Claire Atkin

…and while you were retrieving your item from the library shelves? You were simultaneously discovering unrelated yet often fascinating texts ALONG THE WAY

Internet search diminished that joy of dicovery, and AI search engines are doing their best to kill it altogethr

We have what I believe is first private lawsuit v Google making a motion for collateral estoppel based on the strong findings of fact and antitrust decision in EDVA. “There can be no serious question that the elements of collateral estoppel are met.” storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Image of a screenshot of news headline, saying, "WhatsApp is getting ads using personal data from Instagram and Facebook Forced Consent & Consent Bypass / 16 June 2025 Meta announced today that it also wants to introduce ads on WhatsApp, which will be based on personal data from Facebook and Instagram. This further integrates WhatsApp into other Meta services - an originally independent app, which initially was available for just $1 per year without ads or data usage. This also means that Meta is consolidating its social networking monopoly. EU law was actually supposed to prevent this."

Use Signal. We promise, no AI clutter, and no surveillance ads, whatever the rest of the industry does. <3

Australia's teen social media ban is a 'cursed monkey paw' problem A government commissioned survey shows that using online age assurance is wildly popular in theory, but is more complicated — and potentially less acceptable — in practice.

Most Australian support methods to enforce the teen social media ban, according to a government-commissioned survey

Most also have no idea how it works, don't trust platforms to protect their data, and expect that, at worst, it won't affect them.
www.crikey.com.au/20...

People who don’t like AI aren’t in denial about how useful it is. People who like AI are in denial about how useful it is

If you have any stories about data center opposition, resource demands, supply chain information, etc. you think I should know about, feel free to drop me an email: datacenterbook [at] proton [dot] me

I’m writing a new book! It will tell the story of what’s really behind the hyperscale data center boom

Good news: I’m writing another book!

Data centers have been a big part of the discourse over the past few years. I’ll be digging into why there are so many being built right now and the broader impacts they’re having. But also: do we really need this much compute?

X’s Sales Pitch: Give Us Your Ad Business or We’ll Sue Elon Musk and CEO Linda Yaccarino launched a campaign to strong-arm advertisers back onto the platform.

And some chickenshits companies bend to their bullying, like Trump's. When will they learn?
Elon Musk and CEO Linda Yaccarino’s pitch to lure back advertisers to X: Spend with us or we’ll see you in court. www.wsj.com/business/med...

The news is never premium, but sometimes it is a necessity. The idea there's some fine wine version of news people really want never works out. The inverted pyramid has been the dominant news format for longer than I've been alive because it's efficient and effective. It respects readers' time.

The Onion’s Ben Collins Knows How to Save Media The NBC News reporter turned CEO sits down for a long talk about his “weird and awkward” last year at the network; his girlfriend, congressional hopeful Kat Abughazaleh; and how he turned 'The Onion' ...

The new CEO of The Onion spent his first month on the job getting rid of the website's god awful ad tech and focusing on improving the user experience. He then launched a paid membership, reintroduced the print product, and expanded the staff from 14 to 27.

[inventor of the highlighter] i really enjoyed some of your book

US Seeks Forced Sale of Google Advertising Technology Products Alphabet Inc.’s Google should be forced to sell off two of its businesses that help websites buy, sell and serve online advertising after a judge found the company illegally monopolized those markets,...

"The company should be ordered to immediately sell off its advertising exchange, AdX, followed by a “phased” divestiture of the service that helps websites sell display advertising, known as a publisher ad server, the agency said in a court filing late Monday."

oh noooo

The best model to understand Google is essentially as white collar mobsters. If you don't play by their rules, no one's going to come kneecap you but you'll bleed traffic and money. If you play by their rules, you'll slowly get less money in exchange for more work — until they as good as own you.

We cannot let the Wayback Machine get deep-sixed, as it may be the only place we can find some govt docs/sites that this regime alters or "disappears." NPR article: is.gd/BsVRpI

Donate: archive.org/donate
FAQ: help.archive.org/help/categor...

(The Internet Archive is a US 501c3 non-profit org.)

Don’t remember where I saw this library flyer a while back but it’s great

With the support of @checkmyads.org's advocacy, Senator Warner (D-VA) sent letters asking the FTC and DOJ to investigate 3 ad verification firms - DoubleVerify, Integral Ad Science, HUMAN - for deceptive advertising and charging the federal government for services not delivered.

This is going to kill many public libraries, especially in rural areas. If you use a public library, you will be impacted. #imls is a dust mote in the federal budget. It also provides things like internet at your local library so people can apply for jobs and kids can do homework.

YouTube video by Below the Fray Why Dua Lipa is so good at asking questions

I really liked this guy noticing that Dua Lipa is great at interviewing authors. youtu.be/QN1rULxGHCA

When people have a little donation badge on Signal 🤩

For years I was inoculated from ads with streaming subscriptions and YouTube Premium, but they’ve bled back through on Amazon Prime. I feel like I’m having an alien experience, I didn’t realise how strange advertisements were. Do these work? They feel like licking a battery

How Digital Marketing Broke Society 25.9% of teenagers who spend four or more hours daily on screens experienced depression symptoms in the past two weeks. 27.1% reported anxiety symptoms. Higher durations of Internet use increases depression levels. Adolescents who spend more than three hours online daily are more likely to fall into the

Digital marketing isn't just ads—it's weaponized psychology designed to override your autonomy and extract maximum value from your consciousness, while giving nothing back.

And over the past 20 years, it broke our society.

This is a fantastic piece.

Google Ad-Tech Users Can Target National Security ‘Decision Makers’ and People With Chronic Diseases Google enables marketers to target people with serious illnesses and crushing debt—against its policies—as well as the makers of classified defense technology, a WIRED investigation has found.

NEW: Last year, @johnnyryan.bsky.social made a website for a fake company using a photo of Russian soldiers to purposely elicit suspicion. A US data broker offered him access to thousands of lists of American devices anyway. Many lists targeted US leaders and defense contractors.

Our latest:

Incrediable story about data profiles and digital ads.

Reminds me of the important work done by @checkmyads.org

Google Ad-Tech Users Can Target National Security ‘Decision Makers’ and People With Chronic Diseases Google enables marketers to target people with serious illnesses and crushing debt—against its policies—as well as the makers of classified defense technology, a WIRED investigation has found.

New @wired.com story: “This is exactly the kind of seemingly obscure data that would pique a foreign adversary's interest,” says Justin Sherman, CEO of Global Cyber Strategies, and author of the upcoming book Navigating Technology and National Security.

www.wired.com/story/google...

Google Calendar removed events like Pride and BHM because its holiday list wasn’t ‘sustainable’ Some users are angry that some events have been removed.

😕 www.theverge.com/news/608858/...

Strengthening America Through Service: Announcing the Public Service Alliance (PSA) - Public Service Alliance Today, we’re announcing the Public Service Alliance (PSA), a nonpartisan organization dedicated to strengthening America by supporting the people who serve it.  PSA is founded on a simple yet profound...

If you are a public servant, or know one, this may be useful. A new organization, the Public Service Alliance, is offering advice on privacy and cybersecurity, physical safety, access to legal counsel and more.
thepublicservicealliance.com/introducing-...

@mattdpearce.com congratulations on the new job!! It’s one of the most important. Will you please follow me back for a min so I can DM you?