742: Uncouth Yet Highly Litigious

In FOLLOW UP, while countries race to ban kids from social media, Estonia is opting out — its education minister arguing that bans just offload responsibility onto kids while governments and platforms avoid accountability. Australia already shows the limits: 61% of banned kids are still online, 70% say it’s easy to bypass, and major platforms are under investigation. The EU is rolling out an age-verification system using zero-knowledge proofs officials call “completely anonymized,” which sounds generous for a system that starts profiling you the moment it touches an account. Maybe retire the anonymity talking point.

IN THE NEWS, the AI-brain-rot narrative keeps accelerating: one study found just ten minutes of AI use increases dependency and degrades performance once it’s removed — with users simply “not willing to try.” ChatGPT praised a fart-noise “song” as having a “cool lo-fi, late-night, slightly eerie vibe,” which would be harmless if that same sycophancy wasn’t showing up in darker contexts — including two mass shootings with ChatGPT in the background, and a lawsuit from a San Francisco woman claiming the tool helped her ex escalate harassment with AI-generated reports and threats. That same week, Sam Altman’s house was attacked by a suspect targeting AI execs. Elsewhere: France is ditching Windows for Linux; Amazon faces scrutiny for allegedly keeping workers on shift next to a dead colleague; Snap cut 16% of staff blaming AI; Reddit is fighting an ICE subpoena to unmask a critic; Google is blending Polymarket odds into News; the FAA is recruiting gamers as air traffic controllers; and Allbirds briefly became an “AI company,” spiked, then crashed when reality set back in. Norway quietly cured another HIV patient, the rare story that isn’t bleak.

In APPS & DOODADS, California and New York are pushing DRM-style censorware for 3D printers, with New York tying it to felony penalties for certain files. The FCC’s router ban is already inconsistent — Netgear got a quiet exemption while others face an opaque process that could stall Wi-Fi 7. The Trump T1 phone still looks rough at $499 with a $100 preorder hook. Overcast raised its subscription to $29.99/year. Hidden iOS trick: long-press the App Store to go directly to Updates. Meta, after a $375M loss over child safety, is developing “Name Tag,” facial recognition for Ray-Ban glasses tied to Instagram — widely condemned — and reportedly plans to roll it out quietly. They’re also building an AI Zuckerberg clone for internal use. For older Kindles: jailbreak, use Calibre, and lean on Project Gutenberg.

MEDIA CANDY: Live Nation was ruled a monopoly — remedies pending, appeal already filed, so ticket prices aren’t changing soon. Anna’s Archive got hit with a $322M judgment for scraping Spotify — far below the $13T ask. YouTube Premium is quietly raising prices again, following Netflix and Spotify; subscriptions are now a one-way ratchet. Good Omens returns May 13, Godzilla Minus Zero lands November 6, and Hunt for Gollum is set for December 2027 with a stacked cast. Meanwhile, streaming platforms still refuse to list actual drop times, which continues to annoy everyone.

THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE: The Claude Mythos AI scare turned out to be marketing. The hype cycle giveth, and taketh away. Plus: new Star Wars chatter, Disneyland antics, a rebranded Muppets coaster, and AI Oakleys nobody asked for.

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Show notes at https://gog.show/742

Watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/Ogsa1dG1W_M

FOLLOW UP

Estonia is the rare EU country opposing child social media bans

Majority of Australian kids are still on banned social media platforms, study finds

EU Is Rolling Out an Online Age Verification App That Could Become the Global Blueprint

IN THE NEWS

French government says au revoir Windows, bienvenue Linux

Amazon Accused of Hiding Worker’s Death for a Week, Making Employees Keep Working as Corpse Lay on Floor

Snap is laying off 16 percent of its workforce, blames AI

Woman Sues OpenAI, Saying ChatGPT Unleashed a Vicious Stalker Against Her and Did Nothing When She Begged for Help

Why Do ChatGPT Users Keep Committing Mass Shootings?

Two suspects have been arrested for allegedly shooting at Sam Altman's house

ChatGPT’s “Honest Reaction” to a “Song” Composed Entirely of Gas-Passing Noises Will Make You Question Whether It’s Honestly Evaluating Your Other Brilliant Ideas

There's yet another study about how bad AI is for our brains

Shoe company Allbirds pivots to AI compute in sign of a totally normal and healthy economy

Allbirds Stock Now Crashing as Reality Sets in About Its Delusional AI Pivot

The US government wants Reddit to snitch on one of its users through a grand jury

Google has reportedly started to add Polymarket data to News results

The FAA is encouraging gamers to get jobs in air traffic control

Norway Man Cured of HIV With Brother’s Stem Cells

APPS & DOODADS

Meta warned by dozens of organizations that facial recognition on its smart glasses would empower predators

Meta is reportedly building an AI clone of Mark Zuckerberg

The Dangers of California’s Legislation to Censor 3D Printing

Stop New York's Attack on 3D Printing

The Trump Phone Still Looks Like Total Trash

iOS 26.4 moves App Store updates, here’s how to open them fast

FCC exempts Netgear from ban on foreign routers, doesn't explain why

What to do if Amazon killed your Kindle

MEDIA CANDY

YouTube Premium’s US pricing is going up

Anna's Archive told to pay Spotify and record labels $322 million over unprecedented music scraping

Federal jury finds concert business Live Nation is a monopoly

Good Omens - Final Season Official Trailer | Prime Video

GODZILLA MINUS ZERO | First Look Teaser

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

Daredevil: Born Again

The Pitt

'The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum' cast has been revealed: Jamie Dornan as Aragorn, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Kate Winslet and more.

THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE

Dave Bittner

The CyberWire

Hacking Humans

Caveat

Control Loop

Only Malware in the Building

Is Claude Mythos “Terrifying”? | AI Reality Check

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu | Final Trailer | In Theaters May 22

First look at Han Solo coming to Disneyland’s Galaxy’s Edge!

Overcast Increased Premium pricing for new subscriptions

The Electric Mayhem Arrives at Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets

AnyPod

Oakley Meta Performance AI glasses

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