are also bringing 974 00:56:52,080 --> 00:56:55,160 Speaker 1: you threads that should really be enough. Jason Kent't summed 975 00:56:55,160 --> 00:56:56,680 Speaker 1: it up really well. On The Sweet That I Love. 976 00:56:56,719 --> 00:57:00,600 Speaker 1: He writes misleads about metrics, inflates, video opportunity, covers up 977 00:57:00,680 --> 00:57:05,280 Speaker 1: data breach, empowers foreign interference, aids and genocide, blocks, free 978 00:57:05,320 --> 00:57:11,360 Speaker 1: and plural press, hides damming, harms research, abuses users, privacy copies, competition, 979 00:57:11,719 --> 00:57:15,040 Speaker 1: launches new app? Where can I download? It? Sounds a 980 00:57:15,080 --> 00:57:16,240 Speaker 1: little funky. 981 00:57:15,920 --> 00:57:20,240 Speaker 2: When you put it that way, right, I get it, man, 982 00:57:20,280 --> 00:57:20,760 Speaker 2: I get it. 983 00:57:21,320 --> 00:57:24,160 Speaker 1: So because it's Facebook, that means that they are very 984 00:57:24,200 --> 00:57:28,280 Speaker 1: big privacy concerns with Threads. Threads collects a lot of 985 00:57:28,480 --> 00:57:33,160 Speaker 1: data about you, which can include things like your sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, 986 00:57:33,400 --> 00:57:39,040 Speaker 1: biometric data, trade, union membership, pregnancy status, politics, and religious beliefs. 987 00:57:39,280 --> 00:57:41,840 Speaker 1: Threads can also collect data on users employment, as well 988 00:57:41,880 --> 00:57:44,919 Speaker 1: as health and fitness activity. Beyond that, the app also 989 00:57:45,040 --> 00:57:49,240 Speaker 1: can collect data monitoring your location and other web activity. Now, 990 00:57:49,240 --> 00:57:51,920 Speaker 1: if you're listening to this in the EU, you do 991 00:57:52,000 --> 00:57:54,320 Speaker 1: not have access to Threads, and that's because of the 992 00:57:54,360 --> 00:57:58,440 Speaker 1: European Data Protection Boards finding decision that Meta did not 993 00:57:58,600 --> 00:58:02,160 Speaker 1: have an appropriate basis for processing personal data to serve 994 00:58:02,240 --> 00:58:04,840 Speaker 1: up behavioral ads. It's kind of a whole legal mess, 995 00:58:04,880 --> 00:58:07,640 Speaker 1: but here's how tech Crunch put it. Currently, Meta does 996 00:58:07,680 --> 00:58:10,840 Speaker 1: not even offer users a general upfront choice to deny 997 00:58:11,000 --> 00:58:14,480 Speaker 1: it's tracking and profiling, let alone explicitly ask if it 998 00:58:14,480 --> 00:58:17,520 Speaker 1: can share data on your health conditions so advertisers can 999 00:58:17,560 --> 00:58:20,640 Speaker 1: sell you diet pills or whatever. And with even harder 1000 00:58:20,680 --> 00:58:23,480 Speaker 1: limits on surveillance ads coming down the pipe in the EU, 1001 00:58:23,920 --> 00:58:27,080 Speaker 1: an app that proposes to track everything to maximize its 1002 00:58:27,080 --> 00:58:31,280 Speaker 1: appeal to advertisers will be a tough sell to regional regulators. 1003 00:58:31,560 --> 00:58:34,960 Speaker 1: And so yeah, if you are someone who wants to 1004 00:58:34,960 --> 00:58:38,160 Speaker 1: get on threads, you should just be aware of the 1005 00:58:38,480 --> 00:58:42,960 Speaker 1: amount of data that Meta is collecting from you from Threads, 1006 00:58:43,000 --> 00:58:46,240 Speaker 1: because it's a lot. And I should say, obviously Facebook 1007 00:58:46,280 --> 00:58:49,240 Speaker 1: is not the only platform collecting your data. Twitter also 1008 00:58:49,280 --> 00:58:51,520 Speaker 1: collects your data, albeit I think a little bit less 1009 00:58:51,520 --> 00:58:54,560 Speaker 1: than Facebook does. But it's just generally good to be 1010 00:58:54,640 --> 00:58:58,480 Speaker 1: aware of Facebook's practices and histories around our sensitive data. 1011 00:58:58,960 --> 00:59:01,360 Speaker 3: Yeah, all of it. It's Facebook, They're collecting all of it. 1012 00:59:01,920 --> 00:59:05,160 Speaker 1: And even though Zuckerberg has talked a big game about 1013 00:59:05,160 --> 00:59:08,800 Speaker 1: wanting Threads to be this place for discourse and accurate information, 1014 00:59:09,440 --> 00:59:11,480 Speaker 1: it has been up for less than a day and 1015 00:59:11,680 --> 00:59:15,720 Speaker 1: already this is being called into question because known harassers 1016 00:59:15,720 --> 00:59:19,600 Speaker 1: and misinformers and disinformers like libs of TikTok are already 1017 00:59:19,680 --> 00:59:23,440 Speaker 1: showing up on Threads. When Donald Trump Junior joined Threads, 1018 00:59:23,440 --> 00:59:26,160 Speaker 1: added a warning to his account letting folks know that 1019 00:59:26,200 --> 00:59:29,640 Speaker 1: he is known for spreading misinformation, which he is. When 1020 00:59:29,680 --> 00:59:33,640 Speaker 1: Donald Trump Junior screenshot at that warning and complained, metas 1021 00:59:33,720 --> 00:59:36,920 Speaker 1: Andy Stone walked it back, saying the warning was just 1022 00:59:36,960 --> 00:59:39,000 Speaker 1: a mistake, they didn't mean to apply it. So it 1023 00:59:39,040 --> 00:59:41,920 Speaker 1: does kind of seem like the same moderation issues and 1024 00:59:41,960 --> 00:59:45,160 Speaker 1: concerns that already show up on Facebook might also be 1025 00:59:45,240 --> 00:59:48,680 Speaker 1: present on threads. I would also just add that, like, 1026 00:59:49,880 --> 00:59:51,800 Speaker 1: I don't really even know how to put this, but 1027 00:59:51,840 --> 00:59:57,160 Speaker 1: there is definitely a cultural vibe of Instagram that makes 1028 00:59:57,160 --> 01:00:01,240 Speaker 1: me wonder if if a product Cannect did to Instagram 1029 01:00:01,360 --> 01:00:05,320 Speaker 1: will ever take off and be an actual replacement for Twitter. 1030 01:00:05,920 --> 01:00:09,640 Speaker 1: You know, it's hard to explain, but if you use Facebook, Instagram, 1031 01:00:09,680 --> 01:00:12,400 Speaker 1: and Twitter, you probably know exactly what I mean. Think 1032 01:00:12,400 --> 01:00:15,840 Speaker 1: about the kind of person who becomes big on Instagram, Now, 1033 01:00:16,120 --> 01:00:18,240 Speaker 1: think about the kind of person who becomes big on Twitter. 1034 01:00:18,920 --> 01:00:23,200 Speaker 1: Those two groups of people find success for completely different 1035 01:00:23,240 --> 01:00:26,880 Speaker 1: behavior and things with completely different audiences. The culture of 1036 01:00:26,920 --> 01:00:31,680 Speaker 1: Twitter is text base, so snarks, jokes, meme, general on 1037 01:00:31,960 --> 01:00:35,960 Speaker 1: we right, those are the things that perform well on Twitter, 1038 01:00:36,280 --> 01:00:40,320 Speaker 1: text based snark, text based insights, things like that. The 1039 01:00:40,320 --> 01:00:43,640 Speaker 1: culture of Instagram is visual, right, so it's looking a 1040 01:00:43,640 --> 01:00:47,320 Speaker 1: certain way, presenting a certain way. I don't necessarily want 1041 01:00:47,360 --> 01:00:51,200 Speaker 1: to read written takes from the kind of people who 1042 01:00:51,480 --> 01:00:54,040 Speaker 1: really perform well on Instagram. I don't mean that as 1043 01:00:54,040 --> 01:00:56,640 Speaker 1: a dig on them. It's just that there are two 1044 01:00:56,680 --> 01:01:01,040 Speaker 1: different mediums. They're very different, and they have very different audiences, 1045 01:01:01,080 --> 01:01:03,880 Speaker 1: and so I feel like the kind of person who 1046 01:01:03,920 --> 01:01:06,880 Speaker 1: would find success on a visual medium and the kind 1047 01:01:06,920 --> 01:01:09,160 Speaker 1: of person who would find success on a on a 1048 01:01:09,280 --> 01:01:14,120 Speaker 1: text based medium are very different. And having Threads be 1049 01:01:14,200 --> 01:01:17,880 Speaker 1: connected to your Instagram account so that, like the people 1050 01:01:17,880 --> 01:01:20,840 Speaker 1: who already have big followings on Instagram, people who are 1051 01:01:20,880 --> 01:01:25,080 Speaker 1: already big influencers on Instagram automatically will have big platforms 1052 01:01:25,120 --> 01:01:28,080 Speaker 1: on Threads as well, just makes me think that as 1053 01:01:28,120 --> 01:01:30,240 Speaker 1: a text base. I mean, you're see your shaking your head. 1054 01:01:30,240 --> 01:01:33,200 Speaker 1: But like, if I have a million Instagram followers and 1055 01:01:33,240 --> 01:01:36,600 Speaker 1: you have five Instagram followers and Threads automatically pulls your 1056 01:01:36,640 --> 01:01:40,439 Speaker 1: followers from Instagram, I will start out on day one 1057 01:01:40,600 --> 01:01:42,920 Speaker 1: with a million followers on Threads. You will start out 1058 01:01:42,960 --> 01:01:45,280 Speaker 1: on day one with five followers on Threads. That's just 1059 01:01:45,280 --> 01:01:46,120 Speaker 1: how it works. 1060 01:01:46,640 --> 01:01:47,240 Speaker 3: It's true. 1061 01:01:47,280 --> 01:01:51,640 Speaker 2: But just because you've got a million followers, if you're 1062 01:01:51,640 --> 01:01:54,800 Speaker 2: not creating the kind of content that they think is 1063 01:01:54,840 --> 01:01:56,840 Speaker 2: going to give them the kind of engagement they want. 1064 01:01:57,520 --> 01:02:02,080 Speaker 2: They will bury you in a day, and you're you know, 1065 01:02:02,120 --> 01:02:04,880 Speaker 2: you might have a million followers, but there's no doubt 1066 01:02:04,880 --> 01:02:08,160 Speaker 2: in my mind that they there. You know, they wouldn't 1067 01:02:08,240 --> 01:02:12,400 Speaker 2: dial you back to like a thousand impressions a day, 1068 01:02:12,440 --> 01:02:16,400 Speaker 2: even if you're posting posting a lot of content, because 1069 01:02:16,440 --> 01:02:20,960 Speaker 2: as you described, it's it's not like a chronological timeline, right, 1070 01:02:20,960 --> 01:02:26,440 Speaker 2: It's that this algorithm that they are using, and that 1071 01:02:26,440 --> 01:02:29,920 Speaker 2: that vibe difference that you described between Twitter and Instagram. 1072 01:02:30,200 --> 01:02:33,400 Speaker 2: I'm sure a lot of people have studied it, and 1073 01:02:33,520 --> 01:02:35,439 Speaker 2: I would be like really interested to hear from them. 1074 01:02:35,480 --> 01:02:39,840 Speaker 2: But I have to believe that the particular vibe that 1075 01:02:39,920 --> 01:02:45,560 Speaker 2: exists on Instagram was very intentionally and deliberately curated by 1076 01:02:46,280 --> 01:02:53,000 Speaker 2: Meta And so yeah, I think, you know, bringing all 1077 01:02:53,040 --> 01:02:57,520 Speaker 2: your followers is gonna you know, it is an advantage 1078 01:02:57,520 --> 01:03:00,720 Speaker 2: to starting on a new network. You know, when I 1079 01:03:00,760 --> 01:03:04,080 Speaker 2: started on masted on a while ago, that was like 1080 01:03:04,160 --> 01:03:06,440 Speaker 2: a major barrier. I was starting at zero, not that 1081 01:03:06,480 --> 01:03:08,680 Speaker 2: I had that many followers, but for me, it was 1082 01:03:08,720 --> 01:03:10,480 Speaker 2: more like the people that I was following I had 1083 01:03:10,480 --> 01:03:11,240 Speaker 2: to go. 1084 01:03:11,120 --> 01:03:12,760 Speaker 3: And like find them and find all new ones. 1085 01:03:13,120 --> 01:03:17,320 Speaker 2: But there's a chronological timeline, and you know with both 1086 01:03:17,360 --> 01:03:20,240 Speaker 2: Instagram and Threads, that's not the case. It's the algorithm. 1087 01:03:20,280 --> 01:03:22,400 Speaker 2: They're showing you what they want you to see. 1088 01:03:22,800 --> 01:03:25,840 Speaker 1: So Edzatrone has a piece that I think really speaks 1089 01:03:25,840 --> 01:03:28,520 Speaker 1: to what you're talking about, and he actually argues that 1090 01:03:28,600 --> 01:03:31,440 Speaker 1: this might be kind of marking the end of a 1091 01:03:31,480 --> 01:03:33,400 Speaker 1: certain era of the Internet as we know it. It's 1092 01:03:33,480 --> 01:03:34,800 Speaker 1: kind of a long quote, but I think it's so 1093 01:03:34,880 --> 01:03:37,720 Speaker 1: worth it. Hear me out. He writes, when Twitter and 1094 01:03:37,760 --> 01:03:40,600 Speaker 1: Instagram launched, people were not primed for what a social 1095 01:03:40,640 --> 01:03:43,440 Speaker 1: network was. Users did not join with the intent of 1096 01:03:43,640 --> 01:03:48,280 Speaker 1: building followings or content creation. Influencer was a term, but 1097 01:03:48,320 --> 01:03:51,000 Speaker 1: it was not a term that people instantly gravitated toward. 1098 01:03:51,080 --> 01:03:54,080 Speaker 1: From day one. Twitter was exciting because it felt raw, 1099 01:03:54,400 --> 01:03:57,880 Speaker 1: almost accidentally honest, and the way that famous or notable 1100 01:03:57,920 --> 01:04:00,600 Speaker 1: people acted didn't feel like they were following a content 1101 01:04:00,640 --> 01:04:03,960 Speaker 1: marketing calendar. Threads is built to attract people who are 1102 01:04:03,960 --> 01:04:07,880 Speaker 1: concerned about influence versus any kind of authentic conversation, and 1103 01:04:07,960 --> 01:04:11,280 Speaker 1: it suffers greatly as a result. Perhaps we're simply approaching 1104 01:04:11,320 --> 01:04:13,800 Speaker 1: the end of the honest Internet, where the magic of 1105 01:04:13,880 --> 01:04:17,560 Speaker 1: happenstance is being squeezed out as financial interests find ways 1106 01:04:17,560 --> 01:04:21,240 Speaker 1: to dominate real human conversation. Threads isn't built for you 1107 01:04:21,280 --> 01:04:24,320 Speaker 1: to talk to other people. It's built to inject intepid 1108 01:04:24,560 --> 01:04:27,560 Speaker 1: content into your life and interfere with as much of 1109 01:04:27,560 --> 01:04:31,200 Speaker 1: the human experience as possible. Perhaps it's because Zuckerberg already 1110 01:04:31,200 --> 01:04:34,520 Speaker 1: saw how unprofitable Twitter is and decided the only way 1111 01:04:34,560 --> 01:04:37,760 Speaker 1: to do this would be to make a significantly worse experience. 1112 01:04:38,280 --> 01:04:41,880 Speaker 1: More fundamentally, Threads isn't a social network. It's a marketing 1113 01:04:41,960 --> 01:04:45,360 Speaker 1: channel for the least interesting people on Earth. It's exactly 1114 01:04:45,400 --> 01:04:48,800 Speaker 1: what you'd expect of a text based Instagram, a mediocre, 1115 01:04:49,160 --> 01:04:53,600 Speaker 1: algorithmic nightmare of content slob that barely resembles entertainment, and 1116 01:04:53,640 --> 01:04:55,880 Speaker 1: I can't wait for it to fail. So a little 1117 01:04:55,920 --> 01:04:58,560 Speaker 1: bit grim That speaks a little bit, I think to 1118 01:04:58,640 --> 01:05:02,080 Speaker 1: what you were talking about about influencers and whether having 1119 01:05:02,080 --> 01:05:07,920 Speaker 1: a big platform on Threads will correlate to engagement and 1120 01:05:08,000 --> 01:05:10,640 Speaker 1: being successful there, I kind of agree with, even though 1121 01:05:10,680 --> 01:05:13,480 Speaker 1: I'm not on Threads, I kind of agree that we're 1122 01:05:13,520 --> 01:05:17,000 Speaker 1: thinking about it completely wrong. We're thinking about it in 1123 01:05:17,080 --> 01:05:21,200 Speaker 1: terms of an authentic engagement platform, and I don't think 1124 01:05:21,200 --> 01:05:22,120 Speaker 1: that's what Threads is. 1125 01:05:23,000 --> 01:05:27,360 Speaker 2: There is zero reason for optimism, right, Like it's meta. 1126 01:05:27,480 --> 01:05:31,880 Speaker 2: They are bad actors. Every single piece of it is 1127 01:05:31,920 --> 01:05:36,240 Speaker 2: going to be bills around selling ads. I think they 1128 01:05:36,760 --> 01:05:41,280 Speaker 2: would readily admit that, right, Like they're they're interested in 1129 01:05:41,320 --> 01:05:45,960 Speaker 2: harvesting data and selling ads. This new platform is a 1130 01:05:46,040 --> 01:05:48,040 Speaker 2: new vector for them to do that. 1131 01:05:49,520 --> 01:05:51,320 Speaker 3: Maybe it'll be interesting. I don't know. 1132 01:05:52,800 --> 01:05:55,520 Speaker 2: You know, television is a vector for selling US ads 1133 01:05:55,560 --> 01:05:56,919 Speaker 2: and there's good shows on there. 1134 01:05:57,480 --> 01:06:00,760 Speaker 1: Yeah, And it's funny because because you're not able to 1135 01:06:00,840 --> 01:06:03,800 Speaker 1: control your feed and like what you're seeing, it's a 1136 01:06:03,840 --> 01:06:08,040 Speaker 1: lot of brands and influencers and things like that. Giovanni 1137 01:06:08,280 --> 01:06:11,160 Speaker 1: colon Tiano at Digital Trends put it really well. He said, 1138 01:06:11,240 --> 01:06:13,920 Speaker 1: he posted this screenshot of all of these different brands, 1139 01:06:14,440 --> 01:06:18,080 Speaker 1: you know, packing their little brand specific jokes on Threads. 1140 01:06:18,320 --> 01:06:21,080 Speaker 1: There's Netflix saying Threads, it's kind of like love is 1141 01:06:21,120 --> 01:06:24,120 Speaker 1: blind because everybody is all about that engagement a GA 1142 01:06:24,200 --> 01:06:28,240 Speaker 1: engagement ring emoji and I get it. It's it's like 1143 01:06:28,480 --> 01:06:31,200 Speaker 1: cringe and I ROLLI and all of that. But he writes, 1144 01:06:31,480 --> 01:06:34,240 Speaker 1: it's truly pathetic that this is the endgame of social media, 1145 01:06:34,320 --> 01:06:38,080 Speaker 1: a powerful tool for education and organization, co opted into 1146 01:06:38,120 --> 01:06:41,200 Speaker 1: a dead eyed utopia for brands to post the most 1147 01:06:41,200 --> 01:06:44,240 Speaker 1: Sacharin shit imaginable and have it forced into your feed 1148 01:06:44,680 --> 01:06:48,760 Speaker 1: happy meal as app, and I get the energy that 1149 01:06:48,800 --> 01:06:53,880 Speaker 1: he is responding to right like that. It's there was 1150 01:06:53,920 --> 01:06:57,120 Speaker 1: a time where social media and this this era of 1151 01:06:57,160 --> 01:07:02,040 Speaker 1: the Internet represented endless possibility of connection and power building 1152 01:07:02,040 --> 01:07:05,600 Speaker 1: and organizing and engagement. And I'm we're using it to 1153 01:07:05,640 --> 01:07:10,480 Speaker 1: get you know, Netflix's little brand jokes about love is 1154 01:07:10,520 --> 01:07:13,280 Speaker 1: blind and we're not even choosing to see that. It's 1155 01:07:13,320 --> 01:07:16,840 Speaker 1: just being surfaced to us because that's what Adam MOSERI 1156 01:07:17,080 --> 01:07:20,280 Speaker 1: and Mark Zuckerberg think that we want from the Internet. 1157 01:07:20,520 --> 01:07:22,080 Speaker 1: And it is I mean, I don't want to sound 1158 01:07:22,120 --> 01:07:24,360 Speaker 1: like a downer, but it is a little sad to 1159 01:07:24,440 --> 01:07:28,360 Speaker 1: me that these are the people who are architecting what 1160 01:07:28,360 --> 01:07:30,280 Speaker 1: our digital future looks like. This is what they think 1161 01:07:30,320 --> 01:07:32,920 Speaker 1: that we want or and that we should be happy 1162 01:07:32,920 --> 01:07:34,520 Speaker 1: to get it. If we're like, oh, we don't like that, 1163 01:07:34,640 --> 01:07:36,960 Speaker 1: they're like, oh no, no, no, you're actually wrong, You 1164 01:07:37,040 --> 01:07:40,240 Speaker 1: actually don't You're actually too stupid to know what you like, 1165 01:07:40,360 --> 01:07:43,200 Speaker 1: And don't like. Actually, I know what you like and 1166 01:07:43,240 --> 01:07:45,520 Speaker 1: don't like. I know more what you like than you know, 1167 01:07:45,960 --> 01:07:48,160 Speaker 1: and I just hate that. And I also think that 1168 01:07:48,920 --> 01:07:52,440 Speaker 1: Ed's post that I read earlier. You know, when Twitter 1169 01:07:52,480 --> 01:07:55,680 Speaker 1: first started, it was a platform with a little bit 1170 01:07:55,720 --> 01:07:58,880 Speaker 1: of a reverence and a little bit of zaniness and 1171 01:07:59,080 --> 01:08:03,160 Speaker 1: humor and areness, and it did feel new and exciting 1172 01:08:03,280 --> 01:08:05,040 Speaker 1: back in the day. And it hasn't felt like that 1173 01:08:05,080 --> 01:08:07,800 Speaker 1: for a really long time. Mostly it just feels exhausting. 1174 01:08:08,080 --> 01:08:11,360 Speaker 1: And I think that's one of the reasons why I 1175 01:08:11,480 --> 01:08:19,960 Speaker 1: don't necessarily see a future for a Twitter clone that 1176 01:08:20,200 --> 01:08:25,320 Speaker 1: is connected to like my Instagram Facebook universe. This might 1177 01:08:25,360 --> 01:08:28,519 Speaker 1: be specific to me, but folks can let me know 1178 01:08:28,560 --> 01:08:32,400 Speaker 1: what they think. I just think that my Instagram Facebook 1179 01:08:32,520 --> 01:08:36,040 Speaker 1: universe is too broad of a universe for me to 1180 01:08:36,080 --> 01:08:38,760 Speaker 1: then go put my takes out onto right like my 1181 01:08:38,920 --> 01:08:42,400 Speaker 1: mom follows me on Facebook, my high school English teacher 1182 01:08:42,479 --> 01:08:45,599 Speaker 1: follows me on Facebook, right like my high school friends 1183 01:08:45,680 --> 01:08:49,720 Speaker 1: follow me on Facebook. Twitter is a much more niche platform. 1184 01:08:50,520 --> 01:08:53,120 Speaker 1: Less people use it, and even less people than that 1185 01:08:53,360 --> 01:08:56,080 Speaker 1: actually make content and post there, so it kind of 1186 01:08:56,120 --> 01:08:59,720 Speaker 1: feels a little bit safer to put like whatever bizarre 1187 01:09:00,120 --> 01:09:04,719 Speaker 1: niche take. I want out into the universe on Twitter, 1188 01:09:05,240 --> 01:09:08,320 Speaker 1: the idea of like Emily from my senior year math 1189 01:09:08,360 --> 01:09:13,320 Speaker 1: class reading my deep dive tweets into the Adipole complex 1190 01:09:13,360 --> 01:09:15,719 Speaker 1: in the movie Boa Is Afraid. It's a little much 1191 01:09:15,760 --> 01:09:18,120 Speaker 1: like I think there should be some division in the 1192 01:09:18,120 --> 01:09:19,920 Speaker 1: way that I there is some division for me and 1193 01:09:19,920 --> 01:09:22,000 Speaker 1: how I show up on Twitter versus how I show 1194 01:09:22,080 --> 01:09:25,880 Speaker 1: up on Instagram. I don't necessarily want those universes mesh together, 1195 01:09:26,560 --> 01:09:26,720 Speaker 1: you know. 1196 01:09:26,800 --> 01:09:28,840 Speaker 2: I think I said this last week because I kind 1197 01:09:28,840 --> 01:09:33,400 Speaker 2: of like having different apps for like different audiences and 1198 01:09:33,439 --> 01:09:36,479 Speaker 2: different groups of people that I communicate with and different 1199 01:09:36,520 --> 01:09:39,639 Speaker 2: types of content that I want to look at something 1200 01:09:39,760 --> 01:09:43,120 Speaker 2: you said just before about what a sad end game 1201 01:09:43,200 --> 01:09:47,479 Speaker 2: for social media and you know, thinking about threads being 1202 01:09:48,479 --> 01:09:54,000 Speaker 2: essentially just a clone of Twitter, which I think everyone agrees, 1203 01:09:54,040 --> 01:09:55,040 Speaker 2: like that's exactly. 1204 01:09:54,800 --> 01:09:55,240 Speaker 3: What it is. 1205 01:09:55,439 --> 01:10:00,519 Speaker 2: Twitter, like you said, really came to prominence ago in 1206 01:10:00,600 --> 01:10:04,000 Speaker 2: a different era. Twitter was different, the Internet was different, 1207 01:10:04,120 --> 01:10:11,400 Speaker 2: we were different, and so cloning Twitter now it's just 1208 01:10:11,800 --> 01:10:15,800 Speaker 2: like a radically different thing than what Twitter was, and 1209 01:10:16,320 --> 01:10:22,240 Speaker 2: Twitter arguably hasn't been that for a while. So it's 1210 01:10:22,400 --> 01:10:25,720 Speaker 2: you know, if you clone the technology of a platform 1211 01:10:25,960 --> 01:10:28,920 Speaker 2: that was something that people really liked and valued a 1212 01:10:28,920 --> 01:10:32,960 Speaker 2: few years ago and maybe has fallen off in more 1213 01:10:33,000 --> 01:10:35,720 Speaker 2: recent times. You're probably gonna end up with something that 1214 01:10:36,040 --> 01:10:40,000 Speaker 2: is similarly not what people are looking for. In twenty 1215 01:10:40,040 --> 01:10:42,400 Speaker 2: twenty three, then again, thirty million people downloaded it. 1216 01:10:42,439 --> 01:10:44,120 Speaker 3: What do I know? But I don't know. 1217 01:10:44,160 --> 01:10:48,200 Speaker 2: I remained optimistic that we're gonna do something new, right, Like, 1218 01:10:48,280 --> 01:10:53,040 Speaker 2: We're not just gonna all shift to some new platform 1219 01:10:53,080 --> 01:10:55,120 Speaker 2: that is a clone of the old platform, that like, 1220 01:10:55,240 --> 01:11:01,120 Speaker 2: something genuinely new and different and possibly centralized is going 1221 01:11:01,200 --> 01:11:01,719 Speaker 2: to come along. 1222 01:11:02,560 --> 01:11:06,240 Speaker 1: Maybe it's Spill, you know, maybe it's there are a 1223 01:11:06,280 --> 01:11:09,840 Speaker 1: couple people who are like I think all of the 1224 01:11:09,960 --> 01:11:14,799 Speaker 1: interesting new alternatives to social media platforms are all coming 1225 01:11:14,840 --> 01:11:20,120 Speaker 1: from marginalized creators. There's Somewhere Good, which is an audio based, intimate, 1226 01:11:20,160 --> 01:11:25,360 Speaker 1: audio based social networking platform. They're spill. Yeah. I don't 1227 01:11:25,360 --> 01:11:27,599 Speaker 1: want to make it seem like I'm like Doom and Gloom. 1228 01:11:27,800 --> 01:11:29,920 Speaker 1: I will forever be an optimist. I think that when 1229 01:11:29,920 --> 01:11:33,120 Speaker 1: you get people who care about connection online together, really 1230 01:11:33,160 --> 01:11:37,360 Speaker 1: important stuff can happen, Really groundbreaking stuff can happen. But 1231 01:11:37,439 --> 01:11:40,599 Speaker 1: we actually need to be centering and empowering those voices 1232 01:11:41,040 --> 01:11:43,960 Speaker 1: and having some of these fucking dipshits get out of 1233 01:11:44,000 --> 01:11:47,360 Speaker 1: the way, who are just trying to make everything worse, 1234 01:11:47,800 --> 01:11:51,040 Speaker 1: Like it isn't life hard enough? Do we have to 1235 01:11:51,120 --> 01:11:56,160 Speaker 1: make everything worse? So on Wednesday, Twitter threatened to sue 1236 01:11:56,240 --> 01:11:59,679 Speaker 1: Meta because, as you just said, Mike, it's basically Threads 1237 01:11:59,760 --> 01:12:03,200 Speaker 1: is like basically a Twitter clone. I don't even want 1238 01:12:03,240 --> 01:12:06,000 Speaker 1: to like get too much into this because I really 1239 01:12:06,080 --> 01:12:10,400 Speaker 1: hate this kind of cola wars PEVSI versus COPE framing. 1240 01:12:10,880 --> 01:12:12,840 Speaker 1: I don't I don't like talking about this as a 1241 01:12:12,880 --> 01:12:16,000 Speaker 1: business story because the reality is that we're talking about, 1242 01:12:16,360 --> 01:12:19,080 Speaker 1: as we just demonstrated, we're talking about our ability to 1243 01:12:19,160 --> 01:12:24,479 Speaker 1: like connect with people, access information, and like functionally use 1244 01:12:24,640 --> 01:12:28,439 Speaker 1: our largest communications platforms that are so connected to our 1245 01:12:28,720 --> 01:12:32,639 Speaker 1: ways of life, social engagement, democracy, politics. So that's really 1246 01:12:32,640 --> 01:12:35,679 Speaker 1: what's at risk. So I just mentioned the lawsuit because 1247 01:12:35,720 --> 01:12:38,599 Speaker 1: it's part of a story. I think talking about this 1248 01:12:38,640 --> 01:12:40,920 Speaker 1: from a perspective of like, ooh, what are these two 1249 01:12:41,040 --> 01:12:42,880 Speaker 1: CEOs going to do? Or are they going to cage 1250 01:12:42,920 --> 01:12:46,680 Speaker 1: fight duke it out? I think it really lends credibility 1251 01:12:46,760 --> 01:12:49,439 Speaker 1: into the way that both of these bad actors have 1252 01:12:49,520 --> 01:12:51,960 Speaker 1: been behaving the way that they've been putting all of 1253 01:12:52,040 --> 01:12:56,559 Speaker 1: us at risk, and it kind of adds credence to that. 1254 01:12:56,840 --> 01:12:59,360 Speaker 1: So I don't like that, but I will say that 1255 01:12:59,439 --> 01:13:03,160 Speaker 1: in respond thanks to the threads, roll wout and this lawsuit, 1256 01:13:03,439 --> 01:13:07,040 Speaker 1: Twitter's new CEO, Linda Yakarino tweeted something that I thought 1257 01:13:07,120 --> 01:13:12,519 Speaker 1: was pretty rich. She tweeted, on Twitter, everyone's voice matters. 1258 01:13:12,720 --> 01:13:15,320 Speaker 1: Whether you're here to watch history unfold, which you can't do, 1259 01:13:15,800 --> 01:13:18,600 Speaker 1: discover real time information all over the world which is 1260 01:13:18,640 --> 01:13:22,920 Speaker 1: all inaccurate, share your opinions, or learn about others. At Twitter, 1261 01:13:23,280 --> 01:13:27,400 Speaker 1: you can be real unless your account is being impersonated. 1262 01:13:27,840 --> 01:13:31,800 Speaker 1: You built the Twitter community, prayer, hands emoji, clap emoji, 1263 01:13:32,040 --> 01:13:37,000 Speaker 1: and that's irreplaceable. That is your public square. We're often imitated, 1264 01:13:37,200 --> 01:13:41,080 Speaker 1: but the Twitter community can never be duplicated. Now I 1265 01:13:41,160 --> 01:13:44,280 Speaker 1: agree with her in some parts, right, we the people, 1266 01:13:44,960 --> 01:13:48,880 Speaker 1: we did build Twitter, We did build the community. But 1267 01:13:48,960 --> 01:13:51,000 Speaker 1: here's why I think that sentiment is so rich coming 1268 01:13:51,000 --> 01:13:54,080 Speaker 1: from her. It's like when COVID started and all the 1269 01:13:54,120 --> 01:13:57,759 Speaker 1: airlines were like, we're a family here at American Airlines, 1270 01:13:57,760 --> 01:13:59,439 Speaker 1: and you're like, oh, were we a family when y'all 1271 01:13:59,520 --> 01:14:01,720 Speaker 1: charge me for eighty dollars for my suitcase. Were we 1272 01:14:01,760 --> 01:14:04,479 Speaker 1: a family when you bumped me from my flight? No, 1273 01:14:04,680 --> 01:14:06,680 Speaker 1: we're not a family. So it's pretty rich for her 1274 01:14:06,680 --> 01:14:09,479 Speaker 1: to be talking about community now that they see that 1275 01:14:09,520 --> 01:14:13,200 Speaker 1: there are other games in town, other alternatives for people 1276 01:14:13,240 --> 01:14:17,439 Speaker 1: to get their online engagement. Now it's about community. Since 1277 01:14:17,479 --> 01:14:20,719 Speaker 1: Elon Musk took over, Twitter has not given a single 1278 01:14:21,000 --> 01:14:24,120 Speaker 1: crap about community. Anyone whose job it was to foster 1279 01:14:24,200 --> 01:14:28,679 Speaker 1: community at Twitter, from blackbirds to other identity specific groups, 1280 01:14:28,800 --> 01:14:31,200 Speaker 1: were all let go, and Elon did so while making 1281 01:14:31,240 --> 01:14:33,719 Speaker 1: it crystal clear that as far as he was concerned, 1282 01:14:33,840 --> 01:14:38,040 Speaker 1: the only job or role at Twitter that mattered was engineering, 1283 01:14:38,200 --> 01:14:40,800 Speaker 1: which side note he also sucks at managing him because 1284 01:14:40,800 --> 01:14:44,000 Speaker 1: Twitter was broken all weekend? So was Twitter a community 1285 01:14:44,040 --> 01:14:48,040 Speaker 1: when Elon blew up verifications and put users who actually 1286 01:14:48,080 --> 01:14:50,600 Speaker 1: built the community at risk? Were you looking out for 1287 01:14:50,640 --> 01:14:54,200 Speaker 1: Twitter's community when you let hate mongers, extremists and transoms 1288 01:14:54,360 --> 01:14:57,960 Speaker 1: back on? Maybe, but that is not a community that 1289 01:14:58,000 --> 01:15:00,320 Speaker 1: I would ever want to be part of, And Linda 1290 01:15:00,400 --> 01:15:03,960 Speaker 1: is right. It is the people, especially marginalized people, who 1291 01:15:04,000 --> 01:15:07,000 Speaker 1: make Twitter worth showing up to. That is a community 1292 01:15:07,000 --> 01:15:10,559 Speaker 1: that Elon has attacked and undermined and targeted the people 1293 01:15:10,600 --> 01:15:13,560 Speaker 1: who do that work of building the community on the platform. 1294 01:15:13,600 --> 01:15:15,519 Speaker 1: Those are the people that he has targeted again and 1295 01:15:15,560 --> 01:15:18,599 Speaker 1: again and again and put at risk. So we did 1296 01:15:18,680 --> 01:15:21,920 Speaker 1: build this community on Twitter, and that every turn Elon 1297 01:15:22,080 --> 01:15:25,240 Speaker 1: Musk treats us, the people who built that community like 1298 01:15:25,400 --> 01:15:28,720 Speaker 1: freeloaders who are behind on rent, that we owe him 1299 01:15:29,080 --> 01:15:32,639 Speaker 1: simply for showing up. And so I say, like, very 1300 01:15:32,880 --> 01:15:35,840 Speaker 1: rich to be talking about how much you value community? Now, 1301 01:15:36,120 --> 01:15:38,160 Speaker 1: where is that value when people didn't want to give 1302 01:15:38,160 --> 01:15:39,040 Speaker 1: you eight dollars? 1303 01:15:39,080 --> 01:15:42,080 Speaker 3: Elon damn? Sounds a little personal? 1304 01:15:43,240 --> 01:15:45,719 Speaker 1: Well what is I mean? I just don't like being 1305 01:15:45,800 --> 01:15:50,560 Speaker 1: told that my contribution if I'm not willing to personally 1306 01:15:50,600 --> 01:15:53,680 Speaker 1: shell over eight dollars to Elon Musk, my contribution as 1307 01:15:53,720 --> 01:15:56,400 Speaker 1: a community member of Twitter, but on the platform since 1308 01:15:56,960 --> 01:15:59,880 Speaker 1: the beginning, does it make a difference. But now when 1309 01:16:00,000 --> 01:16:02,800 Speaker 1: they're seeing there are other apps out there that might 1310 01:16:02,840 --> 01:16:05,479 Speaker 1: be able to recreate what they're doing, whether they do 1311 01:16:05,520 --> 01:16:08,479 Speaker 1: it well or not is, you know, remains to be seen. 1312 01:16:08,840 --> 01:16:11,200 Speaker 1: Now they want to talk about community. This is the 1313 01:16:11,200 --> 01:16:14,320 Speaker 1: first time that Elon Musk has ever talked about community. 1314 01:16:14,360 --> 01:16:16,760 Speaker 1: To me, where where is this coming from? Right? And 1315 01:16:16,760 --> 01:16:19,800 Speaker 1: so like, I just don't appreciate the flim flam, and 1316 01:16:19,840 --> 01:16:23,479 Speaker 1: I don't appreciate having him talk. I don't appreciate Twitter 1317 01:16:23,600 --> 01:16:25,599 Speaker 1: high ups talking out of both sides of their mouth 1318 01:16:25,760 --> 01:16:27,600 Speaker 1: and playing at all of our faces. Because if for 1319 01:16:27,680 --> 01:16:30,600 Speaker 1: a community, being a community is not just cashing my 1320 01:16:30,800 --> 01:16:33,840 Speaker 1: checks and treating me like garbage. Being a community means 1321 01:16:33,880 --> 01:16:38,439 Speaker 1: actually representing me and actually advocating and supporting my interest 1322 01:16:38,479 --> 01:16:40,360 Speaker 1: and my well being, which I have not seen from 1323 01:16:40,400 --> 01:16:43,720 Speaker 1: Twitter in the last six months. So yeah, I guess 1324 01:16:43,720 --> 01:16:47,360 Speaker 1: it is personal. Answer your question. Yeah, I'm angry about it, 1325 01:16:48,520 --> 01:16:54,439 Speaker 1: and I guess we'll stop it there enough. Mike, thank 1326 01:16:54,439 --> 01:16:57,600 Speaker 1: you so much for being here as always. Thanks for 1327 01:16:57,680 --> 01:16:58,719 Speaker 1: keeping me grounded. 1328 01:16:59,240 --> 01:17:02,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, thanks thanks for having me on. This was a 1329 01:17:02,760 --> 01:17:09,000 Speaker 2: long Twitter app. But maybe next week everything will just 1330 01:17:09,000 --> 01:17:10,160 Speaker 2: be cool on Twitter. 1331 01:17:10,280 --> 01:17:11,559 Speaker 3: We can talk about other stuff. 1332 01:17:11,920 --> 01:17:15,760 Speaker 1: Here's hoping. Thanks so much for listening as always. To 1333 01:17:15,800 --> 01:17:18,280 Speaker 1: get more ad free content and to support the show, 1334 01:17:18,439 --> 01:17:20,800 Speaker 1: just go to patreon dot com slash tangoty and thanks 1335 01:17:20,840 --> 01:17:29,760 Speaker 1: so much for listening. If you're looking for ways to 1336 01:17:29,760 --> 01:17:32,400 Speaker 1: support the show, check out our March store at tangody 1337 01:17:32,439 --> 01:17:36,080 Speaker 1: dot com. Slash store. Got a story about an interesting 1338 01:17:36,080 --> 01:17:38,120 Speaker 1: thing in tech, or just want to say hi. You 1339 01:17:38,120 --> 01:17:40,400 Speaker 1: can reach us at Hello at tangody dot com. You 1340 01:17:40,439 --> 01:17:43,600 Speaker 1: can also find transcripts for today's episode at tengody dot com. 1341 01:17:43,640 --> 01:17:45,320 Speaker 1: There Are No Girls on the Internet was created by 1342 01:17:45,360 --> 01:17:48,679 Speaker 1: me Bridget Tod. It's a production of iHeartRadio and Unboss Creative, 1343 01:17:49,200 --> 01:17:52,839 Speaker 1: edited by Joey Pat Jonathan Strickland as our executive producer, 1344 01:17:53,120 --> 01:17:56,360 Speaker 1: Tari Harrison as our producer, and sound engineer. Michael Almada 1345 01:17:56,439 --> 01:17:59,439 Speaker 1: is our contributing producer. I'm your host, Bridget Todd. If 1346 01:17:59,439 --> 01:18:01,160 Speaker 1: you want to help us grow, rate and review. 1347 01:18:01,080 --> 01:18:02,080 Speaker 4: Us on Apple Podcasts. 1348 01:18:02,880 --> 01:18:05,719 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, check out the iHeartRadio app, 1349 01:18:05,720 --> 01:18:08,760 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.