There Are No Girls on the Internet

Ashton Kutcher recently wrote a letter to a judge, asking for leniency for his friend and TV co-star Danny Masterson (Kelso and Hyde from That 70’s Show). It was surprising, because for the past decade Ashton Kutcher has been trying to rebrand himself as an anti-trafficking hero. Not just any anti-trafficking hero, but a tech guru type who could use the power of technology and venture capital to save the children. We take a look into his organization, Thorn. Like so many other “save the children” orgs before it, Thorn seems to be using rhetoric and misleading statistics about trafficked children to push laws that further criminalize and marginalize consenting adult sex workers.   Sex, lies, and surveillance: Something's wrong with the war on sex trafficking: https://www.engadget.com/2019-05-31-sex-lies-and-surveillance-fosta-privacy.html   Real Men Get Their Facts Straight: https://www.villagevoice.com/real-men-get-their-facts-straight/ Ashton Kutcher Claims He Helped Cops Save Way More Sex-Trafficking Victims Than Authorities Say They've Found: https://reason.com/2017/02/15/ashton-kutcher-plays-sex-worker-savior/ The bogus claim that 300,000 U.S. children are ‘at risk’ of sexual exploitation: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/05/28/the-bogus-claim-that-300000-u-s-children-are-at-risk-of-sexual-exploitation/   SEX TRAFFICKING Online Platforms and Federal Prosecutions : chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-21-385.pdfSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are you still on Twitter? Over on the Patreon we’re having a conversation about the decision to stay on the platform or leave: https://www.Patreon.com/tangoti     US law firm alters diversity fellowship criteria after lawsuit: https://news.yahoo.com/us-law-firm-alters-diversity-231155108.html    Good company! Indeed Will Give Trans Employees $10,000 to Relocate for Gender-Affirming Care: https://www.them.us/story/indeed-trans-employees-relocation   If You’ve Got a New Car, It’s a Data Privacy Nightmare: https://gizmodo.com/mozilla-new-cars-data-privacy-report-1850805416   Elon is being antisemitic on main, while Linda is tweeting about how much she likes sports! https://www.mediamatters.org/twitter/elon-musk-again-undermines-x-ceo-linda-yaccarino-reinforcing-why-advertisers-cant-trust-her   Airbnb is over in NYC: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/sep/06/new-york-city-airbnb-short-stay-booking-rental-rules-laws-impact   Grindr’s Return-to-Office Ultimatum Has Gutted a Uniquely Queer Space in Tech: https://www.wired.com/story/grindrs-return-to-office-ultimatum-gutted-a-uniquely-queer-space-in-tech/   The Decomposition of Rotten Tomatoes: The most overrated metric in movies is erratic, reductive, and easily hacked — and yet has Hollywood in its grip: https://www.vulture.com/article/rotten-tomatoes-movie-rating.htmlSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fearless Fund is a Black woman led venture capital firm that offers investment, financial support, and mentorship to Black women owned businesses.  But they are under attack for providing support for traditionally marginalized entrepreneurs. Edward Blum, the professional hater at the heart of the supreme court’s legal challenge of affirmative action, is suing them for what he says is racial discrimination.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Opt out of meta using your facebook to train ai (this isn't a fake fb chain letter, it's real!): https://www.zdnet.com/article/meta-uses-your-facebook-data-to-train-its-ai-heres-how-to-opt-out-sort-of/   College professor harassed students to quench 'clown fetish,' offering extra credit, cash: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2023/08/31/clown-fetish-professor-kent-northern-illinois-nicholls-state/70603544007/   Giuliani loses defamation lawsuit from two Georgia election workers: https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/30/politics/rudy-giuliani-georgia-election-workers/index.html   ACLU sues Mastercard on behalf of sex workers: https://www.aclu.org/news/lgbtq-rights/how-mastercard-is-endangering-sex-workers   Australia will not force adult websites to bring in age verification due to privacy and security concerns: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/aug/31/roadmap-for-age-verification-online-pornographic-material-adult-websites-australia-law Arkansas social media age verification law blocked at the last minute: https://www.axios.com/local/nw-arkansas/2023/08/31/social-media-age-verification-law-blocked-arkansasSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s been a historic year of wildfires in Canada. But as thousands in the country are trying to safely evacuate, Canadians can’t use Facebook or Instagram to get even basic information about what’s happening because Facebook has banned all news content in the country. Bridget talks with the always insightful Paris Marx about what it means and why it matters for Canadians, Americans, and democracy around the world.    Paris’ podcast Tech Won’t Save Us is one of our favorites. Listen here: https://techwontsave.us/   Paris’ Disconnect Newsletter: https://www.disconnect.blog/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome our producer Joey Patt, who is joining Bridget for their first news roundup!  Fresh & Fit, misogynistic manosphere podcast and enemies of the pod, demonetized on YouTube: https://www.insider.com/fresh-and-fit-host-cries-when-announcing-podcast-demonetization-2023-8 Bridget’s piece on Fresh & Fit from the Nation: https://www.thenation.com/article/society/toxic-podcasting/ DON’T MISS: Bridget’s long, petty take on Fresh & Fit on the patreon! https://www.patreon.com/tangoti Tik Tok’s draft plan with the Biden Administration revealed, would give U.S. government broad censorship powers that should make all Americans uncomfortable: https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilybaker-white/2023/08/21/draft-tiktok-cfius-agreement/?sh=3ee00abe112a Have you ever taken an Uber or gotten Instacart and then had a worker contact you to hit on you after the fact, and they could because they have your information? Yuck, right? Well you are not alone, sadly: https://www.businessinsider.com/delivery-drivers-asking-customers-sex-dates-2023-8?r=US&IR=T&utm_source=reddit.com Can AI creative work be copyrighted? NO. Silly rabbit, copyrights are for humans! https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-generated-art-cant-by-copyrighted-federal-judge-rules-2023-8 Elon wants to  remove headlines on news articles on Twitter: https://techcrunch.com/2023/08/22/x-is-planning-to-hide-headlines-from-news-links-for-improved-aesthetics/    And maybe he’s making his terrible jokes on Twitter to nobody because his followers are fake... https://mashable.com/article/elon-musk-inactive-followers-whole-x-platform  And he’s asking for your government ID (please don’t give it to him)   New data about autonomous vehicles is scary: https://gizmodo.com/driverless-cars-worse-kids-dark-skinned-people-study-1850770302 Autostraddle and independent queer media: https://defector.com/autostraddle-to-be-acquired-by-queer-wellness-company-for-hemSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hollywood screenwriters and actors have joined workers across the economy to demand better pay, better conditions, and better protections against encroaching technology. Because it’s not just about Hollywood - it’s about an entire country of working people who feel fed up with a dynamic where they get squeezed harder and harder to make someone else richer and richer.    Writer, actor, and producer Francesca Ramsey (Broad City! The Larry Wilmore Show! Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell!) says it’s about time. Technology has been a double edged sword for her. Her career in entertainment was launched on the Internet. But now she sees the ways that AI and streaming are being used by studio executives to push down wages and lock creatives out of profits.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to TANGOTI producer Joey Patt talk with the hosts of Stuff Mom Never Told You to break down why the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) is actually a threat to kids and the to the Internet: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-is-kosa-and-why-is-it-so-scary/id304531053?i=1000624187418    New Illinois law entitles kid influencers to earnings: https://fortune.com/2023/08/13/social-media-influencer-law-illinois-kids-sue-parents/     Iowa educators use ChatGPT to identify naughty books: https://www.popsci.com/technology/iowa-chatgpt-book-ban/    Jury awards Jane Doe 1 Billion dollars in damaged in vast online abuse campaign: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ex-boyfriend-explicit-photos-lawsuit_n_64da58f4e4b030f54dc70598     In a spectacularly ill conceived bill, Wisconsin state Senator wants to assume all Internet users are children and enforce lights out at 10pm: https://www.techdirt.com/2023/08/14/wisconsin-pushing-bill-that-requires-websites-to-treat-all-users-as-if-theyre-children/     Elon Musk throttles traffic to sites that criticize him because he loves free speech: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/08/15/twitter-x-links-delayed/    YouTube announces a policy to remove cancer misinformation; sounds great but will they enforce it?: https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/15/23832603/youtube-cancer-treatment-misinformation-policy-medical    Don't forget: emergency contraception is legal in all 50 states (plus DC!): https://www.americansocietyforec.org/    Jordan Peterson is cherry picking his blurbs: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-66520089   Where do you think he got that idea? LUANN: https://pagesix.com/2019/10/23/reviewer-talks-luann-de-lesseps-license-with-review-of-her-cabaret-show/   Don't miss out: Claim your share of the class action lawsuit against Facebook for improperly sharing your data (link is a redirect to the official site): www.TANGOTI.com/zuckbucks See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Writer Jane Friedman has a stellar reputation in publishing. But a huckster, armed with AI impersonations of her writing, was trying to scam folks by using her name on Amazon GoodReads. She raised hell, and last week Amazon finally took them down. But what about new authors who don’t have her huge platform? Who is looking out for them? Jane joins to talk about the threat AI presents to authors, publishing, and the rest of us.   I Would Rather See My Books Get Pirated Than This (Or: Why Goodreads and Amazon Are Becoming Dumpster Fires): https://janefriedman.com/i-would-rather-see-my-books-pirated/ Author discovers AI-generated counterfeit books written in her name on Amazon: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/08/author-discovers-ai-generated-counterfeit-books-written-in-her-name-on-amazon/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The role of misogynoir and disinformation in the Tory Lanez trial: www.Patreon.com/tangoti     Here’s the story on Jane Friedman, the author AI impersonated- Amazon author AI counterfeit books: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/08/author-discovers-ai-generated-counterfeit-books-written-in-her-name-on-amazon/ New Zoom AI policies were loudly hated across the internet: https://www.zdnet.com/article/zoom-is-entangled-in-an-ai-privacy-mess/?ftag and https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxjgvy/zoom-changes-tos-to-say-it-wont-train-ai-on-your-calls-without-your-consent-after-backlash Eight Months Pregnant and Arrested After False Facial Recognition Match: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/06/business/facial-recognition-false-arrest.html Here’s Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino’s full CNBC interview but you don’t really need to watch the whole thing to get the gist: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2023/08/10/watch-cnbcs-full-interview-with-x-corp-ceo-linda-yaccarino-on-twitter-rebrand-and-more.htmlSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.