This Week In Techdirt History: February 2nd – 8th
from the that-was-that dept
Five Years Ago
This week in 2020, Facebook paid out a hefty settlement in a facial recognition lawsuit in Illinois, which looked like bad news for the also-just-sued new kid on the block: Clearview AI, about whom we were learning lots of disturbing new things. In an ongoing attempt to avoid its own similar problems, Ring updated its privacy dashboard to allow users to block all law enforcement requests for footage, while a court order revealed that the DEA was busy demanding all sorts of data from WhatsApp and other service providers. Meanwhile, we looked at the big legacy companies behind the push to turn people against Section 230.
Ten Years Ago
This week in 2015, the Blurred Lines copyright lawsuit was heating up, the MPAA was telling more lies about films being easily available online through legal means, and Disney was going nuts in its attempts to block leaks about the new Star Wars films. The FCC officially started pursuing Title II net neutrality rules, and we soon had to start debunking the idea that this meant the agency was “treating the internet as a utility”, while anti-net-neutrality propaganda started reaching absolutely insane levels. Meanwhile, we learned more about the huge problems with TAFTA/TTIP, and how the USTR was using the TPP to push for a copyright term extension.
Fifteen Years Ago
This week in 2010, the director’s commentary to Fight Club offered another story of the ridiculousness of copyright clearances in Hollywood, Billboard got snarky in responding to our pitch for how artists can make money in the age of the internet, and we looked at the recording industry’s response to the internet through the lens of the stages of grief. A new law in Australia forbade anonymous political commentary during election season, while Bruce Schneier wrote an excellent piece about why it’s impossible to actually get rid of anonymity online, even if you want to. And amidst the conversation about piracy as “theft”, we wrote about how copyright law was never based on protecting labor.
Comments on “This Week In Techdirt History: February 2nd – 8th”
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They pushed to get people against section 230 in 2020, and according to Goldmann, this is the year they succeed in killing it.
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I hope he’s wrong, of course. There’s just, not really a whole lot of law-expert people out there that seem to know what they’re talking about.
But at the same time just because the people who presume a good outcome turn out to be wrong, doesn’t immunize those who predict a bad outcome from being wrong, either..
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but we also shouldn’t be defeatist either
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but the person that started the whole thread is doomposting by saying it’s guaranteed
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shut up ac
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and yet here we are still here doomer
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Not if the courts keep fucking up their rulings.
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Trump is making America great again, and you dorks are black-pilling!
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Great for who? The braindead?
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For the Resistance, man!
I’ve never felt more alive and invigorated and with a clear definite life purpose–oppose tyranny and fight for Democracy!
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You know what? Good point.
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Thanks, AC.
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As an observer from outside the not so United States, it’s really hard to infer from your comment who’s side you are advocating for.
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Blackpilling? We’re blackcocking.
Once you go black you never go back. You’ll never force us to go back to wimpy white wastes of space.
New weekly column idea
“This Week In Techdirt History:” has always provided an enlightening weekend reflection on the the past, bringing back to the fore important stories we may have forgotten about.
But in the here and now, there is so much crazy, dangerous and illegal shit Trump and his minions are saying and doing every day. Mike and the great staff at Techdirt are doing an excellent job reporting on it. It’s all so overhwelming that some important stuff just slips your mind by the weekend or just not had time to read during the week.
What is needed for these times is a weekly summary, “This Week in Trumpdirt History:” !
“This Week in Trumpdirt History:” would provide a succient summary of the week’s torrent of activity, tieing the week’s Trump stories in a “cohesive” (if not coherent) thread linking back to the original Techdirt stories just as this column does for Techdirt stories.
Keep up the great reporting, team!
Re: New weekly column idea
Check out https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/. It’s a nice historical archive of the Screaming Cheeto’s reign, back to January 20, 2017.
Govtrack says KOSMA has a 35% chance of getting enacted now.
So uh, what’s the odds of a court challenge being able to stop it?
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that still doesn’t mean it will pass
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I know, I know. Just wanted to know in case it did.
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5AM and no inane Mike Brock ramblings?
I must say I’m disappointed.
delivery management software
This is really interesting! I never thought about it this way before