They're trying to ban posting about abortion online
Imagine messaging a friend on Snapchat about how to get abortion pills, or tweeting about reproductive rights and getting fined hundreds of thousands of dollars. That’s only part of what a proposed law in Texas that seeks to criminalize discussing abortion online aims to do. It’s called HB5510, and it would essentially criminalize speech about abortion in emails, on websites, in social media posts, and even private messages.
Jennifer Pinsof senior staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non profit that fights for digital civil liberties, and she’s been tracking the proposed law. She joined me to talk about how the law will work, why other states might try to replicate it, and how this will affect you even if you don’t live in Texas. Subscribe to my YouTube channel!
What I’m reading
They stormed the Capitol. Now they’re selling merch.
Pardoned by President Trump, many Jan. 6 rioters are now working to capitalize on the attention through podcasts, speaking tours and new lives as online influencers. — Washington Post
Alpha Male Sales Bros Are Taking Over Your LinkedIn Feed
They’re loud, they’re shredded, and they’re selling your sales team a personality cult. Yes, this is about Grant Cardone. – Inc.
The Great American Novel, Now in Your Inbox
Writers are ditching the publishing pipeline to drop fiction straight on Substack. It’s literary… and it’s also a newsletter. – The New Yorker
Cartoon Network’s Last Gasp
The irreverent animation factory once cranked out hits, talent and profits. But with David Zaslav’s retreat from streaming kids programming, the future of the network is in question. — Bloomberg
How AI is changing the face of dating
From edited Hinge pics to ChatGPT-generated break-up texts, AI is coming for the dating world. Should we be worried? — Dazed
The Unraveling of the King of Davos
A stunning fall from grace for World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab came amid threats against board members and allegations of financial impropriety, which he denies. — WSJ
‘F— school’: College quitters celebrate startup dreams at ‘dropout graduation’
An inaugural commencement ceremony in San Francisco honored a “room full of exceptions.” — SF Standard
They were San Francisco elites. A killer found them in their Palm Springs home.
The triple homicide of Sophia and Ed Friendly and Frances Williams in Palm Springs is still unsolved, but it’s getting a fresh look from investigators. — SF Gate
‘A superpower I cannot imagine living without’: Meet the investor running his life with AI
Startup diligence, cancer care, and parenting debates: Daniel Ha has digital helpers for it all. — SF Standard
AI therapy is a surveillance machine in a police state
Big Tech wants you to share your private thoughts with chatbots — while backing a government with contempt for privacy. — The Verge
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User Mag news rundown
- The name of the Max streaming service is changing back to HBO Max.
- Apple is taking early steps to enable people to control their iPhones with their brains.
- This guy made an app called Mutual to ask your crush out without it being weird.
- There’s a messy, moneyed gay breakup in Palm Beach involving an art dealer, Steve Wynn, and a Cartier bracelet. Not necessarily in that order.
- A woman released a song called “Nathan Fielder” that includes the lyric “please don’t torture kids anymore.” She’s now holding a Times Square flash mob to perform it.
- AMC is cutting ticket prices on Wednesdays to lure you off your couch.
- We’re getting a Cocomelon movie in 2027.
- You are not supposed to swim in Rock Creek. Not because it’s cold, but because it’s full of raw sewage and E. coli. Have fun on your hike.
- A VIP seat at Trump’s crypto dinner went for $2 million.
- Gannett is using AI to generate lottery and gambling news in local papers.
- PR pros have figured out how to manipulate AI chatbots: write the news yourself and hope OpenAI scrapes it.
- YouTube now makes more ad money than all four broadcast networks combined.
- Watching chess on YouTube is like “discovering a secret civilization that’s been living under your floorboards.”
- MrBeast’s “Beast Games” is getting two more seasons on Prime Video.
- Drunk Elephant’s sales have plummeted 65%, after the Sephora tweens craze died down.
- A GOP senator wants to make all porn illegal. Yes, all of it.
- There’s now a camera app that assigns an “aura score” to whatever you photograph.
- Hinge’s new ad campaign features actual love stories written by actual authors.
- They’re making a knock-off Spring Breakers sequel with Bella Thorne.
- ESPN’s new streaming service will cost $29.99/month.
- A woman has filed for divorce after ChatGPT allegedly analyzed her husband’s coffee and suggested he was cheating.
- Constant surveillance can reduce concentration and memory, a study found.
- DOJ ‘weaponization’ group will shame individuals it can’t charge with crimes, new head says.
- Psilocybin use is surging in the U.S.
- Companies are cracking down on remote work to get employees to quit, so they don’t have to pay severance.
- A disturbing avian mystery is unfolding in a Northern California town where residents have reported birds “exploding.”
- CNN is going to launch a streaming service in the fall (again).
- Letterboxed is launching a curated online rental store.
- More people are painting murals on their walls instead of wallpaper or art.
- Airbnb now offers ‘Services’ like makeup, photography, catered meals
- TikTok comedian Matt Rife is starring in a romcom called “Marriage Material.”
- A Peanuts Tamagotchi with Snoopy and Woodstock is coming soon.
- Video podcasts are the next big pitch at media Upfronts.
- This girl “funeral tracks” when people die to try to obtain their vintage clothes.
- Liz Plank reveals her next move after ending her podcast with Justin Baldoni. She’s launching ‘Boy Problems,’ a podcast backed by Katie Couric that explores gender roles.
The EPA says it will reverse most of the drinking water standards aimed at protecting people from toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS.
User Mag is a 100% reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, become a free or paid subscriber.
Good posts
User Mag is a 100% reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, become a free or paid subscriber.
What I’m watching
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Related Knowledge Center: Free speech and public protest
The First Amendment is facing challenging times: Crackdowns on campus protests prompted both-sides claims of intolerance. Attempts to head off dangerous health misinformation have been characterized as violations of free speech. Donald Trump is publicly punishing news outlets that deviate from his administration’s version of events while privately suing some outlets into submission.
The White House vs. the press | Voiceless America