Tim Bernard
@timbernard.me
Tech policy, trust & safety. Writings collected at https://timbernard.me.
api.riverside.fm/hosting/r9uk... 😉 (my open source podcast player accesses the Apple podcasts directory, but doesn't seem to have your podcast listing yet)
api.riverside.fm
February 3, 2026 at 3:12 PM
api.riverside.fm/hosting/r9uk... 😉 (my open source podcast player accesses the Apple podcasts directory, but doesn't seem to have your podcast listing yet)
Apologies for being old, but is the podcast available as a podcast (instead of a YT vid)?
February 3, 2026 at 2:24 PM
Apologies for being old, but is the podcast available as a podcast (instead of a YT vid)?
Those Canadians are always so polite
January 12, 2026 at 9:17 PM
Those Canadians are always so polite
Early is early. Can't be too careful when it comes to nurturing great thinkers.
January 8, 2026 at 6:29 PM
Early is early. Can't be too careful when it comes to nurturing great thinkers.
When I was visiting unis as a prospective philosophy UG, the dept at Nottingham (iirc) told us they had no 9am classes because getting up to tutor the Queen of Sweden at 5am caused Descartes' early death.
January 8, 2026 at 6:23 PM
When I was visiting unis as a prospective philosophy UG, the dept at Nottingham (iirc) told us they had no 9am classes because getting up to tutor the Queen of Sweden at 5am caused Descartes' early death.
Have you tried trading in political favors for upgrades?
January 4, 2026 at 4:55 PM
Have you tried trading in political favors for upgrades?
I just watched it - and it's probably the first 60 minutes segment I've ever seen. www.muellershewrote.com/p/watch-the-...
WATCH: The 60 Minutes CECOT Segment
I was sent the CECOT segment anonymously in a group chat.
www.muellershewrote.com
December 23, 2025 at 3:00 PM
I just watched it - and it's probably the first 60 minutes segment I've ever seen. www.muellershewrote.com/p/watch-the-...
6. ICYMI, my pre-news piece on the deal: www.techpolicy.press/who-will-own... and the FT seems to have the most detailed coverage of the memo: www.ft.com/content/7a77...
Who Will Own TikTok in the US and Why it Matters for Democracy | TechPolicy.Press
Tim Bernard draws insights from Paddy Leerssen's paper, "From Murdoch to Musk: Platform ownership and the political economy of online content governance."
www.techpolicy.press
December 19, 2025 at 5:29 PM
6. ICYMI, my pre-news piece on the deal: www.techpolicy.press/who-will-own... and the FT seems to have the most detailed coverage of the memo: www.ft.com/content/7a77...
5. So, IMO it's too early to assume that content policy will change if the deal does in fact go through.
But has almost every stage of this saga been terrible from a free expression and good governance perspective?
Absolutely.
But has almost every stage of this saga been terrible from a free expression and good governance perspective?
Absolutely.
December 19, 2025 at 5:29 PM
5. So, IMO it's too early to assume that content policy will change if the deal does in fact go through.
But has almost every stage of this saga been terrible from a free expression and good governance perspective?
Absolutely.
But has almost every stage of this saga been terrible from a free expression and good governance perspective?
Absolutely.
4. We don't know who will be on the "seven-member majority-American board of directors" that will appoint the new management and have the final word on content policy.
December 19, 2025 at 5:29 PM
4. We don't know who will be on the "seven-member majority-American board of directors" that will appoint the new management and have the final word on content policy.
3 cont. (And once Trump has declared the deal a triumph, will he want to critique his handpicked winners?)
December 19, 2025 at 5:29 PM
3 cont. (And once Trump has declared the deal a triumph, will he want to critique his handpicked winners?)
3. The other two named investors (Silver Lake, MGX) now owe Trump, but are not so ideologically aligned. Their primary responsibility will to be to increase the value of their investment, so they will balance maintaining the current successful operations of their platform with political concerns.
December 19, 2025 at 5:29 PM
3. The other two named investors (Silver Lake, MGX) now owe Trump, but are not so ideologically aligned. Their primary responsibility will to be to increase the value of their investment, so they will balance maintaining the current successful operations of their platform with political concerns.
2. The only confirmed owner with strong ideological ties to Trump is Oracle. Oracle will own just 15%, and although Ellison controls it quite tightly, it's a public company and drastic moves that alienate TT users could expose the company to shareholder lawsuits.
December 19, 2025 at 5:29 PM
2. The only confirmed owner with strong ideological ties to Trump is Oracle. Oracle will own just 15%, and although Ellison controls it quite tightly, it's a public company and drastic moves that alienate TT users could expose the company to shareholder lawsuits.
1. It's unclear what impact Oracle retraining the algorithm using US data will have or what opportunities there will be for "manipulation"--from either China *or* the new controllers. (Will BD/TT Intl. no longer push weighting updates?)
December 19, 2025 at 5:29 PM
1. It's unclear what impact Oracle retraining the algorithm using US data will have or what opportunities there will be for "manipulation"--from either China *or* the new controllers. (Will BD/TT Intl. no longer push weighting updates?)
I imagine you can find one that will cater to your particular tastes. It's always ok to ask - you won't be judged (unless you're into that as well)
December 18, 2025 at 4:01 PM
I imagine you can find one that will cater to your particular tastes. It's always ok to ask - you won't be judged (unless you're into that as well)
I hear there are more efficient services than Solar Bears fandom for those who are into pain
December 18, 2025 at 1:59 PM
I hear there are more efficient services than Solar Bears fandom for those who are into pain
No fair that the militant Islamists get fundamentalist zeal and we don't!
December 17, 2025 at 4:34 PM
No fair that the militant Islamists get fundamentalist zeal and we don't!
Thanks! They don't say so in the passage at hand (90), though maybe they're just imprecise here. There is another place where they talk about threat actors who "leverage private groups and pages" (23), and a specific mention of using CSEA detection on "most surfaces, including Groups and Pages" (71)
December 17, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Thanks! They don't say so in the passage at hand (90), though maybe they're just imprecise here. There is another place where they talk about threat actors who "leverage private groups and pages" (23), and a specific mention of using CSEA detection on "most surfaces, including Groups and Pages" (71)
Any US law they could possibly be referring to?
December 16, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Any US law they could possibly be referring to?