Elon Musk: Always A Douche

[viper37]

Reddit's locking down is mostly in response to AI scraping I hear.

Yeah, but there's a lot of bullshit going on with Reddit and their schemes.

[crazy canuck]

Why would he turn down money for nothing?  He already apparently accepted money to work with Musk, once you take that plunge why why would he stop?

Because he is a professional, and he would prefer to work with someone who is serious.  If Musk isn't serious, he will walk away from the money.

Do you know that musk has a lot of lawyers working for him right?

[Grey Fox]

GSP is not that professional. Dude did take bet99 and Disney's money.

[crazy canuck]

GSP is not that professional. Dude did take bet99 and Disney's money.

In the way you guys are using the word he is the consummate professional. He's just being paid for what he does.

[viper37]

Why would he turn down money for nothing?  He already apparently accepted money to work with Musk, once you take that plunge why why would he stop?

Because he is a professional, and he would prefer to work with someone who is serious.  If Musk isn't serious, he will walk away from the money.

Do you know that musk has a lot of lawyers working for him right?

Doesn't mean that GSP hasn't drafted his contract with his own lawyer and his own clause.

[viper37]

GSP is not that professional. Dude did take bet99 and Disney's money.

Lots of athletes take gambling sites' money to advertise them.  Lots of stars are on Disney's payroll too.

[Grey Fox]

Sellouts, the lot of them.

[grumbler]

Sellouts, the lot of them.

Without corporate advertising dollars the professional sports leagues would not exist.  Professional sports "sold out" a long time ago.

[viper37]

Sellouts, the lot of them.

Yes they are.  Lots of Habs players made ads for McD after all.  And Crosby was advertising for Tim Horton's for a while.  I doubt he buys that shit coffee.

[Valmy]

What, are hockey players too good for Tim Horton's?

[crazy canuck]

Why would he turn down money for nothing?  He already apparently accepted money to work with Musk, once you take that plunge why why would he stop?

Because he is a professional, and he would prefer to work with someone who is serious.  If Musk isn't serious, he will walk away from the money.

Do you know that musk has a lot of lawyers working for him right?

Doesn't mean that GSP hasn't drafted his contract with his own lawyer and his own clause.

You missed the point. Musk has a lot of professionals working for him. Despite the fact he can't be taken seriously at this point.

[crazy canuck]

What, are hockey players too good for Tim Horton's?

If so, all hockey players who started out in Tim Hortons sponsored teams need to hang their heads in shame.

[viper37]

You missed the point. Musk has a lot of professionals working for him. Despite the fact he can't be taken seriously at this point.

Ah.

Well, I just meant that if GSP sees that Musk doesn't want to train, he'll walk away before the fight.  If the fight goes on.

I'm not sure it will go on, but you never know with Musk.

[Sheilbh]

Just saw this but a little old. There's a new EU law that's been talked about a lot in this thread (the DSA) which is often described as anti-disinformation etc and is basically a regulation for the big platform.

The EU Commissioner responsible has responded positively to Macron's suggestion that the law could be used to basically shut down social media and certain content during riots or public unrest. Note Breton uses "immediately" four times in that very short quote. I'd also add that under this law the public authorities who can make these demands of social media platform are incredibly broadly defined (but would include the police, intelligence services etc) and do not require a court order - it's an administrative process. So basically everything civil libertarians warned about is confirmed within about six months of the law passing which feels like a rather unfortunate record

Social media riot shutdowns possible under EU content law, top official says
Thierry Breton responds to French President Emmanuel Macron's idea.
By Clothilde Goujard and Nicolas Camut   
July 10, 2023 11:07 am CET

Social media platforms like TikTok and Snapchat will face possible shutdowns when they don't crack down on problematic content during riots under the European Union's content law, Internal Commissioner Thierry Breton said Monday.

Breton, a French politician, was responding in a French radio interview to comments by French President Emmanuel Macron that floated closing down some social media to clamp down on riots. Some critics likened this to measures seen in authoritarian states like China and Iran.

"When there is hateful content, content that calls – for example – for revolt, that also calls for killing and burning of cars, they will be required to delete [the content] immediately," Breton said in the interview on France Info, citing the Digital Services Act which will impose new requirements on large platforms from August 25.

"If they fail to do so, they will be immediately sanctioned. We have teams who can intervene immediately," he said. "If they don't act immediately, then yes, at that point we'll be able not only to impose a fine but also to ban the operation [of the platforms] on our territory."

Nineteen very large online platforms including TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter will have to comply with new legal obligations to limit the spread of illegal and harmful content from next month. Platforms with over 45 million users in the EU will also have to hand the Commission a first detailed assessment of their major risks for users. They risk potential fines of up to 6 percent of their global revenue.

Breton also said the Commission will carry out a "stress test" on TikTok next week to check how ready it is to comply with the new rules. Twitter has already done a test and Meta has agreed to be tested this month.

The message from the EU here is that internet shutdowns are a permissible tool in responding to civil unrest and that the DSA provides a legitimising model for their use and rapid deployment. I suspect it'll be copied by less savoury regimes who will be able to say they're simply following European best practice. It feels like if a European country has (as France just did) a catalyst like the killing of Nahel that we'll see social media restrictions very quickly - it might stop the spread of inciting content, but it is also very likely to stop the spread of real grievances.

And I know I keep flagging it (because it's also working its way into UK law) - and I am far from a free speech absolutist - but I still think the concept of mandating companies to regulate "legal but harmful" speech is a really dodgy idea that we shouldn't be exploring.

It does help give an example of why regulating the social media platforms is tricky but I still think this law is really really problematic - even if it does allow European politicians like Breton to pose about making Musk's life difficult.

[OttoVonBismarck]

Yeah, I hadn't been following the DSA too closely, but this is the first I have heard it would contain such a provisions. I think that is a power government should not have in a free society.