This Week In Techdirt History: August 26th - September 1st

from the on-the-record dept

Sat, Sep 1st 2018 12:00pm — Leigh Beadon

Five Years Ago

This week in 2013, we learned that the NSA had tapped the UN and various embassies and cracked the UN's video conferencing encryption. We also got a look at the agency's "black budget" and realized how much effort they were putting into breaking encryption. The DOJ began making the "just metadata" argument, while we looked at how well Ed Snowden covered his tracks and wondered how many intentional surveillance abuses were hidden the same way, not to mention how many of the 1000 other sysadmins with the same access copied documents too. Meanwhile, the UK's Deputy Prime Minister was defending the destruction of Guardian hard drives but not the detention of David Miranda, the latter of which was also condemned by the author of the UK anti-terrorism act. Barry Eisler argued that both incidents were all about creating a chilling effect on journalism, and later in the week we learned that the UK government asked the NY Times to delete the Snowden documents too (they didn't listen).

Ten Years Ago

This week in 2008, people were scrutinizing the true nature of Disney's Mickey Mouse copyrights, AMC was stupidly freaking out over the new trend of fans creating Twitter accounts for fictional TV show characters, and in an early version of the Ubers and Lyfts to come, we saw a bus company in Canada try to shut down a carpool-matching service. Meanwhile, Mattel sadly followed in Hasbro's footsteps and brought the war on Scrabble-clone apps to the rest of the world where it owns the rights to the game, and the Tetris Company started getting in on the same anti-app action. The RIAA won a copyright case because the defendant had foolishly destroyed evidence, while a different and excellent court ruling found that Veoh was protected by safe harbors for videos uploaded by users. But the FBI still had nothing better to do than arrest the leaker of a Guns N' Roses album.

Fifteen Years Ago

Lots of innovations were still in their nascent stages this week in 2003, with everyone struggling to figure out what exactly to do with location-based tech, US wireless carriers doing a not-so-great job of supporting and promoting camera phones, a growing number of consumer electronics starting to come with broadband connectivity (as more and more computer makers started becoming general consumer electronics companies), and of course the beginning of the ascent of the famous/infamous (depending on who you ask) autotune technology. Meanwhile, porn websites were getting in on the file sharing subpoena game while the RIAA (which also got sued by webcasters for monopoly actions) was firing back at a woman who was fighting just such a subpoena.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: history, look back

30 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Anonymous Coward, 1 Sep 2018 @ 9:13pm

Is Techdirt now being used as a source for national news?
Am I the only one who sees historical Techdirt commentary, repeated almost verbatim, now playing out on the national stage with Trump and his administration and national news? The same arguments about the “public square” and censorship, that is, the same framing that we debated here are now coming out of the mouths of national politicians and newscasters. It’s almost as if the same writers who author opinions here are connected directly to national lawmakers and newscasters, or perhaps they are coming to Techdirt to get their ammunition and talking points. Is that possible?

Am I the only one to notice this striking similarity?

I wonder if the Senators, Congressman and celebrities are getting an education here, then leveraging in on stage with the red light on. What about it, Mike? I heard Barbara Streisand once contributed here, or something like that. She was a celebrity.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Anonymous Coward, 1 Sep 2018 @ 9:46pm

Re: Is Techdirt now being used as a source for national news?
I think this week may be historic and something we will all remember in the future. Have you ever been to a Trump rally? The production precision is incredible. Trump shops, free goods thrown to the crowds, hot booth babes getting everyone excited, and a sound track worth money stand alone. A crowd fully prepared to stand up and cheer, and we do. I’m proud to be an American playing for almost 4 minutes while Trump struts around and everyone feels a rush of adrenaline. It’s incredible, really.

This week, Trump was addressing the big tech companies directly, and threatening them in front of this well prepared crowd. They loved it! There is an American wave of patiotism and hated of Tech Tyranny sweeping the country and the airwaves, for example, Tucker Carlson devoting a whole hour on Friday to this single subject.

These are historical times, and Techdirt should feel good about bringing these issues up in the last weeks and months. The debates here are now playing out and will have historical consequences. The current national news was discussed here first. Very commendable, no?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 2 Sep 2018 @ 1:14am

Re: Re: Is Techdirt now being used as a source for national news?
Noam Chomsky is not going to be on the jury, Hamilton.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 2 Sep 2018 @ 4:34pm

Hey Hamilton
Tucker’s not gonna touch it either.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Anonymous Coward, 2 Sep 2018 @ 10:12pm

Re: Hey Hamilton
Tucker did spend an hour on social media company bias this week, and even Chris Wallace gave it some time on Sunday. Trump invested his time about the same issue in multiple interviews, and at a midterm election rally.

Don’t the readers here think this is interesting? Anybody want to respond with a cartoon, I could give it to Trump, I have his Email (he’s always asking for money). This issue is now like kerosene poured a gas soaked rags stacked high in a tanker truck filled with jet fuel.

Did you catch the EXACT WORDS that are coming out of people’s mouths? Listen closely - I think you will find those EXACT WORDS right here on Techdirt, multiple times. We are all geniuses here, right? We said it all first. I think that is cause for some small celebration, of ourselves.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 2 Sep 2018 @ 10:17pm

Re: Re: Hey Hamilton
I honestly don’t know who’s more delusional. You, or that fraud shithead... shitheel...scumfuck...shiva, ah yes that’s his name.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Anonymous Coward, 2 Sep 2018 @ 10:22pm

Re: Re: Re: Hey Hamilton
Delusional?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=v4LPkmGO5Cc
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 2 Sep 2018 @ 10:47pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Hey Hamilton
Delusional like, to pick a completely not random example; pretending you have famous ancestors to make yourself seem more American and to assuage a massive inferiority complex.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Anonymous Coward, 2 Sep 2018 @ 11:26pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Hey Hamilton
“The sun never has an inferiority complex. It shines the same whether above or below.”
― Curtis Tyrone Jones

And I forgot to mention my favorite FOXy Lady - Judge Jeanine. She had Kevin McCarthy, leader of the house, speaking on EXACTLY the same issue! Wow. “Remember the power of the subpoena” he famously said, “If you believe in doing no evil, there is no reason you would hold back and not come forth”. Powerful stuff.

Come to Congress with ‘em, Mike, you’re famous for that, right? Let’s collaborate to make some new law together, you’re invited. You are a powerful man, witness your intellectual debates, right on this forum (mostly the censored ones). Lead by powerful example.

Not as powerful as the sun, of course, but powerful nonetheless. Really. You predicted all this, and had a LOT TO DO with what’s going on.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Anonymous Coward, 3 Sep 2018 @ 1:45am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Hey Hamilton
I think you’re talking to me, not him. Yes, had I famous ancestors, multiple branches of my family had leading roles in early American history. The most famous was Alexander Hamilton, but I can also trace my roots to John Webster, the first Governor of the Colony of Connecticut. I had a dream about John putting Mike on trial, and then burning him like a witch. Remember that? That was fun.

Having an Inferiority complex have never EVER run in my family. Just the opposite, actually. Got us in a lot of trouble. Alexander got SHOT! He learned his lesson about being too sure of himself, the hard way. I’m afraid you’re on the wrong track with that critique. You might try crazy as a tact, but even I can’t compete with the “Insiders” here that are actual mental patients arguing for their rights to bear arms. RIght here on Techdirt, really! You could not make this shit up, really. So perhaps crazy might not be a good tact either, given the society here.

Maybe you should just shut up, that might be good. Think about it.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Anonymous Coward, 3 Sep 2018 @ 1:50am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Hey Hamilton
Ok, I’ve gotta admit, this week can been INCREDIBLE! I forgot about Hannity talking about the Socialist Utopia, I swear the took his language DIRECTLY FROM TECHDIRT! I think Hannity reads Techdirt! You guys are FAMOUS! It can’t be an accident that the EXACT SAME arguments are playing out on National News with Hannity!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Anonymous Coward, 3 Sep 2018 @ 3:17am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Hey Hamilton
What are you gonna do about it? Other than bake up bullshit about people you aren’t related to and famous people you don’t know, oh and whine like a bitch.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Anonymous Coward, 3 Sep 2018 @ 4:03am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Hey Hamilton
I will report you to the management. Wait. Techdirt management doesn’t really exist.

I’ll report you as a misogynist and a woman hater and a critic of the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution to Hillary and John. She’ll put you in your place, she’s still a powerful woman, you’ll see. John Podesta will have a spirit cooking ceremony to straighten you out. The last guy he did that to was Trump, and look what happened to him. He’s still suffering bitterly from that.

At least that’s what John and Hillary said last time we shared a little blood and sperm by firelight. John’s Spirit Cooking Chef explained the ritual with specific instructions: “Mix fresh breast milk with fresh sperm milk drink on earthquake nights. With a sharp knife, cut deeply into the middle finger of your left hand. Eat the pain” read the other.

You just wait and see. You will suffer for your sins. Dreams will come to you, nasty dreams about locking up Hillary and then having prisoners take over the all the prisons in the WHOLE WORLD with her as the Female President of The United Criminals of the World and making you EAT YOUR WORDS naked and alone the street in front of every disgusting prisoner everywhere using VR in 3D on the Internet Dark Web! So there!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Anonymous Coward, 3 Sep 2018 @ 6:41am

I looked in the mirror and saw a Trump Fanatic
You know, reading my own words on this forum, year after year, article after article, censored comment after censored comment, I believe I am beginning to come to a rather surprising (to me) revelation - maybe I am a fanatic.

I mean, it’s easy to spot you left-wing fanatics with your talk of socialism and no crime and a Utopian Government where we are all deliriously happy with no police and no taxes and no sexual orientation. That kind of fanaticism is really easy to spot. I didn’t really understand until recently that maybe I have some fanaticism of my own.

I mean, I love Trump, I really do. He is saying what I am thinking, in most cases, and when he says something stupid, well, I’ve done that, too. When he messes up his lines and says the opposite of what he means I just mentally correct him and forgive him and accept him. That doesn’t seem unusual to me, it just seems like he deserves getting a break from me because he is getting so few breaks from the media. But then I think, is that really why? Or am I just a fanatic?

Do you remember when he defended himself from some bimbo by saying she had “blood coming out of her whatever”? Thinking back on that comment, it was rather shocking and evocative in a really disgusting way. On the other hand, you couldn’t PROVE he wasn’t talking about blood coming out of her eyes, which he later explained. That’s usually what the left and what democrats like Hillary do - they say all kinds of shit, and later they say you can’t PROVE that’s what i meant. Trump was doing the same crazy stuff. But I really liked it when he did it, and I really hated it when Hillary did it.

I see Trump the way I see myself, and I see Hillary as a criminal, as witnessed in my post above. Does it mean Trump’s NOT a criminal? Well, ask any attorney, or ask the guys here on Techdirt, we’re all criminals, there is some truth to that. But Trump sounds genuine to me, and Hillary sounds like a liar.

Is that where fanaticism comes from? Who you believe and who you don’t trust?

Here’s another example of why I think I’ve become a fanatic. I saw that juror on the Manafort trial explain the experience on TV. She loved Trump, had a hat and everything, but convicted Manafort. I think I would have let Manafort off, on behalf of Trump. I trust him so much I would have screwed due process, been a rebellious unmanageable juror, and let him off, I know myself, that’s what I would have done. I’m a fanatic, right? I would just explain to the other jurors that I believe the decision about justice was left up to me, and I believe he suffered enough, with solitary confinement and all, and his punishment was already disproportionate to his crime, and I would have let him off with a fine. It was a money crime, after all.

I’m a fanatic. It’s hard to see it another way. Trump has hypnotized me. I send him money with the same surety and trust and devotion I would give a priest, a good priest, a great priest, actually, not a mediocre priest. I can’t think of anyone else outside my immediate family I would just hand so much money over to in return for nothing but gratitude. Trump and Great Priests, that’s about it.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 3 Sep 2018 @ 6:51am

Re: I looked in the mirror and saw a Trump Fanatic
You know, reading my own words on this forum, year after year, article after article, censored comment after censored comment, I believe I am beginning to come to a rather surprising (to me) revelation - maybe I am a fanatic.

Yeah, thanks for not only realizing this over a year later, but also begging for the judge overlooking the Ayyadurai versus Masnick case to read all your comments that had been "censored".

You singlehandedly proved that the one guy who Shiva Ayyadurai has in his corner, fighting the good fight... is a self-professed and self-admitted lunatic.

Good job, Hamilton!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Anonymous Coward, 3 Sep 2018 @ 7:01am

Re: Re: I looked in the mirror and saw a Trump Fanatic
You raise a really interesting question - is Shiva a fanatic about Trump, too? I think he might be. Are there more of us? Are there more of us than there are of you? How many Trump fanatics are there, really? Think about it. Paranoid much?

Being a Trump fanatic is not equivalent to being a lunatic. I dunno, maybe it is. I can take the view for a moment: What kind of lunatic are you, really? I mean, what kind of fanaticism are you willing to admit to? Is there anything you believe in? Priests? Politicians? Anyone outside yourself, or are you the center of your own universe (like most people here)? Who do you selflessly support? Techdirt? Are you a Techdirt fanatic? Is it what you substitute for religion? Who do you trust and support and have confidence in?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Anonymous Coward, 3 Sep 2018 @ 7:09am

Re: Re: Re: I looked in the mirror and saw a Trump Fanatic
And I did not BEG the judge. No one in the Hamilton clan would BEG the judge for anything, you would know that, if you knew our rituals. If you want something from a judge, you have to PRAY to the judge. That’s on every legal paper since John Webster, I think maybe he invented it. PRAYERS, littlerally, I PRAY THAT blah blah blah you give me money from my opponent. PRAYERS, that’s how you get a judge’s attention, i learned this as a child in the ring kissing ceremony, but that’s another subject entirely, not for outside consumption. Not BEGGING, PRAYING. BEGGING is for dogs.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 3 Sep 2018 @ 7:24am

Re: Re: Re: Re: I looked in the mirror and saw a Trump Fanatic
BEGGING is for dogs.

Your newfound self-reflection never ceases to amaze me.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Anonymous Coward, 3 Sep 2018 @ 7:33am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I looked in the mirror and saw a Trump Fanatic
Have you seen the video on YouTube of Trump in Indiana? It starts like 45 minutes before Trump comes out. It shows the podium where he will speak, about 50 people, sitting and waiting for Trump. A few minutes after the beginning, the sound track begins. I love the soundtrack. Don’t stop believing, you’re the best, brown sugar, on and on, some opera mixed in, it’s a fabulous soundtrack before Trump comes on to speak. I can just sit and watch the people wait for Trump, happily, for 45 minutes, no problem. They dance a little, chat with each other, tell some jokes, hang out, they all feel like friends and neighbors and fellow Trump fanatics. There’s a guy in the bottom left, yellow shirt, construction helmet, a fireplug of a guy, very distinctive, with a slightly overweight wife. A guy on the right dancing a little gay, dressed a little too well, third row green shirt looks like green beret, doesn’t clap much, looks suspicious to me. Take a look, it’s probably easy to find. I have it set as my background music, now, free from YouTube, courtesy of POTUS. So cool.

Yes, I’m a fanatic, but I am not alone.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 3 Sep 2018 @ 7:44am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I looked in the mirror and saw a Trump Fanatic
Yes you are.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 3 Sep 2018 @ 7:45am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I looked in the mirror and saw a Trump Fanatic
Right... you and that list of "thousands of inventors hurt by Techdirt" who turned out to be reputation management SEOs and Janice Duffy. In the strictest sense, sure you're not alone.

Paul Hansmeier is still going to jail.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Anonymous Coward, 3 Sep 2018 @ 7:56am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I looked in the mirror and saw a Trump Fanatic
Whatever, Techdirt history speaks for itself. I don’t know who Paul Hansmeier is.

Don’t you leftist socialist dreamers need someone like Trump? Look at 42:55 of Trump in Indiana - “Ladies and Gentlemen - Donald J. Trump!” - Right to the main event, no warm up speakers. Proud to Be an An American, turned up high, people raising their phones to get a picture, “I wont forget the men who died, who gave that right to me” “God Bless the USA!” Several minutes of Trump posing while people celebrate being near them. Everyone feels great, “There’s pride in every American Heart, and I’m proud to be an American” On and on, it’s great, really. People love this kind of stuff. “There ain’t no doubt I love this land, God Bless the USA!”. Wow. This guy knows how to warm up a crowd with music, not that they need it. They love him already, people are literally glowing with happiness just to be near him.

Who is putting on your shows, you leftist socialist globalist corporatists? Who are you happy to be near? Who do you celebrate? That’s the problem with your stance - you hate everybody, and love nothing. We’re all racist, blah blah blah. Who do you love the way we love Trump? Who? Only yourselves? Zuckerberg? Mike Masnick?

You are a loveless bunch, you leftist socialist globalist haters.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 3 Sep 2018 @ 8:08am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I looked in the mirror and saw a Trump Fanatic
You don't know who Paul Hansmeier is?

Paul Hansmeier is the glorious defender of copyright who got arrested for wire fraud. In the name of defending copyright. Who you sobbed and wept over when the news broke of his downfall.

Just like you did for John Steele last year.

You really know how to pick them, Hamilton.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Anonymous Coward, 3 Sep 2018 @ 10:59pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I looked in the mirror and saw a Trump Fanatic
I don’t know any of them, don’t know why you think I do.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 3 Sep 2018 @ 11:10pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I looked in the mirror and saw a Trump Fanatic
Hey guy... your little bipolar bender wear off? You sound awfully quiet. Too bad we were hoping to watch you continue shitting the thread while we take bets on what medications you aren’t taking, that your doctor prescribed.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 Sep 2018 @ 12:05am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I looked in the mirror and saw a Trump Fanatic
Ah, Hamilton. You can learn skills such as self-reflection and recognizing how much of a fanatic you are, but you know what you can't do?

You can't cover your tracks if your life depended on it.

The article on John Steele's arrest is absolutely littered with your handiwork. Whining about how Techdirt must collapse if the country is to succeed. You can fuck with your IP addresses through proxies but your signature simpering style of writing sticks out like a polar bear's nose in a blizzard. And when Paul Hansmeier was arrested? More shitposting apologist nonsense about gosh, how could copyright holders possibly survive if their lawyers weren't allowed to lie?

You try so hard, Hamilton. You left so much material for the judge to look at. Unfortunately for you fanaticism doesn't go over so well in the judicial system.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 Sep 2018 @ 2:36am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I looked in the mirror and saw a Trump Fanatic
You should watch this, then you will understand me and my inspiration:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fzkBfTfiXS0

I have no idea what point you are trying to make about the judicial system, and I think you might be mistaking me for another gifted writer.

I advise prayer. It always helps me.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 Sep 2018 @ 3:47am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I looked in the mirror and saw a Trump Fanatic
Yes, because that worked out for you so well trying to have the judge define the definition of email so he could decide who invented it.

Oops! Maybe you should have prayed for him to read more of your "censored comments".
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 Sep 2018 @ 7:28am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I looked in the mirror and saw a Trump Fanatic
Oh we understand you. You’re a sad, pathetic, lonely, mentally ill, liar, and fraud, with a massive inferiority complex. And that denial? Really? You can’t even lie without trying to make yourself look good. So let’s add narcissist to the list of things you should be seeing a psych doctor for.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 Sep 2018 @ 9:34pm

Oh hey, I was wondering where this was. Did something get messed up in the queue(ueueueueueueue)?
[ link to this | view in thread ]