10 episodes
Ctrl-Alt-Speech Mike Masnick & Ben Whitelaw
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- Technology
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4.8 • 21 Ratings
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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.
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Between a Rock and a Hard Policy
In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:
Stack Overflow bans users en masse for rebelling against OpenAI partnership (Tom's Hardware)Tech firms must tame toxic algorithms to protect children online (Ofcom)Reddit Lays Out Content Policy While Seeking More Licensing Deals (Bloomberg)Extremist Militias Are Coordinating in More Than 100 Facebook Groups (Wired)Politicians Scapegoat Social Media While Ignoring Real Solutions (Techdirt)‘Facebook Tries to Combat Russian Disinformation in Ukraine’ – FB Public Policy Manager (Kyiv Post)TikTok Sues U.S. Government Over Law Forcing Sale or Ban (New York Times)Swiss public broadcasters withdraw from X/Twitter (Swissinfo)Congressional Committee Threatens To Investigate Any Company Helping TikTok Defend Its Rights (Techdirt)This episode is brought to you with financial support from the Future of Online Trust & Safety Fund.
Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening. -
This One Weird Trick to Save the Open Internet
In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike is joined by guest host Alex Feerst, former General Counsel and head of trust & safety at Medium, and co-founder of the Digital Trust & Safety Partnership. Together they cover:
Was There A Trojan Horse Hidden In Section 230 All Along That Could Enable Adversarial Interoperability? (Techdirt)EU Commission opens formal proceedings against Facebook and Instagram under the Digital Services Act (European Commission)OnlyFans Investigated over its duties to protect under-18s from restricted materials (Ofcom)Canadian banks need to do more to stop abusive e-transfers, survivors say (CBC)TikTok And Meta Aren’t Labeling State Propaganda About The War In Gaza (Forbes)How we fought bad apps and bad actors in 2023 (Google security blog)Meta’s oversight body prepares to lay off workers (Washington Post)This episode is brought to you with financial support from the Future of Online Trust & Safety Fund.
Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening. -
The Bell Tolls for TikTok
In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:
How to Fix the Online Child Exploitation Reporting System (Stanford Internet Observatory)TikTok faces EU Commission’s second probe, potential suspension of reward program (Euronews)Meta Expands Its Mixed Reality Beyond the Quest Headsets (CNet)The biggest AI companies agree to crack down on child abuse images (Thorn)Wattpad has a community problem, so it’s killing DMs (The Verge)Discord CEO Jason Citron makes the case for a smaller, more private internet (The Verge)Stanford Internet Observatory’s CyberTipline Report (Stanford Law School) This episode is brought to you with financial support from the Future of Online Trust & Safety Fund.
Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening. -
The Difficulty of Being a Teen Online
In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:
Schools Were Just Supposed To Block Porn. Instead They Sabotaged Homework and Censored Suicide Prevention Sites (The Markup)New Tools to Help Protect Against Sextortion and Intimate Image Abuse (Meta)Scammers are targeting teenage boys on social media—and driving some to suicide (Bloomberg)The AI That Could Heal a Divided Internet (TIME)Mexican election agency and news organizations leverage Check (Meedan)Benjamin Cohen was falsely accused of the Bondi Junction stabbings. Here's how the lie spread around the world (ABC News) Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening. -
Watch Out, AI is Getting More Persuasive
In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Ben is joined by guest host Alice Hunsberger, VP of Trust and Safety and Content Moderation at Partnerhero and former Global Head of Customer Experience at Grindr. Together they cover:
Measuring the Persuasiveness of Language Models (Anthropic)Our Approach to Labeling AI-Generated Content and Manipulated Media (Meta) Survey: New Laws Mandate Access To Social Media Data, But Obstacles Remain (Tech Policy Press) Brazil Might Regulate All Social Media After Clash With Elon Musk (Guardian) X automatically changed 'Twitter' to 'X' in users' posts, breaking legit URLs (Mashable)LinkedIn starts verifying recruiters to stop scams (Axios) Content policy is basically astrology? (T&S Insider from Everything in Moderation) Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening. -
Are Platforms Ready for Elections?
In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation, and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:
Elon Musk's X appoints new safety chiefs as it seeks to rebuild ads business (Fortune)X’s ‘complimentary’ Premium push gives people blue checks they didn’t ask for (The Verge)Mozilla Research: Platforms’ Election Interventions in the Global Majority Are Ineffective (Mozilla)Implementing the Online Safety Act: Additional duties for ‘categorised’ online services (Ofcom)Social networks could quit Britain under online safety laws, Reddit claims (The Telegraph)Patreon is taking Reddit’s approach to content moderation (The Verge)Facebook has blocked Kansas Reflector (Kansas Reflector) The episode is brought to you with financial support from the Future of Online Trust & Safety Fund, and by our launch sponsor Modulate, the prosocial voice technology company making online spaces safer and more inclusive. In our Bonus Chat at the end of the episode, Modulate's Director of Marketing Mark Nolan chats with Mike about the the recent launch of the Gaming Safety Coalition, why its important for Modulate to work with other companies to create stronger gaming environments and the importance of a hybrid approach to T&S.
Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com. Thanks for listening.
Customer Reviews
The internet’s sheriffs, reporting for duty
Mike Masnick, a respected expert in internet law and free speech, has brought his deep knowledge and critical eye to a broader examination of global internet regulations and real-life stories about online trust and safety.
The format of "Ctrl-Alt-Speech" feels like two internet sheriffs have deputized themselves to call out the sometimes asinine and semi-ridiculous attempts by well-meaning but ill-informed humans to "make the internet safer." Masnick and his co-host, Ben Whitelaw, expertly unpack the inherent complexities and trade-offs in these efforts, often highlighting how they may ultimately cause more harm, even if unintended.
This podcast is a must-listen for anyone interested in the nuanced and constantly evolving landscape of internet governance. Masnick's insightful commentary and the engaging storytelling make "Ctrl-Alt-Speech" a compelling and essential listen.
Timely, Topical, and Trustworthy Twosome
A timely podcast with two of the only journalists I trust to understand the nuances of t&s and tech. Their insights are interesting, friendly banter is fun and not too over the top, and it’s clear that they’ve been thinking about these issues for years and are well informed. They cover the big news of the week, but also pick out things that aren’t necessarily on my radar (which is a real feat as I’m also a chronic news reader!)
Great show
Always interesting topics that are very relevant. Can wait for this one each week. Keep up the great work!