Spam represents nearly half of all global email traffic, from obnoxious ads to dire warnings of impending account closures to absurd invitations to join the Illuminati (just ask our podcast producer). It is a constant, annoying part of online life, but does it have to be that way?. Understanding the efforts to address spam in the early 2000s offers lessons for how we might regulate technologies such as artificial intelligence today. 

On this episode, host Jason Lloyd is joined by Rebecca Coyne, who recently received her master’s degree in public policy from the University of Michigan. Coyne wrote about spam policy in the Spring 2026 issue, in an article titled “Spam Policy and the Myth of the Ungovernable Internet.” 

Resources:

• Read “Spam Policy and the Myth of the Ungovernable Internet” by Rebecca Coyne, from our Spring 2026 issue. 
• Learn more about the early internet by reading “A Prehistory of Social Media” by Kevin Driscoll, and listen to his podcast episode. 
• Check out Spam: A Shadow History of the Internet by Finn Burton for more on the history of spam, and read this article to learn about the vigilante hijinks during the “spam wars.” 
• For more on AI regulation, read “The Mirage of AI Deregulation” by Alondra Nelson in Science and “Moratoriums and Federal Preemption of State Artificial Intelligence Laws Pose Serious Risks,” a report from the Center for American Progress.