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Ctrl-Alt-Speech

Ctrl-Alt-Speech

Hosted by Mike Masnick & Ben Whitelaw

TechnologyBusinessNewsInterviews guests
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Episodes

118

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

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 industry. Each episode takes a deep dive into one or two key stories, and includes a quicker roundup of other important news. It's a must-listen for trust & safety professionals, and anyone interested in issues surrounding online speech. If your company or organization is interested in sponsoring Ctrl-Alt-Speech and joining us for a sponsored interview, visit ctrlaltspeech.com for more information. Ctrl-Alt-Speech is produced with financial support from the Future of Online Trust & Safety Fund, a fiscally-sponsored multi-donor fund at Global Impact that supports charitable activities to build a more robust, capable, and inclusive Trust and Safety ecosystem and field.

Listen to episodes

60 recent
August 14, 2026Episode 11641 min

Watermark My Words

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.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).

August 7, 2026Episode 11537 min

In the Modi for Takedowns

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.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).

July 31, 2026Episode 11438 min

Zuck Starts Throwing His Weights Around

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.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).

July 24, 2026Episode 11356 min

Live at TrustCon 2026

Our third annual Live at TrustCon recording of Ctrl-Alt-Speech! Ben was back this year! Mike and Ben were joined live on stage with Kat Duffy, senior fellow for digital and cyberspace policy at the Council on Foreign Relations and Zoe Darme, Director for Trust, Knowledge and Information Products at Google. They cover:Security incident disclosure — July 2026 (Hugging Face)OpenAI and Hugging Face partner to address security incident during model evaluation (OpenAI)An OpenAI test model escaped and broke into a real company’s servers (CNN)France Joins a Global Move Toward Restricting Social Media for Children (NY Times)xAI sues user for exploiting AI tool to sexualise minors (Al Jazeera)Special thanks to the Trust & Safety Professionals Association (TSPA) and all the work they do each year in putting on TrustCon, and for allowing us to host the live podcast as the closing session again this year.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).

July 22, 2026Episode 11239 min

Spotlight: PwC’s Dan Hays on the future of Trust & Safety

In this sponsored Spotlight episode of Ctrl-Alt-Speech, host Ben Whitelaw speaks to PwC’s Dan Hays at TrustCon about the firm’s recently published Trust & Safety Outlook report.They discuss: How AI is simultaneously creating new risks and reshaping the tools used to address them;What the rise of autonomous agents means for governance, accountability and the future of the internet; andHow platforms should respond to an increasingly fragmented regulatory landscape.The conversation also explores how Trust & Safety is becoming a more strategic function inside companies, how automation could change the role of practitioners and vendors, and which emerging risks remain most underestimated.This episode is brought to you in conjunction with our sponsor, PwC. Download the report today.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).

July 17, 2026Episode 11152 min

Putting Some Meat On The Bans

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, Ben is joined by Niklas Eder, co-founder and co-CEO of User Rights, a designated out of court dispute settlement body under the Digital Services Act which reviews complaints from users whose social media posts have been deleted or moderated. Together, Ben and Niklas discuss:UK to lay out social media curbs for 16 and 17 year-olds (POLITICO)‘What’s the point?’ Teenagers give their verdict on Britain’s social media curfew (The Guardian)EU moves towards social media ban for children (Financial Times)They Helped Women Fight Online Abuse. They Were Barred From the U.S. (The New York Times)Discord confirms AI moderators have banned thousands over harmless images (Mashable)Federal Court Suspends Trump Immigration Policy Targeting Technology Researchers (Knight First Amendment Institute)And in the extended episode for Patreon supporters, they cover:EU threatens Meta with fines over 'addictive' Facebook and Instagram (BBC News)Commission preliminarily finds the addictive design of Instagram and Facebook in breach of the Digital Services Act (European Commission)The Question of Legality and the Function of the Commission’s Preliminary Findings Against Meta (Verfassungsblog)Our fun links this week are a lawn mowing game for post-World Cup stress relief and the Center for the Alignment of AI Alignment Centers because we need more satire right now. This episode is sponsored by PwC, whose upcoming 2026 Trust and Safety Outlook Report explores the forces reshaping how organizations are approaching online safety and integrity. In our special bonus chat, Ben sits down with Dan Hays, Principal Partner of Strategy& (part of the PwC network), to talk about the future of trust and safety and get a sneak peek at some of the themes in their report before its release next week at TrustCon.If you’re already a Patreon supporter, you can get the extended episode on Patreon.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).

July 10, 2026Episode 11036 min

Sell Me Lies, Sell Me Sweet Meta Lies

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:‘It’s not like we knowingly have bad ads’: Meta on ad fraud, teen safety, and why AI will not replace agencies (The Media Leader)Instagram running ads promoting child sexual abuse material in India (BBC)Meta Now Lets Anyone Use Your Instagram Photos in AI Images—Unless You Opt Out (Wired)At 17, She Sued Meta and Google, and Won. Now She’s Ready to Tell Her Story (Bloomberg)And in the extended episode for Patreon supporters, they cover:Beijing is looking at curbing overseas access to China's top AI models, sources say (Reuters)Fable 5 Is Back After Anthropic Irons Out Security Concerns With US Government (PC Mag)AI Giants Are Handing Out Tons of Free Computing Power to Grab Startup Share (WSJ)Introducing Tokens to the Future: Token Grants to AI Builders (LinkedIn)OpenAI proposes handing Trump administration 5% stake (Financial Times)Our fun links this week are Roost, the “slow-cial” messaging app, and PlotLines for visualizing classic novels on a map.If you’re already a Patreon supporter, you can get the extended episode on Patreon.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).

July 3, 2026Episode 10947 min

Making the Best of a Ban Situation

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, Ben is joined by Cori Crider, executive director of the Future of Technology Institute, an independent non-profit focusing on technology that serves the public. She previously co-founded legal non-profit Foxglove and led national security litigation at human rights organisation, Reprieve. Together, Ben and Cori discuss:Australia to double potential fines for Facebook and Instagram (ABC News)85% of kids are still using social media despite ban. But we need a new measure to judge its success (The Conversation)German expert panel suggests social media ban for under-13s (Reuters)EXCLUSIVE: EU could announce social media ban for kids in September (Euractiv)The EU Wants To Grow Homegrown Tech. Its Courts Keep Making That Impossible (Techdirt)Eurosky x Funk (German pub broadcaster youth programme) partnership (Linkedin)And in the extended episode for Patreon supporters, they cover:TikTok announce major redundancies amid push for AI content moderation (The Independent)Meta looks to AI to review harmful content in cost-cutting drive (Financial Times)Our fun links this week are the rise of dopamine sites (Ben) and Polaroid’s billboard campaign (Cori).If you’re already a Patreon supporter, you can get the extended episode on Patreon.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).

June 26, 2026Episode 10814 min

Teaser: The Ctrl-Alt-Speech Reading List

In a special bonus episode for our Patreon supporters, Mike and Ben discuss some of their favorite must-read books about online speech, platform power, and content moderation. This free teaser covers their first two picks: It’s Complicated by Danah Boyd and Behind the Screen by Sarah T. Roberts. To hear the full episode with all six books, become a Ctrl-Alt-Speech supporter on Patreon.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).

June 19, 2026Episode 10744 min

Close Your Apps and Think of England

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, Ben is joined by Jen Weedon, a T&S veteran of Meta and Niantic. She is currently consulting and teaching at Columbia school of International and Public Affairs. Together, Ben and Jen discuss:Jen Weedon on anticipating platform threats and how to manage burnout (Everything in Moderation)AI Slop and the Information Ecosystem (Columbia University)UK examines steps to stop children circumventing social media ban (Financial Times)Social media ban for UK’s under 16s will go even further than Australia’s policy (BMJ)The split-screen reaction to the UK social media ban (Everything in Moderation)Anthropic shuts down newest AI model after U.S. bans foreign use (The Washington Post)India blocks Telegram messaging app until June 22, government says (Reuters)And in the extended episode for Patreon supporters, they cover:Spotify removed 57,000 fake podcast episodes selling illegal drugs after congressional pressure (TNW)Spotify chief defends AI-generated music (Financial Times)Our fun links this week are the How Alberta eradicated rats (Ben) and Mogwooooo’s Instagram account (Jen).If you’re already a Patreon supporter, you can get the extended episode on Patreon.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).

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