https://www.techdirt.com/ • • Sign In (https://www.techdirt.com/my-account/) • Register (https://www.techdirt.com/register/) • Preferences (https://www.techdirt.com/preferences/) Techdirt - [x] • TechDirt (https://www.techdirt.com/) • GreenHouse (https://www.techdirt.com/edition/greenhouse/) • Free Speech (https://www.techdirt.com/edition/freespeech/) • Error 402 (https://www.techdirt.com/edition/webmonetization/) • Ctrl-Alt-Speech (https://www.techdirt.com/edition/ctrlaltspeech/) • Deals (https://deals.techdirt.com/) • Jobs (https://jobs.techdirt.com/) • Support Techdirt (https://www.techdirt.com/support/) https://www.techdirt.com/blog/podcast/ ICE Detention Center Contractor Endangered Detainees, Destroyed Homicide Evidence (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/25/ice-detention-center-contractor-endangered-detainees-destroyed-homicide-evidence/) Stop Killing Games Pivots To Amending Digital Fairness Act In EU After Loss (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/25/stop-killing-games-pivots-to-amending-digital-fairness-act-in-eu-after-loss/) The Free And Open Web Is Under Attack At The IETF https://www.techdirt.com/?s&topic=uses (Mis)Uses of Technology (https://www.techdirt.com/?s&topic=uses) from the the-open-web-includes-the-ability-to-scrape dept Thu, Jun 25th 2026 03:06pm - Tori Noble (https://www.techdirt.com/user/tori-noble/) The ability to access publicly available information using automated tools is a central value and benefit of a free and open internet. Automated access—often called crawling or scraping—powers important, useful tools for locating, preserving, and analyzing online information. For example, crawling and scraping helpsjournalists, researchers, and watchdog organizations (https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/04/scraping-public-websites-still-isnt-crime-court-appeals-declares)report the news, find security flaws, and investigate discrimination. Crawling the web allows non-profits like the Internet Archive topreserve historical copies (https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/03/blocking-internet-archive-wont-stop-ai-it-will-erase-webs-historical-record)of websites. Tools for automatedcomparison shopping (https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/04/comparison-shopping-not-computer-crime)allow consumers to find the best deals on items they want to buy. And so on. Yet the open internet access is increasingly under threat from publishers and Big Tech companies alike. Fearing lost advertising and licensing revenues, website operators increasingly claim that they need to lock down their sites from bots that crawl public web content to train or operate AI models. Some companies are even trying to embed their business models into internet standards bychanging Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) technical standards (https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/12/artificial-intelligence-copyright-and-fight-user-rights-2025-review)that shape much of the internet. Many of their economic anxieties are understandable. AI bots can strain websites’infrastructure, in some cases, degrading site performance or taking them offline altogether. Upgrading systems costs money that some sites may not have. And AI is likely to disrupt the business models many publishers adopted in response to the rise of the internet, if users rely on AI overviews instead of visiting source websites. • *However reasonable these fears may be, the answer is not to****chang****e****the IETF standards from neutral protocols that****encourage openness to restrictive requirements designed to monetize internet access.** The worst of these proposed standards would give websites far greater ability to automatically block legitimate, lawful scraping and crawling. For example, theAI Preferences (https://datatracker.ietf.org/wg/aipref/about/)working group is working on proposals to give publishers a way to express“preference signals” against crawling web data for AI-related purposes, including to train models, generate outputs, and help users search the web. These preference signals would be expressed through robots.txt and could potentially become legally binding in some jurisdictions. Another working group, calledWeb Bot Auth (https://datatracker.ietf.org/wg/webbotauth/about/), is pursuing efforts to protect sites from overly-aggressive bots that strain website resources—a positive goal that could meaningfully improve the internet in the AI era. But Web Bot Auth is simultaneously pursuing a much more dangerous path as well: standards changes that would enable sites to cryptographically identify bots so that they can more easily block anyone they wish—not just“bad” actors, but competitors, dissidents, or anyone who hasn’t paid for the right to access sites using automated tools. If sites restrict crawling to a preapproved list of cryptographically authenticated bots, they could require licensing payments from those wishing to crawl their sites. This would close off the open web to researchers, archivists, and startups without the ability to pay for automated access. Websites may have legitimate reasons to worry about AI’s impacts on their traffic and advertising revenue, but those reasons must be weighed against the benefits of the open web. These proposals would effectively give website operators veto power over a wide range of important uses—from the investigations and archival works described above to accessibility tools for people with disabilities, to research efforts aimed at holding governments accountable. That is why we are fighting back against these threats to open access. EFF and our allies in the open internet community have successfully resisted some of the most dangerous IETF proposals thus far—and won’t stop working to protect the open web from efforts to manipulate internet standards to undermine the right to freely access the internet in any legal way, including with automated tools. Republished from the EFF’s Deeplinks blog (https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/06/free-and-open-web-under-attack-ietf). Filed Under: ai (https://www.techdirt.com/tag/ai/), open access (https://www.techdirt.com/tag/open-access/), open web (https://www.techdirt.com/tag/open-web/), scraping (https://www.techdirt.com/tag/scraping/) Companies: ietf (https://www.techdirt.com/company/ietf/) https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/25/the-free-and-open-web-is-under-attack-at-the-ietf/https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/25/the-free-and-open-web-is-under-attack-at-the-ietf/https://reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.techdirt.com%2F2026%2F06%2F25%2Fthe-free-and-open-web-is-under-attack-at-the-ietf%2F&title=The%20Free%20And%20Open%20Web%20Is%20Under%20Attack%20At%20The%20IETFhttps://twitter.com/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.techdirt.com%2F2026%2F06%2F25%2Fthe-free-and-open-web-is-under-attack-at-the-ietf%2F&text=The%20Free%20And%20Open%20Web%20Is%20Under%20Attack%20At%20The%20IETF&via=Techdirthttps://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.techdirt.com%2F2026%2F06%2F25%2Fthe-free-and-open-web-is-under-attack-at-the-ietf%2F&t=The%20Free%20And%20Open%20Web%20Is%20Under%20Attack%20At%20The%20IETFhttps://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&ro=false&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.techdirt.com%2F2026%2F06%2F25%2Fthe-free-and-open-web-is-under-attack-at-the-ietf%2F&title=The%20Free%20And%20Open%20Web%20Is%20Under%20Attack%20At%20The%20IETF 8 Comments (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/25/the-free-and-open-web-is-under-attack-at-the-ietf/#comments)Leave a Comment (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/25/the-free-and-open-web-is-under-attack-at-the-ietf/#comments) If you liked this post, you may also be interested in... • Kotaku's Pre-Judging AI In Gaming Coverage Is Getting Very Dumb (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/23/kotakus-pre-judging-ai-in-gaming-coverage-is-getting-very-dumb/) • ‘News’ Site Keeps Hallucinating EFF Staffers (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/22/news-site-keeps-hallucinating-eff-staffers/) • Ctrl-Alt-Speech: Close Your Apps And Think Of England (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/19/ctrl-alt-speech-close-your-apps-and-think-of-england/) • Trump DOJ Trying To Protect Musk From Lawsuit Over Memphis AI Data Center Pollution (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/18/trump-doj-trying-to-protect-musk-from-lawsuit-over-memphis-ai-data-center-pollution/) • Apparently The Real Reason Anthropic's Models Are Offline: A Six-Year-Old Trump Grudge (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/16/apparently-the-real-reason-anthropics-models-are-offline-a-six-year-old-trump-grudge/) Click to toggle (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/25/the-free-and-open-web-is-under-attack-at-the-ietf/)https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/25/the-free-and-open-web-is-under-attack-at-the-ietf/ Rate this comment as insightful Rate this comment as funny You have rated this comment as insightful You have rated this comment as funny Flag this comment as abusive/trolling/spam You have flagged this comment The first word has already been claimed The last word has already been claimed Comments on “The Free And Open Web Is Under Attack At The IETF” Subscribe: RSS (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/25/the-free-and-open-web-is-under-attack-at-the-ietf/comments/feed/)Leave a comment (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/25/the-free-and-open-web-is-under-attack-at-the-ietf/#respond) • Filter comments in by Time • Filter comments as Threaded • Filter only comments rated Insightful • Filter only comments rated funny LOL • Filter only comments that are Unread 8 Comments Collapse all replies This comment is new since your last visit. Anonymous Coward says: June 25, 2026 at 3:59 pm (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/25/the-free-and-open-web-is-under-attack-at-the-ietf/#comment-5428692) This is all going to happen regardless. AI and all the AI fanatics made the choice to be giant disrespectful assholes to everyone else. Websites spamming ads lead to everyone using ad blockers. Robo calls lead to most ignoring unknown numbers. Unsolicited door to door salesman lead increased laws on trespassing and solicitation. The answer isn’t to whine about how people are reacting to bad actors. The answer is to punish the bad actors so badly that no one will act that way. This comment is new since your last visit. Azuaron says: June 25, 2026 at 4:24 pm (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/25/the-free-and-open-web-is-under-attack-at-the-ietf/#comment-5428733) Provide an alternative solution, then Small websites are getting absolutely crushed by automated tools–most of which are AI bots–and I don’t see you providing a real solution to that. You don’t like robots.txt? Propose a better solution. You don’t like bot auth? Propose a better solution. You don’t have a better solution? Shut up. Because you know what’s worse than websites blocking bots? Websites shuttering because they can’t justify the expense of Altman’s or Amodei’s robot pulling down the whole site 100 times a minute. You know what’s worse for free speech than blocking bots? Websites shuttering. You know what’s worse for research than blocking bots? Websites shuttering. Websites shuttering is a WAY worse outcome on LITERALLY EVERY METRIC, isn’t it? If websites don’t exist, they can’t be crawled, they can’t be researched, they can’t be seen by anyone. I really appreciate the EFF most of the time, but sometimes, my god. Provide a real alternative solution, or shut up about it. This comment is new since your last visit. Threaded [2] Mike Masnick(profile) (https://www.techdirt.com/user/mmasnick/)says: June 26, 2026 at 1:28 am (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/25/the-free-and-open-web-is-under-attack-at-the-ietf/#comment-5429656) Re: Small websites are getting absolutely crushed by automated tools–most of which are AI bots–and I don’t see you providing a real solution to that. I keep hearing this… and yet, we haven’t seen that here. And we don’t really take any steps to block AI scrapers (even though we could). Every so often we get a bot that goes haywire, but it’s always been relatively easy to deal with. I’m sure that some sites are overwhelmed with AI scraping traffic, but I find it odd that so many people insist it’s killing smaller sites… and we just haven’t seen it at all. So… can someone explain why there’s a supposed flood of bot traffic overwhelming sites, but doesn’t seem to be hitting us? I’m not saying that it’s not happening. I just don’t understand why we don’t see it here. This comment is new since your last visit. Anonymous Coward says: June 25, 2026 at 5:07 pm (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/25/the-free-and-open-web-is-under-attack-at-the-ietf/#comment-5428793) I am not convinced there is, or should be, a right for bots to access whatever sites they want for whatever reason they want. This comment is new since your last visit. Anonymous Coward says: June 25, 2026 at 6:55 pm (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/25/the-free-and-open-web-is-under-attack-at-the-ietf/#comment-5428939) You're fighting the wrong battle • *None of this** would even be up for discussion if the AI/LLM companies hadn’t done their best not only to grab every bit content with no regard for copyright, copyleft, licensing, terms-of-use, or anything else, but if they hadn’t also launched ongoing 24×7 denial-of-service attacks against millions of web sites. I run several web sites that are among the first to ever be created. They’ve had their issues over all these years (decades) but it wasn’t until now that I had to restrict them — as a last resort — because all other technical measures failed. (And please: spare me “…but did you try?” Of course I did. I’m not new to the Internet.) The AI/LLM companies are using public clouds, private clouds, hijacked systems, hijacked IOT devices, workload distribution, obfuscation, and every other trick in the rather large book to evade defenses. I’ve had to spend thousands of hours trying to solve problems that I should never have had, and that equates to a lot of time that wasn’t spent doing something productive, like improving sites or upgrading hardware. So stop this foolish victim-blaming nonsense and target the assholes responsible for this mess: the AI/LLM companies. They’re the ones who bear 100% of the responsibility/culpability for this mess. Which — if you had done ANY research on this issue at all — you would already know. This comment is new since your last visit. Anonymous Coward says: June 25, 2026 at 8:38 pm (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/25/the-free-and-open-web-is-under-attack-at-the-ietf/#comment-5429152) It’s crazy how the open web somehow held on for so many years and it’s now being completely dismantled in so short a time. So many people who should know better have decided that emerging technology constitutes casus belli against cyberspace. This comment is new since your last visit. Arianity(profile) (https://www.techdirt.com/user/arianity/)says: June 26, 2026 at 1:09 am (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/25/the-free-and-open-web-is-under-attack-at-the-ietf/#comment-5429622) However reasonable these fears may be, the answer is not to change the IETF standards from neutral protocols that encourage openness to restrictive requirements designed to monetize internet access. What is the answer, then? Websites may have legitimate reasons to worry about AI’s impacts on their traffic and advertising revenue, but those reasons must be weighed against the benefits of the open web. It’s funny how the thing that gets weighed against the benefits of the open web, is always the response to irresponsible AI scraping. Never the actual irresponsible AI scraping that caused it in the first place. That is why we are fighting back against these threats to open access. Unsustainable costs is just as much a threat to the open web as a change in protocol. It would be nice if EFF prioritized it as such. This comment is new since your last visit. Threaded [2] Stephen T. Stone(profile) (https://www.techdirt.com/user/regularstone/)says: June 26, 2026 at 6:26 am (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/25/the-free-and-open-web-is-under-attack-at-the-ietf/#comment-5430173) Re: It’s funny how the thing that gets weighed against the benefits of the open web, is always the response to irresponsible AI scraping. Never the actual irresponsible AI scraping that caused it in the first place. Why blame the abuser when the victim is right there? Close • says: https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/25/the-free-and-open-web-is-under-attack-at-the-ietf/# Add Your Comment Cancel reply (https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/25/the-free-and-open-web-is-under-attack-at-the-ietf/#respond) Your email address will not be published.Required fields are marked * Have a Techdirt Account? Sign in now (https://www.techdirt.com/my-account/?redirect_to=https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/25/the-free-and-open-web-is-under-attack-at-the-ietf/#respond). Want one? Register here (https://www.techdirt.com/register/) Name Email • Subscribe to the Techdirt Daily (https://listserv.techdirt.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/list/techdirt/) newsletter URL Subject Comment * Comment Options: Use markdown (https://commonmark.org/help/). Use plain text. Make this the First Word or Last Word. No thanks. 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BlueSky is one of the very few startups that genuinely took moderation and trust& safety serious from day one • How did they walk into such an obvious backlash like this? • aabsurdity:There were reports that one of the people affected was given a 22 day timer, shown on posts. Because your entire post history dissolves into chastity after 22 days somehow, I guess? • Bluesky moderation has stepped on a few rakes, but this really scared the whole artist community, given all the NSFW and SFW creators whose lives and livelihoods were decimated by PayPal in recent months. • https://bsky.app/profile/safety....https://bsky.app/profile/safety.bsky.app/post/3mnb7cza5yc2g (https://bsky.app/profile/safety.bsky.app/post/3mnb7cza5yc2g) I really could do without the idea that the concept of humans having bodies is inherently harmful to people until they turn 18. • Generations of kids have been taught how to deal with being on fire, but nobody wants to have a talk with their kids about other people because it's icky. • benv0727:Today, I joined @IJM to call for the Senate to immediately hold a vote on my STOP CSAM Act—which advanced unanimously out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Children need protections from predators on the internet, and this bill is an essential first step. There is no more time for delay. • https://x.com/i/status/206185715...https://x.com/i/status/2061857154957468115 (https://x.com/i/status/2061857154957468115) • aabsurdity:If you're quoting someone, it's generally accepted that you will use quote marks to indicate this. • BentFranklin:Microsoft CEO: We’re moving from OS and apps to agents instead • https://9to5mac.com/2026/06/02/m...https://9to5mac.com/2026/06/02/microsoft-ceo-were-moving-from-os-and-apps-to-agents-instead/ (https://9to5mac.com/2026/06/02/microsoft-ceo-were-moving-from-os-and-apps-to-agents-instead/) • . • Mike Masnick:at some point i'm going to write something about this, but an agentic-first computing paradigm really would fuck up all the efforts to age gate the internet... so I get why people don't like it for the AI of it all, but there are some interesting side effects • John Roddy:I know it usually misses the point to investigate how it would break once it's been established that the break is inevitable. But hey, that's still fascinating to weirdos like me. • Also, Matt Taibbi is appealing his defamation loss to the 2nd Circus. • Get in, losers. We're going losing! • candescence:https://bsky.app/profile/yashara...https://bsky.app/profile/yasharali.bsky.social/post/3mndxlp273d2g (https://bsky.app/profile/yasharali.bsky.social/post/3mndxlp273d2g) • https://bsky.app/profile/justinb...https://bsky.app/profile/justinbaragona.bsky.social/post/3mndxll2mvk2l (https://bsky.app/profile/justinbaragona.bsky.social/post/3mndxll2mvk2l) • Nick Bilton is a thin-skinned stooge. • Mike Masnick:meanwhile... [[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36jxNeV5L1Q](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36jxNeV5L1Q) • aabsurdity:https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3...https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3fS5NyKzygU (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3fS5NyKzygU) • Seems to be a decent summary. • Leah Abram:I concur. • imatool13:@Mike Masnick with the prolifieration of Agents is MCP (mixed with skills) protocol above platform? Seems a whole lot of companies open themselves up to AI Agents more than just integrations, curious your thoughts. • BentFranklin:I didn't think we were ever going to get the Musk versus Zuckerberg slapfight we were promised, but now that we will have a cage right there, it would be wasteful not to use it at least a few more times before dismantling it. • aabsurdity:Especially now that Trump wants to keep it forever as a commemoration of his bestest and happiest birthday, like the Eiffel Tower. • intelati:What the [[article]https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/06/03/trump-ufc-arena-white-house-claw-permanent/90387950007/](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/06/03/trump-ufc-arena-white-house-claw-permanent/90387950007/) I hate this timeline • aabsurdity:It's amazing how Trump does not, and never has, and never will, have any class whatsoever. He genuinely cannot see the difference between the engineering marvel of the Eiffel Tower, and a commonplace (though still a significant technical achievement in its way) lighting scaffold. They're both made of metal. • BentFranklin:How long until his ballroom guests mosey over after dinner to watch gladiators fight to the death with Trump having the final say with or ? • aabsurdity:I can't imagine he'd be interested. He'd have to be able to care if people other than himself are alive or dead. • intelati:Not this bout. The next one is a 50/50 shot. And increasing therein • BentFranklin:You know how mobsters will make you do a crime before they can trust you? So they will always have something on you? I think about that whenever someone says "I was just Epstein's lawyer," or broker, or anything significant. • John Roddy:I someone describe the BAM article as "climbing Mount Masnick" • And my brain immediately did the movie trailer guy voice for "from the makers of Driving Ms Daisy" • Leah Abram:Maybe it’s because of where I live but when I see “BAM” I think “Brooklyn Academy of Music” • aabsurdity:[[link]https://fxbsky.app/profile/presidentkelly.blacksky.app/post/3mnkf25iyjs2s](https://fxbsky.app/profile/presidentkelly.blacksky.app/post/3mnkf25iyjs2s)[[article]https://fxbsky.app/profile/yeti-detective.bsky.social/post/3mnkhrida222h](https://fxbsky.app/profile/yeti-detective.bsky.social/post/3mnkhrida222h) AI hiring screeners apparently retaining their rejection score for applicants across multiple different jobs, at all the companies they service, for nearly a year. So, get rejected for one job, basically you're unhireable by any company that also uses that tool, for any position, for the next 330 days. That's... Pretty dang bad if true... • BentFranklin:The Smart TV in Your Living Room Is a Node in the AI Scraping Economy • [[article]https://blog.includesecurity.com/2026/06/the-smart-tv-in-your-livingroom-is-a-node-in-the-aiscraping-economy/](https://blog.includesecurity.com/2026/06/the-smart-tv-in-your-livingroom-is-a-node-in-the-aiscraping-economy/) • Leah Abram:This is why Dumb TVs are a smart option! • I want a TV dumber than Pete Hegseth! • tomacamot:Or simply don't connect your TV to the Internet • candescence:Scott Pelley is now free to shit on his former bosses and tell the world how much of a propaganda rag CBS is becoming: https://youtu.be/ePqdmbgQ4BI?si=...https://youtu.be/ePqdmbgQ4BI?si=DZq7rY81Ur9IcKUt (https://youtu.be/ePqdmbgQ4BI?si=DZq7rY81Ur9IcKUt) • Quotes include "Bari Weiss Emailed my Boss and asked 'Can you make the protestors look more violent?'" and "Can you describe Renee Good as 'driving at the officer'?" • This is why you don't fire people who know where the bodies are buried. • aabsurdity:Someone said something today that I genuinely hadn't considered, which was the idea that this isn't an anti-journalism conservative deliberately torching a journalistic institution because the money they're spending doesn't mean anything any more, or that the death of CBS is simply advantageous, and instead that this is a project someone believes in and thinks it's going to work. And I have to admit that I didn't even see that as a possibility, but now that I have, that might make it worse. • Mike Masnick:Oh, they absolutely believe it's going to work. The Bari Weisses of the world believe fully that their view of the world has a silent majority behind them who were just waiting to have what The Free Press was delivering to the world... • aabsurdity:Genuinely baffling. • intelati:https://bsky.app/profile/cdelawa...https://bsky.app/profile/cdelawalla.bsky.social/post/3mnrigweehc2t (https://bsky.app/profile/cdelawalla.bsky.social/post/3mnrigweehc2t) • candescence:It looks like Microsoft and Sony's gaming divisions have almost entirely reverted back to exclusivity • Leah Abram:The golden age is over. This is like when Comedy Specials went from DRM-free video files to being included with streaming services • candescence:Sony's pulling back from single-player PC releases is a bit more questionable since low sales there are kinda self-inflicted due to late but overpriced releases, but the Xbox division has a new boss and it seems she's decided that multiplatform releases simply aren't working and are hurting the brand • timothygeigner:Trust me, the exclusivity thing is on my radar. I definitely have things to say about it. • Though why Microsoft won't just admit that they lost the console wars is beyond me. • John Roddy:My favorite was the clarification that the new Gears of War would be exclusive to Xbox. • And PC. • The ol' Ubisoft-style definition of exclusive. • aabsurdity:As a PC gamer... • BentFranklin:Landmark German ruling declares Google's AI Overviews are Google's own words and makes it liable for false answers • [[article]https://the-decoder.com/landmark-german-ruling-declares-googles-ai-overviews-are-googles-own-words-and-makes-it-liable-for-false-answers/](https://the-decoder.com/landmark-german-ruling-declares-googles-ai-overviews-are-googles-own-words-and-makes-it-liable-for-false-answers/) • aabsurdity:> First I came for the Communists > And I laughed > Because I was not a Communist > Then I came for the Socialists > And I laughed > Because I was not a Socialist > Then I came for the trade unionists > And I laughed > Because I was not a trade unionist > Then I came for the Jews > And I laughed > Because I was not a Jew > Then they came for me > “If he would do that to me, he would do that to anybody,” I said > “There’s never going to be good enough for him, other than 100 percent, you know, slavish adherence to whatever he wants.“ • BentFranklin:Extinction-level capitalism a citizen’s thoughts on AI risk • [[article]https://matthewbutterick.com/extinction-level-capitalism.html](https://matthewbutterick.com/extinction-level-capitalism.html) • bode000:yeah they definitely want it to work. I see that "they want to destroy it" claim all the time. They don't want to really destroy it, they want to repurpose it for propaganda. Like Twitter. Or Newsweek. Or the Baltimore Sun. All bought by right wingers to seed bullshit in the electorate. And they want it to make money. The problem for them is they aren't competent. • John Roddy:The people taking over might be nepo babies, but they're not stupid. They see exactly what damage is being done to these once-successful brands. • aabsurdity:A while ago I heard the phrase "ownership is not a skill"... • It comes in handy for so many things... • John Roddy:That isn't a side effect. It's not even the goal. Just a bonus. • bode000:I think they want to leverage the credibility of existing brands to convert them into propaganda and confuse the electorate with bullshit. I also think they're ok if the patient dies on the table during that procedure. • not to say that sometimes they don't just want to kill an outlet outright, like gawker • John Roddy:Even then, Gawker was already dying when thiel got involved. • bode000:the only thing that could save us (in a country without any useful media reform policies or a working opposition party) is these folks have no idea what they're doing. • John Roddy:I think that highlights how much this has escalated since then • bode000:it's just wild now. I'm seeing people actually interested in conversations about media consolidation now. • everybody's eyes used to glaze over when I brought it up • John Roddy:And then one of those people explains how the fairness doctrine would've prevented this, and that's why I went on the rampage, your honor. • bode000:I see that exchange 50 times a day (you know the fairness doctrine only covered broadcast and was neither well crafted nor enforced, right?) • Leah Abram:Far too many liberals think the fairness doctrine is a panacea. • bode000:and Republicans spent 40 years whining about it only to engage in far, far worse. great stuff! • John Roddy:And today's existential horror is titled "Europe attempts to integrate American tech policy, but ends up only grabbing the Fifth Circuit Court instead" • Mike Masnick:and a week after the EU laid out its plan for building a local internet. and the cjeu jumps in with "lol, good luck" • BentFranklin:If people really want the Iran war to end, maybe stop rubbing Trump's failure in his face. It's schadenfreudtastic as all hell and really all most of us can do, but note that the Iranians seem to have stopped taunting him. • Also it's really nice to see Netanyahu on the outside for once. Maybe this war will get some regime change after all. And maybe Bibi can drag down Lindsay Graham with him. • timothygeigner:I'm very excited to find out Friday just how much Trump capitulated in whatever this "deal" is. The fact that they won't release the text until after signing is, well, quite transparent. • John Roddy:"Iran agrees to purchase Ninja Theory and Compulsion Studios" • timothygeigner:And to never vaccinate against anything ever again. All my worlds colliding at once. • John Roddy:The US agrees to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine. • Leah Abram:My new BlueSky handle is ironcurtain.northsky.social • Mike Masnick:The Northsky folks are great • Leah Abram:Thank you, Mr. Masnick! • aabsurdity:[[article]https://eia.org/press-releases/epas-new-rule-on-refrigerant-management/](https://eia.org/press-releases/epas-new-rule-on-refrigerant-management/)https://bsky.app/profile/climate...https://bsky.app/profile/climatebrad.hillheat.com/post/3mjhk6gkikk2z (https://bsky.app/profile/climatebrad.hillheat.com/post/3mjhk6gkikk2z) Are the datacenter bros just straight up getting their purchased congresspersons to bring back ozone layer hole CFCs? Is that what the "silly little air conditioner bill, lol" from a few months back was really about? • John Roddy:in theory, there isn't a serious problem as long as it's contained. But that is a load bearing statement with huge consequences • aabsurdity:Oh. Well, I guess we can trust Elon Musk to be a good steward of the planet, right? • strange_luck:And if he isn't, he can merge the Earth and Mars and IPO the leftovers • Leah Abram:Now you know why I’m a huge fan of giving the land back to the indigenous people from whom it was stolen • benv0727:https://www.axios.com/2026/06/24...https://www.axios.com/2026/06/24/kids-online-safety-push-complicatm (https://www.axios.com/2026/06/24/kids-online-safety-push-complicatm) do you think that the stop csam act will be selected for floor consideration and adopted by the senate • tomacamot:Probably not Become an Insider! 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