Ctrl-Alt-Speech

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover: * Jack Cable calls out Cluely over bogus DMCA [https://x.com/jackhcable/status/1942724844799299676] (X) * The cofounder of the viral AI 'cheating' startup Cluely says he only hires people for 2 jobs [https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-cheating-startup-cluely-hire-influencer-chungin-roy-lee-2025-6] (Business Insider) * Missouri AG: Any AI That Doesn’t Praise Donald Trump Might Be “Consumer Fraud” (No, Really) [https://www.techdirt.com/2025/07/10/missouri-ag-any-ai-that-doesnt-praise-donald-trump-might-be-consumer-fraud-no-really/] (Techdirt) * Instagram wrongly accuses some users of breaching child sex abuse rules [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy8kjdz9nr3o] (BBC) * Elon Musk’s Grok AI chatbot praises Adolf Hitler on X [https://www.ft.com/content/ea64824b-0272-4520-9bed-cd62d7623064] (FT) * Grok Becomes ‘MechaHitler,’ Twitter Becomes X: How Centralized Tech Is Prone To Fascist Manipulation [https://www.techdirt.com/2025/07/09/grok-becomes-mechahitler-twitter-becomes-x-how-centralized-tech-is-prone-to-fascist-manipulation/] (Techdirt) * See the leaked teen social media ban tech trial report that has experts worried [https://www.crikey.com.au/2025/07/09/teen-social-media-ban-tech-trial-draft-report-leaked/] (Crikey) * New anti-fraud system is labelling hospital texts and other legitimate messages as ‘likely scam’ [https://www.independent.ie/business/technology/new-anti-fraud-system-is-labelling-hospital-texts-and-other-legitimate-messages-as-likely-scam/a1857628310.html] (Irish Independent) * Why Ireland’s New “Scam Likely” Labels Might Actually Make SMS Fraud Worse for Banks and the Public [https://paul-walsh.medium.com/why-irelands-new-scam-likely-labels-might-actually-make-sms-fraud-worse-for-banks-and-the-public-947b51119ecc] (Medium) 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 [https://www.techdirt.com/] and Everything in Moderation [https://www.everythinginmoderation.co/]. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com [podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com] and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com [sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com]. Thanks for listening.

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover: * The Misleading Panic over Misinformation [https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/misleading-panic-over-misinformation] (Cato Institute)  * Claims that Online Misinformation Fears Are Overblown ‘Radically Understates’ the Scale of the Threat [https://bylinetimes.com/2025/06/30/misinformation-cato-institute/] (Byline Times) * EU Disinformation Code Takes Effect Amid Censorship Claims and Trade Tensions [https://www.techpolicy.press/eu-disinformation-code-takes-effect-amid-censorship-claims-and-trade-tensions/] (Tech Policy Press) * Content Moderation Is Not Censorship [https://lawliberty.org/content-moderation-is-not-censorship/] (Law & Liberty) * Asked to think like a paedophile or act suicidal: Workers training Meta's AI in Ireland speak out [https://www.thejournal.ie/meta-workers-ireland-6745653-Jul2025/] (The Journal) * The Hidden Human Cost of AI Moderation [https://jacobin.com/2025/06/ai-moderation-ndas-trauma-labor] (Jacobin) * Brazil rules that social media platforms are responsible for users’ posts [https://restofworld.org/2025/brazil-social-media-content-ruling/] (Rest of World) * X opens up to Community Notes written by AI bots [https://www.theverge.com/news/696210/x-community-notes-ai-note-writers] (The Verge) 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 [https://www.techdirt.com/] and Everything in Moderation [https://www.everythinginmoderation.co/]. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com [podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com] and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com [sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com]. Thanks for listening.

In this week’s roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Ben is joined by guest host Bridget Todd, a technology and culture writer, speaker and trainer and host of two great podcasts, There are No Girls on the Internet [https://www.tangoti.com/] and IRL: Online Life is Real Life [https://irlpodcast.org/]. Together, they cover: * AI Models And Parents Don’t Understand ‘Let Him Cook’ [https://www.404media.co/ai-models-and-parents-dont-understand-let-him-cook/] (404 Media) * Trial reveals flaws in tech intended to enforce Australian social media ban for under-16s [https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/jun/20/social-media-ban-trial-tech-flaws?CMP=aus_bsky] (The Guardian) * Inside /r/SGExams: Meet the young volunteers behind 1 of S’pore’s largest online forums for students [https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/inside-rsgexams-meet-the-young-volunteers-behind-one-of-singapores-largest-online-forums-for] (Straits Times) * The people who clean up your TikTok feed are starting to fight back [https://restofworld.org/2025/tiktok-moderators-turkey/] (Rest of World) * Man with real-life girlfriend and child proposes to AI chatbot after programming it to flirt: ‘I think this is actual love [https://nypost.com/2025/06/19/us-news/father-chris-smith-proposes-to-ai-program-sol-after-falling-in-love-with-voice-program/] (New York 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 [https://www.techdirt.com/] and Everything in Moderation [https://www.everythinginmoderation.co/]. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com [podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com] and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com [sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com]. Thanks for listening.

In this week’s roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Ben is joined by guest host Mercy Mutemi, lawyer and managing partner of Nzili & Sumbi Advocates. Together, they cover: * Meta can be sued in Kenya for human trafficking and for algorithmic amplification of harm [https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/meta-must-be-held-liable-for-facebook-abuse-that-killed-my-father/] (Open Democracy) * Billy Perrigo on investigating Facebook's 'ethical' outsourced content moderation in Kenya [https://www.everythinginmoderation.co/billy-perrigo-facebook-kenya-sama-investigation/](Everything in Moderation) * A first look at Meta’s Community Notes [https://indicator.media/p/a-first-look-at-meta-s-community-notes] (Indicator Media) * Get Noted [https://www.cjr.org/tow_center/as-tech-companies-further-embrace-community-notes-tow-center-speaks-to-contributors-and-experts-about-persistent-issues.php] (Columbia Journalism Review) * The Meaning of Being an African YouTuber: Big Audiences, No Big Money + Is TikTok Excluding Africans From its Creator Economy? [https://fastcompany.co.za/tech/2024-04-08-the-meaning-of-being-an-african-youtuber-big-audiences-no-big-money/] (Fast Company) * Is TikTok Excluding Africans From its Creator Economy? [https://www.okayafrica.com/tiktok-africa-creator-economy-monetization-exclusion/] (OkayAfrica) * I was tricked, tortured, finally freed: inside a Burmese scam farm [https://www.thetimes.com/world/asia/article/scam-farms-burma-chinese-l35j7jz8g] (The Times) * Tanzania announces shutdown of X because of pornography [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2e1y02w21o] (BBC) 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 [https://www.techdirt.com/] and Everything in Moderation [https://www.everythinginmoderation.co/]. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com [podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com] and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com [sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com]. Thanks for listening.

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover: * He’s a Master of Outrage on X. The Pay Isn’t Great [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/06/technology/x-right-wing-influencer.html]. (NY Times) * The vulnerable teen drawn into far-right extremism online [https://www.ft.com/content/ae028797-f4e5-441e-909c-195bb351d617] (Financial Times) * X, Bluesky and Reddit in France’s crosshairs amid porn clampdown [https://www.politico.eu/article/x-bluesky-reddit-france-crosshairs-porn-clampdown/] (Politico) * EU sidesteps Macron’s ultimatum to ban social media for kids under 15 [https://www.euractiv.com/section/tech/news/eu-sidesteps-macrons-ultimatum-to-ban-social-media-for-kids-under-15/] (Euractiv) * Commission seeks feedback on the guidelines on protection of minors online under the Digital Services Act [https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/commission-seeks-feedback-guidelines-protection-minors-online-under-digital-services-act] (European Commission) * OnlyFans releases stern statement as it DEACTIVATES Bonnie Blue’s account for defiant reason [https://thetab.com/2025/06/10/onlyfans-releases-stern-statement-as-it-deactivates-bonnie-blues-account-for-defiant-reason] (The Tab) 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 [https://www.techdirt.com/] and Everything in Moderation [https://www.everythinginmoderation.co/]. Send us your feedback at podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com [podcast@ctrlaltspeech.com] and sponsorship enquiries to sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com [sponsorship@ctrlaltspeech.com]. Thanks for listening.