In this week’s episode of This Week in Tech, Leo Laporte and guests Devindra Hardawar, Doc Rock, and Jennifer Pattison Tuohy discuss a wide range of topics including Australia’s ban on social media for under 16s, the latest in smart home technology and Matter protocol, CES 2024 expectations, Black Friday sales records, Elon Musk’s legal battles, the FTC’s efforts to protect consumers, and the growing threat of infrastructure sabotage. The panel also touches on the lifespan of smart devices, the ownership of social media accounts, and the growth of Bluesky.

• Australia bans social media for everyone under 16, sparking a discussion on the challenges of age verification, the necessity of such measures, and the potential impact on children’s social lives
• Jennifer shares her thoughts on the progress and challenges of Matter protocol, the future of smart home technology, and the killer use cases like energy management that could drive broader adoption
• Devindra looks forward to checking out the latest tech at CES 2024, while the panel discusses the impact of potential tariffs on consumer electronics prices
• Black Friday online sales hit a record $74.4B, up 5% from last year, with over half of spending done on mobile devices and a surge in traffic to retail sites from AI chatbots
• Elon Musk files for an injunction to halt OpenAI’s transition to a for-profit, accusing the company of discouraging investors from backing rivals like his own xAI
• Musk admits X is throttling links, effectively limiting people from reading news on the platform, which could impact content creators and marketers
• The panel discusses the implications of X’s objection to The Onion buying InfoWars, reminding users that they do not own their social media accounts or followers
• As alternative social media platforms like Bluesky gain traction, the panel considers the challenges of managing multiple platforms and the potential for a more decentralized social media landscape
• The FTC releases a report on the hidden lifespan of smart devices, highlighting the need for transparency and the potential security risks of unsupported devices
• FTC changes its telemarketing rules to better protect consumers from growing ‘tech support scam’ calls
• Supreme Court considers whether ISPs should be liable for users’ piracy, with potential far-reaching consequences
• Concerns rise over infrastructure sabotage as a Chinese ship’s crew is suspected of deliberately dragging an anchor for 100 miles to cut Baltic cables
• Meta plans to build a $10B subsea cable spanning the world to support its services and ensure data traffic flow

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