Harmony Evans's Blog, page 14

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Published on November 17, 2025 01:22

An interview with Chris Gilliard on his new book Luxury Surveillance, how smart wearables could normalize pervasive surveillance, X’s political shift, and more (Anika Collier Navaroli/The Tech Policy …)

Featured Podcasts

Lenny’s Podcast:

The Godmother of AI on jobs, robots & why world models are next | Dr. Fei-Fei Li

Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.

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Big Technology Podcast:

Inside The AI Bubble: Debt, Depreciation, and Losses — With Gil Luria

The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.

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Hard Fork:

Data Centers in Space + A.I. Policy on the Right + A Gemini History Mystery

The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.

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Decoder with Nilay Patel:

The company at the heart of the AI bubble

A show from the Verge about big ideas – and other problems.

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Great Chat:

Turns out, there’s still a line (don’t mock the pope)

A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.

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Uncapped with Jack Altman:

Kyle Vogt from The Bot Company

Conversations with people I admire about things I’m genuinely interested in.

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Published on November 17, 2025 01:11

November 16, 2025

FT’s Tim Cook retirement story could be a “trial balloon” from people close to him, if Cook makes the decision to leave on a high note after Q1 earnings report (M.G. Siegler/Spyglass)

Featured Podcasts

Lenny’s Podcast:

The Godmother of AI on jobs, robots & why world models are next | Dr. Fei-Fei Li

Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.

Subscribe to Lenny’s Podcast.

Big Technology Podcast:

Inside The AI Bubble: Debt, Depreciation, and Losses — With Gil Luria

The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.

Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.

Hard Fork:

Data Centers in Space + A.I. Policy on the Right + A Gemini History Mystery

The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.

Subscribe to Hard Fork.

Decoder with Nilay Patel:

The company at the heart of the AI bubble

A show from the Verge about big ideas – and other problems.

Subscribe to Decoder with Nilay Patel.

Great Chat:

Turns out, there’s still a line (don’t mock the pope)

A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.

Subscribe to Great Chat.

Uncapped with Jack Altman:

Kyle Vogt from The Bot Company

Conversations with people I admire about things I’m genuinely interested in.

Subscribe to Uncapped with Jack Altman.

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Published on November 16, 2025 21:51

Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Sundar Pichai are exploring future lunar and orbital AI data centers which could offer steady solar power with fewer regulations (Tim Higgins/Wall Street Journal)

Featured Podcasts

Lenny’s Podcast:

The Godmother of AI on jobs, robots & why world models are next | Dr. Fei-Fei Li

Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.

Subscribe to Lenny’s Podcast.

Big Technology Podcast:

Inside The AI Bubble: Debt, Depreciation, and Losses — With Gil Luria

The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.

Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.

Hard Fork:

Data Centers in Space + A.I. Policy on the Right + A Gemini History Mystery

The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.

Subscribe to Hard Fork.

Decoder with Nilay Patel:

The company at the heart of the AI bubble

A show from the Verge about big ideas – and other problems.

Subscribe to Decoder with Nilay Patel.

Great Chat:

Turns out, there’s still a line (don’t mock the pope)

A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.

Subscribe to Great Chat.

Uncapped with Jack Altman:

Kyle Vogt from The Bot Company

Conversations with people I admire about things I’m genuinely interested in.

Subscribe to Uncapped with Jack Altman.

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Published on November 16, 2025 18:55

BNPL use in the US has grown to 91.5M users, with 25% financing groceries, as default rates accelerate and most loans aren’t reported, creating “phantom debt” (Connie Loizos/TechCrunch)

Featured Podcasts

Lenny’s Podcast:

The Godmother of AI on jobs, robots & why world models are next | Dr. Fei-Fei Li

Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.

Subscribe to Lenny’s Podcast.

Big Technology Podcast:

Inside The AI Bubble: Debt, Depreciation, and Losses — With Gil Luria

The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.

Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.

Hard Fork:

Data Centers in Space + A.I. Policy on the Right + A Gemini History Mystery

The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.

Subscribe to Hard Fork.

Decoder with Nilay Patel:

The company at the heart of the AI bubble

A show from the Verge about big ideas – and other problems.

Subscribe to Decoder with Nilay Patel.

Great Chat:

Turns out, there’s still a line (don’t mock the pope)

A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.

Subscribe to Great Chat.

Uncapped with Jack Altman:

Kyle Vogt from The Bot Company

Conversations with people I admire about things I’m genuinely interested in.

Subscribe to Uncapped with Jack Altman.

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Published on November 16, 2025 16:50

The Dam Is About To Break On Trump’s Epstein Scandal

The cracks in Trump’s Epstein cover-up have been forming and growing for months. Next week will finally be the time when it all breaks into the open.

None of this would have happened without four House Republicans defying Trump and signing the discharge petition to force a vote on legislation to compel the DOJ to release the files.

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Democrats would have remained short of the signatures needed without Reps. Massie, Greene, Boebert, and Mace are sticking to their decision and not yielding to pressure from Trump to take their names off the discharge petition.

The vote in the House will happen this week, and while House passage won’t get the files released, a sizable vote will place pressure on the Senate to also vote on the measure. If the bill were to pass the Senate, Trump would be forced to veto it, which would put his Epstein cover-up out in the open.

Rep. Thomas Massie was on ABC’s This Week where he was asked, “President Trump fought long and hard to prevent your discharge petition from going through. You won that battle. Now what happens? How many Republicans in the House follow your lead and defy the president on this?”

Story continues below.

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Published on November 16, 2025 15:52

Forecasters at the US National Hurricane Center are increasingly leaning on Google’s new DeepMind prediction model, though questions about its methods remain (Eric Holthaus/The Guardian)

Featured Podcasts

Lenny’s Podcast:

The Godmother of AI on jobs, robots & why world models are next | Dr. Fei-Fei Li

Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.

Subscribe to Lenny’s Podcast.

Big Technology Podcast:

Inside The AI Bubble: Debt, Depreciation, and Losses — With Gil Luria

The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.

Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.

Hard Fork:

Data Centers in Space + A.I. Policy on the Right + A Gemini History Mystery

The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.

Subscribe to Hard Fork.

Decoder with Nilay Patel:

The company at the heart of the AI bubble

A show from the Verge about big ideas – and other problems.

Subscribe to Decoder with Nilay Patel.

Great Chat:

Turns out, there’s still a line (don’t mock the pope)

A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.

Subscribe to Great Chat.

Uncapped with Jack Altman:

Kyle Vogt from The Bot Company

Conversations with people I admire about things I’m genuinely interested in.

Subscribe to Uncapped with Jack Altman.

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Published on November 16, 2025 15:02

will banning sweepstakes push players offshore?

Sweepstakes are gaining a lot of regulatory attention across the US right now – but could this end up pushing more players onto the black market?

More and more state authorities are stepping in to close oversight gaps around sweepstakes games, with Montana being the first state to ban them altogether.

But tightening rules does not always suppress demand and some experts warn that it may instead redirect players into less regulated shadows of the industry.

How do sweepstakes work and what are the concerns?

For readers unfamiliar with how these products work, modern sweepstakes operate under a distinct structure. They typically use a dual-currency model that allows people to play without paying anything, which keeps them outside standard gambling laws. Anyone can enter for free, and prizes are awarded by chance. This model is what allows sweepstakes to exist in states where casino-style gaming is otherwise prohibited.

As a result, there is an unfolding legal battle in California, where Bill AB 831 is inching closer to shut them down altogether in the state.

Industry data suggests the sweepstakes market is sizeable enough to draw increasing attention from regulators. Around 55 million Americans enter sweepstakes or contests each year, hence the backlash.

Despite pushback from the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance (SGLA), support from tribal leaders and state influences as high up as the Attorney General mean that a ban is becoming more and more likely. California Attorney General Rob Bonta concluded in a 33-page document that “daily fantasy sports games, including both pick ’em and draft style games, are prohibited by section 337a because they involve betting on sporting events.”

Since @AGRobBonta issued his formal opinion concluding that daily fantasy sports contests violate California law, two #DFS operators — Underdog (8/26) and Boom Fantasy (8/28) — have been sued in CA federal court cases seeking recovery of gambling losses on behalf of a class.

— Daniel Wallach (@WALLACHLEGAL) August 29, 2025

DFS and sweepstakes share the same core vulnerability. They both rely on legal gray areas to operate outside gambling laws, and history shows, through the rapid DFS crackdown, that once regulators decide a product looks too much like gambling, those gray areas can vanish quickly, pushing operators into tighter rules and some users toward unregulated alternatives.

That reality has now been reflected in a move from Google, with the tech giant removing sweepstakes games ‘social gaming’ classification. Google’s decision raises both the cost and difficulty of user acquisition by increasing CPIs, limiting ad access, and potentially reducing app-store visibility. Social gaming differs from gambling because players can’t win money or anything with real-world value, but it’s enough for Google to change its policy and flag it for regulatory concern.

Put simply, the regulatory landscape is heating up – and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get any less delicate for sweepstakes operators and players anytime soon. In gambling-cautious states like Texas, where sweepstakes are the only legal avenue to play casino-style games, it seems inevitable that state laws will eventually turn to sweepstakes.

Speaking to ReadWrite, civil and criminal attorney Everett Lupton, a founding partner at Slaughter & Lupton, said: “I’ve seen enough regulatory cycles to know that the sweepstakes scene in California is just becoming more intricate.

“Operators are often forced to modify their models in response to each new set of enforcement actions, which leads to uncertainty for all parties.”

The impact of uncertainty

That uncertainty stems from the speed at which digital-first industries can evolve. Sweepstakes companies can launch new products and onboard users far faster than legislation can be drafted. This leaves regulators playing catch-up, businesses investing in models that may soon become unsustainable, and players losing access to games once enforcement eventually arrives. It’s a similar phenomenon to what we’re seeing with prediction markets, with new apps and platforms coming out faster than regulation can keep up.

“Companies sometimes operate in a limited area where marketing, consumer protection, and gaming legislation overlap since the statutes themselves have not kept up with the speed of the promotions sector,” explained Everett. “Legal issues typically arise from that tension.”

The potential for the rise of the black market if sweepstakes are banned

The SGLA has pushed back on the various threats to sweepstakes games with a clear emphasis on how important consumer protection is to both the organization and its members.

Millions of Californians find joy, fun, and connection through online social games. Unfortunately, AB 831 could take that all away by banning online social games with sweepstakes promotions.

The good news is, you can take action to protect online social games. Tell Governor… pic.twitter.com/FMEZV3n6b1

— Social Gaming Leadership Alliance (SGLA) (@SGLeadership) September 30, 2025

“SGLA partners have always put consumer protections first, and we remain committed to advocating for state regulatory and taxation frameworks that will benefit players, communities and the industry,” wrote Managing Director Sean Ostrow in a blog post.

The message appears to be aimed at critics who argue that sweepstakes lack adequate consumer safeguards, but it also reflects a concern widely shared among operators that aggressive restrictions could drive players toward underground alternatives rather than protect them.

Such alternatives often operate through offshore servers or crypto and prepaid-card payment systems. These platforms offer little recourse for fraud, no age controls and no contribution to state tax revenue that could fund harmful gambling prevention programs.

As enforcement tightens, these channels can become more appealing. Offshore and crypto-based platforms typically offer instant onboarding, limited identity verification and high anonymity. These features attract users when legal access shrinks. In other words, enforcement does not eliminate demand, but it pushes users toward places with far fewer protections.

A similar pattern appeared during the DFS crackdown of 2015–2016, when regulators in states such as Nevada noted a rise in attention around unlicensed and offshore DFS sites. Researchers and policymakers have repeatedly pointed to this dynamic in online gambling more broadly: when regulated options narrow, activity tends to shift to unregulated ones, not disappear.

“I think there’s a good chance that ongoing enforcement will encourage some businesses to adopt less open procedures,” speculated Everett. “A section of the market attempts to operate outside the lines whenever regulators expand enforcement or tighten definitions.

“The likelihood of black market activity rises when businesses believe they are unable to compete under the current regulations, but this does not imply that all businesses are going in that direction. I’ve dealt with enough conflicts to understand that ambiguous borders frequently attract dangerous people.”

Of course, regulators who support a crackdown see things differently. They argue that sweepstakes already sit too close to unlicensed gambling and that shutting them down helps steer people back to clearly regulated choices like lotteries, tribal casinos or licensed commercial operators. From this point of view, tightening the rules is a way to protect consumers, not to limit their options.

However, even among companies that want to stay on the right side of the law and operate a legitimate business, the lack of clarity and legal gray areas can leave them either open to prosecution anyway, or forced to abandon paths they invested heavily in before regulation rolled in.

“Even when a mistake is linked to inadequate compliance preparation, it can appear deliberate, which presents a problem for legitimate businesses,” noted Everett. “Promotions that are created without carefully examining prize structures, consideration issues, and chance components run the risk of quickly turning into gambling.”

For companies currently operating in the sweepstakes space, it’s wise to keep an eye on all things best practice in the meantime. That means maintaining regular reviews of prize mechanics, ensuring all terms and conditions are kept transparent for stakeholders, users, and regulators alike, and staying on top of internal auditing trails.

“Although I don’t anticipate it anytime soon, clear guidance would be helpful,” concluded Everett. “Until then, businesses should handle sweepstakes the same way they would any other area with potential legal and criminal liability.

“The safest course of action will involve thorough documentation, a close examination of promotional guidelines, and a readiness to make changes to campaigns prior to launch.”

Featured image: Midjourney

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Published on November 16, 2025 14:20

Trump Tantrums And Threatens To Primary The Indiana GOP Senate As Gerrymandering Scheme Crumbles

Donald Trump’s scheme to rig the 2026 election so that Republicans can keep the House majority was always a dumb idea.

Political scientists who have studied the impacts of gerrymandering have found that gerrymanders don’t rig elections or pad majorities.

The news and opinions of PoliticusUSA are 100% independent. Support us by becoming a subscriber.

In 2023, Yale’s Institution for Social and Policy Research (ISPS) and Harvard University analyzed all of the potential simulations of national gerrymandering scenarios.

Their conclusion:

Taken together, the data shows that most of the electoral bias cancels out at the national level, resulting in only a two-seat advantage for Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives compared to what could have been drawn under geographic and legal constraints.

Gerrymandering can’t rig the House or create a voter-proof majority, but what it can do is create structural disadvantages in up to 8 House seats that will make it more challenging for Democrats to win those seats.

Trump thought that he could rig the election and create a Republican majority that could not be voted out of office.

That’s not how gerrymandering works. Gerrymandering is bad because it makes it harder for voters’ will to be heard.

Trump doesn’t understand any of this, which is why he is throwing a tantrum on Sunday over Indiana Republicans refusing to redraw their congressional districts.

Story continues below.