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Culture War Roundup for the week of November 11, 2024

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One of the reasons given is that X's new terms of service kick in today.

What's the difference to old? What do they mean in practise?

Here is X's summary of the changes

In addition to the court change that IGI-111 mentioned, the other concern is in regards to rights to content posted on X (section 3).

Yesterday's TOS

Today's TOS

The section I am seeing the most complaints about, bolding is mine:

By submitting, posting or displaying Content on or through the Services, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display, upload, download, and distribute such Content in any and all media or distribution methods now known or later developed, for any purpose. For clarity, these rights include, for example, curating, transforming, and translating. This license authorizes us to make your Content available to the rest of the world and to let others do the same. You agree that this license includes the right for us to (i) analyze text and other information you provide and to otherwise provide, promote, and improve the Services, including, for example, for use with and training of our machine learning and artificial intelligence models, whether generative or another type; and (ii) to make Content submitted to or through the Services available to other companies, organizations or individuals, including, for example, for improving the Services and the syndication, broadcast, distribution, repost, promotion or publication of such Content on other media and services, subject to our terms and conditions for such Content use. Such additional uses by us, or other companies, organizations or individuals, is made with no compensation paid to you with respect to the Content that you submit, post, transmit or otherwise make available through the Services as the use of the Services by you is hereby agreed as being sufficient compensation for the Content and grant of rights herein.

Once again, stated reasons. A lot of the folks I'm seeing talking exodus now have also talked exodus 2 or 3 other times, so clearly they have other reasons in addition to the TOS changes, but the TOS changes are the reason that this is specifically happening today as opposed to yesterday or tomorrow.

The main one I've seen complaints about is that disputes are to be adjudicated in Texan rather than Californian courts.

The implications to political actors should be obvious.

It doesn’t seem that relevant because Texas courts don’t smile on political-y lawsuits. We’re not at California-level weaponization of the justice system.

The issue isn't Texas state courts, it is specific federal judges in the Northern District of Texas, plus the fact that the Northern District of Texas makes it possible for plaintiffs to choose their judge depending on which courthouse in the district they file in.

Hopefully the real implication is that Elon knows there will be an offensive launched against CA-based social media companies under Pruneyard