The 404 Media Podcast

Episode: Trump Take LEGO

Date: September 3, 2025
Hosts: Joseph, Sam, Emmanuel, Jason
Main Stories: Trump tariffs’ impact on LEGO and hobbies; OnlyFans piracy and the digital economy

Episode Overview

This episode of The 404 Media Podcast dives into two major investigations published by the team: the far-reaching impact of Trump-era tariffs on hobbies and cross-border commerce (with LEGO’s “Pick a Brick” program as a key case study), and the unintended consequences of online content piracy takedowns on creators, media, and internet discoverability. The hosts blend firsthand reporting, conversational tangents, and pointed commentary to explore the effects of policy and tech on everyday consumers and digital creators.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Trump Tariffs & The LEGO "Pick a Brick" Shutdown

Discussion led by Jason and Joseph

LEGO and the Tariff Fallout (04:14–14:13)

• Personal LEGO Memories & Fan Culture

  • Jason admits, “I’m not a LEGO guy, to be honest. My brother and my sister are super into LEGO… I never got into it.” (04:48)
  • Brief digression on the importance of calling them “LEGO brand bricks,” not “Legos”:
    • “LEGO is the brand. So they're LEGO brand bricks, LEGO brand blocks. Don't call them Legos. People will be mad.” – Jason (05:52)
    • “LEGO, the brand, which is Danish, has a page about how to properly refer to their brand of blocks. And it's very serious. It's like Nintendo level of like, do not, do not mess this up or we'll be very mad.” – Jason (07:09)

• The “Pick a Brick” Program and Its Restrictions

  • LEGO’s unique service allowed U.S. and Canadian consumers to buy individual LEGO pieces. Over 2,500 types of bricks are now restricted in the U.S. due to new tariff rules. (07:58)
  • The “De Minimis” loophole—a program allowing imports under $800 without tariffs—ended on August 28th, 2025. It had initially allowed individuals to buy items (from bricks to fashion) from overseas without customs headaches.
    • “If something costs less than $800, you don't need to pay tariffs on it. This made things really easy for people who…were into fashion or who just like to buy things from overseas.” – Jason (08:38)
  • Third-party sellers and buyers face logistical chaos as a result. People even lost bricks from their shopping carts in real time when the change hit. (12:33)

• Canada’s Implication

  • Restrictions hit Canada too, as LEGO was funneling both U.S. and Canadian orders through a U.S.-based logistics hub. Manufacturing in the U.S. is now floated as a possible long-term fix. (13:04)

Tariffs’ Ripple Effect on Every Hobby (14:13–22:19)

• Segment Highlights Multiple Hobbies Affected

  • Noting the absurdity, Joseph asks: “Do they want Norwegian heavy metal bands to become American heavy metal bands and then produce their vinyls in the States or something?” (22:19)

• How It Gets ‘Complicated and Slow’:

  • “It’s not just, hey, you have to pay this tariff. There’s like a logistical aspect to paying the tariff…Now when you get a package internationally, the package is not just going to come directly to your house. It's going to clear customs at the border… Who knows how long that will take?” – Jason (15:22)
  • Shipping disruptions: major non-U.S. carriers (like Japan Post and DHL) are suspending or restricting shipments to the U.S.
  • Increased costs and uncertainty: buyers must navigate tariff codes, pay customs via carriers like FedEx, and contend with packages being held at the border.

• Impact on Niche and Vintage Commerce

  • “After I wrote this…people who are into anime figurines were like, I cannot get my waifus anymore. Like, I can't buy yarn. I can't buy, like, all this stuff that's just made elsewhere, like, all these hobbies. If you're into vintage anything…it's just a mess.” – Jason (21:41)

• Market Response and Consumer Consequences

  • U.S. businesses have tried to shield consumers from the impact (“…to make the tariffs look to consumers like they're not impacting prices…make this all invisible”), but now small business and hobbyist sellers can’t mask the friction. (23:03)
  • Jason invites affected listeners to share their stories:
    • “…if it’s affected you, if it's affected your business, I would love to hear from you…My email is Jason404 Media Co and my signal is Jason404.” (23:38)

2. OnlyFans Piracy and Overbroad DMCA Takedowns

Story by Emmanuel; discussed by Joseph, Sam, and Emmanuel (27:42–43:49)

Accidental De-Indexing—404 Media as a Victim (28:08–33:25)

• Emmanuel describes losing track of a 404 Media article via Google Search and discovering it (and 60+ other unrelated sites) had been mistakenly scrubbed from Google by a piracy takedown notice.
  • “And I did what we often do…just go to Google and type in some keywords plus four form media…And it just wouldn't come up.” – Emmanuel (28:08)
  • The takedown—a DMCA complaint by “Takedowns AI” on behalf of an OnlyFans creator—claimed false copyright violations against an AI-generated image not depicting the creator.
  • Sam: “The image that the notice was specifically referencing was an AI generated…picture of an AI therapist that was already on Instagram…[It] didn't really look alike.” (31:52)
  • “And just to emphasize how nonsense the claim is, it looks nothing like her. It obviously wasn't taken from any of her pages. And it's AI generated…” – Emmanuel (32:24)

The Ecosystem of Takedown Services (34:08–36:57)

• “Takedowns AI is a copyright takedown service, which is a type of service that has existed for, I would say more than a decade now…As the influencer economy grew…and specifically as the adult entertainment industry became…about individual creators…they needed a solution as well because their content is pirated all the time.” – Emmanuel (34:29)
• These companies—formerly focused on big media—increasingly serve solo content creators, especially in adult content, as “piracy is devastating for their business…these people are usually, you know, a one person business.” (34:47)
• Most services blend reverse image search, facial recognition (“Honeybee” academic site example), keyword scanning, and heavy automation to seek and file takedown requests.

Automation, Errors, and Collateral Damage (36:57–41:02)

• “It seems to me that the vast majority of those claims are legit. But it only takes one error to really damage the discoverability of our website, of other websites…It's not trivial damage that they're doing to the Internet and to specific websites.” – Emmanuel (39:21)
• Google de-indexing still crushes traffic/discoverability; academic articles, journalistic sites, and others have been swept up in faulty takedowns.
  • Joseph: “…it's much more about the sort of secondary effects or impact it's having on other parts of the World Wide Web, not even their own clients or those creators.” (40:01)

The Deeper Problem: DMCA, Search, and the Platform-Driven Web (41:02–43:49)

• "What makes this problem interesting…is that it's not just one thing. It is the intersection of several things that are very shitty about the Internet." – Emmanuel (41:02)
  • 1. Flawed DMCA and automated takedown tools: prone to abuse and overreach.
  • 2. “OnlyFans piracy problem”: Individual creators are easy targets for piracy but lack resources to self-police, deepening dependence on flawed automation.
  • 3. Monoculture risk of Google: Overreliance means mistakes distort the information ecosystem.
• “It's interesting how all these problems are coming to a head in, like, this one way for sure.” – Emmanuel (43:49)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Don’t call them Legos. People will be mad.” – Jason, (05:52)
• “Now when you get a package internationally…it's going to clear customs at the border. And, like, who knows how long that will take?” – Jason, (15:22)
• “After I wrote this, people who are into anime figurines were like, I cannot get my waifus anymore.” – Jason, (21:41)
• “It seems to me that the vast majority of those claims are legit. But it only takes one error to really damage the discoverability of our website…” – Emmanuel, (39:21)
• “What makes this problem interesting…is that it's not just one thing. It is the intersection of several things that are very shitty about the Internet.” – Emmanuel, (41:02)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Intro and ICE Technology Bonus Pod Mention: 01:09–04:09
• LEGO/Tariff Deep Dive Begins: 04:14
• What is De Minimis and Why It Matters: 07:58–10:02
• Tariff Effects on Hobbies/Broader eBay Chaos: 14:13–22:19
• Fielding Community Stories – Call for Impacted Listeners: 23:38
• Transition to OnlyFans Takedowns Segment: 27:42
• Accidental De-Indexing Discovery: 28:08–33:25
• How Takedown Services Work and the Scale of Errors: 34:08–39:21
• Wider Internet Implications & Closing Thoughts: 41:02–43:49

Summary

This episode offers a richly detailed exploration of the ripple effects U.S. policies and flawed digital tools are having on everyday lives—whether you're trying to buy a LEGO minifig head or keep your articles searchable on Google. The 404 Media team brings their signature blend of humor, technical expertise, and skepticism, putting listener stories and investigative rigor front and center. The takeaway: even small regulatory (or algorithmic) changes send shockwaves through culture and commerce, making vigilance and public conversation all the more essential.

If your hobby, business, or web publishing has been affected by these issues, the 404 Media team is actively seeking stories—reach out to Jason (for tariffs/hobbies) or Emmanuel (for DMCA/discoverability issues).