Pluralistic: No honor among (ad-tech) thieves (25 May 2026)

Today's links

No honor among (ad-tech) thieves: Including "and" and "the."
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Budweiser nunchuks; GOP vote-suppressor voted illegally; Airbnb enshittifies; Oculus enshittifies; Nintendo copyfrauds its fans; Meritocracy to eugenics pipeline; Ultima Online crisis management; SNES cartridge urinal; JJ Abrams x Axanar, "Sex Criminals"; Beating school filters for fun; Orphan works; Japanese ATM heist; How the Sacklers rigged the game.
Upcoming appearances: London, Kansas City, LA, Menlo Park, Toronto, NYC, Edinburgh.
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.

How not to ban surveillance pricing: Maryland's new consumer protection law is all loophole.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Google's 8,000 Linux servers; Battleshoe; Knitted potholes; Unpack the court; "Robot Artists and Black Swans"; Enshittifying tech jobs.
Upcoming appearances: Berlin, NYC, Barcelona, Hay-on-Wye, London, NYC.
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.

Trump antitrust is dead: The "populist right" was doomed to fail.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Premature internet activists; Privacy Without Monopoly; "Broad Band"; Yazidi supersoldiers; I was a Jeopardy! clue.
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.

Trump steals $400b from American workers: You get a noncompete, and you get a noncompete, and you get a noncompete!
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Spying baby-monitors; FBI tests spy-gear at Burning Man; Little Brother optioned by Paramount; Best-paid CEOs have worst-paid workers.
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.

Trump's not gonna protect workers from forced labor: But states hate noncompete "agreements."
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Non-Singularity futures, CBP corruption, Sun Ra's syllabus, Snowden on Little Brother, EU interop, bossware.
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.

Mike Lee and Jim Jordan want to kill the law that bans companies from cheating you: Section 5 of the FTC Act is a century-old Swiss Army Knife for fighting corruption.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: 2005, 2010, 2015, 2020
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.