Activist Amanda Werner discusses creating visibility for victims of identity theft by dressing as the Monopoly Man. Investigative journalist Marcy Wheeler analyzes the arrest of hacker Marcus Hutchins. Troy Hunt advocates for warning labels on IoT devices. The podcast also includes updates on the evolution of Season One's stories and the launch of a new Firefox browser.
Sending cakes to trolls as a form of retaliation and provoking a positive response through kindness.
The need to label Internet of Things devices to inform consumers about potential risks.
Deep dives
Troll Cakes Bakery and Detective Agency: Sending troll cakes with offensive quotes
In an episode titled 'Online Life is Real Life,' the podcast highlights the Troll Cakes Bakery and Detective Agency. This bakery sends cakes to trolls with their own offensive quotes written on them. The podcast features an interview with the baker, Cat Thek, who explains her intention to send trolls a lousy cake as a way to play dirty, but also to provoke a high road response through a nice cake.
Equifax Data Breach and Monopoly Man Protest
The podcast episode sheds light on the Equifax data breach and the subsequent controversies surrounding the company. It mentions the protest at a public hearing, where a person dressed as Mr. Monopoly criticized the company's response to the breach. The episode also discusses the arrest of Marcus Hutchins, a security researcher, who became famous for stopping the WannaCry virus. The podcast explores the debate around the charges and whether his arrest was an attempt to obtain information about other cyber activities.
Debate on Internet Platform Responsibility and Hate Speech
The podcast covers a discussion on free expression on the web and the role of internet platforms in policing hate speech. It features conversations with Graham Bunton from Tucows, who discusses their approach to domain name registrations, and Brandy Collins, Jillian York, and Anil Dash, who explore the challenges faced by foreign internet companies in moderating hate speech. The podcast also presents an idea proposed by Troy Hunt to label internet of things devices, similar to cigarette packages, to inform consumers about the potential risks associated with using such devices.
In this bonus episode, we check in on some of Season One’s stories and see how they’ve evolved. Activist Amanda Werner talks about their turn as the Monopoly Man at the Equifax hearings, and how to create visibility for victims of identity theft. Investigative journalist Marcy Wheeler follows the case of hacker Marcus Hutchins, and tries to make sense of why he was arrested. Troy Hunt argues that IoT devices need warning labels. And, drumroll, we hear back from a troll we sent a cake to last season.
IRL is an original podcast from Mozilla. For more on the series go to irlpodcast.org.
Life on the Internet moves fast. Director of Firefox Runtime Selena Deckelmann explains why every millisecond matters. Learn more.
And, keep it clean out there. Check out our data detox kit for more ways to keep your personal info safe.
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