Google’s antitrust win, AI mandates, npm attacks and robots.txt

Listen to this episode from PodRocket on Spotify. Is the web breaking under the weight of AI crawlers, platform consolidation, and nonstop security breaches? We dive into the state of browsers, developer burnout, and whether tech regulation can actually keep up. In this panel discussion: We debate if robots.txt and AI licensing standards like RSL can realistically control how AI scrapes the web. The fallout from DIA’s acquisition by Atlassian and what it means for indie browser innovation (like the Helium browser, Zen) in a Chromium-dominated world. Why Google’s antitrust victory might embolden other tech giants, and what that means for competition. How supply chain attacks like the NPM malware and Shai Hulud worm are exploiting GitHub workflows and package vulnerabilities. The pushback against AI mandates at work, including Coinbase’s controversial policy requiring developers to use Copilot. Resources Inside the battle for the future of the web: https://www.businessinsider.com/google-microsoft-openai-fight-standards-limit-ai-access-websites-2025-9 The web has a new system for making AI companies pay up: https://www.theverge.com/news/775072/rsl-standard-licensing-ai-publishing-reddit-yahoo-medium The Browser Company, maker of Arc and Dia, is being acquired: https://www.theverge.com/web/770947/browser-company-arc-dia-acquired-atlassian Google stock jumps 8% after search giant avoids worst-case penalties in antitrust case: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/02/google-antitrust-search-ruling.html Massive data breach sees 16 million PayPal accounts leaked online - here's what we know, and how to stay safe:https://www.techradar.com/pro/massive-data-breach-sees-16-million-paypal-accounts-leaked-online-heres-what-we-know-and-how-to-stay-safe PayPal’s Glitch Puts €10 Billion on Ice Across European Banks: https://fintechnews.ch/payments/paypal-glitch-freezes-european-banks-10-billion-transactions/77974/ npm Author Qix Compromised via Phishing Email in Major Supply Chain Attack: https://socket.dev/blog/npm-author-qix-compromised-in-major-supply-chain-attack Compromised files replace npm packages with a combined 2 billion weekly downloads: https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/compromised-files-replace-npm-packages-with-a-combined-2-billion-weekly-downloads Shai-Hulud: Ongoing Package Supply Chain Worm Delivering Data-Stealing Malware: https://www.wiz.io/blog/shai-hulud-npm-supply-chain-attack Coinbase CEO explains why he fired engineers who didn’t try AI immediately: https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/22/coinbase-ceo-explains-why-he-fired-engineers-who-didnt-try-ai-immediately/ Chapters We want to hear from you! How did you find us? Did you see us on Twitter? In a newsletter? Or maybe we were recommended by a friend? Fill out our listener survey (https://t.co/oKVAEXipxu)! Let us know by sending an email to our producer, Elizabeth, at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]), or tweet at us at PodRocketPod (https://twitter.com/PodRocketpod). Follow us. Get free stickers. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, fill out this form (https://podrocket.logrocket.com/get-podrocket-stickers), and we’ll send you free PodRocket stickers! What does LogRocket do? LogRocket provides AI-first session replay and analytics that surfaces the UX and technical issues impacting user experiences. Start understanding where your users are struggling by trying it for free at LogRocket.com. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr)