Shows
Ctrl-Alt-SpeechOutsourced But Not Out Of MindIn this week’s roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Ben is joined by guest host Mercy Mutemi, lawyer and managing partner of Nzili & Sumbi Advocates. Together, they cover:Meta can be sued in Kenya for human trafficking and for algorithmic amplification of harm (Open Democracy)Billy Perrigo on investigating Facebook's 'ethical' outsourced content moderation in Kenya (Everything in Moderation)A first look at Meta’s Community Notes (Indicator Media)Get Noted (Columbia Journalism Review)The Meaning of Being an African YouTuber: Big Audiences, No Big Money + Is TikTok Excluding Africans From...2025-06-201h 09
ReImagining Liberty086: Reclaiming the Internet (w/ Mike Masnick)What's happened to Twitter, or now X, is the clearest example of why it's actually not great that so much of our digital communication is controlled by just a few firms and, through them, the whims of guys like Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg. These single points of control not only mean a product we love today can be unlovable, or just gone, tomorrow, but also give more dangerous actors, like governments, avenues to use that centralization against us.The alternative is to revive what the internet once was: a decentralized and much more open place...2025-06-1951 minCtrl-Alt-SpeechOutrage For The MachineIn this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:He’s a Master of Outrage on X. The Pay Isn’t Great. (NY Times)The vulnerable teen drawn into far-right extremism online (Financial Times)X, Bluesky and Reddit in France’s crosshairs amid porn clampdown (Politico)EU sidesteps Macron’s ultimatum to ban social media for kids under 15 (Euractiv)Commission seeks feedback on the guidelines on protection of minors online under the Digital Services Act (European Commission)OnlyFans releases stern statement as it DEACTIVATES Bonnie Blue’s account fo...2025-06-1350 minCtrl-Alt-SpeechAlgorithm ShruggedIn this week’s roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike is joined by guest host Zeve Sanderson, the founding Executive Director of the NYU Center for Social Media & Politics. Together, they cover:If algorithms radicalize a mass shooter, are companies to blame? (The Verge)Large Language Models Are More Persuasive Than Incentivized Human Persuaders (Arxiv)A dangerous plan to ‘win’ the AI race is circulating (Washington Post)Texas governor signs law to enforce age verification on Apple, Google app stores (Reuters)AB 853: California AI Transparency Act.(CalMatters)Regulators Are Investigating Whethe...2025-05-301h 01
How The World WorksHow the World Works Podcast with Mike MasnickKevin D. Williamson is joined by Mike Masnick, founder and editor of Techdirt. They discuss the evolving challenges of content moderation, the day-to-day realities of running an independent tech publication, and how the internet has changed over time from its early decentralized roots to a more complex and structured environment.2025-05-281h 06Ctrl-Alt-SpeechModeration Without RepresentationIn this week’s roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike is joined by guest host Hank Green, popular YouTube creator and educator. After spending some time talking about being a creator at the whims of platforms, they cover:Crash Course Coin (Complexly)Everyone Is Cheating Their Way Through College (NY Mag)The Professors Are Using ChatGPT, and Some Students Aren’t Happy About It (NY Times)How Miami Schools Are Leading 100,000 Students Into the A.I. Future (NY Times)We Shouldn’t Have To Explain To The FTC Why Content Modera...2025-05-2353 minCtrl-Alt-SpeechHypocritical InfrastructureIn this week’s roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike is joined by guest host Cathy Gellis, an internet and First Amendment lawyer. Together, they cover:The Copyright Office Issues A Largely Disappointing Report On AI Training, And Once Again A Major Fair Use Analysis Inexplicably Ignores The First Amendment (Techdirt)Trump fires Copyright Office director after report raises questions about AI training (TechCrunch)Elon Musk’s X caves to ‘censorship’ demand from India as tensions build with Pakistan (AFP)In the government’s war on ‘disinformation’, facts are collateral damage (The Hi...2025-05-1653 minCtrl-Alt-SpeechLook What The Chat Dragged InIn this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:The group chats that changed America (Semafor)Curtis Yarvin Says Democracy Is Done. Powerful Conservatives Are Listening (New York Times) Meta faces Ghana lawsuits over impact of extreme content on moderators (The Guardian) Social media moderators’ lives are getting worse. Big Tech needs to take responsibility (The Bureau of Investigative Journalism)Meta’s ‘Digital Companions’ Will Talk Sex With Users—Even Children (Wall Street Journal)Kids should avoid AI companion bots—under force of law, assessment says (CalMatters)I'm a mom who...2025-05-0253 minCtrl-Alt-SpeechRed Pills & Blue ChecksIn this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:4chan is dead. It's Toxic Legacy is everywhere (Wired)Wide-Ranging Decisions Protect Speech and Address Harms (Oversight Board)Meta’s oversight board rebukes company over policy overhaul (Reuters)Why Techdirt Is Now A Democracy Blog (Whether We Like It Or Not) (Techdirt)Most young Aussie men are turning to masculinity influencers, and it's impacting their mental health (ABC News)Young Men’s Health in a Digital World (Movember)Teens, Social Media and Mental Health (Pew Research Center)National Scie...2025-04-2553 minCtrl-Alt-SpeechWhy Can't We De-FriendIn this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:Inside Mark Zuckerberg’s Failed Negotiations to End Antitrust Case (Wall Street Journal)Mark Zuckerberg once suggested wiping all Facebook friends lists to boost usage (The Verge) Would You Give PornHub Your ID? (The Atlantic) How Social-Media Sites Can Fight Hate Without Censorship (The Atlantic) Facebook Banned Me for Life Because I Help People Use It Less (Slate, 2021)ASML Fellow Launches CLR:SKY (Berkman Klein Center)Block Party deep cleans your social media, notifications, settings, and more in one c...2025-04-1853 min
On the MediaThe Tariff Week From Hell. Plus, the Bluesky CEO Reimagines Social Media.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...2025-04-1250 minCtrl-Alt-SpeechCan't Take(down) A Joke?In this week’s roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Ben is joined by guest host Prateek Waghre, former executive director at the Internet Freedom Foundation and currently a fellow at Tech Policy Press. Together, they cover:BookMyShow Restores Kunal Kamra’s Profile After Controversy (Medianama)Kunal Kamra show audience members served notices (The Times of India)Cops force banker to cut short vacation to join Kamra probe (The Times of India)Unblock Vikatan Website – Madras High Court Orders Central Government (Vikatan)A Lack of Sense, and Censor-ability in India (Tech Policy...2025-04-1149 minCtrl-Alt-SpeechWorld Wide Wedge IssueIn this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:Zuckerberg Tries to Enlist Trump in Fight Against Meta EU Ruling (WSJ)EU set to limit Apple and Meta fines to avoid ire of Donald Trump (Financial Times)Adolescence hard to watch as a dad, Starmer tells creators (BBC)‘Adolescence’ on Netflix: A painful wake-up call about unregulated internet use for teens (The Conversation)Adolescence hits Netflix's Top 10 Global chart in just three weeks as it reaches over 96MILLION views (Daily Mail)Online ‘Pedophile Hunters’ Are Growing More Violent...2025-04-0351 minCtrl-Alt-SpeechChief Equivocation OfficerIn this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:X takes Indian govt to court, alleges arbitrary censorship of content (Business Standard)India criticises X for calling compliance website a censorship tool (Reuters)Musk’s X suspends opposition accounts in Turkey amid civil unrest (Politico)Elon Musk pressured Reddit’s CEO on content moderation (The Verge)Snapchat CEO Talks Zuckerberg, Content Moderation, AR Glasses and More (SocialMediaToday)YouTube CEO on content moderation: ‘Where the world was five years ago is very different’ than today (Semafor)Porn on Spotify...2025-03-2952 minCtrl-Alt-SpeechOnce You Slop, You Can't StopIn this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:Twitter Inc. Official 'Bird Logo' Fascia Sign - An Iconic Fixture from the Company’s Market Square Headquarters in San Francisco (RR Auction)AI Slop Is a Brute Force Attack on the Algorithms That Control Reality (404 Media)Spain to impose massive fines for not labelling AI-generated content (Reuters)China Announces Generative AI Labeling to Cull Disinformation (Bloomberg) After Axing Fact-Checkers, Meta’s Community Notes Will Have Help From X (Adweek)UK to crack down on illegal content across socia...2025-03-2053 minCtrl-Alt-SpeechThe TAKE IT DOWN TakedownIn this week’s roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike is In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:Bluesky's CEO on the Future of Social Media (YouTube)The Take It Down Act isn’t a law, it’s a weapon (The Verge)Trump Promises To Abuse Take It Down Act For Censorship, Just As We Warned (Techdirt)Ex-Facebook employee alleges sexual harassment and human rights failures in new memoir (NBC News)Meta goes to arbitrator to prevent whistl...2025-03-1356 minCtrl-Alt-SpeechE Pluribus ChaosIn this week’s roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike is joined by guest host Kat Duffy, Senior Fellow for Digital and Cyberspace Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations and CEO of RightsDuff Strategies. They cover:Why Techdirt Is Now A Democracy Blog (Whether We Like It Or Not) (Techdirt)America’s Global Presence Isn’t ‘Soft Power.’ It’s a Superpower. (Foreign Policy)These teenage boys were blackmailed online – and it cost them their lives (USA Today)United Nations Convention against Cybercrime (UN)Chairman Jordan Subpoenas Big Tech for Informatio...2025-03-0751 minCtrl-Alt-SpeechThe Comedy of ErrorsIn this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:Facebook & Content Moderation (Last Week Tonight with John Oliver)Australia takes enforcement action against Telegram for serious delay in terror and child sexual abuse transparency (eSafety Commission) US judge says Trump Media, Rumble need not follow Brazilian order they deem censorship (Reuters)Why the Rumble Suit Against a Brazilian Justice is Not About Free Speech (Tech Policy Press)Underage Users at Meta, Snap Show Large Australian Breaches (Bloomberg)‘Big Tech Censorship’ of Users Targeted by Trump’s FTC Chief...2025-02-2850 minCtrl-Alt-SpeechBackdoors and BackstepsIn this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben are joined by a group of students from the Media Law and Policy class at the American University School of Communication. Together they cover:U.K. orders Apple to let it spy on users’ encrypted accounts (Washington Post)US lawmakers respond to the UK’s Apple encryption backdoor request (Engadget)UK: Encryption order threatens global privacy rights (Human Rights Watch)Analysis: AI Summit emphasizes innovation and competition over trust and safety (DFR Lab)An overdue idea for making the inte...2025-02-1558 min