Comparing Notes: Meta Trial Verdict w/ Jacob Ward

In 1937, a Texas school exploded because natural gas has no smell — nobody could detect the leak until it killed nearly 300 people, most of them children. Within weeks, Texas passed the first law forcing gas companies to add an odor. That fix, mercaptan, is still the reason your kitchen reeks of ro…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.theripcurrent.com A.I. Disclosure: I use LLM technology to help with research, fact-checking, document summaries, editing, and rewrites. I’m trying to use it responsibly, but I’m learning as I go. You can read my full ethics disclosu…

Reader note: I’m making these installments free for everyone, as I consider this trial to be a matter of crucial public interest. Still, support the work! Become a paid subscriber to get tech coverage no one else sees, and to keep me on the beat. Meta’s opening statement in Oakland was delivered by…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.theripcurrent.com Meta goes to trial in Oakland tomorrow, and this one works differently from the two it already lost. Twenty-nine state attorneys general are trying claims that Facebook and Instagram collected personal data from chi…