NEW: Platformer has obtained the dehumanizing new guidelines moderating what people can now say about trans people on Facebook and Instagram. Employees tell me these changes are likely to inspire more violence against LGBT people:

Platformer

Inside Meta’s dehumanizing new speech policies for trans people

"A trans person isn't a he or she, it's an it," reads a new guideline telling moderators what is now allowed on Facebook and Instagram

For the final Platformer of the year, here are 15 predictions for 2025. Such as:

Platformer

15 predictions for 2025

PLUS: What I got right and wrong about 2024

TikTok counted on the First Amendment to save it in court, but judges weren't persuaded at all. Whatever you think about TikTok, that feels like a grim omen for the next era of tech regulation

Platformer

TikTok's final countdown

After Trump passes up an opportunity to say he will save the app, ByteDance is at a crossroads

What I learned from this weekend's great "AI is fake and sucks" debate on Bluesky, with responses to Gary Marcus, Edward Ongweso Jr., and others

Platformer

What I learned from the “AI is fake and sucks” debate

Gary Marcus (and many others) respond

One of the most important debates in tech right now is the group of folks who think AI is fake and sucks vs. the people who think AI is real and dangerous. I wrote about why I'm in the latter camp, and talked about my differences with Gary Marcus

Platformer

The phony comforts of AI skepticism

It’s fun to say that artificial intelligence is fake and sucks — but evidence is mounting that it’s real and dangerous

Australia's ban on social media for teens under 16 is, among other things, an enormous gift to YouTube

Platformer

Australia bans young teens from social media

It's a blow for free expression — and an enormous gift to YouTube

Under huge antitrust pressure, Google keeps meddling with the web anyway. I wrote about its awful new 'page annotations'

Platformer

Google keeps meddling with the web

With antitrust prosecutions in full swing, the company keeps giving regulators fresh reasons for concern

Some news: amid rapid growth and some over-enforcement of its community guidelines, Bluesky tells me the company will quadruple the size of its content moderation team

Platformer

Inside Bluesky’s big growth surge

After adding millions of new users in weeks, the company tells Platformer that it will quadruple the size of its moderation team

The DOJ's plan to force Google to share search queries and results with rivals might be one of the best things that could happen to the web. Suddenly, we might have viable search engines that are more interested in preserving the web than replacing it:

Platformer

Google wants to keep Chrome

The search giant is pushing back on the government’s plan to break it up — but competition is coming anyway

Tomorrow the DOJ will likely call for Google to spin out Chrome. I'm not sure that would make search much more competitive — but forcing the company to share search queries and results with its competitors in real time would

Platformer

The government has a breakup plan for Google

Chrome away from home