Aug 31st 2025
This Week in Tech 1047
Nerd Harder!
Hosted by
Leo Laporte
From Cloudflare's Internet Gatekeeping to AI's Labor Threat
Records live every Sunday at 5:15pm Eastern / 2:15pm Pacific / 22:15 UTC.
Cloudflare’s latest moves to police who can access the internet and governments’ push for age verification set off alarms for the future of the open web, as panelists debate the hidden costs of centralization and regulation.
- Microsoft fires four workers for on-site protests over company's ties to Israel
- Taco Bell rethinks AI drive-through after man orders 18,000 water
- Nvidia says two mystery customers accounted for 39% of Q2 revenue
- FBI cyber cop: Salt Typhoon pwned 'nearly every American
- Mastodon says it doesn't 'have the means' to comply with age verification law
- UK’s Online Safety Act censors the internet — a preview of US proposal
- Meta updates chatbot rules to avoid inappropriate topics with teen user
- Meta reportedly allowed unauthorized celebrity AI chatbots on its service
- UK's demand for Apple backdoor may have been broader than previously though
- Bluesky now platform of choice for science community
- SpaceX's giant Starship Mars rocket nails critical 10th test flight in stunning comeback
- FCC rejects calls for cable-like fees on broadband providers
- The web does not need gatekeepers
- Intel warns a US equity stake could trigger “adverse reactions”
- US firms are racing through a $1 trillion buyback spree in record time
- Microsoft reveals two in-house AI models
- Authors celebrate “historic” settlement coming soon in Anthropic class action
- A rule exempting small packages from tariffs is ending today
- Framework is working on a giant haptic touchpad, Trackpoint nub, and eGPU for its laptops
- Germany fines economist Thomas Vierhaus €16,100 for sarcastic X posts
- Google wants to make sideloading Android apps safer by verifying developers’ identities
- South Korea bans smartphones in all middle and elementary school classrooms
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Links
- The Web Does Not Need Gatekeepers
- Enshittification: the DRM-free audiobook
- Microsoft fires four workers for on-site protests over company's ties to Israel
- Taco Bell rethinks AI drive-through after man orders 18,000 waters
- Nvidia says two mystery customers accounted for 39% of Q2 revenue
- The reverse-centaur apocalypse is upon us
- Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World Paperback (Amazon Affiliate Link)
- FBI cyber cop: Salt Typhoon pwned 'nearly every American'
- Privacy's Defender: My Thirty-Year Fight Against Digital Surveillance (Amazon Affiliate Link)
- Mastodon says it doesn't 'have the means' to comply with age verification laws | TechCrunch
- U.K.’s Online Safety Act Censors the Internet—A Preview of U.S. Proposals
- No, the UK’s Online Safety Act Doesn’t Make Children Safer Online
- Meta updates chatbot rules to avoid inappropriate topics with teen users | TechCrunch
- Meta reportedly allowed unauthorized celebrity AI chatbots on its services
- UK's demand for Apple backdoor may have been broader than previously thought
- Blacksky
- Bluesky now platform of choice for science community
- SpaceX's giant Starship Mars rocket nails critical 10th test flight in stunning comeback (video)
- FCC rejects calls for cable-like fees on broadband providers
- Underground Empire: How America Weaponized the World Economy (Amazon Affiliate Link)
- Intel Warns US Equity Stake Could Trigger 'Adverse Reactions' - Slashdot
- The US government drops its CHIPS Act requirements for Intel
- US Firms Racing Through $1 Trillion Buyback Spree in Record Time
- Microsoft Reveals Two In-House AI Models - Slashdot
- Authors celebrate “historic” settlement coming soon in Anthropic class action
- Absolution (Amazon Affiliate Link)
- The Man Who Killed Google Search
- A rule exempting small packages from tariffs is ending today. Here’s what to expect
- Framework is working on a giant haptic touchpad, Trackpoint nub, and eGPU for its laptops
- Germany: Economist Thomas Vierhaus Fined €16,100 for Sarcastic X Posts
- Google wants to make sideloading Android apps safer by verifying developers’ identities
- South Korea bans smartphones in all middle and elementary school classrooms
- Rhode Island Lawmakers Pass Legislation to Ban Cell Phones in Schools
- Join Your Fellow Digital Rights Supporters for the EFF Awards on September 10!