DL Open Thread: Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022

Delaware Finally Does The Right Thing On Human Trafficking.  The General Assembly, led by Sen. Patti Blevins, had already done their job and had passed landmark legislation on the issue. Then, the required follow-up pretty much never happened. Looks like that’s gonna change:

The Delaware Department of Justice unveiled Monday the state’s first-ever dedicated Human Trafficking Unit (HTU), which will collaborate closely and directly with law enforcement and advocacy groups to provide resources for such cases to build them as strongly as possible.

To accomplish this, the HTU was formed, led by Family Division Director Abigail Rodgers and staffed by two full-time Deputy Attorneys General. Rodgers a veteran prosecutor, has also served as the President of the Board of Directors for Prevent Child Abuse Delaware, as Commander of the Child Predator Task Force, and as the inaugural Chair of the Human Trafficking Interagency Coordinating Council.

They’ll work closely with Delaware law enforcement officer and Brian Moore, current chair of the Human Trafficking Interagency Coordinating Council, to build strong cases against predators committing human trafficking in the First State.

The HTU will focus on a holistic approach that emphasizes collaboration with public and nonprofit partners, raising awareness, supporting survivors, engaging in community outreach, and eradicating trafficking through education, prevention, and, when appropriate, prosecution, Jennings said after the event. The Unit is currently already managing several ongoing investigations.

The legislative package provided for just such coordination, but it wasn’t fully-implemented. Meaning, I remain skeptical, but hopeful.

Spotify Tries To Put Lipstick On a Pig (Rogan).  As artists have pulled their music from the platform,  Spotify uses the ‘Facebook Playbook’:

Spotify is using what Syracuse University associate professor Jennifer Grygiel called the “Facebook playbook” — distancing itself from the responsibility to moderate content it distributes.

“We know we have a critical role to play in supporting creator expression while balancing it with the safety of our users,” Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said in a statement Sunday. “In that role, it is important to me that we don’t take on the position of being content censor while also making sure that there are rules in place and consequences for those who violate them.”

But the streaming service’s business model is entirely different from the social media company’s, Grygiel said.

Unlike on platforms owned by Meta, including Facebook and Instagram, there are barriers to entry for content creators to appear on Spotify, which Grygiel says undermines its attempt to use the same defense as social media sites that let any user create an account and post content for free.

Critics say Spotify’s position is especially weak on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” which it bought the exclusive rights to host in a deal reported to be worth more than $100 million.

“This is a massive public health challenge, and part of the reason that infection rates remain so high is because of the volume of disinformation out there — promoting false cures, undermining confidence in vaccines, undermining confidence about masks and so forth,” said Aram Sinnreich, chair of communications studies at American University.

Rogan has repeatedly made comments on his podcast questioning the efficacy and necessity of COVID-19 vaccines — and hosted guests who’ve done the same.

Trump Admits He Tried To Overthrow The Election.  What he did was illegal, and likely the greatest act of sedition committed in American history. Will he be held accountable?

NASCAR vs. Its MAGAt Fans.  Sport tried to go national with limited success, but its fan base is still primarily white evangelicals. ‘Let’s Go, Brandon’ originated there, and now NASCAR is betwixt and between:

NASCAR has long been entwined with conservative politics. Its founder, Bill France Sr., chaired the pro-segregation Alabama Gov. George Wallace’s 1972 Democratic primary campaign in Florida. In 2020, Donald Trump became the second sitting president to attend the Daytona 500, after his fellow Republican — and fellow moneyed champion of average-joe politics — George W. Bush in 2004. A 2020 Morning Consult poll found that a large plurality of NASCAR fans self-identify as Republicans. And, most notoriously, for decades the Confederate flag flew proudly and innumerably through NASCAR crowds, almost symbolic of the sport itself — or it did, until NASCAR’s other highly-charged political controversy of the past few years.