Collection of Insights about regulating the tech economy.

💰 Wiser! #82: Apple Pay Later | Crypto Clean Out | Lina Khan

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BigTech • 9 min read

💰 Wiser! #82: Apple Pay Later | Crypto Clean Out | Lina Khan

Wiser! #82: Apple's move into Buy Now Pay Later is all about improving the customer experience with frictionless payments. Plus the Crypto price collapse continues. It's good thing, right? And Lina Khan takes on BigTech.…

Rick Huckstep • 17 Jun 2022

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• 14 min read

🔫 Newsletter #79: Guns, Lobbying and Social Media | Zuckerberg Sued | TikTok | Snap | Crypto and Metaverse

Newsletter #79: For 2 years, 50 senators have held up new background laws for buying guns. And the killing continues, decade after decade. Also, in this issue; Snap's stock price collapse, Mark Zuckerberg just can not get away from Cambridge Analytica and someone stole Seth Green's Bored Ape!…

Rick Huckstep • 27 May 2022

Tech Industry Groups Are Watering Down Attempts at Privacy Regulation, One State at a Time

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BigTech • 10 min read

Tech Industry Groups Are Watering Down Attempts at Privacy Regulation, One State at a Time

Divide and conquer. That's the strategy when it comes to fending off BigTech in the USA. With individual states going their own way, disconnected from any Federal efforts, BigTech's considerable spending on lobbying is overwhelming lawmakers one state at a time.…

Rick Huckstep • 26 May 2022

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• 5 min read

Social media has not done enough to stop hate. Now Texas wants to make it even harder!

There's a worrying connection between Social Media, the rise in hate crime, and the battle for free speech. The mass killing of Black people in Buffalo by a young white male is yet another example of the toxic mix of freely available guns and the wide spread dissemination of conspiracy theories.…

Rick Huckstep • 17 May 2022

BigTech Face Huge Fines In New EU Crackdown On Illegal Content

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Regulations • 7 min read

BigTech Face Huge Fines In New EU Crackdown On Illegal Content

The EU's crackdown on BigTech takes another step forward with the Digital Services Act. This is all about content moderation with clear obligations, and penalties, on BigTech to protect users and keep their houses in order. Expect global ramifications!…

Rick Huckstep • 09 May 2022

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Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin and Web3 • 3 min read

The UK to Open Up To Crypto

Wiser! Essay: The UK Gov wants to become a global hub for cryptocurrency and digital assets. This means new payment laws for stablecoins, issuing treasury bonds as digital assets, and creating an NFT to the "forward looking approach of the UK."…

Rick Huckstep • 08 Apr 2022

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Essays • 6 min read

Is Replika the AI cure for Loneliness?

Wiser! Essay: Half of Americans experience loneliness, which increases mortality rates by a quarter. It's a problem. So, is the likes of Replika and their AI chatbots the solution to loneliness? And what happens if they start to go wrong?…

Rick Huckstep • 25 Feb 2022

US lawmakers weight up new rules to limit TikTok & other foreign apps

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Essays • 5 min read

US lawmakers weight up new rules to limit TikTok & other foreign apps

Wiser! Essay: Donald Trump huffed and puffed over TikTok, but it was all hot air. Joe Biden now seems to be doing the same. Why? It's all about data sovereignty and stopping the other side from getting their hands on it!…

Rick Huckstep • 12 Feb 2022

👨‍🎤 Wiser! #63: NFTs | Metaverse Social Distancing | Uber Redefined | TikTok Restricted

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Newsletters • 12 min read

👨‍🎤 Wiser! #63: NFTs | Metaverse Social Distancing | Uber Redefined | TikTok Restricted

Wiser! #63: Trump tried to stop TikTok, Biden wants to do the same | MetaFacebook added social distancing into their Metaverse | Uber earns more from delivering pizzas than people | Premium Insights is a 2-part series on NFTs…

Rick Huckstep • 11 Feb 2022

BigTech's Spending Spree on Lobbying and Buying Up The Competition

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Essays • 7 min read

BigTech's Spending Spree on Lobbying and Buying Up The Competition

Wiser! Essay: BigTech spent record amounts on lobbying and buying up its competition in 2021. Meanwhile, the FTC charged with regulating the Tech Economy has a limited budget and a mountain to climb.…

Rick Huckstep • 27 Jan 2022

🕵️‍♀️ Wiser! #57: Google/Facebook Collusion | Dark Side of Roblox | Encryption | Microsoft's Mega Deal

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Newsletters • 11 min read

🕵️‍♀️ Wiser! #57: Google/Facebook Collusion | Dark Side of Roblox | Encryption | Microsoft's Mega Deal

Wiser! #57: Unsealed papers in the US anti-trust against Google has revealed the extent of the collusion with Facebook. Plus: how much does Roblox exploit kids? UK Gov spending half a million on public opinion over E2EE and Microsoft's acquisition of Activision.…

Rick Huckstep • 22 Jan 2022

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Essays • 6 min read

UK Gov Launch a PR campaign to Change Public Opinion on E2E Encryption

Wiser! Essay: The UK Government has been amongst the most vocal when it comes to opposing BigTech's use of End-to-End Encryption. Now, they are about to spend over half a million £s on a media campaign to persuade Facebook users that its a bad thing.…

Rick Huckstep • 19 Jan 2022