Joe Rogan Experience #1970 - Bill Ottman

By using protocols like Nostr and cryptographic key pairs, users can own their social graph (followers, posts, identity) and port it between apps, which limits a platform’s power to deplatform or lock them in.

Ottman argues that while agencies want access to private communications, any systemic backdoor weakens security for officials, citizens, and infrastructure alike, because adversaries can exploit the same vulnerabilities.

Laws like California’s AB 587 and the RESTRICT Act use vague terms (hate, extremism, radicalization) that can be selectively enforced, pressuring platforms to police speech in ways that align with prevailing political narratives.

From suppressing external links to deranking certain topics, non‑transparent recommendation systems can throttle competition, punish dissenting views, and make or break creators’ livelihoods without clear accountability.

Large models like ChatGPT scrape the public internet—including creators’ work—without direct permission or compensation, suggesting future models may need revenue‑sharing or data‑rights frameworks if they’re monetized at scale.

Ottman advocates open-source code, non‑surveillance analytics, and user revenue‑sharing as ways to build trust and redistribute value, contrasting this with closed, data‑extractive systems from major platforms and cloud providers.

They note that leaks about Nord Stream, Twitter Files, and UAP programs already erode public confidence; a controlled, law‑backed path to greater transparency on classified programs might be less disruptive than ongoing leaks and denials.