Cory Doctorow on digital rights, enshittification, and tech criticism.
Today's links Formalities: When it comes to AI, the Copyright Office is restoring copyright to its proper status, as something you have to work to get. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: GWB x martial law; Li'l Sparky; Dueling Starbuck…
Today's links Agents vs ecommerce: Opacity is a feature, not a bug. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Aibo hacking; Calculator watches; What hath Occupy wrought; Dr Seuss v Trek parody; "Blacks for Trump" x murder-cults; "9 Times My W…
Today's links History is something you do: Not something that happens to you. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Occupy Tents are speech; Piagram; SOPA; "I'm Rob Fucking Ford"; Blocking all porn in the UK; Pirates rule Iceland; Shake S…
Today's links Sovereign citizens, but for news: By reading the LA Times, you agree… Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Patenting tax dodges; 6-word sf; Newscorp shareholders v Murdoch; Ancient German ophthalmology cult; Trolley problem…
Today's links Critique and writing: The most important part of a writing workshop is trying to fix other people's stories. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: USPS nukes the mail; Enron Explorer; "Scored"; UAE's international hacker leg…
Today's links Adversarial interoperability is a team sport: Vibe-coded jailbreaks are fun, but don't solve the problem. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Labour Whip's pro-Iraq war threats; LoC's emulators; Kevin Mitnick plays CIA sto…
Today's links The death of history's most successful publisher: Google has a scorching case of "main character syndrome." Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Civil War x 4,400 ceramic cats; Okaysellers; Frankenstein hat; Clockwork Fagin…
Today's links The technopolitics of ad-tech: Spying is good for tech, context is good for publishers. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: PNH x Mike Ford; Singapore v Far East Economic Review; Publishing v bestsellers; Architecture v se…
Today's links Israeli ad-tech company was a delivery system for "mercenary spyware": And they used Google, Facebook and every other major ad platform to do it. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Big Mouth Billy Bass x Linux; No-Fly lis…
Today's links Load-bearing: Digital sovereignty vs AI. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Anthrax penmanship; Stolen WEBGEEK license plate; Arizona Republic endorses Clinton, gets death threats; Against the great forces of history. Upc…
Today's links Expedia amazoned hotel rooms: Everything more expensive for everyone, monopolies everywhere, and we're all screwed. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Delta v dovening; "Play Money"; Alabama's ethnic cleansing; We trust n…
Today's links Bundestrojaner: You can't make people more secure by making them less secure. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: 9/11 sitcom; Jon Norman v Philcon; Bruce Sterling's post-9/11 geopolitics; Polaroid bankrupt; David Mamet x…
Today's links How labor rights rescued Ultima from a monopolist: If you care about labor justice and artists' rights, stop focusing on copyright. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: China unblocks Wikipedia; CCC cracks the Bundestrojane…
Today's links Thwarted: Behold the awesome destructive power of a fully operational billionaire. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Anthrax v National Inquirer; Grey goo v Second Life; Predictive policing v actual crime; Spooky cookies…
Today's links Disloyalty: Air Canada's frequent flier fuckery. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Indie booksellers v internet; Coke pays dieticians to astroturf soda taxes; Voting in a voter-suppression state; Facebook v your use of F…
Today's links Swapping money for expertise: Money can't buy me love. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: "Tempo"; Yahoo censors MEP's torture debate video; Scotland's money-laundry; A textbook scam; DOS the IRS then charge for access; J…
Today's links Scrutinized: Pervert glasses vs the authentic self. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: DRM-free in the UK; Maple-leaf roses; Italian Wikipedia shuts down; Vancouver's property speculator tax works; Ex-Soviet leftists laun…
Today's links Economic probabilities for our grandchildren: If only data centers would stop hogging all the copper. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: RIAA v P2P; Infoseek's anti-terror brain-scanner; Copyrighting every phone number; C…
Today's links Voting is to politics as shopping is to boycotts: The big P only matters if the small p is in play. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Gilberto Gil v WIPO; Censored Apple wifi hacker talk; Wells Fargo crime-spree started…
Today's links Lindsay Owens's "Gouged": The end of a fair price and what that means for your wallet. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Doonesbury on 9/11; Suspicious Looking Device; Elephant-shit paper; The Onion x TSA liquid rules; B…
Today's links Priceful: So worthless we can tell you what it's worth. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Nasdaq allows post-9/11 penny stocks; USAF can shoot down civilian aircraft; TSA bans calling Kip Hawley an idiot; Wells Fargo sue…
Today's links Itch scratching: Love, care and self-actualization. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: 9/11 x Viridians; Announcing Wikipedia; Infinite Copyright Mickey; Floppy shoulder bag; Wells Fargo's long sleaze; Corbyn wins Labour…
Today's links Bonta sold us out to Trump's oligarchs: A "settlement" that promises less than nothing. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Warren on taxing the rich and class warfare; Psychology v reproducibility; Copyright troll sentenc…
Today's links The Claude Delusion: What if we're the ones having hallucinations? Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: 9/11 v sex; 9/11 v flags; US customs v diplomatic Vegemite; CIA torture survivors speak; HP's inky timebomb; "The Raven…
Today's links Textured: The surprises are what matter. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: RIP Mr Dressup; Oligarch sucker-punch; ICC v CEOs. Upcoming appearances: Berkeley, Edmonton, Boston, South Bend, Hudson, Calgary, Winnipeg, Vanco…
Today's links On the sincerity of AI bosses: Fascism is always an incoherent bundle. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: 9/11 v spam; PalmOS x WTC collapse; Wifi x WTC rubble; Berlusconi sex rings; Tesco bans writing down prices; AI psy…
Today's links How an AI moratorium can save AI bosses: If you can't impose switching costs, just eliminate the competition. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Flash Worms; This Film is Not Yet Rated; Libdem copyright sabotage; Religion…
Today's links Everybody pees: Even Jeff Bezos. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Zune won't play Microsoft files; Papercraft 1:1 Mustang; Third gender for Aussie passports; France hacked Canada; EC v links; Welcome to Night Vale; Univ…
Today's links But do you use keyboard shortcuts?: AI people are WEIRD. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: "Changeling"; Sony Rootkit vs CD drives; Google's scumbag lobbyists; NJ's e-voting coverup; Spying sex toys; Scott Walker dark mo…
Today's links LLMs are real, AI is fake: No, it didn't "go rogue." Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Why 9/11 Means We Must Support My Politics; Blogs x 9/11; Jimmy Wales v Britannica's EiC; Hollywood astroturfs Australia; Agents v qu…