As decentralized social media experiments continue, we're getting more and more opportunities to really understand the impact of decentralized systems and how they are received by users. Amy Zhang, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of Washington, has been studying and thinking about these issues a lot, and this week she joins us on the podcast to discuss a recent paper and, in general, how users are faring in the world of decentralized social media and content moderation.

Research paper, "Do Users Want Platform Moderation or Individual Control?" - https://arxiv.org/pdf/2301.02208

There's no shortage of prognostication about the future of generative AI, including plenty of predictions that it won't actually be around forever for various reasons. A lot of these takes are a little too speculative or just not very interesting, but one that stands out comes from law professor and returning podcast guest Eric Goldman, who joins us this week to discuss his recent lecture and subsequent paper arguing that the regulatory environment won't allow generative AI to survive.

2024 Nies Lecture on Intellectual Property: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3tzZ_nH-AI

Research paper, "Generative AI Is Doomed": https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4802313

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's CyberTipline is a central component of the fight against child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online, but there have been a lot of questions about how well it truly works. A recent report from the Stanford Internet Observatory, which we've published two recent posts about, provides an extremely useful window into the system. This week, we're joined by two of the report's authors, Shelby Grossman and Riana Pfefferkorn, to dig into the content of the report and the light it sheds on the challenges faced by the CyberTipline.

Stanford Report: https://purl.stanford.edu/pr592kc5483

Techdirt posts: https://www.techdirt.com/company/ncmec/

We've got one more cross-post episode for you today, then next week we're back with a brand new discussion. Recently, Mike joined the Daily Beast's The New Abnormal podcast with host Andy Levy for a conversation about the big news from last week: Biden signing a bill that will ban TikTok in the US if owner ByteDance doesn't divest from it. The full episode of The New Abnormal covers other topics as well, or you can listen to Mike's segment isolated here on this week's episode.

The New Abnormal episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/trumps-campaign-shifts-strategy-for-its-part-time-candidate/id1508202790?i=1000653645212

Check out Ctrl-Alt-Speech, Mike Masnick's brand new podcast with Ben Whitelaw, creator of the Everything in Moderation newsletter.

In this teaser excerpt from last week's episode, Mike and Ben discuss the startling epidemic of "sextortion" scammers targeting teens online.

Listen to the whole episode covering all the week's biggest news in online speech - and get ready for this week's episode, releasing Friday - by visiting ctrlaltspeech.com or subscribing to Ctrl-Alt-Speech on your podcast platform of choice!

Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ctrl…ch/id1734530193

Overcast: overcast.fm/itunes1734530193

Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/1N3tvLxUTCR7oTdUgUCQvc

Amazon Music: music.amazon.com/podcasts/9384201…e51-218433a7e647

YouTube: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc…Hqqc3ZjufeEw2AS7Z

More: www.ctrlaltspeech.com/

This week, we've got another cross-post episode for you. Mike recently appeared on the Sidebar podcast from Courthouse News as part of an episode taking an in-depth look at why copyright is actually the biggest free speech restriction in the US and the various questions, implications, and problems that arise from this. You can listen to the whole thing here on this week's episode.

Check out Ctrl-Alt-Speech, Mike Masnick's brand new podcast with Ben Whitelaw, creator of the Everything in Moderation newsletter.

In this teaser excerpt from last week's episode, Ben and guest host Alice Hunsberger discuss Meta/Facebook's new policy for labeling AI-generated content.

Listen to the whole episode covering all the week's biggest news in online speech - and get ready for this week's episode, releasing tomorrow - by visiting ctrlaltspeech.com or subscribing to Ctrl-Alt-Speech on your podcast platform of choice!

Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ctrl…ch/id1734530193

Overcast: overcast.fm/itunes1734530193

Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/1N3tvLxUTCR7oTdUgUCQvc

Amazon Music: music.amazon.com/podcasts/9384201…e51-218433a7e647

YouTube: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc…Hqqc3ZjufeEw2AS7Z

More: www.ctrlaltspeech.com/

Last week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee had a hearing all about Section 230, in which they didn't even attempt to find a witness pointing out its benefits. Among the many organizations that could have provided that vital perspective is the Wikimedia Foundation (as seen in three excellent posts on Medium), and this week we're joined by Rebecca MacKinnon, Wikimedia's VP of Global Advocacy and long-time open internet defender, to talk about why the hearing was bad and Section 230 is very, very important.

Posts by Wikimedia:

https://medium.com/wikimedia-policy/if-congress-repeals-section-230-what-will-that-mean-for-wikipedia-691559dfb2c5

https://medium.com/wikimedia-policy/common-assumptions-and-misunderstandings-about-online-content-moderation-and-reforming-section-230-eb9bd6d70d58

https://medium.com/wikimedia-policy/alternatives-to-reforming-section-230-refocusing-internet-regulation-on-empowering-people-c175af4d6626

One very important thing to understand in the conversation about online speech is that there are many different kinds of online communities, big and small, and they all have their own needs when it comes to rules and governance. This fact is a key element of a new book, Governable Spaces: Democratic Design for Online Life by media studies professor Nathan Schneider, and this week Nathan joins the podcast to talk about how democracy does (and doesn't) manifest in online communities.

Check out Ctrl-Alt-Speech, Mike Masnick's brand new podcast with Ben Whitelaw, creator of the Everything in Moderation newsletter.

In this teaser excerpt from last week's episode, Mike and Ben discuss the recent decision from the Oversight Board that reveals the single most moderated word on Meta's social media sites.

Listen to the whole episode covering all the week's biggest news in online speech - and get ready for this week's episode, releasing tomorrow - by visiting ctrlaltspeech.com or subscribing to Ctrl-Alt-Speech on your podcast platform of choice!

Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ctrl…ch/id1734530193

Overcast: overcast.fm/itunes1734530193

Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/1N3tvLxUTCR7oTdUgUCQvc

Amazon Music: music.amazon.com/podcasts/9384201…e51-218433a7e647

YouTube: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc…Hqqc3ZjufeEw2AS7Z

More: www.ctrlaltspeech.com/