Podcast · Tech & Science

Ctrl-Alt-Speech

by Mike Masnick & Ben Whitelaw · English · Tech & Science

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

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 42 min
Latest: 9 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

9 Oct 2026 · 39 min

Like Herding Chats

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 Official Sonic Discord Server’s Launch Went About As Poorly As You’d Expect (Kotaku)Vladimir Putin's Forkiverse (Search Engine)They trade child sex abuse material. They find each other on TikTok (Prospect)Meta rolls out new AI tools to detect ads that secretly lead to child sexual abuse material (TechCrunch)Tik...

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

S1 · E123 · 2 Oct 2026 · 39 min
Going to the Ballot Bot
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 Par...
S1 · E122 · 25 Sep 2026 · 37 min
Some Assembly Required
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 govern...
S1 · E121 · 18 Sep 2026 · 36 min
No Child Left Online
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...
S1 · E120 · 11 Sep 2026 · 41 min
Duty of Careful What You Wish For
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 ...
S1 · E119 · 4 Sep 2026 · 42 min
License to Spill
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, ...
S1 · E118 · 28 Aug 2026 · 35 min
Move Fast and Settle Things
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...
S1 · E117 · 21 Aug 2026 · 42 min
School of Hard Blocks
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 Req...
S1 · E116 · 14 Aug 2026 · 41 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 Met...
S1 · E115 · 7 Aug 2026 · 38 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 ...
S1 · E114 · 31 Jul 2026 · 38 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. ...
S1 · E113 · 24 Jul 2026 · 57 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 ...
S1 · E112 · 22 Jul 2026 · 39 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 al...
S1 · E111 · 17 Jul 2026 · 52 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 Ni...
S1 · E110 · 10 Jul 2026 · 37 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, ...
S1 · E109 · 3 Jul 2026 · 47 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 rig...
S1 · E108 · 26 Jun 2026 · 15 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. Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, and Bluesky. Ctrl-Alt-Speech is the podcast where we make sense ...
S1 · E107 · 19 Jun 2026 · 45 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 burn...
S1 · E106 · 12 Jun 2026 · 38 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...
S1 · E105 · 5 Jun 2026 · 43 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 T...
S1 · E104 · 29 May 2026 · 39 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 Thie...
S1 · E103 · 21 May 2026 · 54 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 ...
S1 · E102 · 7 May 2026 · 51 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...
S1 · E101 · 30 Apr 2026 · 53 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 Sa...
S1 · E100 · 23 Apr 2026 · 30 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 ea...
S1 · E99 · 16 Apr 2026 · 52 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...
S1 · E98 · 9 Apr 2026 · 51 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-A...
S1 · E97 · 2 Apr 2026 · 51 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...
S1 · E96 · 26 Mar 2026 · 53 min
For Meta or Worse
In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover: How London become a T&S hub (Everything in Moderation) Everyone Cheering The Social Media Addiction Verdicts Against Meta Should Understand What They’re Actually Cheering For (Techdirt)Supreme Court Sides With Internet Provider in Copyright Fight Over Pirated Music (New York Times)US settles social media censorship case, bars agencies from threatening penalties...
S1 · E95 · 19 Mar 2026 · 52 min
Money for Nothing and Clicks for a Fee
In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover: Gamblers trying to win a bet on Polymarket are vowing to kill me if I don’t rewrite an Iran missile story (Times of Israel)Maybe Turning War Into a Casino Was a Bad Idea? (The Atlantic)French music streamer Deezer battles deluge of AI fraud (Financial Times)I hacked ChatGPT and Google's AI - and it only took 20 minutes (BBC)US to Receive $10 Billion Fee for TikTok Deal,...

About Ctrl-Alt-Speech

Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a English tech & science podcast from Mike Masnick & Ben Whitelaw. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Mike Masnick & Ben Whitelaw
Language: English
Category: Tech & Science
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 42 min
Latest episode: 9 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1734530193

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