This Week in Tech (TWiT) #1071: "Image Pickles" — Are Social Platforms Addictive or Just Too Good?

Date: February 16, 2026
Panel: Leo Laporte (host), Stacey Higginbotham (Consumer Reports), Wesley Faulkner (Work's Not Working), Thomas Germain (BBC, The Interface)

Main Theme

Is social media truly addictive, or simply engineered too well for our own good? This episode dives into the ongoing social media addiction trial in Los Angeles, the legal, psychological, and ethical dilemmas of platform design, the future of Section 230, and expanding risks around privacy, surveillance, age verification, and consumer technology.

Episode Breakdown

1. Introductions & Podcast Crossovers (00:00–03:30)

• Welcome to New Panelist: Thomas Germain, host of the BBC’s "The Interface". The show’s premise: "Everything is a technology story now."
• Quick Book Chat about Stacy's Book Club (theme: always on the lookout for non-dystopian, feel-good reads).

2. Main Segment: Social Media Addiction Trial (03:30–18:17)

Overview

• California trial sues Meta, YouTube, and others over “engineering addiction in children’s brains.”
• Adam Mosseri (Instagram) argues social platforms are "addictive like a great show on Netflix," sparking examination: Is this novelty, or are platforms specifically targeting addiction?

Key Insights & Discussion Points

• Stacy on Dark Patterns:
  "Really what should be on trial is...dark patterns, deceptive patterns, and that sort of thing...it’s deployed at scale, in such an emotionally close way...I would argue that it’s not just children." (04:57)

• Thomas on Legal Loopholes:
  "If we can prove that the design of the platform is the thing that's hurting people as opposed to the content itself, then maybe we can hold the companies liable and the courts will be able to do something...in a lot of ways, the whole future of the Internet hinges on [this]." (06:01)

• Is It Like TV?
  Examining parallels with 1980s deregulation of kids' television: "Are there parallels to that kind of deregulatory era...are kids unable to parse ads?" (07:20)

• Wesley on Social Features:
  "There’s a difference between the on demand, all the time nature of these apps that are different than even Succession...it's not just the infinite scroll; it's the social pressure." (08:08, 11:30)

• Addiction or Habit?
  Stacy shares personal TikTok experience:
  "It was something that was very easy to form a habit, much like smoking cigarettes." (10:36)

• Platform Knowledge & Responsibility:
  Thomas: "We know that Meta, for example, is well aware that the design of its products causes harm to its users… We have all these documents where the companies are discussing internally: This is a big problem and we're causing it." (15:03, 15:26)

Notable Quote

"Is this the crime that Instagram and Facebook and YouTube committed, that they're too good at it?" — Leo Laporte (14:28)

3. Section 230 Turns 30: Liability, Algorithms & the Edge of Reform (16:33–22:47)

Core Issue

• Section 230 shields platforms from liability for user content—but should algorithmic amplification change that?
• Is algorithmic curation making the platform a publisher, not just a neutral host?

Nuanced Views

• Thomas: "There are all kinds of cases where the tech platforms are acting like publishers…These algorithms are making the decisions." (18:43)
• Stacy: "It's time for nuance and we're just really terrible. This time is terrible for nuance and I'd love to read some really good thinking on that. Please send me stuff." (20:28)
• Thomas, on Solutions: Transparency, "What if there was a law that said you had to make it so that outside auditors...can go in and look at exactly what the algorithm is doing?" (21:24)
• Wesley: Proposes safety ratings (like restaurant health grades) but questions: "Who’s doing the grading?" (23:01)

4. Societal Responses: Regulation, Social Norms, or Market Competition? (24:12–29:13)

• TV/Movie ratings, warnings (like MPAA), and their limits as social safeguards
• Thess uestions about the effectiveness of social pressure (eg, smoking ban interventions) vs. hard policy
• Competition as hope: “I think competition’s the way to fix it...What’s going on with the Fediverse? Hopefully it’ll mature enough where people can feel like they can opt into the experience that they feel is good for them.” — Wesley (26:50)

5. Privacy & Surveillance: Ring, Meta, Facial Recognition in Glasses, Data Sharing (35:31–55:40)

Major Topics

• Meta’s Facial Recognition in Ray-Ban Glasses:
  Meta plans facial recognition release "because U.S. is distracted by political tumult."
  Thomas: "It’s one of the most cynical things I’ve ever seen from the tech industry. And that is really saying a lot." (36:01)

• Ring / Law Enforcement Partnerships:
  Ring canceled a controversial partnership with Flock Safety, but still partners with law enforcement (eg. Taser/Axon).
  The “Search Party” feature for locating lost dogs raises deeper surveillance risks.

• On Consumer Attitudes:
  "There is a constituency that wants this, though… if somebody's stealing boxes off my porch, I want to help law enforcement catch them." — Leo (42:37)
  Backlash & Racial Profiling: Stacy: “Neighbors [by Ring] really did become a racist… It was incredibly racist.” (45:08, 45:11)

• Surveillance Capitalism & Marketplace Risks:
  “What is being created right now is a marketplace for locating people.” — Wesley (43:11)

6. Tracking, Adtech, and Extreme Data Collection (57:24–65:38)

TikTok, Pixels, and Privacy Defenses

• Thomas’ Reporting: TikTok tracking everyone across the web, with or without an account, via invisible “pixels.”
• Blocking Strategies:
  Panel recommends UBlock Origin, privacy-centric browsers, and tools like Pi-hole, but note not all blockers block all trackers.
• Technical Details:
  Detailed discussion about HTML email tracking, "image pixels" (Leo: "Good Lord, I would love an image pickle right now." (60:00)), and browser fingerprinting.

7. Age Verification: Discord, Facial Scanning, and the Right to Anonymity (76:56–88:12)

Trends & Concerns

• Growing Requirement: Discord and other platforms implementing age verification due to global/regional regulations (UK, Australia).
• Technological Tactics: Some platforms use facial age estimation or request government IDs.
• Chilling Effects & Privacy:
  Thomas: “It’s not a good state of affairs when you have to constantly show your government ID everywhere you go on the Internet. For one, it's going to have a chilling effect on speech... Apple could build a system into your phone where you upload a copy of your ID.” (79:19)
• Potential for Abuse:
  Discussion of Louisiana’s state-based verification, and implications for government overreach and data leaks.

8. Hardware Vulnerabilities: Robot Vacuums Gone Wild (88:00–95:46)

• DJI Romovac Flaw: Researcher inadvertently took control of thousands of robot vacuums globally due to server misconfiguration.
• Bigger Impact: Cameras, mics, and home network security at risk.
  "It could actually cause loss of life in extreme cases." — Wesley (90:44)
• Consumer Protections:
  Stacey: “This is an area where you actually need the government to set rules and regulations, because it’s not something the competitive market can solve.” (91:48)

9. Subscriptions, Tethering & Ownership: Hardware You Never Own (101:56–107:43)

HP’s Laptop Subscription Model

• Panel weighs the tradeoffs of never owning your device, anti-consumer practices, and the rise of “software tethering.”
• Stacey: "Any time you have a subscription... this is like, what features, how can they change licensing terms? What if, for example, you use your leased laptop to upload, maybe use it to pirate music? They can remotely lock it." (105:09)

10. AI Everywhere: T-Mobile’s Real-Time Translation, Siri Delays, Voice Assistant Fatigue (111:19–124:24)

AI at the Network Level

• T-Mobile to add real-time translation via their internal servers ("not offloaded to any cloud"), raising privacy and indemnification concerns.
• Siri’s delayed generative AI update and general disappointment with current smart home assistants.
• Thomas: "The one thing that I really, really want from AI is to make my phone less annoying, that I can just talk to it and it'll do what I want... and it feels like the only thing I'm doing is fighting with it." (118:47)

11. Elon Musk Updates: SpaceX Pivot, Corporate Mergers, and Cult of Personality (131:07–137:42)

• SpaceX refocuses on the Moon, not Mars.
• Panel calls Musk's moves “a grift”: “The focus has always been his bank account.” — Wesley (131:35)
• Discussion on Tech Messianism:
  “This cult of personality that we need geniuses to save us… is also kind of disempowering. What if we all work together on something?” — Thomas (135:44)

12. UBI for Rural America: Guaranteed Minimum Income Initiative (154:39–158:14)

• Jeff Atwood's (Stack Overflow, Discourse) new philanthropic venture supports basic guaranteed income in rural communities.
• Wesley: “If you can have that be something that you don’t have to worry about because you have this income coming in, you are able to start doing more long term planning.” (156:14)

13. In Memoriam & Miscellaneous

• Passing of Hideki Sato (Sega console designer).
• Passing of Robert Tinney (legendary Byte magazine cover artist).
• Obituary for ChatGPT 4.0 as OpenAI sunsets it; empathetic discussion about people grieving their “AI partners” (148:04–153:08).

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Platform Accountability:
  "We have all these documents where the companies are discussing internally. These... are a big problem and we're causing it and we could do something about it... but they choose not to because they want to protect their bottom line." — Thomas Germain (15:03)

• On Privacy and Facial Recognition:
  "Facial recognition... is the end of any form of privacy in our society. It's over. It's done. As soon as that is just, like, a regular thing... it's over." — Thomas Germain (41:19)

• On Social Media Lawsuits:
  "It seems a perilous contention... should... you can't make a product that's too good because then you'll be liable for addiction." — Leo Laporte (09:10)

• On Regulation vs. Innovation:
  "If you have remote access to any device on your Home network it goes to... the public Internet and it has to hit a server somewhere." — Stacey Higginbotham (48:15)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:30–18:17: Social Media Addiction Trial & Platform Design ("Is social addictive?")
• 16:33–22:47: Section 230 & Algorithmic Liability
• 35:31–55:40: Privacy, Ring, Facial Recognition, Surveillance
• 57:24–65:38: Tracking Pixels, Adtech, Privacy Defenses
• 76:56–88:12: Age Verification Trends & Chilling Effects
• 88:00–95:46: Robot Vacuums & IoT Security Flaws
• 101:56–107:43: HP Laptop Subscriptions & Consumer Rights
• 111:19–124:24: T-Mobile AI Translation, Siri Disappointment
• 131:07–137:42: SpaceX, Elon Musk Critique, Tech Messiah Problem
• 154:39–158:14: Rural Guaranteed Minimum Income, Jeff Atwood's New Project

Tone & Style

• Conversational, candid, occasionally irreverent
• Balance between skepticism and deep empathy: Notably in discussions on privacy, user agency, and the psychological effects of tech design.
• Frequent asides, pop-culture references, and tech industry in-jokes

Recommended For:

Anyone interested in the intersections of technology, society, law, and privacy—especially listeners wrestling with the ethical challenges and unintended consequences of modern digital life. If you're considering how to navigate an increasingly surveilled, addictive, and AI-driven world, this episode is a must-listen.