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PODCAST

Ctrl-Alt-Speech

Mike Masnick & Ben Whitelaw

Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly news podcast co-created by Techdirt’s Mike Masnick and Everything in Moderation’s Ben Whitelaw. Each episode looks at the latest news in online speech, covering issues regarding trust & safety, content moderation, regulation, court rulings, new services & technology, and more.The podcast regularly features expert guests with experience in the trust & safety/online speech worlds, discussing the ins and outs of the news that week and what it may mean for the

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All Episodes

53:59

Don't Believe What This Podcast Says About...

Ctrl-Alt-Speech ·

2025/07/03

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover: The Misleading Panic over Misinformation (Cato Institute) Claims that Online Misinformation Fears Are Overblown ‘Radically Understates’ the Scale of the Threat (Byline Times)EU Disinformation Code Takes Effect Amid Censorship Claims and Trade Tensions (Tech Policy Press)Content Moderation Is Not Censorship (Law & Liberty)Asked to think like a paedophile or act ...

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46:09

Teen But Not Heard

Ctrl-Alt-Speech ·

2025/06/26

In this week’s roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Ben is joined by guest host Bridget Todd, a technology and culture writer, speaker and trainer and host of two great podcasts, There are No Girls on the Internet and IRL: Online Life is Real Life. Together, they cover: AI Models And Parents Don’t Understand ‘Let Him Cook’ (404 Media)Trial reveals flaws in tech intended to enforce Australian social media ban for under-16s (The Guardian)Insid...

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69:17

Outsourced But Not Out Of Mind

Ctrl-Alt-Speech ·

2025/06/19

In 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 (Indica...

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50:55

Outrage For The Machine

Ctrl-Alt-Speech ·

2025/06/12

In 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...

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61:41

Algorithm Shrugged

Ctrl-Alt-Speech ·

2025/05/29

In 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 governo...

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53:43

Moderation Without Representation

Ctrl-Alt-Speech ·

2025/05/23

In 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 ...

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53:05

Hypocritical Infrastructure

Ctrl-Alt-Speech ·

2025/05/15

In 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 ...

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53:45

Look What The Chat Dragged In

Ctrl-Alt-Speech ·

2025/05/01

In 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 ‘Di...

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53:12

Red Pills & Blue Checks

Ctrl-Alt-Speech ·

2025/04/24

In 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 ...

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53:38

Why Can't We De-Friend

Ctrl-Alt-Speech ·

2025/04/17

In 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 L...

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49:52

Can't Take(down) A Joke?

Ctrl-Alt-Speech ·

2025/04/10

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)U...

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51:07

World Wide Wedge Issue

Ctrl-Alt-Speech ·

2025/04/03

In 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 ...

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52:23

Chief Equivocation Officer

Ctrl-Alt-Speech ·

2025/03/28

In 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 an...

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53:44

Once You Slop, You Can't Stop

Ctrl-Alt-Speech ·

2025/03/20

In 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 (Bloomber...

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56:39

The TAKE IT DOWN Takedown

Ctrl-Alt-Speech ·

2025/03/13

In 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...

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51:17

E Pluribus Chaos

Ctrl-Alt-Speech ·

2025/03/07

In 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...

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50:10

The Comedy of Errors

Ctrl-Alt-Speech ·

2025/02/27

In 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 Fre...

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58:26

Backdoors and Backsteps

Ctrl-Alt-Speech ·

2025/02/14

In 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...

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53:34

Digital Oligarchs Gunning for Europe (DOGE)

Ctrl-Alt-Speech ·

2025/02/06

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover: Elon’s Twitter Destruction Playbook Hits The US Government, And It’s Even More Dangerous (Techdirt)US presses Brussels for answers over EU social media law (Politico)Inside the Elon Musk-Jim Jordan ‘mind meld’ shaking up Capitol Hill (Politico)Musk adds Shell, Nestlé, Lego to X advertiser ‘boycott’ lawsuit (The Hill)Musk Shows Us What Actual Government Censorship On Soc...

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54:46

This Episode has Masculine Energy

Ctrl-Alt-Speech ·

2025/01/30

In this week’s roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike is joined by guest host Renee DiResta, associate research professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University. They cover:The new free speech crisis hiding in plain sight (MSNBC)‘Free Speech’ Warrior RFK Jr. Has Been Trying To Censor a Blogger for Years (Who What Why)In motion to dismiss, chatbot platform Character AI claims it is protected by the First Amendment ...

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85 results

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