Social Media: No Easy Remediation Is Available. Tough Luck.
February 5, 2026
Another dinobaby post. No AI unless it is an image. This dinobaby is not Grandma Moses, just Grandpa Arnold.
I am skeptical when poohbahs, self appointed experts, and journalists predict the future. Yeah, what horse will win the Kentucky Derby? Yeah, but did yo8u win the 2025 Derby? Oh, why not? Yep, predictions.
I read “IG Is a Drug”: Internal Messages May Doom Meta at Social Media Addiction Trial.” If you are like me, you might think “IG” means inspector general. Then you have to ask a younger person what “IG” means. You learn that “IG” is zippy talk for Instagram. If you don’s use Instagram, the idea that Instagram is the equivalent of heroin may surprise you. Instagram is in the business of providing a messaging/publishing service so users can share photos, videos, and messages, follow accounts, and distribute content to other “IG” users.
Venice.ai. This image is actually about a B minus.
I am not going to wander through the write up. As a dinobaby, I know that fooling around with social media is a very bad way to spend time. Instead I will select one passage and offer a handful of observations. Here’s the salient snip:
Shorts, YouTube’s feature that rivals TikTok, also is a concern for parents suing, and three years later, documents showed Google choosing to target teens with Shorts, despite research flagging that the “two biggest challenges for teen wellbeing on YouTube” were prominently linked to watching shorts. Those challenges included Shorts bombarding teens with “low quality content recommendations that can convey & normalize unhealthy beliefs or behaviors” and teens reporting that “prolonged unintentional use” was “displacing valuable activities like time with friends or sleep.”
If the information in the write up is one the money, each of the social media firms focused on making money, not on the impact of its social media service on individual users, social norms, or society as a whole.
Several observations:
- The impact of social media is obvious. Flows of online information erode thinking, infrastructure, and social norms.
- The technology is nifty, and those creating technology are unable, refuse, or prefer to ignore the consequences of what their social media systems do. The problem is related to a lack of an ethical compass. Irrelevant; therefore, just do more clever technology.
- Remediation will be difficult if not impossible. Australia is playing a cat and mouse game with 13 year olds who are finding ways to do what they want online.
Net net: The failure of regulators in the last 15 to 20 years is partly to blame. Schools are to blame for allowing mobile phones in classrooms. Parents are to blame because it is easy to give a kid an iPhone and get a break from the “Mommy, mommy, I need…” routine. Remember. I am a dinobaby and impatient with publications that predict how internal documents will have an impact on a trial. Wake up, buttercup.
Stephen E Arnold, February 5, 2026
Mr. Musk, Ms. Yaccarino, Meet JUNALCO. Have a Nice Chat
February 4, 2026
![green-dino_thumb_thumb[3]](https://www.arnoldit.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/green-dino_thumb_thumb3.gif "green-dino_thumb_thumb[3]")
Another dinobaby post. No AI unless it is an image. This dinobaby is not Grandma Moses, just Grandpa Arnold.
Elon Musk and his former CEO Linda Yaccarino may have to make a trip to Paris in the spring. The reason? The duo have a date with JUNALCO. So what’s a “JUNALCO.” In French it is Juridiction nationale de lutte contre la criminalité organisée. The translation is in my rusty French something like France’s national prosecutors for organized crime, cybercrime, and complex transnational cases. If I think in terms of the US judicial and law enforcement set up, JUNALCO is a mix of special police (for instance, cyber investigators), the FBI, and a couple of offices of the State Department.
Getting caught in the French government’s legal processes is a problem for non-citizens. France is wired into other law enforcement organizations and the transnational folks as well. Non-citizens can “ignore” French legal requests and let their lawyers rack up big bills while catching some decent meals as the French legal processes move forward.
Two figures waiting in the rain for the French authorities to let them into the government building. Ah, Paris in the spring. Thanks, Venice.ai. Your French is worse than mine. It is “judiciaire,” not jiujicade. Sigh.
But if the person or persons ignore the French request, the French government is quite good at paperwork. A quick change at one of France’s airport en route to another destination could become an opportunity to spend some time with Border Police (PAF) and Customs (Douanes). At airports or any border crossing, these officials have wide discretionary powers. Computers make it easy to ID and chat with those on a watch list. In France, detention does not require an arrest warrant.
Who cares about this JUNALCO stuff? Answer: Elon Musk and Linda Yaccarino do.
“Paris Prosecutors Raid France Offices of Elon Musk’s X” reports:
Police specializing in combating cyber-crime, assisted by Europol, have raided the offices of Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, in France. The Paris prosecutor said it related to an investigation into the content recommended by X’s algorithm, which had subsequently been widened to include its controversial AI chatbot, Grok. The prosecutor’s office added both Musk and former X chief executive officer Linda Yaccarino had been summoned to appear at hearings in April as part of its probe.
France to most people means good food, nice architecture, and wonderful shopping. To those snagged in its bureaucratic processes France means home of the EU’s most overcrowded prison, Byzantine legal processes, and time… lots of time. Attorneys understand time and how to use it.
The question becomes, “Why target X.com, Elon, and the former CEO Linda, the ad sales expert?”
The answer is, “France has a case.”
JUNALCO does not take action with Europol along for the ride unless it has, in JUNALCO’s view, a very solid case against what France perceives as a very bad actor. The head of the Paris prosecutor’s office, in my experience, is not going to be moved by the wealth, power, rocket ships, and robots. Nope. X.com is on the JUNALCO spring agenda.
I would suggest that:
- This is serious: The raid, the summons, and the direct involvement of Europol
- Two executives means separate “interviews” and a real life prisoner’s dilemma for Mr. Musk. This is pressure geometry
- Refusal to appear means future risks and probably issues in other countries. Change planes at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and the possibility exists that Mr. Musk or Ms. Yaccarino could be picked up and whisked to Paris
- France is the pointed end of the stick for certain major cyber crime actions in Western Europe.
What happens if Mr. Musk or Ms. Yaccarino is held for interrogation? Mr. Musk and/or Ms Yaccarino’s French attorneys will work with the duo’s American attorneys to contact the US embassy. Will that online form for assistance requests be acted upon promptly? One hopes.
This is a now, tomorrow, and future problem. As Simon and Garfunkel wrote:
April, come she will
When streams are ripe and swelled with pain
Ooops. Sorry. I meant “rain,” not “pain.” My bad.
Stephen E Arnold, February 4, 2026
A Red Shark with the Vibe of Tony Robbins Spotted
February 3, 2026
This is another Telegram-related post. The complete essay appears on the Telegram Notes’ service. The content is published on BearBlogs. The link to the complete article appears in the summary below. Each document is an human extract from the “notes” my team and I gathered in our research for my new monograph for law enforcement, “The Telegram Labyrinth.” If you want a copy, please, write kentmaxwell at proton dot me. The Telegram Notes’ essays provide some insight into the type of information that is in my September 2025 monograph. Thank you. Stephen E Arnold. PS. The goat represents the founder of Telegram, who has been associated with the acronym GOAT as the greatest of all time Russia’s tech innovators. The chewing goat icon is from Giphy.com. When you see the GOAT, I will have another “Telegram Notes” available.
I have posted a new essay in our Telegram Notes’ service. Its title is “Yuri Mitin: A Red Shark in Troubled Waters.” Yuri Mitin, known as Russia’s “Tony Robbins of Startups,” became visible in late 2025 as one of the people AlphaTON Capital. This is a NASDAQ-listed company tied to Telegram’s TONcoin and Telegram’s artificial intelligence service Cocoon. Originally a Moscow media personality and founder of RSV Ventures (rebranded from “Red Shark” to avoid U.S. regulatory red flags), Mitin moved to Manhattan to succeed in American capital markets. His timing aligned Pavel Durov’s 2024 arrest in France. Mitin and partners included ex-NASDAQ exec Enzo Villani and social media specialist Brittany Kaiser. The team acquired distressed biotech firm Portage Biotech, rebranded it AlphaTON Capital (ticker: ATON — a provocative nod to a notorious Russian brokerage), and launched it on NASDAQ. This was done quickly. I call these types of shell flips “Swanson TV dinner” companies. The plan is to monetize Telegram’s AI ambitions by leasing computing power to its new Cocoon project. Some problems have surfaced. The SEC hit AlphaTON with a nastygram for violating “Baby Shelf” rules, citing a suspicious $420.69M float. The essay explains the insider jokes of “420” and “69” in meme numerology. Worse, AlphaTON falsely claimed a $30M deal with defense firm Anduril Industries. CEO Palmer Luckey publicly exposed the lie and AlphaTON ended up with egg on its face. At the end of December 2025, AlphaTON paid $15M to sever ties with crypto market maker Andrei Grachev. This individual had some links to the state-linked “trade association” known as RACIB. Mitin’s high-speed, high-risk play has blended social media hype, shaky partnerships, and managerial missteps into an interesting concoction. Whether the red shark is acting alone or under direction remains unclear. But one thing is certain: a red shark is swimming in US financial pools. You can read the complete essay at this location.
Stephen E Arnold, February 3, 2026
Telegram Notes: Mama Durova and Her Inner Circle, Part 2
January 20, 2026
Another dinobaby post. No AI unless it is an image. This dinobaby is not Grandma Moses, just Grandpa Arnold.
This is the second part of my Telegram Notes’ write up about Pavel Durov’s mother. “Mama Albina, Pure Bred Animals, and Some Tricks” gathers thoughts, comments, and hypotheses about what I call a “web of companies.” Imagine. As a professor of “misinformation” and social media, she watched the viral take off of VKontakte. Mama Durova pulled her “cozy group” together. In the circle were her former and second husband, her three sons, and one adopted high-performer whom Nikolai helped. As Pasha rapidly coded VKontakte into a Russian Facebook, his libertarian stance on privacy collided with the Kremlin’s demand for control during the Snow Revolution protests. While Pasha postured as the defiant "GOAT" (the greatest of all time Russian entrepreneur and visionary), she did what mothers do. She orchestrated a "core group" of family insiders—half-brothers and trusted associates—who allegedly routed VK’s revenue through a web of shadow companies like Peering LLC and VKT Rus while using her influence to shield Pasha from Kremlin needs. When the Kremlin moved to silence dissent, Pasha refused to bend, transforming from a golden child into a black sheep. By 2014, he was exiled to run Telegram and create another entrepreneurial winner. Mama’s network remained entrenched in Russia. This briefing uncovers the ultimate family bargain: Did Mama sacrifice her son’s freedom to preserve the lucrative empire she helped build? You can find Part II at this Telegram Notes / Bear Blog page. (Lectures about Telegram are available via Zoom or in person. Write kentmaxwell@proton.me for information. Each lecture attendee receives a free copy of “The Telegram Labyrinth.”
Stephen E Arnold, January 20, 2026
Telegram Notes: Mama Durova and Her Inner Circle
January 14, 2026
Another dinobaby post. No AI unless it is an image. This dinobaby is not Grandma Moses, just Grandpa Arnold.
We filtered our notes for my new book “The Telegram Labyrinth.” Information about Pavel Durov’s mom was sparse. What we had, however, was interesting. The inner circle boils down to her ex-husbands and her three sons. In Part One of a two-part write up, you can get a snapshot of the individuals who facilitated the technical and business plumbing for VKontakte until its sale to Kremlin-approved buyers and then for the Telegram messaging service. You can find part one of this interesting group on my Telegram Notes online service.
Stephen E Arnold, January 14, 2026
ChatGPT Channels Telegram
January 7, 2026
Just what everyone needs: Telegram type apps on the Sam AI-Man platform. What will bad actors do? Obviously nothing. Apps will be useful, do good, and make the world a better place.k
ChatGPT now connects to apps without leaving the AI interface.? ? According to Mashable, “ChatGPT Launches Apps Beta: 8 Big Apps You Can Now Use In ChatGPT.”? ? ChatGPT wants its users to easily access apps or take suggestions during conversations with the AI.? ? The idea is that ChatGPT will be augmented by apps and extend conversations.
App developers will also be able to use ChatGPT to build chat-native experiences to bring context and action directly into conversations.
The new app integration is described as:
“While some commentators have referred to the new Apps beta as a ChatGPT app store, at this time, it’s more of an app directory. However, in the “Looking Ahead” section of its announcement post, OpenAI does note that this tool could eventually ‘expand the ways developers can reach users and monetize their work.’”
The apps that are integrated into ChatGPT are Zillow, Target, Expedia, Tripadvisor, Instacart, DoorDash, Apple Music, and Spotify.? ? This sounds similar to what Telegram did.? ? Does this mean OpenAI is on the road to Telegram like services?
Just doing good. Bad actors will pay no attention.
Whitney Grace, January 7, 2025
Telegram Notes: Occasional Observations
December 29, 2025
![green-dino_thumb_thumb[3]_thumb](https://www.arnoldit.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/green-dino_thumb_thumb3_thumb-1.gif "green-dino_thumb_thumb[3]_thumb")
Another dinobaby post. No AI unless it is an image. This dinobaby is not Grandma Moses, just Grandpa Arnold.
My new Telegram Notes’ service is coming along. Watch Beyond Search for a link to the stories. We will post a short summary of a story in Beyond Search which I have producing since 2008. The longer Telegram Notes’ essays will appear in the new service. We are testing a couple of options. We have a masthead. The art was produced by Google and Venice smart software. If you know nothing about Telegram, its Messenger Service, or its new financial services, the illustration won’t make much sense. If you know a bit about Telegram, you will know about the GOAT. The references to crypto and other content are references to allegations about the content on the platform.
The working version of the Telegram Notes’ masthead. Thanks, AI services. You are good enough.
Beyond Search will continue to host new articles in our traditional format. However, as we figure out how to best use our time, the flow of stories is likely to be uneven. (Personally I love the GOAT picture. But what’s that on the information highway beneath the GOAT? Probably nothing.
Stephen E Arnold, December 29, 2025
Un-Aliving Violates TOS and Some Linguistic Boundaries
December 18, 2025
Ah, lawyers.
Depression is a dark emotionally state and sometimes makes people take their lives. Before people unalive themselves, they usually investigate the act and/or reach out to trusted sources. These days the “trusted sources” are the host of AI chatbots that populate the Internet. Ars Technica shares the story about how one teenager committed suicide after using a chatbot: “OpenAI Says Dead Teen Violated TOS When He Used ChatGPT To Plan Suicide.”
OpenAI is facing a total of five lawsuits about wrongful deaths associated with ChatGPT. The first lawsuit came to court and OpenAI defended itself by claiming that the teen in question, Adam Raine, violated the terms of service because they prohibited self-harm and suicide. While pursuing the world’s “most engaging chatbot,” OpenAI relaxed their safety measures for ChatGPT which became Raine’s suicide coach.
OpenAI’s lawyers argued that Raine’s parents selected the most damaging chat logs. They also claim that the logs show that Raine had had suicidal ideations since age eleven and that his medication increased his un-aliving desires.
Along with the usual allegations about shifting the blame onto the parents and others, OpenAI says that people use the chatbot at their own risk. It’s a way to avoid any accountability.
“To overcome the Raine case, OpenAI is leaning on its usage policies, emphasizing that Raine should never have been allowed to use ChatGPT without parental consent and shifting the blame onto Raine and his loved ones. ‘ChatGPT users acknowledge their use of ChatGPT is ‘at your sole risk and you will not rely on output as a sole source of truth or factual information,’ the filing said, and users also “must agree to ‘protect people’ and ‘cannot use [the] services for,’ among other things, ‘suicide, self-harm,’ sexual violence, terrorism or violence.’”
OpenAI employees were also alarmed by the amount of “liberties” used to make the chatbot more engaging.
How far will OpenAI go with ChatGPT to make it intuitive, human-like, and intelligent? Raines already had underlying conditions that caused his death, but ChatGPT did exasperate them. Remember the terms of service.
Whitney Grace, December 18, 2025
Australia: Kangaroos and Putting Kids in a Secure Pouch
December 17, 2025
Australia became the first country in the world to ban social media for kids under sixteen. They did it in a bid to protect the younger sect from addictive behaviors, online bullies, and predators. CNN details the ban in, “Millions Of Australian Children Just Lost Access To Social Media. What’s Happening And Will It Work?”
The ten platforms that are banned for under sixteen kids are, X, Twitch, Reddit, Kick, TikTok, Snapchat, Threats, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.
The ban will be implemented using age-verification technology, but the platforms don’t believe it will make kids safer. The Australian prime minister believes differently:
“Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was a “proud day” for Australia. ‘This is the day when Australian families are taking back power from these big tech companies. They are asserting the right of kids to be kids and for parents to have greater peace of mind,’ Albanese told the public broadcaster ABC Wednesday. But he conceded ‘it won’t be simple.’”
The platforms will use age-verification technology such as video selfies, email addresses, or official documents. The video selfies use facial data points to estimate age.
There are workarounds such as parents creating accounts for their kids and backup social media companies. People are saying it’s a game of whack-a-mole that the Australian government won’t win. There aren’t any punishments for parents who do make accounts for kids.
A follow up from The Nightly says, “Australian Under-16s Social Media Ban: Kids Claim Ban Didn’t Work As They Troll Anthony Albanese On TikTok.” The younger sect took to TikTok and did what kids do best: make fun of the incident. They’re trolling the Prime Minister with memes, videos, comments, and anything else to prove the ban isn’t working.
There are kinks to still work out, but maybe the ban will work. Some youngsters have good technical know how. Work arounds are inevitable. Even baby roos leave the pouch.
Whitney Grace, December 17, 2025
Social Media Companies: Digital Drug Pushers?
December 11, 2025
Social media is a drug. Let’s be real, it’s not a real drug but it affects the brain in the same manner as drugs and alcohol. Social media stimulates the pleasure centers of the brain, releases endorphins, and creates an immediate hit. Delayed gratification becomes a thing of the past as users are constantly seeking their thrills with instantaneous hits from TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
Politico includes a quote from the recent lawsuit filed against Meta in Northern California that makes a great article title: “‘We’re Basically Pushers’: Court Filing Alleges Staff At Social Media Giants Compared Their Platforms To Drugs.” According to the lawsuit, Meta, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube ignored their platforms’ potential dangers and hid them from users.
The lawsuit has been ongoing doe years and a federal judge ordered its contents to be opened in October 2025. Here are the details:
“The filing includes a series of detailed reports from four experts, who examined internal documents, research and direct communications between engineers and executives at the companies. Experts’ opinions broadly concluded that the companies knew their platforms were addictive but continued to prioritize user engagement over safety.”
It sounds like every big company ever. Money over consumer safety. We’re doomed.
Whitney Grace, December 11, 2025
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