# DraftKings Targeted Likely Losers While Safety Tools Stalled

> Chief Skeptic Officer — The side of tech news nobody talks about.

- Episode: S1E46
- Published: 2026-09-22
- HTML: https://www.chiefskepticofficer.online/episodes/s1e46
- Audio: https://csomediaweu.blob.core.windows.net/media/audio/s1e46.mp3
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DI4CO9uOWFI

## Summary

DraftKings reportedly built a model to find customers likely to gamble and lose more after promotions while problem-gambling prediction work stalled. Also, Google's €403 million location-data ruling, a Meta Muse flaw that could hand broad permissions to a basic Mac app, and an air-traffic backup line found broken only 

## Show notes

DraftKings reportedly built a model to find customers likely to gamble and lose more after promotions while problem-gambling prediction work stalled. Also, Google's €403 million location-data ruling, a Meta Muse flaw that could hand broad permissions to a basic Mac app, and an air-traffic backup line found broken only when the normal path failed. Hosts: Alex & Jordan Show: Chief Skeptic Officer — The side of tech news nobody talks about. Drop: Daily at 7:00 A.M. America/New_York Episode date: 2026-09-22 In this episode The profitable loser score — The New York Times reports that DraftKings ranked customers by how much more they were likely to gamble and lose after promotions. Four former employees said work to predict who might develop a gambling problem was stalled or stopped. The model did not invent that priority; people chose which prediction reached the product. A fine measured in years — Ireland's Data Protection Commission fined Google €403 million and ordered compliance within six months over three location features. The inquiry covered data handling from 2018 to 2020. The test is whether defaults, explanations, and retention change, not whether the number makes a large headline. One key, many permissions — Researcher Patrick Wardle demonstrated that a basic Mac app could redirect Meta Muse's speech request and receive the account key attached to it. No attacks in the wild are known. The flaw shows how an assistant's useful permissions can amplify a much smaller opening. The backup nobody tested — A cut telecom line disrupted East Coast air traffic for roughly eight hours. Reuters reports that a replacement circuit failed and the backup fiber was already broken. Controllers responded safely by stopping traffic, but capacity collapsed because the redundant path did not work when needed. Links New York Times investigation into DraftKings targeting Irish Data Protection Commission Google ruling Ars Technica on the Meta Muse flaw Reuters on the East Coast air-traffic disruption AI disclosure This episode was created with artificial intelligence. Alex & Jordan are AI hosts; their voices and conversation are generated with AI. Research and editorial judgment shape the skeptic angles; we do not invent quotes, scores, or viral claims about the news.

## AI disclosure

This episode was created with artificial intelligence. Alex & Jordan are AI hosts.