Posts
Australia’s own media law isn’t helping news consumers either
In a news conference in Ottawa earlier this month, Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez sought to provide context for the tech industry’s reaction to the recently passed C-18, which outlines a process for media organizations to arrange deals with tech companies for ad revenue. Since the bill was enacted, both Meta and Google have taken steps…
Checking in on Michael Bloomberg’s multi-million dollar global crusade against harm reduction
For years, we’ve covered the extent of former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg’s multi-million dollar campaigns to try to shape the lives of ordinary consumers. What began as an erstwhile nanny state campaign on Big Gulps in New York City has ballooned into a massively funded operation that uses grants and NGO funding on…
The Dynamist Podcast: Europe’s Tech Tug of War
This week I was invited on the Foundation for American Innovation’s The Dynamist podcast, hosted by Evan Swarztrauber. We discuss the delta between American and European approaches to technology regulation, and how those policies and cultural differences impact Big Tech, startups, venture capital, and artificial intelligence. Listen on Apple, Overcast. From Evan’s description: The question…
What Is CBDC – Niko Jilch, Bill Wirtz & Yaël Ossowski (BTCPrague 2023)
At BTCPrague in June 2023, I was able to moderate a discussion with my friends Niko Jilch and Bill Wirtz on the future of Central Bank Digital Currencies. Check it out here:
Canada’s news cartel and social media link tax breaks an open internet and harms digital journalism
My appearance on The News Forum in Canada to discuss Bill C-18, which allows a media cartel to force social networks to pay a “link tax” for allowing articles on their platforms. We also discuss the future of journalism and what consumers expect from their news sources.
RFK Jr. is batshit insane, but happens to get Bitcoin
The modern Kennedy has some pretty whacko authoritarian anti-prosperity ideas, but he somehow gets why Bitcoin matters. Historically, we all know cypherpunk Bitcoin, nerd Bitcoin, lambo Bitcoin, and finance Bitcoin. Now, we’re in the age of political Bitcoin. At this early juncture in the 2024 US Presidential campaign, we’ve already had three candidates explicitly mention…
Hey bro, get your hands off my hardware wallet
The razor-thin balance between seeking mass adoption of Bitcoin and keeping it a tool of sovereignty is now playing out among hardware wallet producers. Conjuring complicated threat scenarios and thought experiments of hypothetical attacks on your Bitcoin stack: that’s just a typical Tuesday for today’s generation of Bitcoiners. Whether it’s about reverse shotgun KYC, malicious…
Would Lina Khan’s real-life FTC break up Succession’s fictional Waystar RoyCo?
The truth is often stranger than fiction. In this season of the hit HBO show Succession , viewers are subjected not just to the business antics of the troubled Roy family but also to politicians and regulatory agencies using their power to rein in the firm’s activities and acquisitions. Though it is a work of…