Podcasts about Techdirt

Summer Game Fest is over, and now it's time to soak in all the gaming news. Kirk, Jason, and Maddy talk about everything, from God of War Laufey to the Ocarina of Time remake, and plenty of indies along the way. One More Thing: Kirk: The RecklessBen/Bricks & Minifigs Fiasco Maddy: American Hustle (2013) Jason: Yesteryear (Caro Claire Burke) LINKS: Strong Songs Live! July 11, Alberta Rose Theatre in Portland. Livestream Tickets HERE Mike Masnick's lengthy Techdirt breakdown of the RecklessBen vs. Bricks & Minifigs fiasco at TechDirt Leonard French's legal explainer of same on his YouTube channel Lawful Masses Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/jointripleclick

In this week's roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike is joined by First Amendment lawyer Ari Cohn. Together they discuss:Pennsylvania sues AI chatbot as state lawmakers wrestle with stricter regulations (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)Children are drawing moustaches on their faces to fool online age checks - and it's working (Euronews)The Online Safety Act: Are children safer online? (Internet Matters)Utah first state to hold websites liable for users who mask their location with VPNs — law goes into effect, designed to prevent bypassing age checks (Tom's Hardware)Three Justifications—and the AI Accelerant—of India's Digital Censorship Infrastructure (Tech Policy Press)Did School Cellphone Bans Work? New Study Finds Mixed Results.(NY Times)Support the podcast by joining our Patreon, with special founder membership available until May 28th. Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.  

In this week's roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike is joined by Jess Miers, law professor at University of Akron School of Law. Together, they discuss:AI Chatbots: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)OpenAI's Sam Altman apologizes to Canadian community after failing to flag mass shooter's conversations with its AI chatbot (CNN)OpenAI And Sam Altman Could Face Dozens More Lawsuits Over School Shooting In British Columbia, Lawyer Says (Forbes)Manitoba premier addresses province's plan to ban youth from social media, AI chatbots (CTV News)Turkey Passes Legislation Barring Children Under 15 From Social Media (NY Times)How YouTube Took Over the American Classroom (WSJ)Support the podcast by joining our Patreon, with special founder membership available until May 28th. Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.  

In this special episode, Mike and Ben reflect on 100 episodes of the podcast, followed by an important announcement: we're launching a Patreon and making some changes to Ctrl-Alt-Speech!Starting on May 28th, Patreon members will get early access to extended weekly episodes with in-depth coverage of an extra major story. The free episodes will continue here on this feed, just slightly shorter and released one day later. You can become a member now at one of two levels: Supporters get early access to the extended episodes, and for a limited time Founders get that plus the opportunity to send us news stories that you think we should cover each week. After the new episodes begin at the end of May, the Founder tier will become the Insider tier with all the same benefits at a slightly higher price, so act now if you don't want to miss out (you'll also get bragging rights as a founding member!)We're immensely grateful to the incredible audience we've found over these past 100 episodes, and this is our way of helping make the podcast sustainable for the next 100! Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.  

2026-04-19 | UPDATES #178 | This episode is about how Russia Is building the infrastructure to seize control of every rouble, every account, every transaction, from its population to fuel Putin's pointless war. Russia's population are waking up to the reality that their money is not their money. Their property is not their property. Their resources are not their resources. Everything is on loan from the state – retention of all these is conditional upon their loyalty and compliance. What's expected of them is indifference to politics in peacetime and unreasonable sacrifice, without question in wartime. Their lives are not their lives. And finally, many are discovering that their country is not their country, it's a territory ruled, and owned, by a class of people that don't give a damn about their squeals of indignation and outrage at privileges revoked. This is an object lesson for the West too. We may complain about our governments, our politicians, infrastructure and institutions. But things can always be worse, especially if we lose sight of hope, stop believing in progress, and deny our political agency as individuals. Russia shows what happens where there is no rule of law, no moral or political limits on executive power, no concept of the inviolability of property, rights or possessions. ----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------A REQUEST FOR HELP!I'm heading back to Kyiv next month, to film, do research and conduct interviews. The logistics and need for equipment and clothing are a little higher than for my previous trips. It will be cold, and may be dark also. If you can, please assist to ensure I can make this trip a success. My commitment to the audience of the channel, will be to bring back compelling interviews conducted in Ukraine, and to use the experience to improve the quality of the channel, it's insights and impact. Let Ukraine and democracy prevail! https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrashttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformationNONE OF THIS CAN HAPPEN WITHOUT YOU!So what's next? We're going to Kyiv in April 2026 to film on the ground, and will record interviews with some huge guests. We'll be creating opportunities for new interviews, and to connect you with the reality of a European city under escalating winter attack, from an imperialist, genocidal power. PLEASE HELP ME ME TO GROW SILICON CURTAINWe are planning our events for 2026, and to do more and have a greater impact. After achieving more than 12 events in 2025, we will aim to double that! 24 events and interviews on the ground in Ukraine, to push back against weaponized information, toxic propaganda and corrosive disinformation. Please help us make it happen!----------SOURCES: Kremlin financial control plans — TOLK Forum:The Moscow Times — "How the Kremlin Is Considering Cracking Down on Financial Freedom" (April 7, 2026) The Moscow Times — "Putin Signs Law Allowing Police to Freeze Bank Accounts Without Court Orders" (August 2025)Bloomberg — "Russia's VPN Crackdown Caused Bank Outage, Telegram Founder Says" (April 4, 2026) Business Standard / Bloomberg — "Russia's VPN crackdown caused bank outage, says Telegram founder" (April 4, 2026)Cybernews — "Russia's VPN crackdown triggers payment system disruption, Telegram's CEO Durov says" (April 2026) Techdirt — "Whoops: Russia's Attempt To Block VPNs Causes Major Banking Failure" (April 13, 2026)LatestLY — "Telegram Founder Pavel Durov Blames Russian VPN Crackdown for Major Payment System Failures" (April 4, 2026) Mediazona (English) — "Russia's internet censorship in 2026: VPN crackdowns, mobile shutdowns, Telegram blocks and the state messenger Max" (April 7, 2026) ----------

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:The Darkest Web (BBC)Federal agencies skirt Trump's Anthropic ban to test its advanced AI model (Politico)Anthropic Opposes the Extreme AI Liability Bill That OpenAI Backed (Wired)Europe should regulate Big Tech instead of banning kids from social media, Estonia says (Politico EU)Statement by President von der Leyen with Executive Vice-President Virkkunen on the digital age verification app (European Commission)Apple threatened to remove Grok from the App Store over sexualized deepfakes, letter says (NBC News)A fake Ledger app on the Apple App Store drained $9.5 million in crypto (Coindesk)India's Decentralized System of Internet Censorship (Tech Policy Press)As Social Media Tears Society Apart, a New Crop of Scary Movies Focuses on the Horror of Content Moderation (Variety)We're still yet to find a Ctrl-Alt-Speech 2026 Bingo Card winner — could this week be your lucky day? Play along!  Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.  

In this week's roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Ben is joined by Fadzai Madzingira, a digital policy expert with a decade of experience at Meta, Salesforce, Ofcom and currently Twitch, where she leads the policy, outreach and education teams. Together, they discuss:Exclusive: Meta has discussed ending funding to the Oversight Board (Platformer)Spotlight: Five Years of the Oversight Board, from Experiment to Essential Institution (Ctrl-Alt-Speech)What Teens Are Doing With Those Role-Playing Chatbots (The New York Times)Early Lessons from Australia's Teen Social Media Ban for the Rest of the World (Tech Policy Press)Stuck in the Middleware with Youth with Vaishnavi J (Ctrl-Alt-Speech)Greece to ban social media for under-15s from 2027, calls on EU action (Reuters)The Family Tech Cycle: Navigating Screens, Devices, and Social Media (Joan Ganz Cooney Center)We're still yet to find a Ctrl-Alt-Speech 2026 Bingo Card winner — could this week be your lucky day? Play along. Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.  

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:It's official: Australia's teen social media ban isn't working, yet (Crikey)Social Media Minimum Age - Compliance update (eSafety Commision)Blunder from Down Under (Ctrl-Alt-Speech)April 3 could create a dangerous gap in child safety across Europe (Thorn)Commissioners pile pressure on Parliament to pass child sexual abuse bill (POLITICO)Weeks After Denouncing Government Censorship On Rogan, Zuckerberg Texted Elon Musk Offering To Take Down Content For DOGE (Techdirt)What Is YouTube's Dominance Doing to Us? We Asked Its C.E.O. (The New York Times)This Episode is Broadly Safe To Listen To (Ctrl-Alt-Speech)Meta will "substantially reduce" describing Instagram teen accounts as PG-13 (Engadget)Rated R for Ridiculous (Ctrl-Alt-Speech)If you've got Elon Musk in your Ctrl-Alt-Speech 2026 Bingo Card this week, you're in luck. Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.  

In March, juries in California and New Mexico delivered seminal verdicts holding Meta and YouTube liable for failing to protect young users from harm. Both verdicts found that the companies were negligent in the design or operation of their platforms and that each company knew their platforms could be dangerous when used by a minor.  The courts found that the design elements of the platforms could be separated from the content hosted on the platforms, thus removing the need to consider the First Amendment or Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Joining us to break down the rulings and their possible free speech implications is Mike Masnick, CEO & founder of Techdirt & the Copia Institute.   Masnick is the author of "Everyone Cheering The Social Media Addiction Verdicts Against Meta Should Understand What They're Actually Cheering For."   Timestamps:  00:00 Intro   02:29 Why these verdicts scare the hell out of Mike 10:34 Are social media algorithms "addictive"? 21:45 Did Meta fail to protect kids? 30:37 The First Amendment and Section 230 43:13 Is social media the new Big Tobacco? 55:15 The role of parents in social media use 59:04: Outro   Enjoy listening to the podcast? Donate to FIRE today and get exclusive content like member webinars, special episodes, and more.  If you became a FIRE Member through a donation to FIRE at thefire.org and would like access to Substack's paid subscriber podcast feed, please email sotospeak@thefire.org.  

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:How London become a T&S hub (Everything in Moderation) Everyone Cheering The Social Media Addiction Verdicts Against Meta Should Understand What They're Actually Cheering For (Techdirt)Supreme Court Sides With Internet Provider in Copyright Fight Over Pirated Music (New York Times)US settles social media censorship case, bars agencies from threatening penalties (Reuters)Meta's latest AI improves its terrible content moderation (The Register)Transparency Report 2025 (User Rights)An automated moderation error left Tumblr users panicked (The Verge)Don't forget to listen along with Ctrl-Alt-Speech's 2026 Bingo Card and drop us a line if you win or have ideas for new squares. Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.  

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:Gamblers trying to win a bet on Polymarket are vowing to kill me if I don't rewrite an Iran missile story (Times of Israel)Maybe Turning War Into a Casino Was a Bad Idea? (The Atlantic)French music streamer Deezer battles deluge of AI fraud (Financial Times)I hacked ChatGPT and Google's AI - and it only took 20 minutes (BBC)US to Receive $10 Billion Fee for TikTok Deal, WSJ Reports (Bloomberg)'AI Is African Intelligence': The Workers Who Train AI Are Fighting Back (404 Media)‘Another internet is possible': Norway rails against ‘enshittification' (The Guardian)Play along with Ctrl-Alt-Speech's 2026 Bingo Card and get in touch if you win! Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.  

There's a notion that pops up in the comments here on Techdirt that Mike and our writer Karl Bode are deeply opposed in their opinions on AI and engaged in an epic ongoing debate. Alas, the truth is a little less spectacular: while they might have some differences of opinion here and there, they actually agree on most things, and would both prefer to hear (and have) more thoughtful and nuanced discussions about the technology without going to the extremes. By way of demonstration, Karl joins this week's episode of the podcast for a long conversation with Mike all about AI, its role in our society, the challenges it raises, and where things go from here.

What is Section 230 and why is everyone trying to kill it?Support my independent journalism:

My guest today is Mike Masnick, the founder and CEO of Techdirt, the excellent and long-running tech policy blog. Mike has been writing about government overreach, privacy in the digital age, and other related topics for decades now, and he's an expert on how the internet and the surveillance state have grown in interconnected ways over the past two decades. I wanted to have Mike on the show to discuss the messy, fast-moving situation at Anthropic, the maker of Claude that now finds itself in a very ugly legal battle with the Pentagon. Instead of covering the daily drama, I wanted to dig in specifically on Anthropic's surveillance red line, and the important history and context around digital privacy in the U.S. that shapes how we should think about this going forward.  Links: AI bros wanted Trump — now they learn what happens when you tell him no | Techdirt OpenAI's ‘red lines' are written in the NSA's dictionary | Techdirt Anthropic is suing the Department of Defense | The Verge Anthropic launches new think tank amid Pentagon fight | The Verge How OpenAI caved to the Pentagon on AI surveillance | The Verge Inside the backlash to the AI war machine | Platformer The Pentagon is violating Anthropic's First Amendment rights | FIRE Why the Pentagon wants to destroy Anthropic | Ezra Klein / NYT Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder is produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt and edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:Grammarly turned me into an AI editor against my will and I hate it (Platformer)Grammarly has disabled its tool offering generative-AI feedback credited to real writers (Engadget)Grammarly Is Facing a Class Action Lawsuit Over Its AI ‘Expert Review' Feature (Wired)Who's a Better Writer: A.I. or Humans? Take Our Quiz. (NY Times)Molly vs the Machines review – a powerful story of love, loss and the dangers of social media (Guardian)UK: New Molly Russell documentary provides further evidence that social media needs complete redesign (Amnesty International)WhatsApp is launching parent-linked accounts for pre-teens (TechCrunch)Meta urged to boost oversight of fake AI videos (BBC)Play along with Ctrl-Alt-Speech's 2026 Bingo Card and get in touch if you win! Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.

In a special episode of Ctrl-Alt-Speech, Ben and Mike discuss (with apologies to Tay-Tay) the three eras of content moderation in the media and what comes next. Their conversation builds on Ben's essay in the soon-to-be-published Trust, Safety, and the Internet We Share Multistakeholder Insights, a new book looking at the evolution of the Trust & Safety industry and how platform policies decisions are made. The pre-print is available online.Together, they unpack three distinct phases: The Strange Fascination Era (2003–2015), when newsrooms powered platform growth and treated social media as an exciting new frontier; The “We're Watching You” Era (2016–2020), when investigative reporting exposed online harms and pushed platforms to formalise Trust & Safety; and The Mask Off Era (2021–present), as platforms retreat from working with the media and the commitment to moderation waned.We'll be back next week with our regular episode.  Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.

In this week's roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Ben is joined by Casey Newton, founder and editor of Platformer and co-host of Hard Fork, a podcast that makes sense of the rapidly changing world of tech. Together, they discuss:After a deadly raid, an AI power struggle erupts at the Pentagon (Washington Post)Following: Anthropic vs. The Pentagon (Platformer)Anthropic Drops Flagship Safety Pledge (TIME)Hackers Expose Age-Verification Software Powering Surveillance Web (The Rage)Discord is delaying its global age verification rollout (The Verge)Reddit fined £14m by UK data watchdog over age verification checks (BBC News)How to evaluate Trust & Safety vendors (Everything in Moderation*)Regulate platforms, not children – Commissioner urges caution over social media bans (Commissioner for Human Rights)MPs reject total ban, want data housed locally (The Star)Exclusive: US plans online portal to bypass content bans in Europe and elsewhere (Reuters)Play along with Ctrl-Alt-Speech's 2026 Bingo Card and get in touch if you win! Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.

The Vision For The Decentralized Internet by Techdirt

Two weeks ago, we ran a bit of an AMA experiment, with a call on Bluesky for fans of Techdirt to ask Mike any questions they might have. We got lots of great responses and now, as promised, Mike is delivering the answers on this week's episode of the podcast!

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is pushing a bill that would END free speech on the internet, and he has absolutely no idea what he's talking about.[FREE SPEECH FRIDAY]Join the Patreon: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz⁠  Subscribe to my Substack:  ⁠https://www.usermag.co⁠  Section 230 is one of the most important laws in the history of the internet. It is often called “the law that created the internet” because it protects websites, forums, blogs, comment sections, Wikipedia, and every platform that hosts user-generated content.But for some reason, actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt wants it gone. Yesterday, he released a video following backlash from his talk last week in congress, where he called on Senators to repeal Section 230.Almost every single thing he said in his response video was factually wrong.For this week's Free Speech Friday episode, I'm debunking Gordon-Levitt's crusade against Section 230 and unpacking how repealing Section 230 would actually mass-censor the internet, wipe out indie platforms, destroy LGBTQ and marginalized online spaces, and hand total monopoly power over to Meta, Google, and powerful billionaires. I also break down the far-right groups like Morality in Media and The Heritage Foundation, which has made Section 230 repeal core to their Project 2025 tech policy agenda. If Section 230 is repealed, the cost of defending user speech could jump from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars per lawsuit. It would wipe out small communities overnight and leave only Big Tech corporations with buildings full of lawyers.Mike Masnick's brilliant takedown of JGL's claims on TechDirt: https://www.techdirt.com/2026/02/12/joseph-gordon-levitt-goes-to-washington-dc-gets-section-230-completely-backwards/ Support independent tech journalism!Big Tech interest groups and reactionary non-profits are spending millions to try to get Section 230 revoked. My work is 100% self-funded. This series is not backed by any advertisers or tech giants. If you value this reporting, please, please support the channel: Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz   Subscribe to my Substack:  https://www.usermag.co    Follow me:https://www.instagram.com/taylorlorenz      https://www.instagram.com/taylorlorenz3.0     https://www.tiktok.com/@taylorlorenz https://bsky.app/profile/taylorlorenz.bsky.social https://twitter.com/taylorlorenz In this video I cover:What Section 230 actually saysThe publisher vs platform mythWhy Section 230 was created after Stratton Oakmont v ProdigyHow FOSTA SESTA changed Section 230Why repeal would increase censorshipHow lawsuits would silence speechWhy big tech companies can survive without 230 but small platforms cannotThe real way to regulate big tech through antitrust and data privacy

In this week's roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Ben is joined by Dr Blake Hallinan, Professor of Platform Studies in the Department of Media & Journalism Studies at Aarhus University. Together, they discuss:On Section 230's 30th Birthday, A Look Back At Why It's Such A Good Law And Why Messing With It Would Be Bad (Techdirt)An 18-Million-Subscriber YouTuber Just Explained Section 230 Better Than Every Politician In Washington (Techdirt)Discord Launches Teen-by-Default Settings Globally (Discord)Media Literacy Parent's study (GOV.UK)EU says TikTok must disable ‘addictive' features like infinite scroll, fix its recommendation engine (Techcrunch)We Didn't Ask for This Internet with Tim Wu and Cory Doctorow (The New York Times)Despite Meta's ban, Fidesz candidates successfully posted 162 political ads on Facebook in January 9 (Lakmusz.hu)Claude's Constitution Needs a Bill of Rights and Oversight (Oversight Board)Account Closed Without Notice: Debanking Adult Industry Workers in Canada (ResearchGate)Play along with Ctrl-Alt-Speech's 2026 Bingo Card and get in touch if you win! Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.

In this special bonus for Ctrl-Alt-Speech listeners, we're cross-posting an episode from the Future Around And Find Out podcast hosted by Dan Blumberg with guest Kwaku Aning.This week Dan and Kwaku dig into: The uncanny valley that is AI agents and Moltbook—the "Reddit" that agents built for themselves to complain about humans, create a religion, and behave in ways that freak humans out Anthropic takes aim at OpenAI with a Super Bowl ad that's spicy (for cubs and cougars alike) We read Claude's "Constitution" and ask: Should AI do what you ask it to do—or what it thinks you really want long-term? Why Dan switched from OpenAI to Claude (and what he learned about tone, capability, and custom projects) OpenAI scrambles; the market stumbles; Jensen Huang acts like Sam Altman is "just someone I used to know" How AEO (AI Engine Optimization) becomes critical in an AI-agent world—and what that means for brand, marketing, and search Why social media is already past (dark social won) Elon's pivot to humanoid robots, data centers in space, and other cool things we definitely need Are we setting higher ethical standards for machines than for tech leaders? Subscribe to FAFO wherever you get your podcasts, or at futurearound.com Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:House Judiciary Releases EU X Fine Details (House Judiciary X Account)New Report Exposes European Commission Decade-Long Campaign to Censor American Speech (House Judiciary Committee)X offices raided in France as UK opens fresh investigation into Grok (BBC)Hey Gavin Newsom! Investigating TikTok's Moderation Is Just As Unconstitutional As When Texas & Florida Tried It (Techdirt)Spain Aims to Ban Social Media for Children Under 16, Prime Minister Says (NY Times)TikTok Keyword Analysis (LinkedIn)Why newsrooms are taking comments seriously again (New_ Public)Whoops, Websites Realize That Killing Their Comment Sections Was A Mistake (Techdirt)Play along with Ctrl-Alt-Speech's 2026 Bingo Card! Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.

In this week's roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike is joined by Konstantinos Komaitis, Senior Resident Fellow for Global and Democratic Governance at the Digital Forensics Research Lab (DFRLab) at the Atlantic Council. Together, they discuss:Who Owns TikTok in the U.S. Now? (NY Times)TikTok is investigating why some users can't write 'Epstein' in messages (NPR)TikTok users freak out over app's ‘immigration status' collection — here's what it means (TechCrunch)TikTok Is Now Collecting Even More Data About Its Users. Here Are the 3 Biggest Changes (Wired)Social network UpScrolled sees surge in downloads following TikTok's US takeover (TechCrunch)Europe votes to tackle deep dependence on US tech in sovereignty drive (Computerworld)Meta hides followers and following lists for users based in Iran (Iran International)Iran's internet blackout may become permanent, with access for elites only (Rest of World)The ‘Social Media Addiction' Narrative May Be More Harmful Than Social Media Itself (Techdirt)Payment processors were against CSAM until Grok started making it (The Verge) Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:My year with a flip phone (Financial Times)Claude's Constitution (Anthropic)From the CEO: What's coming to YouTube in 2026 (Youtube)BBC to show programmes on YouTube in landmark deal (Financial Times)Rand Paul: I've changed my mind — Google and YouTube can't be trusted to do the right thing and must be reined in (NY Post)Rand Paul Only Wants Google To Be The Arbiter Of Truth When The Videos Are About Him (Techdirt)Roskomnadzor Denies Reports That It's Throttling Telegram Over Content Moderation Disputes (Moscow Times)Europeans set to launch an alternative to X. It's called W (Cybernews) Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:UK, Canadian watchdogs press on with probes into Elon Musk's Grok chatbot (Reuters)Musk's xAI limits Grok's ability to create sexualized images of real people on X after backlash (CNBC)X claims it has stopped Grok from undressing people, but of course it hasn't (The Verge)State Department Threatens UK Over Grok Investigation, Because Only The US Is Allowed To Ban Foreign Apps (Techdirt)Keir Starmer tells MPs he is open to social media ban for young people (The Guardian)Statement from the Molly Rose Foundation (LinkedIn)Wes Streeting asks US expert Jonathan Haidt to address officials on social media ban for under-16s (The Guardian)Some social media use can benefit teen mental health (AAP)Arlington-focused Facebook group with 25,000 members is removed, angering moderators (ARLnow)Bandcamp becomes the first major music platform to ban AI content (The Verge) Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.

In this sponsored Spotlight episode of Ctrl-Alt-Speech, host Ben Whitelaw talks to Oversight Board co-chair Paolo Carozza (Professor of Law and Concurrent Professor at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana) and Board member Julie Owono (Executive Director of Internet Without Borders and research affiliate at Berkman Klein Centre) about the Board's five-year journey and its plans for the future.Together, Ben, Paolo and Julie discuss the Board's recently published report, From Bold Experiment to Essential Institution, and what it means to call Board “essential” in today's ever-evolving internet landscape. They also talk about how the Board has changed, the criticisms it faces around cost and influence, and what comes next in 2026 and beyond.This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Oversight Board. Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.

In the first Ctrl-Alt-Speech episode of 2026, Mike and Ben look forward at the year ahead and begin building a bingo card of things that might happen. They discuss a short list of possible squares, ask for listeners to contribute more ideas, and go few a through suggestions that have already come in. Soon, we'll release an official Ctrl-Alt-Speech bingo card for listeners to play along throughout the year.Follow Ben at Everything in Moderation and Mike at Techdirt. Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.

In the last Ctrl-Alt-Speech of the year, Mike and Ben round up the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation with the following stories:Meta shuts down global accounts linked to abortion advice and queer content | Global development (The Guardian)Facebook is testing a link-posting limit for professional accounts and pages (Techcrunch)Meta adopts new age-check system to meet global child safety laws (FT)Russian ban on Roblox gaming platform sparks rare protest (Reuters)OpenAI hires George Osborne to spearhead global ‘Stargate' expansion (FT)Oscars Bolts From ABC to YouTube Starting in 2029 (Hollywood Reporter) Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:Resonant Computing Manifesto Support Techdirt's Uncompromising Coverage, Get Our First Commemorative Coin (Techdirt)US Ambassador Slams EU Tech Rules as Musk's X Hit With Fine (Bloomberg)Why the X fine is causing so much transatlantic drama (Politico)Tech workers face new H1-B scrutiny as Trump targets ‘censorship' (Washington Post)H1-B visa advice (LinkedIn - Alice Hunsberger)Australian leader defends social media ban as teens flaunt workarounds (Reuters)Age restrictions alone won't keep children safe online (Unicef)Focus must be on making social media safe for children as Australia brings in ban (Save The Children)Operation Bluebird tries to reclaim Twitter (LinkedIn)This episode is brought to you by our sponsor CCIA, an international, not-for-profit trade association representing a broad cross section of communications and technology firms and that promotes open markets, open systems, and open networks. Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.

Earlier today, we joined in announcing the Resonant Computing Manifesto: a call for restoring a culture of technology that empowers users and enriches their lives. The manifesto was created by a group led by Alex Komoroske, and today Alex joins the podcast for a deeper dive into what "resonant computing" means and what a better future might look like. The Resonant Computing Manifesto: https://resonantcomputing.org/ Announcement on Techdirt: https://www.techdirt.com/2025/12/05/bring-back-innovation-that-empowers-rather-than-extracts-the-resonant-computing-manifesto/

In this week's roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Ben is joined by Vaishnavi J, former head of youth policy at Meta and founder and principal of Vyanams Strategies, a product advisory firm that helps companies, civil society, and governments build safer age appropriate experiences. Prior to founding Vys, she led video policy at Twitter, built its safety team in APAC and was Google's child safety polciy lead in APAC. Together Ben and Vaishnavi discuss:House overhauls KOSA in a new kids online safety package (The Verge)A nationwide internet age verification plan is sweeping Congress (The Verge)Grindr supports app store age-verification bill despite censorship concerns (Pink News)A summary of the technology sector's response to the UK's new online safety rules (Ofcom)Age Assurance Implementation Handbook (Vyanams)Interoperable Age Assurance (Age Verification Providers Association)EU's non-binding resolution around revamping child safety rules (European Parliament)‘We'll be watching': Social media companies warned about complying with ban as teens flock to alternative apps (Crikey)The Salesforce of safety: Software vendors as infrastructural/professional nodes in the field of online trust and safety (Sage, Platforms & Society)It's their job to keep AI from destroying everything (The Verge) Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.

In this sponsored Spotlight episode of Ctrl-Alt-Speech, host Ben Whitelaw speaks with George Vlasto, head of the Trust & Safety division at Resolver, as the organisation marks its 20th anniversary. Their conversation looks back at two decades of Resolver's work supporting platforms and safeguarding online communities, and explores how that legacy has shaped its newest innovations.Ben and George dig into Resolver's unique approach to scaling the detection of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) and unpack why ATHENA — the company's latest breakthrough — may be one of the most significant yet under-recognised tools in the fight against online harms.Further reading: Twenty Years of Protecting Children Online The Human at the Heart of the Machine: A 20-Year Lesson in Online Safety From Reactive to Predictive: Why It's No Longer Enough to Spot What's Already HappenedThis episode is brought to you in partnership with Resolver. Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:Meta wins FTC antitrust trial over Instagram, WhatsApp deals (CNBC)Commission eyes further simplification of tech rules after DSA review (Euractiv)Inside Europe's 'Jekyll and Hyde' tech strategy (Digital Policy)NetChoice sues Virginia to block its one-hour social media limit for kids (The Verge)Tech Giants Sue California Over Social Media Access Law (2) (Bloomberg Law)TikTok to give users power to reduce amount of AI content on their feeds (The Guardian) The Most Frustrating Word for Trust & Safety Professionals (LinkedIn) Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.

In this week's roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Ben is joined by Kenji Yoshino, who has the excellent title of Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Constitutional Law at New York University School of Law and the Director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging. Kenji is also a member of the Oversight Board. Together Ben and Kenji discuss:‘Andrew Tate is dead': inside the minds of 16-year-olds (The Observer)Introducing the Teen Safety Blueprint (OpenAI)OpenAI unveils blueprint for teen AI safety standards (Axios)OpenAI Faces Legal Storm Over Claims Its AI Drove Users to Suicide, Delusions (KQED)Irish watchdog opens content moderation probe into Elon Musk's X (Euractiv)This episode is brought to you by our sponsor CCIA, an international, not-for-profit trade association representing a broad cross section of communications and technology firms and that promotes open markets, open systems, and open networks. Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.

Three years ago, Mike Brock joined us on the podcast to discuss a decentralized web project, and more recently we've published several cross-posts from his Substack about the horrifying goings-on in American politics and media. Today, Mike joins the podcast once again for a far-ranging conversation about the state of democracy and what recent elections can tell us about how to save it from fascism. Mike Brock's posts on Techdirt: https://www.techdirt.com/user/mike-brock/ Techdirt Podcast Episode 325: https://www.techdirt.com/2022/07/12/techdirt-podcast-episode-325-what-is-web5/ "Notes From The Circus" Substack: https://www.notesfromthecircus.com/

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:It's Cool to Have No Followers Now (New Yorker)Introducing Safe for Work? — all about T&S jobs (Everything in Moderation*)Kids Turn Podcast Comments Into Secret Chat Rooms, Because Of Course They Do (Techdirt)Reddit and Kick added to child social media ban (ABC News)X boss explains why ‘horrific' video viewed by Axel Rudakubana wasn't removed (The Independent)Southport Inquiry (YouTube)How Elon Musk is Boosting The British Right (Sky News)arXiv Changes Rules After Getting Spammed With AI-Generated 'Research' Papers (404 Media)TikTok Investigated in France Over Content That Promotes Suicide (Bloomberg) France Moves to Block the Shein Website Over a Sex Doll Scandal (New York Times) EU leaders paper over splits on US tech reliance (Politico) This episode is brought to you by our sponsor Safer by Thorn, a purpose-built CSAM and CSE solution. Powered by trusted data and Thorn's issue expertise, Safer helps trust and safety teams proactively detect CSAM and child sexual exploitation messages. Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:Character.AI is banning minors from AI character chats (Financial Times)Strengthening ChatGPT's responses in sensitive conversations (OpenAI)Senators propose banning teens from using AI chatbots (The Verge)EU accuses Meta, TikTok of breaching digital rules (Politico) Meta and TikTok are obstructing researchers' access to data, European Commission rules (Science.org)Hey Elon: Let Me Help You Speed Run The Content Moderation Learning Curve (Techdirt)China's new law: only degree-holding influencers can discuss professional topics – netizens divided on its impact (IOL) Wizz is like ‘Tinder for kids,' as teens use the app to hook up while adult predators lurk (NY Post) This episode is brought to you by our sponsor WebPurify, an Intouch company. IntouchCX is a global leader in digital customer experience management, back office processing, trust and safety, and AI services. Webpurify has just launched their very first podcast series, Trust Issues - Insights from the People Who Keep the Internet Safe, and Mike and Ben are fans. Listen to all three episodes on Spotify and watch on YouTube. Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:Wikipedia Volunteers Avert Tragedy by Taking Down Gunman at Conference (New York Times)AI-Generated Content a Triple Threat for Reddit Moderators (Cornell Tech)Wikipedia Says AI Is Causing a Dangerous Decline in Human Visitors (404 Media)As social media age restrictions spread, is the internet entering its Victorian era? (The Conversation)Winning with misinformation: New research identifies link between endorsing easily disproven claims and prioritizing symbolic strength (The Conversation)Tinder Launches Mandatory Facial Verification to Weed Out Bots and Scammers (Wired)This episode is brought to you by our sponsor Clavata.ai, a first-of-its-kind, automated content safety platform that allows you to go from defining a policy to enforcement in minutes. In our Bonus Chat, we speak with founder Brett Levenson on how to make T&S more consistent and explainable and the benefits of treating policy as code. Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.

As you know, we talk a lot about decentralization and protocols over platforms. When it comes to decentralized social media in particular, one person who has been working on it since the earliest days is developer Rabble, who was around at the very beginning of what would become Twitter and has worked on many decentralized social media efforts, and recently proposed a new Social Media Bill of Rights in a post here on Techdirt. This week, Rabble joins the podcast to talk all about the history and present state of decentralized social media.

This Day in Legal History: Abrams v. United States ArguedOn October 21, 1919, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in Abrams v. United States, a seminal case in the development of First Amendment jurisprudence. The case arose during the post–World War I Red Scare, when the government aggressively prosecuted speech perceived as dangerous or subversive. The defendants were Russian immigrants who distributed leaflets in New York City denouncing U.S. military intervention in the Russian Revolution and calling for a general strike. They were charged and convicted under the Sedition Act of 1918 for allegedly inciting resistance to the war effort.The Supreme Court upheld their convictions in a 7–2 decision, finding that the speech posed a “clear and present danger” to national security. However, it was Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes' dissent, joined by Justice Louis Brandeis, that left the most lasting impression. Holmes argued that only speech intended to produce imminent lawless action should be punished, introducing the enduring metaphor of the “marketplace of ideas” as essential to democratic deliberation.Legally, the case illustrates the government's ability to impose post-speech punishment—penalties after speech has occurred—as opposed to prior restraint, which involves preventing speech before it happens. The distinction is vital in American law: prior restraints are almost always unconstitutional, while post-speech sanctions may be permitted under narrow circumstances. In Abrams, the Court leaned toward deference to governmental wartime authority, but Holmes' dissent marked the beginning of a shift toward greater speech protections.The decision laid the groundwork for the more speech-protective standards adopted in later cases such as Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969). The post-speech punishment principle debated in Abrams remains a cornerstone of First Amendment law, highlighting the tension between state interests and individual liberties in times of political conflict.When two alleged drug traffickers survived a U.S. military strike in the Caribbean, the Trump administration immediately repatriated them rather than detain them — a decision that reveals a troubling logic behind the president's new “war” on narco‑terrorism. The administration has declared the campaign a “non‑international armed conflict,” but legal experts note that this classification offers no real authority for military detention. In other words, the United States can kill suspects under this self‑declared war framework, but it has no clear legal footing to hold survivors.Experts said the administration likely chose the least damaging option: send the survivors home and avoid a courtroom. Detaining them at Guantanamo or on U.S. soil would have triggered habeas corpus challenges, forced disclosure of evidence, and risked exposing the strikes as legally indefensible. One former State Department lawyer said any trial would have “undermined the narrative” that the attacks were lawful military operations. By refusing to hold prisoners, the administration sidesteps both judicial scrutiny and transparency.The result is a perverse incentive structure. If survivors are released but detainees are liabilities, the easiest path for officials is to ensure there are no survivors at all. The legal asymmetry—where killing is simpler than capture—encourages tactics that maximize lethality while minimizing accountability. As a result, Trump's “drug war” risks becoming less about law enforcement and more about ensuring that no one lives long enough to challenge the legality of U.S. actions.In Trump's drug war, prisoners may be too much of a legal headache, experts say | ReutersGlobal pharmaceutical companies are rapidly ramping up U.S. manufacturing in response to a looming Trump administration policy that would impose 100% tariffs on imported branded and patented drugs. While enforcement is delayed for companies that commit to domestic investment, the threat has already triggered a wave of fast-tracked spending, direct-to-consumer sales shifts, and pricing concessions in exchange for temporary tariff exemptions.Major players like Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Merck, Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly, and Roche have pledged tens of billions of dollars to build or expand plants across the U.S. to shield themselves from future penalties. Some, like Pfizer and AstraZeneca, secured multi-year tariff exemptions by agreeing to pricing deals and participation in the administration's new TrumpRx.gov program. Others, like Novartis and Sanofi, are spreading investments across multiple states and sites, creating thousands of jobs as part of their strategic insulation.The tariff threat is driving a major reshaping of global supply chains and investment strategies, as companies aim to avoid the legal and financial burden of import duties by domesticating both manufacturing and distribution. While some firms say they are already well-positioned with sufficient U.S. inventory, the broader trend reflects a defensive industry-wide shift to preemptively comply with the administration's protectionist push.Global drugmakers rush to boost US presence as tariff threat looms | ReutersTrevor Milton, the disgraced founder of electric-truck startup Nikola, is somehow back as a CEO—this time leading SyberJet Aircraft, a private jet manufacturer, according to reporting by Techdirt. Milton was convicted of fraud for deceiving investors about Nikola's technology, most famously releasing a misleading video of a prototype truck that was actually rolling downhill, not self-propelled. He was sentenced to four years in prison but never served a day, thanks to a pardon from Donald Trump earlier this year—reportedly after donating millions to Trump-aligned causes and hiring the brother of current Attorney General Pam Bondi as his attorney.Now, just months after that pardon, Milton has been tapped to lead development of a new high-speed jet for SyberJet, with promised performance metrics that already sound suspiciously ambitious. The company, privately backed, won't need to answer to public shareholders—but it will still need investor trust to raise money for a jet not slated for delivery until 2032. TechDirt points out how the company's promotional material leans into rewriting Milton's history, calling him “renowned” rather than acknowledging the full scope of his fraudulent past.The piece underscores a broader theme of “failing upward,” highlighting how white-collar offenders, especially white men with political connections, often land on their feet despite serious criminal convictions–and has some interesting implications for the future career of George Santos. Milton's quick rebound from federal fraud conviction to C-suite leadership is less an exception than a reminder of how accountability gaps persist in American corporate culture.Convicted Fraudster Trevor Milton Rides His Trump Pardon To Another CEO Job, Somehow | TechdirtIn my column for Bloomberg this week, I dive in to the governor's race in my home state. The 2025 New Jersey gubernatorial race has become a tax-policy showdown between Jack Ciattarelli and Mikie Sherrill—both of whom are framing affordability as their central mission, but doing so with deeply flawed approaches. Ciattarelli is offering aggressive tax cuts and structural overhauls that are, frankly, reckless in a state with a delicate and complicated fiscal ecosystem. His plan to flatten income tax brackets and slash corporate rates isn't just optimistic—it's ahistorical. We've seen this movie before in Kansas, where sweeping tax cuts led to revenue collapse, credit downgrades, and bipartisan regret. Ciattarelli is essentially proposing a rerun, but with no clearer escape plan if it fails.Sherrill, by contrast, is pragmatic to the point of inertia. Her emphasis on municipal service sharing and administrative tweaks is fine as far as it goes—but it doesn't go very far. Her promise to freeze utility rates via emergency powers, for instance, isn't just legally questionable, it also misdiagnoses the issue: state governments don't control wholesale energy prices. It's a symbolic gesture dressed up as policy.Neither candidate seems willing to address the structural drivers of New Jersey's notoriously high property taxes, preferring instead to nibble around the edges or promise caps that could backfire. That's a missed opportunity. As I argue in the column, New Jersey doesn't need sweeping cuts or more bureaucratic tinkering—it needs targeted relief for the people who actually feel the pinch. Expanding the state Earned Income Tax Credit and implementing a robust child tax credit would offer immediate, evidence-backed help to those struggling most with affordability. These aren't radical ideas; they're already working in other states.Ciattarelli's plan is built on trickle-down economics and wishful math. Sherrill's is built on competent management, but lacks ambition. The voters deserve more than either of those options.Tax Platforms in NJ Governor's Race Leave Out the Best Ideas This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:Sam Altman says OpenAI isn't ‘moral police of the world' after erotica ChatGPT post blows up (CNBC)Where are all the women on Sora 2? This could be a nightmare for OpenAI. (Business Insider)Musk's AI Is Being Used to Make Hardcore Porn: ‘Grok Is Learning Genitalia Really Fast!' (Rolling Stone)Instagram Will Limit Content for Teenagers Based on PG-13 Ratings (NY Times)UK MPs urged to investigate TikTok's plans to cut 439 content moderator jobs (The Guardian)TikTok ‘directs child accounts to pornographic content within a few clicks' (The Guardian)New AI video tools are fuelling violent racism on TikTok (The Bureau of Investigative Journalism)New York City Sues Instagram Rather Than Teach Kids Filters Aren't Real (Techdirt)Kids who use social media score lower on reading and memory tests, a study shows (NPR)Congress is Asking the Wrong Questions About Discord and Boys (Time)Adolescence star Stephen Graham launches global project asking fathers to write to their sons (The Guardian) Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.

Techdirt recently passed its 28th anniversary as an independent online media outlet. Once, it looked like such outlets might take over, but then most were scooped up by traditional media or grew into more traditional companies themselves. But now we're seeing a new generation emerge, especially via newsletters on platforms like Substack, and one such journalist is Marisa Kabas, creator of The Handbasket. This week, Marisa joins the podcast to talk about the modern rise of independent online journalism.

In this week's roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Ben is joined by Thomas Hughes, CEO of Appeals Centre Europe and former Director at the Oversight Board. Together they discuss:Appeals Centre Europe Transparency Report (ACE)Most people want platforms (not governments) to be responsible for moderating content (Reuters Institute) Happy Birthday, Digital Services Act! – Time for a Reality Check (Algorithm Watch)Proof-of-age ID leaked in Discord data breach (The Guardian)Update on a Security Incident Involving Third-Party Customer Service (Discord)Another Day, Another Age Verification Data Breach: Discord's Third-Party Partner Leaked Government IDs (Techdirt)Exclusive: Apple Quietly Made ICE Agents a Protected Class (Migrant Insider)My Email to Tim Cook (Wiley Hodges — Substack) Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.

In this week's roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike is joined by Dave Willner, founder of Zentropi, and long-time trust & safety expert who worked at Facebook, AirBnB, and OpenAI in Trust & Safety roles. Together they discuss:Masnick's Impossibility Theorem: Content Moderation At Scale Is Impossible To Do Well (Techdirt)UK makes new attempt to access Apple cloud data (Financial Times)Imgur pulls out of UK after data regulator warns of fines (TechCrunch)Leaked Meta guidelines show how it trains AI chatbots to respond to child sexual exploitation prompts (Business Insider)OpenAI's Sora joins Meta in pushing AI-generated videos. Some are worried about a flood of 'AI slop' (ABC News)Flights in Afghanistan grounded after internet shutdown (BBC) Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.

Last week, we published three separate posts that looked at the FTC's recent settlement with Aylo, the parent company of multiple adult websites including, most famously, Pornhub. Those posts, written by Stanford HAI policy fellow Riana Pfefferkorn, examined the legally complicated but very important issues that arise from the settlement forcing Aylo to scan for CSAM. This week, Riana joins us on the podcast alongside TechFreedom president Berin Szoka, to go even deeper into the legal weeds and explain how this settlement could doom criminal CSAM cases. Posts on Techdirt: https://www.techdirt.com/2025/09/15/the-trump-ftcs-war-on-porn-just-ensured-that-accused-csam-offenders-will-walk-free/ https://www.techdirt.com/2025/09/15/the-ftcs-settlement-with-aylo-this-isnt-really-about-fighting-csam-and-revenge-porn/ https://www.techdirt.com/2025/09/18/the-worlds-most-popular-porn-site-is-a-government-agent-now-does-it-matter/

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:How platforms are responding to the Charlie Kirk shooting (The Verge)Bluesky Issues Warning to Any Users Celebrating Charlie Kirk Assassination (Newsweek)Right-Wing Activists Are Targeting People for Allegedly Celebrating Charlie Kirk's Death (Wired)Charlie Kirk Was Shot and Killed in a Post-Content-Moderation World (Wired)Has Britain Gone Too Far With Its Digital Controls? (New York Times)The Censorship Alarm Is Ringing in the Wrong Direction (Public Knowledge)We now know who the new owners of TikTok will be - if Trump gets his deal done with Xi (CNN)Nepal's Social Media Ban Backfires as Politics Moves to a Chat Room (New York Times) Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:Nepal to block some social media including Facebook (Reuters)Why Nepal Banned 26 Social Media Platforms And What It Means (Medianama)A parliament in flames, a leader toppled. Nepal's Gen-Z protesters ask: What comes next? (CNN)When Trolls Take On Tyrants: 4chan and Kiwi Farms Sue the UK Over Extraterritorial Censorship (Techdirt)Wikipedia is resilient because it's boring (The Verge)Former Meta employees say they saw child abuse in VR before company blocked research (NBC News)Mark Zuckerberg sues Mark Zuckerberg (Techcrunch) Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:Jordan escalates global tech argument, with Farage's help (Politico) Farage's rules for free speech: talk about anything but your lunch (The Times)Is Jonathan Haidt right about smartphones? (TES)My mom and Dr. DeepSeek (Rest of World)AI 'deadbots' are persuasive — and researchers say they're primed for monetization (NPR)OpenAI co-founder calls for AI labs to safety-test rival models (TechCrunch)Privacy-Preserving Age Verification—and Its Limitations (Steven M. Bellovin) Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.

The president's on-again, off-again tariffs are wreaking havoc on the economy. On this week's On the Media, how the press is struggling to keep up with covering the chaos. Plus, the CEO of Bluesky, an alternative to Twitter, shares her vision for a better internet.[00:00] Host Micah Loewinger breaks down a wild week in the economy–why the press can't keep up, and what we can learn from the rollercoaster of tariffs the Trump administration has implemented.[00:00] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Jay Graber, the CEO of Bluesky, a competitor to Twitter/X that's seen massive growth recently, about how Bluesky is structured in a fundamentally different way than other social media platforms, and why that might make it “billionaire-proof.” Plus, TechDirt founder and editor Mike Masnick documents the surprising role that his wonky paper played in the founding of Bluesky.[00:00] Host Brooke Gladstone sits down with Douglas Rushkoff, whose many books probe the practice and philosophy of digital technology, about whether the apocalypse survival fantasies of tech billionaires are actually viable.Further reading/listening:Protocols, Not Platforms: A Technological Approach to Free Speech, by Mike MasnickSurvival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires, by Douglas Rushkoff On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.