WEBVTT - Tech News: Reddit Goes Dark

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from iHeartRadio. Hey there,

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<v Speaker 1>and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host Jonathan Strickland.

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<v Speaker 1>I'mond executive producer with iHeartRadio and how the tech are you.

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<v Speaker 1>It's time for the tech news for Tuesday, June thirteenth,

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<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty three, and today marks the second day that

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<v Speaker 1>hundreds of subreddits thousands in fact, have gone dark in

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<v Speaker 1>response to Reddit changing its API policy that's application programming interface.

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<v Speaker 1>This has necessitated the shutdown of several popular apps. So

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<v Speaker 1>as a refresher, Reddit put in a new fee system,

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<v Speaker 1>and the more an app needs to reference Reddit, so essentially,

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<v Speaker 1>the more frequently the app makes requests from Reddit, the

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<v Speaker 1>more the developer is going to have to pay a

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<v Speaker 1>monthly fee, and it depends entirely on how many references

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<v Speaker 1>the app is making collectively to Reddit. Reddit representatives say

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<v Speaker 1>that this is necessary because increased activity on the platform

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<v Speaker 1>drives up hosting costs, and the money to pay those

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<v Speaker 1>bills has to come from somewhere. Developers say the new

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<v Speaker 1>fee schedule is prohibitively expensive and that it sure does

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<v Speaker 1>seem like Reddit is pricing out competitors, which would leave

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<v Speaker 1>only reddits own app standing in solidarity with these app developers.

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<v Speaker 1>The moderators of tons of popular subredits, including the technology Subreddit,

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<v Speaker 1>have gone private for a couple of days. Also side note,

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<v Speaker 1>I often use the technology subreddit to keep an eye

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<v Speaker 1>on tech stories for these episodes because it's a very

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<v Speaker 1>good aggregation site for that kind of thing. You see

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<v Speaker 1>lots of people crawling the web and finding cool technology articles.

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<v Speaker 1>It's incredibly helpful if you want to put together a

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<v Speaker 1>news episode. So what I'm saying is that this is

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<v Speaker 1>also making me work harder, which we all know I hate.

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<v Speaker 1>But more seriously, whether this is going to prompt Reddit

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<v Speaker 1>to change its policy, I don't know. I would actually

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<v Speaker 1>be really surprised if it did. I think it's going

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<v Speaker 1>to bring a lot more attention to the issue, but

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know that it's necessarily going to change things.

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<v Speaker 1>I think the only thing that would change reddits stance

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<v Speaker 1>would be either if a lot of people just left

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<v Speaker 1>the platform entirely, which means there would be fewer people

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<v Speaker 1>to sell advertising for and that would be a huge

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<v Speaker 1>drop in revenue, or if there was some sort of

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<v Speaker 1>official investigation into whether or not Reddit is engaging in

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<v Speaker 1>anti competitive practices that could also so force a change,

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<v Speaker 1>But in the lack of either of those things happening,

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<v Speaker 1>I just don't I don't imagine it will change, But

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<v Speaker 1>I could be wrong. Maybe there will be enough pressure

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<v Speaker 1>on Reddit to at least have them tweak the policy.

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<v Speaker 1>We'll have to wait and see. The various announcements that

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<v Speaker 1>loosely speaking, make up the Summer Games Fest are wrapping

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<v Speaker 1>up this week. Microsoft held its event over the weekend,

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<v Speaker 1>but one thing the company didn't dive into was the

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<v Speaker 1>fate of the Activision Blizzard deal. Now. As I'm sure

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<v Speaker 1>most of you know, Microsoft announced ages ago now that

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<v Speaker 1>it planned to acquire Activision Blizzard, which at the time

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<v Speaker 1>was weathering a pretty big storm with regard to the

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<v Speaker 1>company's reputation for a toxic work environment and general tolerance

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<v Speaker 1>toward harassment and that kind of thing. The plan was

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<v Speaker 1>to have this deal finalized by this summer, been some

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<v Speaker 1>notable hurdles. Regulators in the UK have refused to allow

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<v Speaker 1>the deal to proceed, at least in the UK. They

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<v Speaker 1>say that it would give Microsoft an unfair market advantage

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<v Speaker 1>in the sector, particularly with regard to cloud gaming services. Recently,

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<v Speaker 1>Activision representatives requested that they be able to address this

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<v Speaker 1>issue when it comes up for appeal with those UK

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<v Speaker 1>regulators a little bit later this summer. Microsoft reps have

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<v Speaker 1>argued that the UK is holding things up where regulators

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<v Speaker 1>elsewhere have given the green light to the acquisition, like

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<v Speaker 1>the European Union or regulators in Japan. But that argument

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<v Speaker 1>is going to be a lot harder to make because

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<v Speaker 1>the US Federal Trade Commission or FTC, is now seeking

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<v Speaker 1>an injunction and a temporary restraining order to block the deal. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>you might say, well, didn't the FTC already object to this,

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<v Speaker 1>And the answer to that is yes, they actually challenged

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<v Speaker 1>the acquisition late last year, back in December of twenty

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<v Speaker 1>twenty two. But justice moves slowly, like glacially slow, and

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<v Speaker 1>so the FTC is looking for this injunction to temporarily

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<v Speaker 1>stop the deal from closing while the challenge to the

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<v Speaker 1>deal inches closer to actually making it into a courtroom.

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<v Speaker 1>And it might seem a bit absurd that a major

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<v Speaker 1>US government agency would have to get a restraining order

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<v Speaker 1>to put a temporary block on a deal while the

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<v Speaker 1>actual case to decide if the deal is even legal

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<v Speaker 1>or not meets court schedules. It does sound a little

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<v Speaker 1>bit mad, as they say, but that's how it works.

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<v Speaker 1>On Microsoft's side, the request for an injunction might not

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<v Speaker 1>necessarily be a bad thing because if a court denies

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<v Speaker 1>that injunction, that could give Microsoft a bit of a

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<v Speaker 1>legal boost, as it were, and company reps both for

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<v Speaker 1>Microsoft and Activision have said they're eager to get this

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<v Speaker 1>matter to the court because in their opinion, it's an

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<v Speaker 1>open and shutcase that there's no unfair market advantage or

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<v Speaker 1>any competitive element to the deal. So maybe we'll see

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<v Speaker 1>the deal go through despite all these hurdles. Twitter's new CEO,

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<v Speaker 1>Linda Yakarino, sent out her first official communication to Twitter's

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<v Speaker 1>staff this week. The memo's title was building Twitter two

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<v Speaker 1>point zero Together. Now you might recall that Twitter's previous CEO,

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<v Speaker 1>a guy named Elon Musk, revealed aspirations of evolving the

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<v Speaker 1>Twitter service into a much more robust app capable of

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<v Speaker 1>doing pretty much any basic app stuff, including handling financial transactions.

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<v Speaker 1>In the memo, she wrote, quote, it has become increasingly

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<v Speaker 1>clear that the global town square needs transformation to drive

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<v Speaker 1>civilization forward through the unfiltered exchange of information and open

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<v Speaker 1>dialogue about things that matter most to us end quote.

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<v Speaker 1>This seems to echo the message of free speech that

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<v Speaker 1>Elon Musk frequently stated. But that's a message that's actually

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<v Speaker 1>really muddled, because in the Elon era, it seemed like

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<v Speaker 1>free speech mostly just applied to Elon and to the

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<v Speaker 1>people he liked, but not necessarily anybody else. And yes,

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<v Speaker 1>I am editorializing, but what I'm saying is backed up

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<v Speaker 1>by evidence. I mean, you just have to think back

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<v Speaker 1>to the time when Twitter suddenly started to clamp down

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<v Speaker 1>on any tweets that contain links to other platforms like

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<v Speaker 1>Instagram or masted on. Apparently that speech was not allowed

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<v Speaker 1>to be free. So like when I make these snarky comments,

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<v Speaker 1>it's not without reason. Anyway. While I have suspicions as

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<v Speaker 1>to the sincerity of Twitter's mission, I have to say

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<v Speaker 1>that our new CEO's communication style is more uplifting and

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<v Speaker 1>humorous than Elon's typically were. If you read the memo,

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<v Speaker 1>it definitely feels a bit more supportive. On that side,

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<v Speaker 1>it still says you're gonna have to work real hard,

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<v Speaker 1>like it's repeating that little line, but it's more like

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<v Speaker 1>a almost like a pep rally kind of we're all

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<v Speaker 1>in this together and we can do it as opposed

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<v Speaker 1>to you will do it or you will suffer, which,

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<v Speaker 1>granted I'm paraphrasing, but a lot of Elon Musk's messages

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<v Speaker 1>to employees kind of felt like that. But whether any

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<v Speaker 1>of this translates into real improvement at Twitter, I don't know.

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<v Speaker 1>But sticking with Twitter, a user named Alessandro Paluzzi, who

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<v Speaker 1>describes himself as a leaker, a mobile developer, and a

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<v Speaker 1>reverse engineer, posted that he found something interesting. A limit

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<v Speaker 1>to the number of direct messages or DMS you are

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<v Speaker 1>allowed to send. When you hit that limit, you get

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<v Speaker 1>a message from Twitter saying you've hit the maximum limit

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<v Speaker 1>for direct messages in a single day. Sign up for

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<v Speaker 1>Twitter Blue to continue messaging. Baluzzi followed that up with quote,

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<v Speaker 1>currently the limit is five hundred per day, but I

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<v Speaker 1>bet this limit will be reduced when this will be

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<v Speaker 1>rolled out end quote. Elon Musk, who still heads up

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<v Speaker 1>product and development at Twitter even though he's no longer CEO,

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<v Speaker 1>indicated that the deployment should happen later this week, So

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<v Speaker 1>I guess we'll see what the limit is once we

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<v Speaker 1>get there. Is that going to drive more people to

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<v Speaker 1>actually subscribe to Twitter Blue. Well, in my experience, folks

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<v Speaker 1>get really irritated when they're asked to pay for something

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<v Speaker 1>that previously they were able to access for free. So

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<v Speaker 1>I have my doubts. And now to talk of Twitter past.

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<v Speaker 1>Jack Dorsey, one of the co founders of Twitter and

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<v Speaker 1>the former CEO of the company, alleged that in twenty twenty,

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<v Speaker 1>the government of India threatened to shut Twitter down in

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<v Speaker 1>that country. Why well, according to Dorsey, it's because armers

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<v Speaker 1>who were protesting the government in twenty twenty were using

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<v Speaker 1>Twitter to share their thoughts and complaints and criticisms of

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<v Speaker 1>India's government, and that government officials wanted to shut all

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<v Speaker 1>that down. In addition, Dorsey says the government wanted Twitter

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<v Speaker 1>to censor journalists who supported the protests, who or who

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<v Speaker 1>called into question the government's positions. Government representatives deny these allegations.

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<v Speaker 1>They say there were no arrests, there were no raids,

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<v Speaker 1>there were no shutdowns, but that Twitter had acted in

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<v Speaker 1>violation of Indian law and that the platform was essentially

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<v Speaker 1>ignoring India's sovereignty. The matter is a messy one. Twitter

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<v Speaker 1>initially blocks more than two hundred accounts upon direction of

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<v Speaker 1>India's government, but then reverse that decision after Twitter says

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<v Speaker 1>it determined there was insufficient reasons to block those accounts

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<v Speaker 1>and cited India's own free speech laws. India's government allegedly

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<v Speaker 1>then said failure to block the accounts would result in

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<v Speaker 1>government raids on Twitter offices and a show down, and

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<v Speaker 1>again the government reps in India deny those claims. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>we've got some more news to cover, but first let's

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<v Speaker 1>take a quick break. We're back. So YouTube is making

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<v Speaker 1>it easier to qualify for the YouTube Partners program. This

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<v Speaker 1>is where you can implement things like tipping and YouTube shopping,

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<v Speaker 1>where you can sell your own merch and channel memberships

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<v Speaker 1>and more. It's really a way of monetizing the videos

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<v Speaker 1>that you put up on YouTube. So previously, in order

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<v Speaker 1>to qualify, you need to have at least one thousand

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<v Speaker 1>subscribers and either four thousand watch hours within the past

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<v Speaker 1>year or ten million views of YouTube shorts within the

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<v Speaker 1>last ninety days. But now the requirements have been reduced

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<v Speaker 1>to five hundred subscribers plus three public uploads over the

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<v Speaker 1>last night days and at least three thousand watch hours

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<v Speaker 1>over the last year or three million short views in

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<v Speaker 1>the last ninety days. This seems to favor people who

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<v Speaker 1>work in short form content because they're more likely to

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<v Speaker 1>meet the requirement of having three uploads in ninety days.

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<v Speaker 1>But some of my favorite YouTube channels are producing long

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<v Speaker 1>form content and they publish much less frequently, but their

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<v Speaker 1>videos get tons and tons of views, like more than

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<v Speaker 1>a million views. Their work is incredible. So I'm thinking

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<v Speaker 1>about channels like Folding Ideas or Jenny Nicholson. So a

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<v Speaker 1>startup channel like those might really make great content and

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<v Speaker 1>might get lots and lots of views, but it wouldn't

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<v Speaker 1>necessarily qualify because you wouldn't have the three public uploads

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<v Speaker 1>in ninety days. However, maybe YouTube also has a process

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<v Speaker 1>to consider outliers like that, Like if you are garnering

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<v Speaker 1>more than a million views per video, it's just that

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<v Speaker 1>your videos take a longer time to publish because you're

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<v Speaker 1>making long form content and you're putting a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>work into them. I imagine YouTube would still consider those

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<v Speaker 1>for the program, even if on the base of it

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<v Speaker 1>it doesn't qualify. It just seems like it would be

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<v Speaker 1>short sighted not to. Now there is a disturbance in

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<v Speaker 1>the force, and by force I mean the crypto community

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<v Speaker 1>and by disturbance, I mean the US Securities Exchange Commission

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<v Speaker 1>or SEC is taking aim at more than fifty different cryptocurrencies. Why. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>the SEC argues that a whole bunch of alt coins,

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<v Speaker 1>which essentially refer to smaller cryptocurrencies that aren't Bitcoin or ether,

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<v Speaker 1>don't really count as currencies. There instead securities. But what

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<v Speaker 1>the heck is a security? Well this isn't a finance podcast,

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<v Speaker 1>but it comes up all the time in tech news,

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<v Speaker 1>and frankly, I felt the need to brush up on

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<v Speaker 1>it myself. So I went to Investopedia, which has their

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<v Speaker 1>own definition, and they define it as quote fungible negotiable

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<v Speaker 1>financial instrument that holds some type of monetary value end quote. Thankfully,

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<v Speaker 1>they also give some examples to clarify things. So stock

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<v Speaker 1>in a company is a kind of security. It's fungible,

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<v Speaker 1>it's negotiable, and it holds monetary value as determined by

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<v Speaker 1>the market. A bond, likewise, counts as a security, and

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<v Speaker 1>so securities, Investipedia explains, typically fall into one of three categories. Equity,

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<v Speaker 1>which means the security represents some percentage of ownership in

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<v Speaker 1>something like a company. A second type is debt, meaning

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<v Speaker 1>you can actually purchase debt that other people owe, and

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<v Speaker 1>then they have to pay you, so you get the

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<v Speaker 1>debt payments plus whatever the interest rate is, so you

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<v Speaker 1>get more than what you purchase the debt for. And

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<v Speaker 1>then the third type is a hybrid between equity and debt.

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<v Speaker 1>And here's the real kicker. The SEC has the authority

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<v Speaker 1>to oversee public sales of securities. It has to be regulated,

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<v Speaker 1>and crypto coins operate largely in crypto exchanges that are

0:15:12.160 --> 0:15:16.720
<v Speaker 1>operating outside the domain of the SEC. So if THEEC

0:15:16.840 --> 0:15:22.000
<v Speaker 1>is successful in saying yes, these are securities, then they

0:15:22.000 --> 0:15:26.160
<v Speaker 1>have the authority to oversee those exchanges. And as a result,

0:15:26.720 --> 0:15:30.880
<v Speaker 1>a lot of crypto exchanges have started to remove the

0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:34.960
<v Speaker 1>alt coins that the SEC has targeted in various lawsuits

0:15:35.800 --> 0:15:38.760
<v Speaker 1>because these exchanges don't want to get dinged for allowing

0:15:38.880 --> 0:15:42.800
<v Speaker 1>unregulated securities deals. This is actually one of the big

0:15:43.440 --> 0:15:47.200
<v Speaker 1>things that Binance is currently facing with US regulators, so

0:15:47.280 --> 0:15:50.720
<v Speaker 1>this could have a very large negative impact on crypto coins,

0:15:51.000 --> 0:15:54.600
<v Speaker 1>potentially preventing those specific coins from getting funding within the

0:15:54.760 --> 0:15:59.640
<v Speaker 1>US market calendars. On July eleventh, the Nothing Company will

0:15:59.640 --> 0:16:03.640
<v Speaker 1>release the second generation of the Nothing Phone aka the

0:16:03.760 --> 0:16:07.720
<v Speaker 1>Nothing Phone two. This is the smartphone that can display

0:16:07.880 --> 0:16:10.560
<v Speaker 1>simple images on the back of the phone has some

0:16:10.760 --> 0:16:13.280
<v Speaker 1>LEDs on the backside of the phone, which is a

0:16:13.320 --> 0:16:16.840
<v Speaker 1>clear back like you can see the innards of the

0:16:16.880 --> 0:16:20.400
<v Speaker 1>phone through the back, but the images that the LEDs

0:16:20.640 --> 0:16:25.440
<v Speaker 1>show will create basic designs like a basic pattern, and

0:16:25.520 --> 0:16:29.200
<v Speaker 1>Nothing calls these patterns glyphs, and those glyphs indicate incoming

0:16:29.280 --> 0:16:32.800
<v Speaker 1>notifications and depending upon the style of the glyph, it

0:16:32.840 --> 0:16:35.120
<v Speaker 1>can tell you what sort of notification it is, like

0:16:35.160 --> 0:16:38.240
<v Speaker 1>a text message versus an email, et cetera. Now, the

0:16:38.280 --> 0:16:41.920
<v Speaker 1>original Nothing phone got decent reviews, but it wasn't widely

0:16:42.040 --> 0:16:44.960
<v Speaker 1>available here in the United States. Apparently the phone two

0:16:45.400 --> 0:16:48.080
<v Speaker 1>will have more of a reach here in the US,

0:16:48.560 --> 0:16:50.760
<v Speaker 1>and one of the big selling points of the original

0:16:50.800 --> 0:16:54.360
<v Speaker 1>Nothing phone was a lack of bloatwear, that is, apps

0:16:54.360 --> 0:16:56.840
<v Speaker 1>that are pre installed on a device that can be

0:16:56.920 --> 0:17:01.200
<v Speaker 1>difficult or impossible to remove. Nothing It only included a

0:17:01.320 --> 0:17:04.040
<v Speaker 1>couple of apps on the device that were necessary in

0:17:04.160 --> 0:17:08.280
<v Speaker 1>order to operate things like the phone's camera. The underlying

0:17:08.320 --> 0:17:10.720
<v Speaker 1>operating system of the Nothing phone is a version of

0:17:10.760 --> 0:17:15.760
<v Speaker 1>Android that, according to reviewers, was pretty closed to stock Android.

0:17:16.080 --> 0:17:18.280
<v Speaker 1>But we'll have to wait until July eleventh, to find

0:17:18.320 --> 0:17:21.560
<v Speaker 1>out how the phone too stacks up against its predecessor

0:17:22.000 --> 0:17:25.280
<v Speaker 1>and the competitors that are already on the market. And

0:17:25.359 --> 0:17:28.040
<v Speaker 1>now to wrap up with some recommendations, I've got a

0:17:28.040 --> 0:17:31.080
<v Speaker 1>pair of articles from Wired to recommend. As always, here's

0:17:31.119 --> 0:17:34.760
<v Speaker 1>my disclaimer. I have no relationship with Wired, nor do

0:17:34.840 --> 0:17:37.680
<v Speaker 1>I know the folks who wrote these articles. They may

0:17:37.720 --> 0:17:40.000
<v Speaker 1>also be behind a paywall. I'm not certain I have

0:17:40.040 --> 0:17:43.919
<v Speaker 1>a subscription to Wired. In my opinion, it's worth subscribing to,

0:17:44.480 --> 0:17:47.800
<v Speaker 1>but anyway, First up as an article titled the US

0:17:47.920 --> 0:17:51.840
<v Speaker 1>is openly stockpiling dirt on all its citizens, written by

0:17:51.960 --> 0:17:55.240
<v Speaker 1>Dell Cameron. The article details a report from the Office

0:17:55.240 --> 0:17:58.400
<v Speaker 1>of the Director of National Intelligence that shows how various

0:17:58.400 --> 0:18:01.919
<v Speaker 1>agencies in the US federal govern are buying up enormous

0:18:02.000 --> 0:18:06.040
<v Speaker 1>databasis of personal information that belonged to American citizens. And

0:18:06.160 --> 0:18:08.760
<v Speaker 1>considering that's the same sort of shady stuff that folks

0:18:08.800 --> 0:18:11.280
<v Speaker 1>are worried about with TikTok, I figure it pays to

0:18:11.320 --> 0:18:13.760
<v Speaker 1>be informed about how the US is doing pretty much

0:18:13.800 --> 0:18:17.080
<v Speaker 1>the same darn thing. I wouldn't say it's a happy read,

0:18:17.160 --> 0:18:20.600
<v Speaker 1>but it's an important one. The second Wired article is

0:18:20.720 --> 0:18:24.960
<v Speaker 1>by Matt Laslow, and it's titled UFO Whistleblower, Meet a

0:18:25.040 --> 0:18:28.360
<v Speaker 1>conspiracy loving Congress. Now you might recall from last week

0:18:28.400 --> 0:18:31.160
<v Speaker 1>I reluctantly talked about a piece written in the Debrief

0:18:31.720 --> 0:18:35.320
<v Speaker 1>about a former US intelligence employee who claims to have

0:18:35.400 --> 0:18:38.400
<v Speaker 1>knowledge of the existence of aircraft that was built by

0:18:38.400 --> 0:18:42.479
<v Speaker 1>some sort of non human intelligence. Now this person hasn't

0:18:42.480 --> 0:18:47.920
<v Speaker 1>actually seen any of this alleged non human created stuff.

0:18:48.160 --> 0:18:51.439
<v Speaker 1>They haven't even seen photographs of it. Instead, they have

0:18:51.480 --> 0:18:54.760
<v Speaker 1>to rely on second or third hand reports. Anyway, the

0:18:54.760 --> 0:18:57.400
<v Speaker 1>Wired article talks about how, in our current environment here

0:18:57.400 --> 0:19:01.040
<v Speaker 1>in the US, unsubstantiated claims can end up going a

0:19:01.040 --> 0:19:04.520
<v Speaker 1>whole lot further than they used to. It's well worth

0:19:04.520 --> 0:19:07.520
<v Speaker 1>a read. On a related note, I also recommend the

0:19:07.560 --> 0:19:10.840
<v Speaker 1>episode of the Michael Shermer Show. It's a podcast, it's

0:19:10.840 --> 0:19:14.119
<v Speaker 1>also available on YouTube, and it is called is the

0:19:14.160 --> 0:19:18.560
<v Speaker 1>Government Hiding Aliens? The too long didn't watch version of

0:19:18.600 --> 0:19:22.560
<v Speaker 1>the answer is no, but Shermer goes into detail as

0:19:22.600 --> 0:19:26.760
<v Speaker 1>to why people should be skeptical of these claims. Those

0:19:26.920 --> 0:19:31.240
<v Speaker 1>are my recommendations. I hope you are all well. I'll

0:19:31.280 --> 0:19:35.480
<v Speaker 1>be back again on Thursday with more news, assuming you

0:19:35.520 --> 0:19:39.560
<v Speaker 1>know news happens so I'll talk to you again really soon.

0:19:45.320 --> 0:19:49.960
<v Speaker 1>Tech Stuff is an iHeartRadio production. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio,

0:19:50.280 --> 0:19:53.960
<v Speaker 1>visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen

0:19:54.040 --> 0:19:58.560
<v Speaker 1>to your favorite shows.