Meta was caught downloading p***. But it has a, err, explanation ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

October 31, 2025 | Read online
# The Hague is going open source, shortcuts-pilled and the Sizzler Say Meta was caught downloading p***. But it has a, err, explanation
Edition 2451
"DSC_6232" (Flickr: possan)
# The News
### The Hague is shifting to open source because they think impending Trump sanctions will lock them out of Office
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is ditching Microsoft Office for an open source European alternative over fears about its reliance on tech companies under the control of the Trump administration (Euractiv). The Court told a German newspaper that it is transitioning to German-run OpenDesk software. The ICC’s Registrar had a fairly ominous quote about the move:
Given the circumstances, we need to reduce dependencies and strengthen the Court's technological autonomy
Osvaldo Zavala Giler
Those “circumstances” are a reference to reports that the US government is considering putting sanctions on the entire ICC (Reuters) — somewhat of an issue because apparently 90% of the Court’s systems rely on US technology providers who would face criminal prosecution if they don’t cut the ICC off (FT, $). Earlier this year, the ICC’s chief prosecutor was locked out of his Microsoft Office email because of US sanctions, following the Court’s issuing of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (AP).
The Sizzle: Talking about a widespread shift to open source software is so exciting to a small portion of us that it’s become a meme. (Although I do have a good feeling that 2026 will be the year of Linux on the desktop). But I think this, closely intertwined with ideas about digital sovereignty, has graduated from being almost like a hobby or pet project to being a serious consideration for any big organisation now that most major tech companies are domiciled in a place under the authoritarian regime.
It’s almost too crazy to think about because of how wide-ranging the consequences are if you entertain — No, we’re going to be fine using Google and Microsoft and Apple etc. — but once you do, it becomes daunting as a systemic weakness for many of the most powerful institutions in the world.
The other side: Australia’s digital Snowy Hydro moment is here (ASPI’s The Strategist)
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
### I’m getting Apple Shortcuts-pilled
You know that odd-looking app icon with the two overlapping squares that turned up in iOS16 called “Shortcuts”? For those not familiar, this is a purportedly “simple” app that allows you to automate certain things on your iPhone or other Apple device.
When it was first announced in 2022, I tried dicking around in it but I found it too finicky and quickly forgot about it. Then, this week, I listened to the Verge’s podcast interview with Shortcuts guru Stephen Robles who completely inspired me to get back into it.
All eyes on Meta's smart glasses | Vergecast
A few days later, I’m completely Shortcuts-pilled. It is still very finicky and pretty unintuitive, but once you get the hang of it, there’s a bunch of stuff that you can do that is very handy. One that I set up this week was to help with interviewing people was to create a shortcut that records audio and immediately names and uploads it to Otter for transcription.
Here are a few others that I saw people share that might inspire you:
A shortcut that will automatically text someone (like your partner) with your ETA home, based on Apple Maps calculations of trip time. A shortcut that sets an automatic reminder about when to get your next refill of medication when you’re texted an ePrescription. A shortcut that automatically locks your orientation when you open a specific app like YouTube, so you don’t need to toggle it on and off.
This is your homework! Go and mess around in Shortcuts — or for Android, I hear Tasker can do a lot of this too — and let me know if you come up with any! (Also a pro-tip from Robles is that AI chatbots like ChatGPT are very good for helping you design Shortcuts if you can’t figure it out).
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
### The Sizzle Say on e-bikes, robot guys in your home, hidden police messages and the 1% club
As always, if you wanna get involved (or even be able to read what’s on Slack) you can join the Slack server and forum via these links. Also fun admin update: the Slack now has a channel that gets an update every time there’s a post in the forums
I had a lot of very positive feedback on e-bikes last week! Thank you to Sizzlers like Kiernan and Ben who emailed in with their own experiences, and everyone who got stuck into it on Slack. On the other hand, not as many people keen on the forums on having a robot guy in your house. Although Marshall did make the good point that “I’m not putting a creepy cloud connected stalker robot guy in my house with my kids, but robot guy can come to the office and do jobs anytime.” Thank you to the people on the forum who cracked a hidden code in the AFP’s computer wallpapers. Chendo on Slack has made a call-out for suggestions on iPhone 17 Pro case recommendations. Also in response to the 1% club: I had people like Peter write in to say they “live on one per cent”. DISGUSTING
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
#### Leftovers
Australia:
Sorry China: Albanese and Rudd work up new tech deal for Trump (The Sydney Morning Herald, $) Time to get ready for new SMS Sender ID Register (ACMA) I’m sorry I missed this when it came out earlier this month but, cool Tasmanian government confirms agencies impacted by VETtrak breach (Cyber Daily) BYD agrees warranty for battery-on-wheels trial, as 4,000 join queue for Amber V2G offer (thedriven.io) Data centres lead $136bn NSW investment rush (InnovationAus.com, $) Phone numbers for use in TV shows, films and creative works (ACMA)
Rest of the world:
OpenAI thought to be preparing for $1tn stock market float (The Guardian) Canva launches its own design model, adds new AI features to the platform (TechCrunch) U.S. agencies back banning popular home WiFi device, citing national security risk (The Washington Post, $) AI Firm Udio Angers Users With Universal Deal Restricting Songs (Bloomberg, $) Someone Snuck Into a Cellebrite Microsoft Teams Call and Leaked Phone Unlocking Details (404 Media, $) The AI Crash Is Coming (The Atlantic, $) Meta and TikTok are obstructing researchers' access to data, European Commission rules (Science.org, $) A Fight Over Big Tech's Emissions Has the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Caught in the Crossfire (Wired, $) Mark Zuckerberg is excited to add more AI content to all your social feeds (The Verge) “I have released a 69.0MB version of Windows 7 x86. “ (@XenoPanther on X)
| Batman or halo @youwouldntpost |
for a couple weeks now the horny Grok Imagine guys have been complaining that they can no longer prompt it to create gooner hentai and are instead posting AI-generated "RIP" content where the model can't even spell its own name
7:16 PM • Oct 29, 2025
428 Likes 25 Retweets
6 Replies
Discuss these links in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
# Oh, Also
### Meta was caught downloading p***. But it has a, err, explanation
As part of the cascading lawsuits over Meta’s mass theft of IP to train its AI, TechSpot is reporting that Mark Zuckerberg’s company is being sued by the adult entertainment company behind series like Tushy, Blacked and Deeper. (Never heard of them? Neither). The company, Strike 3, is asking for more than $500 million in damages.
Among Meta’s defences to the suit is the claim that the small number of adult videos — just 22 per IP address per year! — means that this was downloaded for personal use and not for commercial reasons. It’s probably the first time that someone has tried to get out of trouble after being caught downloading p*** by saying, actually, honey, it’s for pleasure, not business.
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
# Bargains
Electrical & Electronics
EFM Power On-The-Go USB-C Power Bank Black Twin Pack (With Free Kids Headphones) - $27.99 at MobileSkin Arlec AGS Gaming 12 Outlet Premium Surge Powerboard with Master Foot Switch - $30 at Bunnings Earfun Air Pro 4+ Wireless Earbuds - $129 at Earfun AU Amazon AU (Down from $149.99) Harman Kardon Citation 700 Soundbar - $229 at McCalls AV Zemismart Z-wave Motorize Curtain Motor With Track 3.1m - $265 at Zemismart Hisense 75 Inch ULED Mini-LED U6QAU 4K QLED Smart TV 75U6QAU PRO in Warehouse - $1399 at Costco Sony FE 70-200mm F/2.8 GM OSS II Lens - $2920 at OpticPro
Computing
Apple USB-C Power Adapter 140w - $35 at Officeworks Acer EK1 24.5" 120Hz 1080p IPS Monitor - $89 at Umart Legion Pro 7i Laptop (RTX 5090, Intel 9 275HX, 16" 1600p OLED, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD) via Mobile Browser - $4883 at Lenovo
Mobile
50% cashback on Vodafone 85GB 28-day prepaid plus starter pack SIM - $16 at TopCashback AU 30% cashback on Vodafone 300GB 12-month prepaid plus starter sack SIM - $199 at TopCashback AU iPhone 16e 128GB in-Store - $749 at Costco iPhone 17 Pro Max 256GB - $2085 at Officeworks (Down from $2197
# The End
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