Ctrl-Alt-Speech

Become a Ctrl-Alt-Speech supporter to get extended episodes of the podcast plus the chance to submit stories for us to cover. 

In this week’s episode, Ben is joined by Katie Harbath, Meta’s former director of public policy for global elections and now founder of technology policy firm Anchor Change. She is also the author of Disrupting Politics, out on Tuesday. Together they discuss:

• TSE (Brazil Election Commission) clarifies rules on deepfakes in the 2026 elections (O Diário do Paraná)
• AI tools keep recommending candidates, monitoring finds (Tribuna Livre Brasil)
• On Eve of Brazil Elections, Meta Content Moderation Decisions Raise Questions (Tech Policy Press)
• Deepfakes, foreign-run accounts and unauthorised ads, new research exposes Meta's Brazil election ad machine (Ekō)
• Social media ban for under-16s to come into effect next March, Culture Secretary confirms (LBC)
• Trump says top tech firms have signed accord to 'self-police' AI development (NPR)

And in the extended episode for Patreon supporters, they cover:

• Meta-Led Anti-Terrorism Group Faces Mass Resignation of Expert Advisers (WIRED)
• Meta to report child abuse material directly to Indian authorities (BBC)
• Some NPR podcasts started getting mysterious comments on Spotify (Instagram)
• Content Moderation Knowledge Sharing Shouldn't Be A Backdoor To Cross-Platform Censorship (Techdirt)
• J.M. Berger on resigning from GIFCT’s Independent Advisory Committee (Bluesky)
• Mark: A journey to the heart of history’s largest nonterritorial empire (Colossus)

Our fun links this week include legal-walls.net for all your legal graffiti questions and, courtesy of Katmai National Park in Alaska, Fat Bear Week. 

If you’re already a Patreon supporter, you can get the extended episode on Patreon.

Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, and Bluesky.

Ctrl-Alt-Speech is the podcast where we make sense of the major debates shaping online speech, platform power, content moderation and the future of the internet. It’s co-hosted by Mike Masnick (Techdirt) and Ben Whitelaw (Everything in Moderation).

Become a Ctrl-Alt-Speech supporter to get extended episodes of the podcast plus the chance to submit stories for us to cover. 

In this week's episode, Mike and Ben cover:

• Trump dismisses concerns about AI risks at UN, says he won't rein it in (PBS News)
• A.I. Gone Rogue? Trump Proposes Not New Rules but an ‘A.I. Force.’ (New York Times) 
• 22 countries back call to keep AI ‘under human control’ (POLITICO)
• If AI is going to destroy humanity, Scott Bessent says hyperscalers, not government, must take the fall: ‘We cannot absolve you of responsibility’ (Fortune)
• Meet the algorithm you can actually control and understand (New_Public)
• YouTube’s Custom Feeds Give You More Control Over the Algorithm (Wired) 
• YouTube CEO dismisses the idea of joining Meta’s multistate child safety settlement (CNN)
• Harry Potter Survey Results & Final Decision (Reddit)

And in the extended episode for Patreon supporters, they cover:

• Safer for Teens, Same Discord for Adults (Discord)
• Age Assurance on Discord: Vendors, Methods and Your Data (Discord) 
• How Discord Estimates Age Without Collecting Your Identity (Discord) 
• Ofcom launches investigation into Pornhub’s age checks (Ofcom)
• Aylo Defends Apple Age Assurance in Response to Ofcom Investigation (Aylo) 
• Discord's age verification era is upon us, despite community backlash (TechCrunch)
• Angry reaction to Discord’s age assurance (X/Twitter)

Our fun links this week include Jev, the super fast new AI classifier, and Persodex, the context layer for your Contacts (PS. hit Ben up if you’re in New York in mid-October).

Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, and Bluesky.

Ctrl-Alt-Speech is the podcast where we make sense of the major debates shaping online speech, platform power, content moderation and the future of the internet. It’s co-hosted by Mike Masnick (Techdirt) and Ben Whitelaw (Everything in Moderation).

Become a Ctrl-Alt-Speech supporter to get extended episodes of the podcast plus the chance to submit stories for us to cover. 

In this week's episode, Mike and Ben cover:

• What is in the EU's planned KIDS Act? (Reuters)
• Proposal for EU KIDS Act - 'EU Keeping Internet Digital Spaces Accountable and Trustworthy' (EU Commission)
• France makes new attempt to ban social media for children under age 15 (Le Monde)
• Reading scores plummet as ‘digital distraction’ harms students (FT)
• We are setting up a generation to fail at school (FT)
• TikTok rejects Meta ads pushing rivals to join child safety settlement (Search Engine Land)
• Inside ‘Project Lily’: The Humans Reading Your ChatGPT Chats (404 Media)

And in the extended episode for Patreon supporters, they cover:

• We Must Pace the Frontier (Dario Amodei)
• OpenAI Wants to Know if an AI Industry Slowdown Would Even Be Legal (Wired)
• Trump goes scorched earth on AI warnings, raging about data center opposition and regulation (CNBC)
• The AI policy window is open. We need to act. (OpenAI)

Our fun links this week include a “Welcome to the Internet” presentation for a 13-year-old and God’s Eye View, a slightly terrifying bit of open source software to explore the world.

If you’re already a Patreon supporter, you can get the extended episode on Patreon.

Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, and Bluesky.

Ctrl-Alt-Speech is the podcast where we make sense of the major debates shaping online speech, platform power, content moderation and the future of the internet. It’s co-hosted by Mike Masnick (Techdirt) and Ben Whitelaw (Everything in Moderation).

Become a Ctrl-Alt-Speech supporter to get extended episodes of the podcast plus the chance to submit stories for us to cover. 

In this week's episode, Mike and Ben cover:

• Australians will be able to switch off social media algorithms under planned legislation (BBC News)
• Australia’s social media ban has an enforcement problem. These new laws aim to fix it (The Conversation)
• The Netherlands forced Meta to let users ditch algorithmic feeds. Here’s what happened (The Conversation)
• What We Know About Prosocial Feed-Ranking Algorithms (Prosocial Design Network)
• Anthropic researcher quits over AI labs ‘gambling with our lives’ (Financial Times)
• AI Agents Are Not Going “Rogue,” But Recent Developments Lead Increasingly-Concerned Researchers To Call For AI Slow Down (Techdirt)
• “We will not be silenced”: Imran Ahmed responds to court ruling (Center for Countering Digital Hate)

And in the extended episode for Patreon supporters, they cover:

• USA: Terrorism designation has global consequences for open internet and free expression (Article 19)
• Rubio Uses Terrorism Law To Ban Secure Email Service (Reason)

Our fun links this week include the multi-view website browser and the internet roadtrip. 

If you’re already a Patreon supporter, you can get the extended episode on Patreon.

Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, and Bluesky.

Ctrl-Alt-Speech is the podcast where we make sense of the major debates shaping online speech, platform power, content moderation and the future of the internet. It’s co-hosted by Mike Masnick (Techdirt) and Ben Whitelaw (Everything in Moderation).

Become a Ctrl-Alt-Speech supporter to get extended episodes of the podcast plus the chance to submit stories for us to cover. 

In this week's episode, Mike and Ben cover:

• FBI Probes Service Selling 153M+ Drivers Licenses (Krebs on Security)
• Introducing ChatGPT for Teens: Built for learning, backed by protections (OpenAI)
• OpenAI Says ChatGPT Is Safer for Teens. Now It Needs to Show Proof (RAND)
• 'AI is less judgmental' (Washington Post)

And in the extended episode for Patreon supporters, they cover:

• AI safety is designed in the West, and failing users everywhere (Rest of World)
• Why the global push to break free from Big Tech keeps falling short (Rest of World)
• Meta accepts U.S. safety rules while pitching softer tools abroad (Rest of World)
• How AI is mapping the tree of life (Basecamp Research/Microsoft)

Our fun links this week include a Korean AI dance generator and defrag your Windows PC.

If you’re already a Patreon supporter, you can get the extended episode on Patreon.

Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, and Bluesky.

Ctrl-Alt-Speech is the podcast where we make sense of the major debates shaping online speech, platform power, content moderation and the future of the internet. It’s co-hosted by Mike Masnick (Techdirt) and Ben Whitelaw (Everything in Moderation).

Become a Ctrl-Alt-Speech supporter to get extended episodes of the podcast plus the chance to submit stories for us to cover.

In this week's episode, Mike and Ben cover:

• Meta Just Paid Nearly $17 Billion To Make Sure It Gets To Write The Kid Safety Rules For Every Other Social Media Platform (Techdirt)
• Mark Zuckerberg Wants to Make Sure His Competitors Share His Pain (New York Times)
• Meta settlement opens new front in global fight over social media harm (Reuters)

And in the extended episode for Patreon supporters, they cover:

• UK expects Meta to match US child safety measures after $18bn settlement (The Guardian)
• What Meta’s US Settlement on Child Safety Means for Europe  (TechPolicy.Press)
• Did Meta’s Big Settlement Actually Help It? (New York Times)

Our fun links this week include a new table format for food recipes and Rainbolt’s tear-jerking Geoguessr video.

If you’re already a Patreon supporter, you can get the extended episode on Patreon.

Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, and Bluesky.

Ctrl-Alt-Speech is the podcast where we make sense of the major debates shaping online speech, platform power, content moderation and the future of the internet. It’s co-hosted by Mike Masnick (Techdirt) and Ben Whitelaw (Everything in Moderation).

Become a Ctrl-Alt-Speech supporter to get extended episodes of the podcast plus the chance to submit stories for us to cover.

In this week’s roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike is joined by Chris Messina, inventor of the #hashtag in social media, who has worked on internet and social media efforts for decades. Together they discuss:

• Oakland Unified Announces New Cell Phone Policy Now in Effect; Policy is Based on New State Law Requiring Cell Phone-Free School Days (Oakland Unified School District)
• In conversation with Jonathan Haidt, author of ‘The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness’ (Left to Their Own Devices)
• French court blocks social media ban for under 15s (Politico)
• Whistleblower Arturo Béjar leads testimony in landmark trial against Meta (NPR)
• Discord halts livestreams in Brazil after watchdog cites child safety failures (ABC News)

And in the extended episode for Patreon supporters, they cover:

• AI Companion Legislation in the United States (Journal of Sports & Entertainment Law)
• In China, treatment for mental-health problems is a luxury (The Economist)
• I Don’t Trust A.I. But I Told it Everything (NY Times)

Our fun links this week include Berd, the open source anthropomorphic agent management tool from Jack Dorsey and Block, and Dopamine Shop, Fake Eats, and other places to shop without shopping.

If you’re already a Patreon supporter, you can get the extended episode on Patreon.

Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, and Bluesky.

Ctrl-Alt-Speech is the podcast where we make sense of the major debates shaping online speech, platform power, content moderation and the future of the internet. It’s co-hosted by Mike Masnick (Techdirt) and Ben Whitelaw (Everything in Moderation).

Become a Ctrl-Alt-Speech supporter to get extended episodes of the podcast plus the chance to submit stories for us to cover.

In this week's episode, Mike and Ben cover:

• Claude will apply invisible watermarks to AI text and images (The Verge)
• Claude-inspired copypasting (LinkedIn)
• Anthropic investors bet on $2tn valuation in record IPO (Financial Times)
• The Future is for Everyone (Meta)
• OpenAI’s head of ethics leaves start-up less than a year after joining (Financial Times)
• US court rules Meta, other tech firms must face thousands of lawsuits over social media addiction (Reuters)
• Ninth Circuit Rewrites Section 230 To Remove The Part That Actually Mattered (Techdirt)
• Otherwise Obectionable podcast (Techdirt)

And in the extended episode for Patreon supporters, they cover:

• Breton calls for EU disinformation inquiry over Ceuta (Euractiv)
• Meta and TikTok agree to fact-check content on Spain border crossings after deadly rush (Reuters)
• Social media rumours spark biggest migration crisis between Morocco and Spain in years (Euronews)
• Thierry Breton: “Ceuta? La minaccia viene dall’algoritmo che guida gli arrivi” (La Stampa)

Our fun links this week are this typing website for tiny fingers and a museum for your favourite memes — and the thinking behind it.

If you’re already a Patreon supporter, you can get the extended episode on Patreon.

Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, and Bluesky.

Ctrl-Alt-Speech is the podcast where we make sense of the major debates shaping online speech, platform power, content moderation and the future of the internet. It’s co-hosted by Mike Masnick (Techdirt) and Ben Whitelaw (Everything in Moderation).

Become a Ctrl-Alt-Speech supporter to get extended episodes of the podcast plus the chance to submit stories for us to cover.

In this week's episode, Mike and Ben cover:

• India summons Meta executives over briefly restricted Modi Facebook post (Reuters)
• ‘No explanation given’: Arvind Kejriwal claims Meta restricted his account in India (The Times of India)
• Meta apologises to India for restricting PM Modi's post (Reuters)
• India temporarily bans Telegram over exam paper leak concern (BBC)
• eBay agrees $56m settlement with bloggers over harassment case (BBC)
• Artist starts legal case against Meta for deleting her Instagram account (The Art Newspaper)

And in the extended episode for Patreon supporters, they cover:

• Telegram CEO says an extortionist planted CSAM in a chat to get it pulled from the App Store (The Verge)
• TikTok Withheld a Safety Feature From Millions. One Died by Suicide (Bloomberg)
• TikTok Says ‘Moderator Error’ Kept Perez Hilton Livestream Up (Wired)

Our fun links this week are the Nintendo gameplay counsellors and a revamped app for sharing your toilet flushing habits. 

If you’re already a Patreon supporter, you can get the extended episode on Patreon.

Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, and Bluesky.

Ctrl-Alt-Speech is the podcast where we make sense of the major debates shaping online speech, platform power, content moderation and the future of the internet. It’s co-hosted by Mike Masnick (Techdirt) and Ben Whitelaw (Everything in Moderation).

Become a Ctrl-Alt-Speech supporter to get extended episodes of the podcast plus the chance to submit stories for us to cover.

In this week's episode, Mike and Ben cover:

• The U.S. Is About to Design an AI Regulator. Here’s How to Get It Right (Council on Foreign Relations)
• Mark Zuckerberg Says U.S. Should Accelerate AI Development, Not Restrict It (WSJ)
• Want AI you can trust? Start by building the right institutions (Atlantic Council)
• Anthropic Says It’s Against A Ban On Open Weight Models. It Just Wants To Ban Everything That Makes Them Good (Techdirt)
• The High Stakes Behind the EU’s €890M Google DMA Fine (Tech Policy Press)
• Europe bears its teeth, political panic about OpenAI hack and YouTube refines partner policy (Everything in Moderation)
• Trump vows new tariffs on the E.U. after Brussels fines Google $1 billion (Qz)

And in the extended episode for Patreon supporters, they cover:

• Elon Musk’s xAI sues Minnesota over law banning ‘nudification’ technology (The Guardian)
• The Worst Person You Know Just Filed A Good First Amendment Lawsuit Against A Very Badly Drafted Nudify App Ban (Techdirt)

Our fun links this week are a replica of Scooby Doo’s Mystery-Machine and the Saltburn cricket scandal because we need more satire right now.

If you’re already a Patreon supporter, you can get the extended episode on Patreon.

Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, and Bluesky.

Ctrl-Alt-Speech is the podcast where we make sense of the major debates shaping online speech, platform power, content moderation and the future of the internet. It’s co-hosted by Mike Masnick (Techdirt) and Ben Whitelaw (Everything in Moderation).