This Week in Tech 1068: Toto's Electrostatic Chuck

Date: January 26, 2026
Host: Leo Laporte
Panelists: Alex Stamos, Patrick Beja, Doc Rock

Episode Overview

In this episode, Leo Laporte is joined by an all-star panel—Alex Stamos (AI security and former Meta/Stanford), Patrick Beja (Phileas Club, French podcasts), and Doc Rock (YouTuber, strategic partnerships at Ecamm)—to dissect the biggest stories in tech. Topics include the risks and social impact of explosion in online betting and prediction markets, concerns over election security and disinformation, the new US-based TikTok, Microsoft's BitLocker key disclosures, the rise of Linux, AI’s impact on security and open source, social media’s influence, and a surprising new high-tech claim to fame for Japanese toilet maker Toto.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Online Betting & Prediction Markets – Risk, Regulation, and Social Impact

(00:00–19:19)

• Explosion of Online Prediction Markets: Billions are traded on Kalshi and Polymarket for things as diverse as snowfall in New York, election outcomes, and even celebrity pregnancies (e.g., Taylor Swift).
• Real Risks of Manipulation: With huge sums riding on specific real-life events, the panel worries about the ease of insider fraud, lack of oversight, and potential impact on public trust.
• Social Harm: All panelists see problem gambling rising, paralleling past substance abuse epidemics and preying on desperate people.
• Regulatory Laxity: The main regulatory concern comes not from government but from existing betting stakeholders (U.S. casinos, Indian tribes). Actual government oversight is soft, with jurisdictional ambiguity and shifting political winds.

Notable Quotes:

• Doc Rock [06:44]: "First thought that went in my head... was, did he do that on purpose?... Is he on the sports bet? I can't believe I went there, but as a Raiders fan and knowing Tom Brady's cheating. But yeah, that's the thought that came to my mind."
• Alex Stamos [08:21]: "The ability for those people to self-deal or for their friends to self-deal is humongous. I'm absolutely shocked these platforms are allowing it... this would normally be called wire fraud."
• Patrick Beja [11:59]: "Gambling is illegal unless it isn't in specific places."

Timestamps:

• Gambling in sports and news: 04:48–08:21
• Legal gray zones, regulation, and VC influx: 11:00–14:44
• Social destruction and historic comparisons: 16:55–18:28

2. Election Security, Disinformation, and Pressures on Tech

(20:34–34:54)

• Resilience of U.S. Elections: Alex Stamos (ex-Internet Observatory) details why large-scale election fraud in the US is "effectively impossible," thanks to decentralized, paper-based voting and risk-limiting audits. However, chaos and distrust (not literal hacking) remain primary concerns.
• Erosion of Election Security Infrastructure: Since 2020, many government mechanisms and expert personnel protecting election security have been gutted or sidelined.
• Information Overload & Mental Health: The endless flood of news, disinformation, and AI-generated content is causing mass withdrawal: "It's crap all the way down." (Leo)
• European Perspective on U.S. Politics: Europeans are warily preparing for disruptions from U.S. instability, including possible loss of access to American tech giants (Microsoft, Google) during hypothetical conflicts. Moves toward tech “sovereignty” are accelerating.

Notable Quotes:

• Alex Stamos [22:12]: "It's extremely difficult to steal an election, which is why the election was not stolen in 2020 and why it was not stolen in 2024..."
• Patrick Beja [30:26]: "We don’t have copper cables... if something happens, you probably do need an AM radio… we need failovers on all the systems provided by American companies.”

Timestamps:

• Disinformation and news fatigue: 18:55–21:53
• Technical breakdown of U.S. election resilience: 22:04–27:16
• EU tech dependency and sovereignty fears: 30:26–33:07

3. TikTok Sale: Data, Power, & Algorithmic Influence

(35:28–54:35)

• The New U.S. TikTok Ownership: China now limited to 29.9%, Oracle et al. own the rest; but many controlling shareholders are close to the current U.S. administration.
• Terms of Service Backlash: The TikTok app asks for deeply personal data, including location down to the minute, sexual identity, and immigration status. Leo Laporte deleted the app in response.
• Data Compliance or Data Grab: Legal experts suspect much of the TOS language is to comply with California’s Consumer Privacy Act rather than to actively collect all those data points.
• Shift in Danger: While previously worried about Chinese propaganda, the panel now wonders about TikTok being a tool for U.S. political cronies and the dark side of influencer algorithms.
• Algorithmic Manipulation: Panelists point out stark differences in how TikTok subtly shapes opinion (e.g., never showing negative stories about China, while praising its youth culture).

Notable Quotes:

• Alex Stamos [46:25]: "Some of these are just neutral... but some are really political players directly aligned with the current administration... TikTok might be more of a threat—not from a data perspective, but from becoming a much more political platform now."
• Patrick Beja [53:37]: "You never hear about... freedom of expression, the Uyghur... never on TikTok. It does something to the country."

Timestamps:

• TikTok sale, data collection, & legal maneuvering: 43:23–50:28
• Risks of U.S.-based political manipulation: 50:28–54:35

4. Content Moderation, AI, and Social Media

(55:01–73:00)

• Bots, Engagement Bait, and Deepfakes: Threads and X (Twitter) are dominated by bots, engagement manipulation, and, recently, an epidemic of Grok- and AI-generated non-consensual deepfakes (Grok posted 4.4 million such images in 9 days).
• Legal Gray Zones: There’s likely to be a legal reckoning for X, since AI generators producing CSAM (child sexual abuse material) are not protected by Section 230, and state/federal AGs are circling.
• Shifts in Platform Validity: X is driven by bots and controversy, while attempts at more "real" or authenticated social networks continue to run up against the need for anonymity and openness.
• Verification, Anonymity & Authentication Debate: Ongoing debate on whether the future lies in real-ID social networks (e.g., WorldCoin style iris scans), hybrid anonymized models, and the risks of platform censorship.

Notable Quotes:

• Alex Stamos [66:02]: "The person committing the crime is actually Grok. XAI is the generator here. They do not have Section 230 protection."
• Leo [59:36]: "There is an argument that sometimes you do need anonymity. So a fully real social network... I don’t know."

Timestamps:

• Social media’s evolution, bot-driven discourse: 55:01–59:36
• Deepfakes, Grok, and legal liabilities: 64:05–69:36
• Anonymity vs. real-ID solutions: 59:36–62:18

5. Microsoft, BitLocker & the Push for Encrypted Privacy

(79:18–84:54)

• BitLocker Key Disclosures: News that Microsoft routinely (20+ times/year) provides BitLocker keys to government with a warrant; the default is now for keys to be stored with the user's Microsoft account.
• Informed User Choices: You can avoid this, but only via complex workarounds that most users will never bother with.
• Comparison to Apple & Linux: Apple’s FileVault is much more privacy-protective by default. The panel sees further privacy erosion with Apple and Windows, driving a rising adoption of Linux.
• Linux Advances: Modern Linux distros (and Proton/Valve’s investment in gaming) make it increasingly feasible as a secure, default desktop.

Notable Quotes:

• Alex Stamos [83:27]: "If your threat model includes the US government, you should not be using Windows."
• Patrick Beja [84:26]: "Linux is gaining ground everywhere I think... even among gamers now."

Timestamps:

• Microsoft’s BitLocker and privacy realities: 79:18–81:47
• User migration to Linux: 84:26–85:54

6. Social Media and Child/Teen Safety

(88:19–94:57)

• UK House of Lords Proposes Banning Social Media for Under 16s: Heightened global concern over mental health harms.
• A Shift in Perspective: The panel, once skeptical of “moral panics”, now grants credence to academic research showing significant harms from unregulated social media exposure for children.
• OS-Level Solutions: The best approach may be parental controls and age restriction at the OS level—easier to implement, more flexible, and less prone to tech company workarounds.

Notable Quotes:

• Patrick Beja [91:47]: "We're moving away from people saying 'Oh, this is just a moral panic.' There's a decent corpus of academic research and evidence that shows it does have negative effects."
• Alex Stamos [101:01]: "This is what I've been pushing for the whole time... it's the one choice to a point at which parents have a good leverage."

Timestamps:

• Ban proposals and international context: 88:19–94:57
• Parental controls, OS-level proposals: 99:55–101:35

7. AI’s Price, Peril, and Open Source Pushback

(107:21–111:22)

• Dev Fatigue: Open source maintainers of tools like cURL are overwhelmed by low-quality, AI-generated bug reports—prompting them to end their bug bounty programs.
• AI Fast Outpacing Gatekeeping: Some academic take-home exams (like Anthropic’s) can now be completed faster and/or better by Claude than by human engineers, requiring changes in assessment.
• Sandboxing AI: When running LLMs (like Claude Cowork), security-conscious users should sandbox and isolate the environment to mitigate prompt injection and data leakage.

Notable Quotes:

• Alex Stamos [139:49]: "Opus 4.5 is definitely one of the leaders... in both what it can do as well as the security of the code generator."
• Leo Laporte [107:21]: "If you waste our time on crap reports, we will ban you and ridicule you in public. So there."

Timestamps:

• Open source and AI: 107:21–108:54
• Claude, code security, and prompt injection: 140:55–145:06

8. Other Notable Stories & Moments

• Toto’s Electrostatic Chuck: Japanese toilet titan Toto now makes "electrostatic chucks"—integral parts for chip making—as a critical, highly profitable component for the global memory industry.
  "42% of Toto's operating income last year came from electrostatic chucks." (167:01)
• Free TVs with Forced Ads: Telly’s “free TV” comes with a non-removable ad bar and, potentially, privacy violations. Uptake is low, and questions rise over the actual value proposition and audience.
• Gladys West Recognized: Recognition of Dr. Gladys West, pioneer of GPS geospatial modeling, upon her passing at age 95.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• Alex Stamos [25:30]: "What is not petty is... an executive order that explicitly called out Chris Krebs and said his clearance needed to be revoked."
• Doc Rock [97:09]: "These guys get threats for messing up a game... If this is affecting professional athletes, what exactly does it do to the kids?"
• Leo Laporte [80:55]: "I honestly feel like Apple's probably moving in that direction as well. I've moved to Linux pretty much on everything..."
• Leo Laporte [165:43]: "Before we were done, we had (Toto toilets) in every bathroom."
• Patrick Beja [170:29]: "I'm very much looking forward to it," on finally getting to sleep after joining the show from Paris at 2am.

Additional Timestamps & Topics

• Sports betting and manipulation: 04:48–11:00
• U.S.–EU relations and digital 'sovereignty': 30:04–33:22
• TikTok user experience & political handoff: 43:23–50:28
• Section 230 and AI-generated CSAM: 65:49–69:36
• BitLocker, FileVault, and Linux: 81:04–86:25
• Open source coping with AI noise: 108:54–111:22
• Toto’s surprising “chip” business: 165:00–167:05

Tone and Language

The discussion is witty, fast-paced, and laced with a deep skepticism about the motives of tech companies and government actors. Serious policy debates are punctuated by humor, personal anecdotes, and a sense of camaraderie among veteran technologists.

Summary

This episode provides a wide-ranging, insightful discussion of betting’s infiltration into news and sports, international tech power struggles, the post-sale future of TikTok, election security, the privacy tradeoffs of OSes, harms of social media for kids, and the nitty-gritty of AI's impact on the developer/infosec world. With jokes about Toto's rise as a chip supplier, a moment of respect for hidden tech heros, and plenty of wisdom for listeners trying to stay sane and secure in a fast-changing world, this is a must-listen for those who want substance, context, and a few laughs with their tech news.