Ctrl-Alt-Speech

Hosted by Mike Masnick & Ben Whitelaw

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Episodes

108

Latest episode

Jun 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

June 12, 2026Episode 10637 min

Cupertino d'État

In this week's episode, Mike and Ben cover:Tech bosses threatened with prison if they fail to protect children (The Times)Apple and Google given three months to ban nude images on children's devices (BBC News)Keir Starmer’s social media ban for under-16s could backfire, experts warn (OpenDemocracy)Apple previews new child safety features (Apple)Apple's WWDC keynote was very different, but this will be the new normal (9to5mac)Ottawa introduces bill to restrict social media for teens, regulate AI chatbots (Globe and Mail)Australia builds enforcement layer behind age assurance laws (Biometric Update)NCAC Welcomes Meta Oversight Board's New Account Recommendations (NCAC)And in the extended episode for Patreon supporters, they cover:Claude Fable 5 and Claude Mythos 5 (Anthropic)Microsoft restricts Claude Fable for employees over data retention concern (The Verge)The Rise of the Compliant Speech Platform (Lawfare)Policy on the AI Exponential (Dario Amodei)Our fun links this week are the 7-0 World Cup game (Ben) and Chipotlai Max (Mike).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 5, 2026Episode 10542 min

Generous to a Default

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:New 13+ Content Settings for Teen Accounts Expanding Globally on Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger (Meta)Meta Expands Safety Features for Teenagers (New York Times)Hackers Used Meta’s AI Support Bot to Seize Instagram Accounts (Krebs on Security)Everyone In This LEGO Dispute Should Have Spoken To A Lawyer Earlier Than They Did (Techdirt)Can you go 82-0? (82-0)My toddler’s version of a silent disco (Instagram)And in the extended episode for Patreon supporters, they cover:Enshittification, Despotification, and the Open Internet (Liberalism)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).

May 29, 2026Episode 10439 min

Deus vs. Machina

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 Boring Internet (Terry Godier)Orkney Library & Archive (Bluesky)Silicon Valley takes its AI pitch to the pope (Politico)Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah's remarks on Pope Leo XIV's encyclical "Magnifica humanitas" (Anthropic)Vance calls Pope Leo’s AI warnings ‘profound’ (NBC News)American heresy: should Peter Thiel be burned at the stake? (Le Grand Continent)Spotify chief defends AI-generated music (Financial Times)OpenAI readies cyber, misinformation defenses ahead of elections (Axios)And in the extended episode for Patreon supporters, they cover:In a surprise, Meta increases funding to the Oversight Board (Platformer)Spotlight: Five Years of the Oversight Board, from Experiment to Essential Institution (Ctrl-Alt-Speech)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).

May 21, 2026Episode 10354 min

Message in a Bottleneck

In this week’s roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike is joined by civil liberties lawyer Jennifer Granick. Together they discuss:Kickstarter rolls back its mature content policy after outcry (Engadget)Apple gives update on the App Store and its key protections (9to5 Mac)Thoughts on the £1,000,000 SaSu Fine (Preston Byrne)Pushing back from Big Tech: Africa’s hard road to AI sovereignty (Rest of World)America’s dangerous, messy deepfakes crackdown is here (The Verge)X accounts are limited to 50 posts and 200 replies a day unless they pay for a blue checkmark (Engadget)Support the podcast by joining our Patreon, with special founder membership available until May 28th.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).

May 7, 2026Episode 10251 min

The Human Element in the Room

In this week’s roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike is joined by First Amendment lawyer Ari Cohn. Together they discuss:Pennsylvania sues AI chatbot as state lawmakers wrestle with stricter regulations (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)Children are drawing moustaches on their faces to fool online age checks - and it's working (Euronews)The Online Safety Act: Are children safer online? (Internet Matters)Utah first state to hold websites liable for users who mask their location with VPNs — law goes into effect, designed to prevent bypassing age checks (Tom’s Hardware)Three Justifications—and the AI Accelerant—of India’s Digital Censorship Infrastructure (Tech Policy Press)Did School Cellphone Bans Work? New Study Finds Mixed Results.(NY Times)Support the podcast by joining our Patreon, with special founder membership available until May 28th.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).

April 30, 2026Episode 10152 min

Age Against the Machine

In this week’s roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike is joined by Jess Miers, law professor at University of Akron School of Law. Together, they discuss:AI Chatbots: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)OpenAI’s Sam Altman apologizes to Canadian community after failing to flag mass shooter’s conversations with its AI chatbot (CNN)OpenAI And Sam Altman Could Face Dozens More Lawsuits Over School Shooting In British Columbia, Lawyer Says (Forbes)Manitoba premier addresses province’s plan to ban youth from social media, AI chatbots (CTV News)Turkey Passes Legislation Barring Children Under 15 From Social Media (NY Times)How YouTube Took Over the American Classroom (WSJ)Support the podcast by joining our Patreon, with special founder membership available until May 28th.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).

April 23, 2026Episode 10029 min

Celebrating 100 Episodes & Launching Our Patreon

In this special episode, Mike and Ben reflect on 100 episodes of the podcast, followed by an important announcement: we’re launching a Patreon and making some changes to Ctrl-Alt-Speech!Starting on May 28th, Patreon members will get early access to extended weekly episodes with in-depth coverage of an extra major story. The free episodes will continue here on this feed, just slightly shorter and released one day later. You can become a member now at one of two levels: Supporters get early access to the extended episodes, and for a limited time Founders get that plus the opportunity to send us news stories that you think we should cover each week. After the new episodes begin at the end of May, the Founder tier will become the Insider tier with all the same benefits at a slightly higher price, so act now if you don’t want to miss out (you’ll also get bragging rights as a founding member!)We’re immensely grateful to the incredible audience we’ve found over these past 100 episodes, and this is our way of helping make the podcast sustainable for the next 100!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).

April 16, 2026Episode 9952 min

The Silence of the LLMs

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:The Darkest Web (BBC)Federal agencies skirt Trump’s Anthropic ban to test its advanced AI model (Politico)Anthropic Opposes the Extreme AI Liability Bill That OpenAI Backed (Wired)Europe should regulate Big Tech instead of banning kids from social media, Estonia says (Politico EU)Statement by President von der Leyen with Executive Vice-President Virkkunen on the digital age verification app (European Commission)Apple threatened to remove Grok from the App Store over sexualized deepfakes, letter says (NBC News)A fake Ledger app on the Apple App Store drained $9.5 million in crypto (Coindesk)India’s Decentralized System of Internet Censorship (Tech Policy Press)As Social Media Tears Society Apart, a New Crop of Scary Movies Focuses on the Horror of Content Moderation (Variety)We’re still yet to find a Ctrl-Alt-Speech 2026 Bingo Card winner — could this week be your lucky day? Play along! 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).

April 9, 2026Episode 9851 min

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids’ Internet

In this week’s roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Ben is joined by Fadzai Madzingira, a digital policy expert with a decade of experience at Meta, Salesforce, Ofcom and currently Twitch, where she leads the policy, outreach and education teams. Together, they discuss:Exclusive: Meta has discussed ending funding to the Oversight Board (Platformer)Spotlight: Five Years of the Oversight Board, from Experiment to Essential Institution (Ctrl-Alt-Speech)What Teens Are Doing With Those Role-Playing Chatbots (The New York Times)Early Lessons from Australia's Teen Social Media Ban for the Rest of the World (Tech Policy Press)Stuck in the Middleware with Youth with Vaishnavi J (Ctrl-Alt-Speech)Greece to ban social media for under-15s from 2027, calls on EU action (Reuters)The Family Tech Cycle: Navigating Screens, Devices, and Social Media (Joan Ganz Cooney Center)We’re still yet to find a Ctrl-Alt-Speech 2026 Bingo Card winner — could this week be your lucky day? Play along.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).

April 2, 2026Episode 9750 min

Age Old Questions

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:It's official: Australia's teen social media ban isn't working, yet (Crikey)Social Media Minimum Age - Compliance update (eSafety Commision)Blunder from Down Under (Ctrl-Alt-Speech)April 3 could create a dangerous gap in child safety across Europe (Thorn)Commissioners pile pressure on Parliament to pass child sexual abuse bill (POLITICO)Weeks After Denouncing Government Censorship On Rogan, Zuckerberg Texted Elon Musk Offering To Take Down Content For DOGE (Techdirt)What Is YouTube’s Dominance Doing to Us? We Asked Its C.E.O. (The New York Times)This Episode is Broadly Safe To Listen To (Ctrl-Alt-Speech)Meta will "substantially reduce" describing Instagram teen accounts as PG-13 (Engadget)Rated R for Ridiculous (Ctrl-Alt-Speech)If you’ve got Elon Musk in your Ctrl-Alt-Speech 2026 Bingo Card this week, you’re in luck.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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