Tech Gets Real

David Meyer: Technology Journalist

Tech Gets Real is a show about staying in control in a time of rapid technological change. I'm veteran tech journalist David Meyer, and I've been covering topics like online privacy and freedom for two decades. In TGR, I provide short, jargon-free guides to help you navigate the new AI era.

  1. 3h ago

    Why Trump’s Anthropic AI export ban is a gift to Europe

    The Trump administration has placed export controls on Anthropic’s industry-leading Mythos and Fable models, prompting the company to disable access to both for everyone in the world. Europe’s reaction show how dangerous this is for the US – having been shown the danger of relying on US tech, countries such as France and the UK are now more likely to fund their own alternatives. Welcome to tech sovereignty. Tech Gets Real is a show about staying in control in a time of rapid technological change, presented from a European perspective. I'm veteran tech journalist David Meyer, and I've been covering tech policy for two decades. If you like this, please hit like and subscribe, and share it with others who might find it useful. REFERENCES: Anthropic’s statement about Mythos and Fable https://www.anthropic.com/news/fable-mythos-access Business Insider on the tech world’s reaction https://www.businessinsider.com/reaction-to-trump-controls-on-anthropic-fable-and-mythos-2026-6 Reuters on Amazon sparking Mythos drama https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/amazon-voiced-concerns-about-anthropic-ai-models-before-us-governments-crackdown-2026-06-13/ Financial Times on NSA using Mythos for cyber attacks https://www.ft.com/content/d02d91b3-2636-454e-9442-dc7e69f51815 Jordan Bardella’s X post about Mythos https://x.com/J_Bardella/status/2065714468609282417 Kanishka Narayan’s video about Mythos https://x.com/KanishkaNarayan/status/2066157359638962632 Al Carns’s X post about Mythos https://x.com/AlistairCarns/status/2065754367739805770

    11 min

  2. 6d ago

    Why Apple won't bring Siri AI to Europe

    Apple is blaming a competition law called the Digital Markets Act (DMA) for its refusal to roll out the new Siri AI virtual assistant in Europe. Here’s what that’s all about – and this is no clear-cut argument. You have no idea how many times my recorded “Siri” triggered my iPhone during editing. Tech Gets Real is a show about staying in control in a time of rapid technological change, presented from a European perspective. I'm veteran tech journalist David Meyer, and I've been covering tech policy for two decades. If you like this, please hit like and subscribe, and share it with others who might find it useful. REFERENCES: Apple’s statement on delaying Siri AI in the EU https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/06/due-to-dma-siri-ai-delayed-in-eu-for-ios-27-and-ipados-27/ TechCrunch on Apple releasing Apple Intelligence in the EU https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/28/apple-intelligence-is-coming-to-the-eu-in-april-2025/ European Commission consultation on Google Search DMA remedies https://digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu/dma100209-consultation-proposed-measures-google-search-data-sharing_en Security researcher Lukasz Olejnik on Google Search and the DMA https://techletters.substack.com/p/the-european-commission-is-turning

    10 min

  3. Jun 4

    US Cloud Act collides with EU tech sovereignty push

    Europe’s push for technological sovereignty just stepped up, with the European Commission proposing a new law that would probably shut US Big Tech firms out of the lucrative public sector cloud market, thanks to US surveillance law. Cloud Act, meet the Cloud and AI Development Act. Tech Gets Real is a show about staying in control in a time of rapid technological change, presented from a European perspective. I'm veteran tech journalist David Meyer, and I've been covering topics like online privacy and freedom for two decades. If you like this, please hit like and subscribe, and share it with others who might find it useful. REFERENCES: European Commission press release on Tech Sovereignty Package https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_1187 Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA) https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/proposal-cloud-and-ai-development-act-cada My ISMG article on the Tech Sovereignty Package recently being delayed https://www.govinfosecurity.com/europe-again-delays-digital-sovereignty-push-a-31760 The EFF on the US Cloud Act https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/02/cloud-act-dangerous-expansion-police-snooping-cross-border-data CCIA Europe on Cloud and AI Development Act https://ccianet.org/news/2026/06/discriminatory-eu-cloud-and-ai-development-act-risks-severe-market-fragmentation/

    9 min

  4. May 29

    Temu's €200M safety fine is a bit geopolitical

    Europe has fined Temu for selling illegally dangerous stuff on its platform. This is a reminder that the Digital Services Act isn’t all about online speech, nor is it all about punishing US companies. But that doesn’t mean this €200 million DSA fine isn’t geopolitical – after all, the EU has big problems with China too these days. Tech Gets Real is a show about staying in control in a time of rapid technological change. I'm veteran tech journalist David Meyer, and I've been covering topics like online privacy and freedom for two decades. If you like this, please hit like and subscribe, and share it with others who might find it useful. REFERENCES: European Commission statement on Temu fine https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_1178 Tech Policy Press on the Trump administration’s X fine reaction https://www.techpolicy.press/trump-administration-locks-arms-with-musks-x-against-eu-tech-enforcement/ Industrial Accelerator Act legislative timetable https://www.europarl.europa.eu/legislative-train/theme-a-new-plan-for-europe-s-sustainable-prosperity-and-competitiveness/file-industrial-decarbonisation-accelerator-act

    10 min

  5. May 21

    Google's AI search revamp looks cool, but...

    Google is overhauling its search experience to expand the role of AI – and make it even less likely that you will look at the list of web links that used to define Google Search. This will further erode investment in the web, and create new opportunities for propagandists. Tech Gets Real is a show about staying in control in a time of rapid technological change. I'm veteran tech journalist David Meyer, and I've been covering topics like online privacy and freedom for two decades. If you like this, please hit like and subscribe, and share it with others who might find it useful. REFERENCES: Google’s blog post on its search overhaul https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/search/search-io-2026/ Guardian on Eric Schmidt getting booed https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/18/eric-schmidt-ai-university-commencement-speech-booed

    12 min

  6. May 13

    We've always wanted tech to bring us together

    Harvard Kennedy School fellow Krystian Łukasik joins Tech Gets Real to discuss his new project, the Techno-Optimism Archive. It’s a valuable reminder of how new technologies have been hyped since the nineteenth century – and a lot of these claims will sound very familiar to those tracking the hype around AI. Here’s the site: https://technooptimism.org/ Tech Gets Real is a show about staying in control in a time of rapid technological change. I'm veteran tech journalist David Meyer, and I've been covering topics like online privacy and freedom for two decades. If you like this, please hit like and subscribe, and share it with others who might find it useful. REFERENCES: Musk on work being optional https://fortune.com/2026/01/19/when-does-elon-musk-say-work-will-be-optional-and-money-will-be-irrelevant-ai-robotics/ Pessimists Archive https://pessimistsarchive.org/

    27 min

  7. May 7

    Hacker-friendly AI is changing everything

    The latest AI models, which have serious cybersecurity capabilities, are having a rapid impact on policy in the US, where the Trump administration has suddenly realised it’s not a great idea to maintain its hands-off policy to AI development. But in Europe, which lacks early access to models like Anthropic’s Mythos and OpenAI’s GPT-5.5, the situation presents a threat to which the European Commission has no useful answer. Tech Gets Real is a show about staying in control in a time of rapid technological change. I'm veteran tech journalist David Meyer, and I've been covering topics like online privacy and freedom for two decades. If you like this, please hit like and subscribe, and share it with others who might find it useful. REFERENCES: UK AI Security Institute on GPT-5.5 https://www.aisi.gov.uk/blog/our-evaluation-of-openais-gpt-5-5-cyber-capabilities My ISMG article on the MEPs’ letter to the Commission https://www.govinfosecurity.com/european-meps-push-for-stronger-post-mythos-cybersecurity-a-31599 Wednesday’s European Parliament IMCO committee debate https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/webstreaming/committee-on-internal-market-and-consumer-protection-ordinary-meeting_20260506-1430-COMMITTEE-IMCO CNN on OpenAI wanting to expand GPT-5.5 access https://edition.cnn.com/2026/04/29/tech/openai-cybersecurity New York Times on Trump administration’s change of heart https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/04/technology/trump-ai-models.html US Center for AI Standards and Innovation announces early access deal with Google, Microsoft and xAI https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2026/05/caisi-signs-agreements-regarding-frontier-ai-national-security-testing

    10 min

  8. Apr 30

    Age verification comes to Europe, like it or not

    The European Commission is forcing age verification on the EU internet to protect kids from the ills of social media, without creating a new law – and without admitting that it’s forcing social platforms to adopt the technology. My article on this for Information Security Media Group: https://www.govinfosecurity.com/europe-gliding-toward-mandatory-online-age-verification-a-31547 Including a detail I forgot to mention here – that the Commission is doing all this before hearing the findings of an expert panel who were tasked with advising it on exactly this subject! Tech Gets Real is a show about staying in control in a time of rapid technological change. I'm veteran tech journalist David Meyer, and I've been covering topics like online privacy and freedom for two decades. If you like this, please hit like and subscribe, and share it with others who might find it useful. REFERENCES: EC statement on Meta DSA breaches https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_920 Henna Virkkunen’s statement on age verification https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/speech_26_921 BBC on Roblox and age estimation accuracy https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj94y9r0p10o Virkkunen’s press conference https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/media/video/I-288345 Politico report stating eight countries aren’t keen on the app https://www.politico.eu/article/brussels-tells-eu-countries-to-use-its-age-check-app/ Molly Rose Foundation research on Australia’s social media restrictions https://mollyrosefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/MRF_Australia-Social-Media-Ban-Research_Briefing-April-26.pdf

    11 min
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About

Tech Gets Real is a show about staying in control in a time of rapid technological change. I'm veteran tech journalist David Meyer, and I've been covering topics like online privacy and freedom for two decades. In TGR, I provide short, jargon-free guides to help you navigate the new AI era.

Information

  • Creator
    David Meyer: Technology Journalist
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    36
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © David Meyer
  • Show Website
    Tech Gets Real