Pluralistic: The technopolitics of ad-tech (19 Oct 2026)

Today's links

The technopolitics of ad-tech: Spying is good for tech, context is good for publishers.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: PNH x Mike Ford; Singapore v Far East Economic Review; Publishing v bestsellers; Architecture v security; Vista v everyone; Free Bieber; Belarus sells the sugar bowls; OCCUPY GEORGE; Grey type sucks; Spinal Tap v studio math; Terry Pratchett x $10t coin; Boy Scouts x copyright maximialism; Canadian Tories x DRM; Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan; ACLu v secret laws; Fined for suing the cops who shot you; Chicago PD steals millions for cop toys; Turing's Law; Copyleft v Vizio; Trump's killswitch.
Upcoming appearances: Vancouver, Victoria, Ottawa, Vienna, Kilkenny, Oxford, Sheffield, Virtual, Oxford, Montreal.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Israeli ad-tech company was a delivery system for "mercenary spyware": And they used Google, Facebook and every other major ad platform to do it.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Big Mouth Billy Bass x Linux; No-Fly lists v common sense; Lemony Snicket advises the 1%; "Aloha From Hell"; KSR v Elon Musk; "Everything Belongs to the Future"; Trump's mail-servers run Win2003; Copyfraud v covid.
Upcoming appearances: Vancouver, Victoria, Ottawa, Vienna, Kilkenny, Oxford, Sheffield, Virtual, Oxford, Montreal.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Google skates: Another federal judge loses a game of peek-a-boo.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Memory-hacking ads; "Dzur"; NZ Ministry of DRM; Canadians v looking at the internet; Advice for self-publishers; Advice for writers; Why Wikipedia works.
Upcoming appearances: Dąbrowa Górnicza, Warsaw, Brighton, London, Budapest, Edmonton, South Bend, Hudson, Calgary, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Victoria, Ottawa.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Ad-tech is fascist tech: Surveillance advertising is just surveillance.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Washpo v Bernie; Activists v Saif Gadaffi's London mansion; Spacefaring v contract language; Tuna-can tiffin pail; France v encryption.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

The 40-year economic mistake that let Google conquer (and enshittify) the world: If reality doesn't fit the theory, ignore reality.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: The Master Switch; Dueling useless machines; Chrome delists Symantec; Someone tried to buy the UK; "Made to Kill"; #Audiblegate; Sony lies about de-rootkitifier; “Aurora”; Bluesky and enshittification; Polostan; New Zealand's 3 strikes law; Open Kinekt drivers; Co-op platforms vs Uber; Chelsea Manning's surveillance reform bill.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

They're just trying to earn a buck: No, they're taking what they can get.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Milk jug Storm Trooper; HIV-positive muppet; Optimal copyright; EU v NSA; Pig bomb; Maine's disgraceful public defenders; Google Reader launches; Bill Gates hates Blu-Ray; NYPD steals Black woman's BMW and puts her in a mental institution; Baby flask; Zombie mouth cupcakes.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Mark Zuckerberg announces mind-control ray (again): The business model for AI is the same as the business model for Big Data – bilking credulous advertisers.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: 2005, 2010, 2105, 2020, 2024
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Ad-tech targeting is an existential threat: Targeting people with chronic illnesses, parents of sick kids, military personnel with gambling problems, seniors with dementia, and national security decisionmakers.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: 2005, 2015, 2020, 2024
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.