Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt

This week, our first place winner on the insightful side is Stephen T. Stone with a comment about Trump threatening ProPublica, and our point that he remains “exhibit A” for why anti-SLAPP laws are needed:

The funny thing is, this statement could apply to a lot of situations: SLAPPs, campaign finance fraud, attempting to overthrow the government…

In second place, it’s MrWilson with some thoughts on banning kids from social media:

Banning kids from social media is like home schooling kids. Sure, it’ll limit their access to some of the genuinely awful stuff out there, but it will also prevent them from seeing all the good stuff out there, developing positive social experiences and relationships outside of their bubble, and it will mean their parents and siblings and neighbors are their only social outlet or influence, which can be pretty shitty if your parents are authoritarian fundamentalists who think children are somewhere between prisoners or slaves.

Once again, the bad shit in social media is due to the nature of people, not to the nature of social media. And you can’t legislate people to not be shitty people.

For editor’s choice on the insightful side, we start out with one more comment about Trump’s threats, this time from an anonymous commenter reminding everyone that we knew it was coming:

“One of the things I’m going to do if I win, and I hope we do and we’re certainly leading. I’m going to open up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money. We’re going to open up those libel laws.”

Even back in 2016 he was broadcasting his plans to not let anyone tell the truth about him.

Next, it’s PaulT with a comment about the EU court saying there’s no right to online anonymity and equating things like downloading with serious crimes:

Sadly, we’ve been arguing this for a long time. A copied file does not necessarily mean a lost sale, and in the spirit of mixtapes and movies recorded from TV could actually mean increased sales from some people.

The best option is giving people access to what they wish to access, at a reasonable price level. But, between confusing licencing agreements, regional restrictions and regular price hikes, I’m hearing more and more people just saying “f**k it, I’m pirating again”. When Netflix first came to Europe and when Spotify started, my selling point for people was saying that it was easier than piracy. I can definitely say that removing peoples’ privacy will not cause them to do anything other than work out how to use security features, and that peoples’ lives will be ruined unnecessarily by concentrating on people who copy files vs. people who refuse to give people what they will pay for.

“Piracy” is a good excuse, but it’s usually a cover for other things. That was true in the days of mixtapes, VHS tape trading and floppy disk trades, and it’s true now.

Over on the funny side, our first place winner is an anonymous reply to Stephen Stone’s first place insightful comment:

Trump’s next job…

Interviewer: Are there any accomplishments from your last job that you’re particularly proud of?

Candidate: I’m responsible for ten new rules in their employee handbook.

Interviewer: That’s great! You wrote them?

Candidate: That’s not what I said.

In second place, it’s Section_230 with a response to a commenter spouting something weird about Nazis:

Speed running Godwin’s law are we?

For editor’s choice on the funny side, we’ve got a pair of comments about Trump campaigning on TikTok. First, it’s Pixelation with a change of heart on the reasons for banning the app:

With Trump using it, TikTok is definitely a national security threat.

Finally, it’s an anonymous prognostication:

Some Gen Alpha kid is gonna give him a stroke and we’re gonna owe them for the rest of our lives.

That’s all for this week, folks!