Tech Brew Ride Home — GDPR To Be Defanged?

Podcast: Tech Brew Ride Home
Host: Brian McCullough
Date: November 10, 2025
Episode Theme: Changes in global tech regulation, the resurgence of ICOs, Apple Music’s growth pitfalls, and experiments in AI-powered crypto trading.

Episode Overview

In this episode, Brian McCullough dives into several hot topics dominating the tech landscape:

• The potential loosening of Europe’s GDPR to encourage AI competitiveness
• Coinbase’s plan to resurrect public token sales (ICOs) for retail investors
• Apple Music’s struggle to keep pace with Spotify and YouTube
• An experiment testing if AI can out-trade humans in crypto (spoiler: not yet)

1. Is the EU About to Defang GDPR for AI?

[00:37 – 06:27]

Main Point:
The European Commission is considering significant amendments to the landmark General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) with the aim of accelerating AI development and reducing business red tape.

Key Insights & Discussion:

• Draft Documents Leak

  • The European Commission plans a “digital omnibus package” to simplify tech laws, including GDPR, to boost AI and competitiveness.
  • The Commission claims changes are “just trimming excess fat,” but leaks indicate potential far-reaching changes.

• Political & Privacy Backlash

  • Changing GDPR is “the third rail of EU tech policy” – expect major political and lobbying conflict.
  • Quote:

    “Is this the end of data protection and privacy as we have signed it into the EU Treaty and Fundamental Rights Charter?” — Jan Philipp Albrecht, former MEP and GDPR architect [02:08]
    “The commission should be fully aware that this is undermining European standards dramatically.” — Albrecht [02:18]

• Economic Motivations

  • Europe fears losing ground in the AI race; Mario Draghi’s 2024 report blames GDPR for stifling innovation.
  • Recent regulatory action has delayed AI rollouts by Meta, LinkedIn, Google, OpenAI, and others.

• Civil Society Concerns

  • Advocacy groups warn the process is rushed and lacks transparency or sufficient impact assessments.
  • Quote:

    “The commission is secretly trying to overrun everyone else in Brussels... This disregards every rule on good lawmaking with terrible results.” — Max Schrems, NOIB privacy campaigner [03:43]
    “The commission’s tunnel vision on the AI race has resulted in a poorly drafted quick shot in a highly complex and sensitive area.” — Schrems [04:19]

• Draft Proposal Details:

  • New exceptions for AI: Companies could use special category data (like religious or health data) for AI training.
  • Redefining personal data: Pseudonymized data might not always be protected.
  • Cookie rules overhaul: Expanded grounds for website and app user tracking, easing current consent requirements.

• What Happens Next?

  • Official announcement expected November 19
  • The package still faces fierce debate among EU lawmakers.

2. The Return of ICOs? Coinbase Bets on Public Token Sales

[06:28 – 09:30]

Main Point:
Coinbase intends to launch a platform allowing individual investors to buy new digital tokens before they list on the exchange—reminiscent of the wild ICO era of 2017–2018.

Key Insights & Discussion:

• How It Works:

  • One token sale per month, algorithmic allocation for fairness.
  • Investors must register and use USDC (a dollar stablecoin) for purchases.
  • Example: Monad will be the first project launched.

• Investor Protections:

  • Mechanisms to prevent “quick profit taking”—users who dump tokens get reduced allocations in future sales.
  • Project founders and affiliates locked up from selling for 6 months.

• Nostalgic and Cautious Perspective:

  • Aims to avoid pitfalls of the ICO mania (“whitepapers only” era) and outright fraud.
  • Quote:

    “In 2017 the market was so young that no one really had a deep crypto resume before launching a token. Now projects and their teams have more to show than just a white paper.” — Scott Shapiro, Coinbase [09:18]

3. Apple Music: Is the Lack of a Free Tier Hurting Growth?

[09:31 – 13:56]

Main Point:
Despite strong paid subscriber numbers, Apple Music trails Spotify and even YouTube in growth and audience penetration—possibly due to its refusal to offer a free tier.

Key Insights & Discussion:

• The Numbers:

  • Spotify: 263M paid, 615M total users
  • Apple Music: 94M paid, 110M total users
  • Weekly usage: Spotify 43%, Apple Music 16%

• Analysis from Insiders:

  • Quote:

    “Basically, nobody uses Apple Music that isn’t already paying for it.” — Brian McCullough [10:28]

  • Apple’s “premium only” approach may help with artist relations but weakens audience growth, especially outside North America and the UK.

• Competitive Landscape:

  • YouTube is gaining rapidly, both in streams and artist revenue, outpacing Apple Music globally.
  • Apple’s focus on “high fidelity” audio draws little mainstream consumer enthusiasm.

• Threats & Disruptions:

  • The rise of AI in music creation and curation, with new app models (e.g., law-abiding AI remix platforms) potentially shifting how people discover and engage with music.
  • Spotify is integrating with chatbots like ChatGPT, making music recommendation less about platform playlists.

• Quote:

  “If Apple Music doesn’t get more aggressive at finding and signing up people in this new area of rapidly changing music discovery, what will spur its future growth?” — Brian McCullough [13:53]

4. Can AI Out-Trade Humans in Crypto? The Alpha Arena Experiment

[13:57 – 18:25]

Main Point:
A live experiment gave $10,000 to each of six top AI models to trade crypto. Most lost big; the only winners were Chinese-developed AIs.

Key Insights & Discussion:

• The Setup:

  • AIs (including ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude Sonnet, Grok, Deepseek, and Kwen) were set loose for 17 days, tasked with maximizing returns on crypto derivatives.

• The Results:

  • AI Blew Up:
    • ChatGPT: down 63%
    • Gemini: down 56%
    • Grok: down 45%
    • Claude Sonnet: down 30%
  • Better Performers:
    • Deepseek (China): +4%
    • Kwen (Alibaba, China): +20% (by betting big on Bitcoin at the last minute)

• Notable Observations:

  • Different models display “inductive biases”—e.g., Claude always goes long, Gemini is willing to short.
  • Quote:

    “Claude almost always goes long and refuses to go short. It’s like an eternal optimist. Whereas Gemini is happy to short.” — Alpha Arena researcher [18:04]

  • Next round may add more models and let AIs trade equities as well.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Is this the end of data protection and privacy as we have signed it into the EU Treaty and Fundamental Rights Charter?”
  — Jan Philipp Albrecht, former MEP [02:08]

• “The commission should be fully aware that this is undermining European standards dramatically.”
  — Albrecht [02:18]

• “This disregards every rule on good lawmaking with terrible results.”
  — Max Schrems, NOIB [03:43]

• “Basically, nobody uses Apple Music that isn’t already paying for it.”
  — Brian McCullough [10:28]

• “Claude almost always goes long and refuses to go short. It’s like an eternal optimist. Whereas Gemini is happy to short.”
  — Alpha Arena Researcher [18:04]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• GDPR/AI Regulation – 00:37–06:27
• Coinbase ICO Platform – 06:28–09:30
• Apple Music’s Growth Problems – 09:31–13:56
• AI Crypto Trading Experiment – 13:57–18:25

Conclusion

This episode offers a fast-paced but thorough survey of pressing issues in tech policy, crypto, and music platforms, highlighting the complex trade-offs facing both regulators and innovators worldwide. If you want a primer on the current crosswinds of tech and regulation, it's a must-listen.