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The Bogosity Podcast,
early and ad-free!
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Become a subscriber at Patreon,
SubscribeStar, or Discord.
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Use the links at donate.bogosity.tv.
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Welcome to the Bogosity Podcast for the week of
July 27 2025, the podcast that released the kraken.
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This is your host, Shane Killian.
Let's codify the News of the Bogus.
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And now, history is made
in the energy sector
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as the NRC approves the very first restart
of a decommissioned nuclear power plant.
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The Palisades Nuclear Power Plant
in Covert Township, Michigan
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will be the first commercial reactor in the
US to restart after being shut down in 2022.
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Originally online in 1971, Consumers
Energy sold the plant to Entergy in 2007,
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and at that time its license
was extended to 2031.
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But just a few years later,
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under Barack Obama the NRC attacked the plant as
one of the four worst-performing power plants,
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which ultimately led the Michigan Public Service
Commission to order an eventual shutdown.
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Originally planned for 2018, the
shutdown was held over until 2022
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so that Entergy could complete the
purchase agreement with Consumers Energy.
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Entergy then sold the decommissioned
plant to Holtec International.
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Holtec originally applied for a restart approval
at that time, but it was denied by the NRC.
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Now, a new agreement has been reached, alongside
$1.5 million in loans from the Department of Energy.
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The NRC said in a statement, quote:
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"While these NRC approvals will allow Holtec to load fuel,
there are still several licensing actions under NRC review
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and additional requirements that need to be met before the
plant can start up under the original operating license,
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which would expire March 24, 2031."
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Holtec said it was undergoing, quote:
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"Rigorous testing, inspections, and
maintenance" to get the plant ready for restart.
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They're not only working to
meet approvals by the NRC,
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but also to meet more stringent standards under
the World Association of Nuclear Operators.
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It's helped along by newfound support for nuclear
power from both parties in the Michigan legislature
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as well as Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
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Of course, that hasn't stopped stupid environmentalist
groups like the Sierra Club attacking it,
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calling it, quote: "dangerous,
dirty, slow, and expensive."
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Of course, none of those are the case.
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The facility has a single PWR unit generating
805 megawatts of baseload electricity.
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In addition, Holtec plans to add two 300MW SMRs
which should hopefully go online by mid-2030.
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Michigan has 15 years to reach a self-imposed
mandate of 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040.
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And as usual, they're finding that wind
and solar just aren't up to the task,
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since in order to provide
steady baseload power
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you'd need major advances in battery technology and
long-range transmission that just aren't here yet.
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Although the three reactors at the Browns Ferry plant
in Alabama were restart after a six-year-long shutdown,
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they had never begun
decommissioning.
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This is the first time a decommissioned
reactor will be restarted.
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And hopefully, it won't be the last. So many
reactors were shut down for completely bogus reasons.
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All of that perfectly good energy, and those
perfectly good systems to put it on the grid,
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just sitting there, decaying, and going to waste.
It's a crying shame.
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Sometimes you just have
to STOMP SOME SKULLS.
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From the mind of Mr. Dapperton,
a game for the ages!
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In a world where a race of undead furries
tries to take over the world's nuclear arsenal,
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one man must stop them, but which man?
You choose!
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The Orange Overlord...
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Berny Slanders...
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Debate Dominator...
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or Joe Sleepy.
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And of course,
Mr. Fancy Pants himself!
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Forget those losers! You can get the GOLD
edition and play as four more characters!
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Including me, the Spooky Spaceman,
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along with Billionaire
Brat, Professor Proof,
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and the easiest way to
play: as Jesus Himself!
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Seven complete different worlds,
with more coming all the time.
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Full controller support.
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You can even get...eaten by a worm!
And pooped out into a furry cathedral.
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And don't forget that Gold Edition, where you can
play the ultimate challenge: Devil's Doorstep!
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This gory, satirical
adventure pulls no punches!
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You know you want this game!
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Go to links.bogosity.tv/skullstompers
and play Skull Stompers now!
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So Elon Musk and X Corp now have a win
in the normally-corrupt DC court system.
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The DC Circuit Court of Appeals has
lifted an unconstitutional gag order
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the DC Circuit Court imposed on them.
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The judge had prohibited
them from, quote:
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"disclosing subpoenas, warrants, or
court orders for customer records."
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Yes, they could have demanded information about you and X
would have been prohibited from even telling you about it!
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To make matters worse, quote:
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"The district court found that the order was
statutorily authorized and constitutional.
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In reaching its decision, the district court relied
on evidence submitted by the government ex parte
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and largely declined X's request that the government
produce those ex parte submissions for X's review."
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That's right: X Corp didn't even get a chance to counter
their arguments or even know what their arguments were!
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And the judge warned, quote: "X can also reasonably
expect to face another nondisclosure order
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based on an authorizing
order of this kind."
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The issue is the Stored
Communications Act,
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which lets the government subpoena electronic
service providers for user records.
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It also, in very limited ways, allows the government to
seek an order prohibiting disclosure of the subpoena.
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That's supposed to be a high bar to cross.
They'd need to show that the disclosure "will"—
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and it uses the word "will", not "might" or
"perhaps would", but "will"—have an averse effect,
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something like putting someone in physical danger, or a
flight risk, or evidence tampering, that sort of thing.
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The problem is, when the government sought this
gag order, they didn't have a subpoena at all!
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They just wanted a general ruling that they
could issue whatever subpoenas they want
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and X couldn't tell anyone about it.
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This went on to be applied
to a subpoena from the feds
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demanding personal information from two FBI
agents, Kyle Seraphin and Garrett O'Doyle.
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Remember them?
We talked about them. They were two whistleblowers
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who disclosed to Congress that the FBI was
improperly targeting politically disfavored groups.
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In retaliation, Seraphin and O'Doyle were
fired and subject to a criminal investigation.
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X wanted to transparently disclose the government's
subpoena to the public, but the gag order prevented them.
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In the unanimous ruling penned
by Judge Brad Garcia, he wrote:
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"The government did not have any particular subpoena or
subpoenas in hand when it submitted that application.
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Instead, it asked for authority
to attach a nondisclosure order
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to any of the many subpoenas it might issue
in one investigation over the next year."
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"If the order covers just one subpoena that is
before the court, the inquiry is straightforward:
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The court must find reason to believe disclosing
that subpoena will result in a statutory harm.
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If the order covers
multiple subpoenas, though,
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the court must make a determination
that addresses all those subpoenas.
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Similarly, if the order applies
to future, hypothetical subpoenas,
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the court ordinarily must identify the types
of subpoenas to which its order can apply
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so it can explain why it has reason to believe
disclosure of those potential subpoenas will cause harm."
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Again, note the word "will."
And the government had no such reason. Quote:
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"The magistrate judge did not address
how the court's reason to believe
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applied to subpoenas that might
be issued months in the future.
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Nothing suggests that the judge grappled
with the potential variety in the subpoenas,
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including the range of targets,
that her orders might cover.
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And the judge never explained how her reason
to believe applied to each of those subpoenas.
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The government has little
to say in response."
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They did, sadly, stop short of addressing
X's challenge on First Amendment grounds,
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out of, quote: "judicial restraint."
Cowards.
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Still, maybe it's a good trend. Once a few circuits
strike it for the more mealy-mouthed reasons,
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it'll give others, or
even the Supreme Court,
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the courage to strike it down as the First
Amendment violation it so obviously is.
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If you're on the Wi-Fi in
a coffee shop or hotel,
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anyone on that network can
get access to your traffic.
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Do you really trust
all of those strangers?
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00:10:34,330 --> 00:10:37,210
For that matter, do you
really trust your ISP?
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A VPN can protect you from prying eyes, disguise
your location, and even foil government censors.
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It's essential in this day and age, so go to
vpn.bogosity.tv and you'll be taken to BoxPN.
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Starting at just $2.99/month,
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00:10:51,930 --> 00:10:56,490
you can get unlimited high-speed connections
to VPN servers all over the world,
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00:10:56,490 --> 00:10:59,930
and they don't log connections
so your privacy is assured.
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Travelling abroad, just VPN home and don't worry
about what those other governments are doing.
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00:11:05,050 --> 00:11:08,010
Back at home, stop your
ISP from traffic-shaping
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00:11:08,010 --> 00:11:11,930
and messing with the quality internet
access you're paying good money for.
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00:11:11,930 --> 00:11:15,690
You can connect from multiple machines at
once, including your smartphone or tablet,
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00:11:15,690 --> 00:11:20,730
and it supports all the secure
standards including OpenVPN and SSTP.
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00:11:20,730 --> 00:11:27,396
Bypass censors and surveillance with your own
secure VPN connection. Go to vpn.bogosity.tv.
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00:11:33,690 --> 00:11:38,250
Of course, over in the EU, the fight
for free speech is even harder.
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Having no real bill of rights that they have to contend
with, there's nothing stopping the EU from, in this case,
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making incredibly onerous regulations
over political advertising.
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00:11:49,516 --> 00:11:55,050
So onerous that both Google and Meta
have said they're just not gonna do it.
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At all. Screw you, EU!
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Meta said in a statement: "Beginning
in October, Meta—like other platforms—
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will no longer allow political, electoral
and social issue ads our platforms in the EU,
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00:12:10,570 --> 00:12:14,792
given the unworkable requirements
and legal uncertainties introduced
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by the EU's Transparency and Targeting of
Political Advertising (TTPA) regulation.
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00:12:21,450 --> 00:12:25,770
The TTPA will restrict how
advertisers can reach their audiences
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and means people will also
see less relevant content.
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00:12:30,170 --> 00:12:35,450
Meta remains committed to enabling
political speech and fair elections.
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00:12:35,450 --> 00:12:42,730
This won't prevent people or candidates in the EU from
posting about and debating politics on our platforms."
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According to the Council of the
EU, quote (bad grammar and all):
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"Targeting political advertising online will
be permitted only under strict conditions.
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The data has to be collected from the data subject
and it can be used only after the data subject
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00:12:59,607 --> 00:13:05,210
have given explicit and separate consent
for its use for political advertising.
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00:13:05,210 --> 00:13:09,054
Special categories of personal
data, such as data revealing
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00:13:09,055 --> 00:13:14,077
racial or ethnic origin or political
opinions, cannot be used for profiling.
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To prevent foreign interference, there will be
a ban on the provision of advertising services
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to third country sponsors three months
before an election or referendum."
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If that last part sounds familiar,
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that's because it mirrors the Bipartisan Campaign
Reform Act, also known as McCain–Feingold,
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00:13:33,690 --> 00:13:38,570
the very law the Supreme Court
struck down in Citizens United.
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In that case, the FEC had prohibited Citizens United
from showing their documentary, Celsius 41.11,
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00:13:46,069 --> 00:13:51,246
a response to Michael Moore's film
Fahrenheit 9/11, which they allowed.
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The difference, thery said, was that
Citizens United wasn't a proper film company.
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Four years later, they stopped them from
putting their documentary Hillary: The Movie
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on DirecTV for pay-per-view.
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00:14:05,210 --> 00:14:08,410
In other words, it set
up two classes of people:
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the "real" filmmakers and press, who get to
say whatever they want before an election,
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00:14:13,690 --> 00:14:20,010
and the plebs like you and me who
somehow think we get the same freedom.
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00:14:20,010 --> 00:14:27,770
The EU is saying the same thing: their favored media outlets
get to say what they want three months before an election,
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00:14:27,770 --> 00:14:33,370
but don't you dare think you get the same
rights, even if you pay for the ad space!
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Meta said, quote:
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00:14:34,971 --> 00:14:41,530
"Unfortunately, the TTPA introduces significant,
additional obligations to our processes and systems
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00:14:41,530 --> 00:14:45,450
that create an untenable level of
complexity and legal uncertainty
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00:14:45,450 --> 00:14:49,210
for advertisers and platforms
operating in the EU.
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00:14:49,210 --> 00:14:54,730
For example, the TTPA places extensive
restrictions on ad targeting and delivery
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00:14:54,730 --> 00:14:59,690
which would restrict how political and social
issue advertisers can reach their audiences
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00:14:59,690 --> 00:15:03,850
and lead to people seeing less
relevant ads on our platforms.
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00:15:03,850 --> 00:15:08,107
It is yet another threat to the
principles of personalized advertising,
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00:15:08,107 --> 00:15:13,449
ignoring the benefits to advertisers
and the people they want to reach."
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00:15:13,449 --> 00:15:16,169
Google made a similar
statement last year, quote:
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00:15:16,169 --> 00:15:25,129
"The TTPA defines political advertising so broadly that it
could cover ads related to an extremely wide range of issues
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00:15:25,129 --> 00:15:29,129
that would be difficult to
reliably identify at scale.
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00:15:29,129 --> 00:15:32,809
There is also a lack of
reliable local election data
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00:15:32,809 --> 00:15:38,649
permitting consistent and accurate
identification of all ads related to any local,
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00:15:38,649 --> 00:15:44,729
regional or national election
across any of 27 EU Member States."
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00:15:44,729 --> 00:15:48,329
And their solution?
Just not to do it, quote:
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00:15:48,329 --> 00:15:52,969
"As a result, Google will stop serving
political advertising in the EU
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00:15:52,969 --> 00:15:57,449
before the TTPA enters
into force in October 2025.
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00:15:57,449 --> 00:16:03,609
Additionally, paid political promotions, where
they qualify as political ads under the TTPA,
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00:16:03,609 --> 00:16:07,689
will no longer be permitted
on YouTube in the EU."
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00:16:07,689 --> 00:16:10,809
So now, Meta has followed suit, quote:
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00:16:10,809 --> 00:16:15,369
"Despite extensive engagement with
policymakers to share these concerns,
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00:16:15,369 --> 00:16:18,169
we have been left with
an impossible choice:
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00:16:18,169 --> 00:16:24,551
alter our services to offer an advertising product
which doesn't work for advertisers or users,
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00:16:24,551 --> 00:16:29,209
without guarantee that our solution
would be viewed as compliant,
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00:16:29,209 --> 00:16:35,129
or stop allowing political, electoral
and social issue ads in the EU.
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00:16:35,129 --> 00:16:38,969
We're not the only company to have
been forced into this position.
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Once again, we're seeing
regulatory obligations
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00:16:41,929 --> 00:16:48,649
effectively remove popular products and services
from the market, reducing choice and competition."
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00:16:48,649 --> 00:16:52,569
Of course, regulatory requirements
never do anything else.
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00:16:52,569 --> 00:16:56,969
In fact, it quite often is the
point—as it may indeed be here.
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00:16:56,969 --> 00:17:02,169
If the EU is doing this to silence
voices that go against the mainstream,
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00:17:02,169 --> 00:17:05,413
that generally can only get
attention through advertising,
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00:17:05,413 --> 00:17:08,880
well, mission accomplished I guess.
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00:17:14,329 --> 00:17:17,929
I want to tell you about the
eyeglasses I've been wearing for years.
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00:17:17,929 --> 00:17:21,369
As people can see on my videos, I
have a very strong prescription,
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00:17:21,369 --> 00:17:25,369
which makes glasses more expensive,
especially when I need computer glasses,
202
00:17:25,369 --> 00:17:27,689
reading glasses,
prescription sunglasses,
203
00:17:27,689 --> 00:17:32,329
and most expensively, progressive
lenses for general everyday wear.
204
00:17:32,329 --> 00:17:36,729
To save money while still getting
quality glasses, I get them from Firmoo.
205
00:17:36,729 --> 00:17:40,809
In fact, I just got a pair of progressives
with high index aspherical lenses
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00:17:40,809 --> 00:17:45,049
in a nice pair of frames my
wife loves, for just over $100.
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00:17:45,049 --> 00:17:48,329
It would have been $500 to get
them through my eye doctor.
208
00:17:48,329 --> 00:17:51,129
Not only do they look good,
the glasses are durable.
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00:17:51,129 --> 00:17:54,649
I've worn many pairs for
several years without problems.
210
00:17:54,649 --> 00:17:57,209
All orders come with a
30-day return policy,
211
00:17:57,209 --> 00:18:00,809
a 3-month warranty, and
one-on-one customer service.
212
00:18:00,809 --> 00:18:09,529
Go to firmoo.bogosity.tv any time you
need quality glasses at a low price.
213
00:18:09,529 --> 00:18:13,795
Once again, that's
firmoo.bogosity.tv.
214
00:18:22,329 --> 00:18:27,609
And now it's time to recrystallize
this week's Biggest Bogon Emitter.
215
00:18:27,609 --> 00:18:32,569
Goddammit, this is supposed to be
the 21st century, not the Dark Ages!
216
00:18:32,569 --> 00:18:37,769
Haven't we had enough of the
moralizing busybodies for one species?
217
00:18:37,769 --> 00:18:43,849
But no, with modern third-wave feminism,
it's like having the Hays Office back again!
218
00:18:43,849 --> 00:18:50,969
And now, they're refusing to process payments for game
developers that make games that are not safe for work.
219
00:18:50,969 --> 00:18:57,369
Mastercard and Visa have convinced Valve to
implement a new clause in its Steamworks ToS
220
00:18:57,369 --> 00:19:00,649
to hand over editorial
approval to them,
221
00:19:00,649 --> 00:19:08,569
and has already disproportionately targeted developers
of visual novels, self-published works, and erotic games.
222
00:19:08,569 --> 00:19:14,729
Combine an attack on indie developers with an
anti-porn brigade. That's what you have here.
223
00:19:14,729 --> 00:19:22,351
It's also way disproportionately affected Japanese
game developers, so it's kind of racist, too.
224
00:19:22,352 --> 00:19:24,969
The new clause forbids, quote:
225
00:19:24,969 --> 00:19:30,286
"Content that may violate the rules and
standards set forth by Steam's payment processors
226
00:19:30,287 --> 00:19:34,889
and related card networks and banks,
or internet network providers.
227
00:19:34,889 --> 00:19:39,129
In particular, certain kinds
of adult only content."
228
00:19:39,129 --> 00:19:41,529
Yeah, nice and vague, right?
229
00:19:41,529 --> 00:19:45,400
And apparently, anime is a
favorite target of theirs.
230
00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:50,711
Even if the content is perfectly legal
even in ultra-conservative Japan,
231
00:19:50,711 --> 00:19:57,849
anime, even of the non-adult variety, is
being targeted as inherently pedophilic.
232
00:19:57,849 --> 00:20:04,249
Together, Mastercard and Visa control
about 90% of global online transactions.
233
00:20:04,249 --> 00:20:09,204
If an $8 billion company like
Valve can't confront them, who can?
234
00:20:09,204 --> 00:20:14,009
Definitely not itch.io, merely
valued in the tens of millions.
235
00:20:14,009 --> 00:20:18,649
They've already de-indexed—in
other words, shadowbanned—quote:
236
00:20:18,649 --> 00:20:23,369
"all adult NSFW content from
our browse and search pages."
237
00:20:23,369 --> 00:20:27,449
And so far, that's over 20,000 titles.
238
00:20:27,449 --> 00:20:31,209
And it's due to those self-same
payment processors, quote:
239
00:20:31,209 --> 00:20:33,929
"We understand this action
is sudden and disruptive,
240
00:20:33,929 --> 00:20:38,569
and we are truly sorry for the frustration
and confusion caused by this change.
241
00:20:38,569 --> 00:20:42,089
Recently, we came under scrutiny
from our payment processors
242
00:20:42,089 --> 00:20:46,409
regarding the nature of some
content hosted on itch.io.
243
00:20:46,409 --> 00:20:51,369
Our ability to process payments is
critical for every creator on our platform.
244
00:20:51,369 --> 00:20:56,489
To ensure that we can continue to operate
and provide a marketplace for all developers,
245
00:20:56,489 --> 00:21:03,369
we must prioritize our relationship with our payment
partners and take immediate steps towards compliance."
246
00:21:03,369 --> 00:21:07,142
They didn't even have time to give
these creators advance notice.
247
00:21:07,142 --> 00:21:12,889
Mastercard and Visa have the power to cancel
all transactions through their systems,
248
00:21:12,889 --> 00:21:17,528
which could easily make platforms
like itch.io go down completely.
249
00:21:17,528 --> 00:21:23,288
When the bullies are that big, they
much more closely resemble mobsters.
250
00:21:23,288 --> 00:21:27,368
And it has the same consequences
we've seen so many times:
251
00:21:27,368 --> 00:21:33,435
Game developers are reporting that their games are
being removed even though they're not selling them!
252
00:21:33,436 --> 00:21:38,808
They're giving away their game for free, and
hoping you'll just join their Patreon or something,
253
00:21:38,808 --> 00:21:42,808
and yet the payment processors
still get them taken down.
254
00:21:42,808 --> 00:21:48,408
Without the devs being told what rule it
was the game was supposed to have broken.
255
00:21:48,408 --> 00:21:53,528
An Australian anti-porn group, Collective
Shout (it's all in the name, isn't it?),
256
00:21:53,528 --> 00:21:55,791
took credit for the censorship.
257
00:21:55,792 --> 00:22:02,236
It started, as it often does, with a particularly
vile game that few people would defend.
258
00:22:02,236 --> 00:22:09,448
No Mercy is apparently a horrible game that
glorifies sexual violence and hatred of women.
259
00:22:09,448 --> 00:22:16,568
Disclaimer: I don't actually know that, since I haven't
played the game, nor have I even heard of it until now.
260
00:22:16,568 --> 00:22:20,568
That's the report of a few different outlets
I checked, so that's what I'm going with,
261
00:22:20,568 --> 00:22:24,168
but it's been the case in the past
that this sort of misinformation
262
00:22:24,168 --> 00:22:27,208
can get out there and
independently repeated.
263
00:22:27,208 --> 00:22:31,288
Which is another lesson: it
doesn't even have to be the worst.
264
00:22:31,288 --> 00:22:34,568
It just has to be accused
of being the worst.
265
00:22:34,568 --> 00:22:38,728
And so many people will just
repeat it without verifying it.
266
00:22:38,728 --> 00:22:47,208
It doesn't matter that the dev voluntarily removed No
Mercy 24 hours after it launched due to the controversy.
267
00:22:47,208 --> 00:22:53,288
But either way, as these things go, that's just a
launching-off point to go after more innocuous games
268
00:22:53,288 --> 00:22:57,928
that the self-styled "pro-life
feminists" don't like.
269
00:22:57,928 --> 00:23:02,328
And today, it's porn, but
what'll it be tomorrow?
270
00:23:02,328 --> 00:23:06,808
The group's co-founder, Melinda
Tankard Reis, said on X:
271
00:23:06,808 --> 00:23:11,048
"All these porn sick brain
rotted pedo gamer fetishists
272
00:23:11,048 --> 00:23:15,528
so desperate to get their hands on
rape-my-little-sister incest games
273
00:23:15,528 --> 00:23:21,105
they're now exchanging clues on how to find
them so that they don't all die overnight."
274
00:23:21,105 --> 00:23:26,248
Yeah, I think you've told me just
how seriously I should take you.
275
00:23:26,248 --> 00:23:30,328
Previously, the group had failed
to ban Snoop Dogg and Eminem,
276
00:23:30,328 --> 00:23:36,088
but had succeeded in getting Target and K-Mart
from selling Grand Theft Auto V in Australia.
277
00:23:36,088 --> 00:23:44,008
They had received over a thousand signatures on Change.org
to get payment processors to pull funding for No Mercy.
278
00:23:44,008 --> 00:23:48,008
The game has also been pulled
from GitHub and other websites.
279
00:23:48,008 --> 00:23:55,688
Mastercard and Visa are conduits, and they should
remain just that. It's your job to process payments.
280
00:23:55,688 --> 00:24:01,528
It's not your job to be combination
mama, preacher, and feminist wackjob
281
00:24:01,528 --> 00:24:09,461
and to use your dominance to purge humanity of things
that get your pathetic little panties in a bunch.
282
00:24:09,461 --> 00:24:17,261
Now, there's a different Change.org petition
with over 95,000 verified signatures—
283
00:24:17,261 --> 00:24:21,461
dwarfing Collective Shout's
original petition—to, quote:
284
00:24:21,461 --> 00:24:28,248
"Tell MasterCard, Visa, and activist groups: stop
controlling what we can watch, read, or play."
285
00:24:28,248 --> 00:24:34,648
The petition reads: "Let's be clear: These
'activist groups' do not speak for everyone.
286
00:24:34,648 --> 00:24:38,728
Adults are capable of choosing what
they want to watch, read, or play.
287
00:24:38,728 --> 00:24:44,759
If someone doesn't like a certain type of
entertainment, the solution is simple: walk away.
288
00:24:44,759 --> 00:24:48,714
Nobody is forced to engage with
content they find offensive—
289
00:24:48,714 --> 00:24:56,168
but they have no right to dictate what others are allowed
to enjoy, especially when it's within the bounds of the law.
290
00:24:56,168 --> 00:25:00,088
Fiction is not reality. Sex sells.
291
00:25:00,088 --> 00:25:09,528
And consent, artistic expression, and market freedom
must be respected in any healthy, democratic society."
292
00:25:09,528 --> 00:25:14,488
If we could please just leave
the moralizing for the Dark Ages
293
00:25:14,488 --> 00:25:22,648
and just perform the service you've been given special
dispensation by the government to do, that'd be great.
294
00:25:22,648 --> 00:25:27,928
In the meantime, we have one more data point
as to why we should all switch to crypto.
295
00:25:27,928 --> 00:25:33,554
So all of that makes both Mastercard and
Visa this week's Biggest Bogon Emitter.
296
00:25:37,688 --> 00:25:40,328
Do you have children?
Or nieces or nephews?
297
00:25:40,328 --> 00:25:42,648
Are you homeschooling,
or just want to counter
298
00:25:42,648 --> 00:25:46,008
some of the socialist indoctrination
most children get in school?
299
00:25:46,008 --> 00:25:51,768
If so, go to bogosity.tv/tuttletwins,
and you'll be taken to a website
300
00:25:51,768 --> 00:25:55,128
where you can get some great books
for elementary-aged children.
301
00:25:55,128 --> 00:25:59,048
The Tuttle Twins books are books about
liberty and free market economics
302
00:25:59,048 --> 00:26:03,528
that include children's versions of
Bastiat's The Law, Leonard Read's I, Pencil,
303
00:26:03,528 --> 00:26:07,128
and Hayek's The Road to Serfdom, as
well as books about the Federal Reserve
304
00:26:07,128 --> 00:26:09,768
and how regulations
protect business cronies.
305
00:26:09,768 --> 00:26:12,168
They'll learn about the harm
caused by eminent domain,
306
00:26:12,168 --> 00:26:16,648
or regulations passed in the name of
safety, and fundamental concepts of liberty.
307
00:26:16,648 --> 00:26:19,208
And as you can see from the
sample pages on the website,
308
00:26:19,208 --> 00:26:22,168
they're all easy to read
and nicely illustrated.
309
00:26:22,168 --> 00:26:25,368
They're just $9.99 apiece,
or get a special discount
310
00:26:25,368 --> 00:26:28,168
as well as free bonuses
when you purchase all five.
311
00:26:28,168 --> 00:26:31,928
You can even buy in bulk to donate
to schools and local libraries.
312
00:26:31,928 --> 00:26:37,816
So get the Tuttle Twins books
at bogosity.tv/tuttletwins.
313
00:26:44,248 --> 00:26:50,070
And now let's discombobulatificize
this week's Idiot Extraordinaire.
314
00:26:54,648 --> 00:26:57,128
And this week, it goes
to the Authors Guild,
315
00:26:57,128 --> 00:27:03,448
for yet another ridiculous complaint
in yet another ridiculous anti-AI case.
316
00:27:03,448 --> 00:27:09,612
They sued OpenAI for, well, the usual crap.
Do I really need to go into it?
317
00:27:09,613 --> 00:27:15,857
After almost two years, you'd think they'd actually
get somewhere close to backing up something,
318
00:27:15,857 --> 00:27:18,088
anything that they've claimed.
319
00:27:18,088 --> 00:27:25,480
But as OpenAI put out in a recent motion to
dismiss, they hilariously haven't. They filed:
320
00:27:25,480 --> 00:27:30,391
"To the extent that Plaintiffs purport to
assert a claim for direct copyright infringement
321
00:27:30,392 --> 00:27:36,007
based on ChatGPT's outputs, the claim
is defective several times over.
322
00:27:36,007 --> 00:27:43,927
The Complaint fails to quote or attach even a
single example of an allegedly infringing output,
323
00:27:43,927 --> 00:27:50,327
depriving the Court of the ability to apply the
'more discerning,' 'ordinary observer' test,
324
00:27:50,327 --> 00:27:54,207
or from conducting any
analysis whatsoever.
325
00:27:54,208 --> 00:27:58,430
Compounding that issue, the
Complaint contains no facts
326
00:27:58,430 --> 00:28:03,367
demonstrating the substantial similarity
of the allegedly infringing outputs,
327
00:28:03,367 --> 00:28:08,887
and instead relies on threadbare
allegations and legal conclusions.
328
00:28:08,887 --> 00:28:13,287
Indeed, Plaintiffs' output
allegations are so facially deficient
329
00:28:13,287 --> 00:28:18,007
that they fail to clear the low
threshold for notice pleading."
330
00:28:18,007 --> 00:28:21,047
Damn!
You'd think there'd be something!
331
00:28:21,047 --> 00:28:27,127
Quote: "Courts regularly dismiss claims where the
works at issue were not attached to the complaint
332
00:28:27,127 --> 00:28:31,287
and where it was impossible to
assess substantial similarity.
333
00:28:31,287 --> 00:28:35,847
Though Plaintiffs address allegedly
infringing outputs in 39 paragraphs,
334
00:28:35,847 --> 00:28:38,980
the Complaint does not
attach a single example—
335
00:28:38,981 --> 00:28:44,807
no allegedly infringing summaries,
outlines, characters, or any other content.
336
00:28:44,807 --> 00:28:52,647
In fact, the Complaint does not include a single
quoted sentence or phrase from any ChatGPT output.
337
00:28:52,647 --> 00:28:56,247
Instead, Plaintiffs' output
allegations consist entirely
338
00:28:56,247 --> 00:29:00,247
of vague and conclusory
descriptions of alleged outputs,
339
00:29:00,247 --> 00:29:03,687
preventing the Court from properly
assessing whether those outputs
340
00:29:03,687 --> 00:29:08,487
are in fact substantially similar
to any protectible expression.
341
00:29:08,487 --> 00:29:12,776
Plaintiffs' claim fails
for this reason alone."
342
00:29:12,777 --> 00:29:15,047
One of the complaints was, quote:
343
00:29:15,047 --> 00:29:20,967
"When prompted, ChatGPT generated an
infringing, unauthorized, and detailed outline
344
00:29:20,967 --> 00:29:24,855
for the next purported
installment of My Sister's Keeper,
345
00:29:24,855 --> 00:29:32,478
and titled the infringing and unauthorized derivative
as My Sister's Legacy, using the same characters."
346
00:29:32,478 --> 00:29:38,247
Yes, not even a real book!
An outline of a fictional sequel!
347
00:29:38,247 --> 00:29:45,447
OpenAI responded: "But 'outlines' of the 'next
purported installment' of a copyrighted work
348
00:29:45,447 --> 00:29:48,700
are not per se infringing
derivative works;
349
00:29:48,700 --> 00:29:52,887
rather, to be actionable, the
alleged similarities must arise
350
00:29:52,887 --> 00:29:58,487
from 'protected aesthetic expressions
original to the allegedly infringed work.'
351
00:29:58,487 --> 00:30:04,327
Yet, the Complaint provides no facts about
what protected expression the outlines copy.
352
00:30:04,327 --> 00:30:08,265
To the contrary, the only factual
description the Complaint provides
353
00:30:08,266 --> 00:30:12,087
regarding any outline is
that it is 'detailed';
354
00:30:12,088 --> 00:30:17,767
the other two adjectives—alleging that the
outline is 'infringing' and 'unauthorized'—
355
00:30:17,767 --> 00:30:21,687
are legal conclusions and
should be disregarded.
356
00:30:21,687 --> 00:30:28,247
Use of a character is not inherently infringing;
indeed, copyright protection does not extend
357
00:30:28,247 --> 00:30:33,367
to generic and generalized character
traits or to stock characters.
358
00:30:33,367 --> 00:30:37,127
Courts have deemed allegations
far more robust than Plaintiffs'
359
00:30:37,127 --> 00:30:41,287
as nonetheless insufficient to
plead substantial similarity.
360
00:30:41,287 --> 00:30:45,527
Plaintiffs cannot avoid their
obligation to allege well-pleaded facts
361
00:30:45,527 --> 00:30:49,927
regarding how the works are substantially
similar in protectible elements
362
00:30:49,927 --> 00:30:54,407
by merely alleging general
infringement of the derivative right."
363
00:30:54,407 --> 00:31:01,367
Look, I'm not a lawyer, but even I know you have
to actually provide examples of infringing output!
364
00:31:01,367 --> 00:31:06,727
They referenced Judge Vince Chhabria's dismissal
of almost every count in Kadrey v. Meta,
365
00:31:06,727 --> 00:31:09,047
and for much of the
same reasons, quote:
366
00:31:09,047 --> 00:31:13,927
"The court dismissed the class plaintiff's
vicarious infringement claim against OpenAI,
367
00:31:13,927 --> 00:31:18,327
finding plaintiffs' allegation that 'every
output of the OpenAI Language Models
368
00:31:18,327 --> 00:31:21,847
is an infringing derivative
work' is insufficient.
369
00:31:21,847 --> 00:31:26,887
As the court observed, Plaintiffs fail
to explain what the outputs entail
370
00:31:26,887 --> 00:31:34,247
or allege that any particular output is substantially
similar—or similar at all—to their books.
371
00:31:34,247 --> 00:31:37,367
That reasoning applies
with equal force here.
372
00:31:37,367 --> 00:31:41,607
Plaintiffs' output-based infringement
claim should be dismissed."
373
00:31:41,607 --> 00:31:47,367
And since their other counts depend on
that one, they'd all fall like dominoes.
374
00:31:47,367 --> 00:31:52,647
Sounds like a no-brainer to me,
but this is the SDNY, so who knows?
375
00:31:52,647 --> 00:31:59,687
And we know that Judge Ona T. Wang is biased in favor
of the big publishing cartels, like most of the SDNY,
376
00:31:59,687 --> 00:32:05,927
but would even she put up with having
her court's time wasted for two years?
377
00:32:05,927 --> 00:32:10,167
I swear, these anti-AI cases
just need to die the death.
378
00:32:10,167 --> 00:32:15,047
But with Congress now poised to write
bogus unconstitutional laws against it
379
00:32:15,047 --> 00:32:21,047
based on the horrific lies Josh Hawley and others
told in a recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing,
380
00:32:21,047 --> 00:32:24,242
it seems like it'll get
worse before it gets better.
381
00:32:24,242 --> 00:32:30,087
Even with arguments as stupid,
vapid, and baseless as this.
382
00:32:30,087 --> 00:32:35,220
So all of that makes the Authors Guild
this week's Idiot Extraordinaire.
383
00:32:41,607 --> 00:32:48,487
Well, that wraps up this "just some ridiculous adventurer
with a handful of rabble" edition of the Bogosity Podcast.
384
00:32:48,487 --> 00:32:53,687
I hope you enjoyed it; if you did, please go to
donate.bogosity.tv for several ways to support,
385
00:32:53,687 --> 00:32:56,963
and discord.bogosity.tv
to join the discussion.
386
00:32:56,964 --> 00:33:02,807
Subscribe at the Discord, Patreon, or
SubscribeStar and you can listen early and ad-free.
387
00:33:02,807 --> 00:33:07,127
Thank you for listening. Until next time,
here's a quote from Stephan Kinsella:
388
00:33:07,127 --> 00:33:10,087
"The roots of copyright
lie in censorship.
389
00:33:10,087 --> 00:33:14,567
It was easy for state and church to
control thought by controlling the scribes,
390
00:33:14,567 --> 00:33:16,567
but then the printing press came along
391
00:33:16,567 --> 00:33:21,207
and the authorities worried that they
couldn't control official thought as easily."
392
00:33:21,207 --> 00:33:25,767
The Bogosity Podcast is licensed under a Creative
Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
393
00:33:25,767 --> 00:33:27,977
4.0 International license.