Ctrl-Alt-Speech

In the first Ctrl-Alt-Speech episode of 2026, Mike and Ben look forward at the year ahead and begin building a bingo card of things that might happen. They discuss a short list of possible squares, ask for listeners to contribute more ideas, and go few a through suggestions that have already come in. Soon, we’ll release an official Ctrl-Alt-Speech bingo card for listeners to play along throughout the year.Follow Ben at Everything in Moderation and Mike at Techdirt. Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at [email protected] and sponsorship enquiries to [email protected]. Thanks for listening.

In the last Ctrl-Alt-Speech of the year, Mike and Ben round up the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation with the following stories:Meta shuts down global accounts linked to abortion advice and queer content | Global development (The Guardian)Facebook is testing a link-posting limit for professional accounts and pages (Techcrunch)Meta adopts new age-check system to meet global child safety laws (FT)Russian ban on Roblox gaming platform sparks rare protest (Reuters)OpenAI hires George Osborne to spearhead global ‘Stargate’ expansion (FT)Oscars Bolts From ABC to YouTube Starting in 2029 (Hollywood Reporter) Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at [email protected] and sponsorship enquiries to [email protected]. 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:Resonant Computing Manifesto Support Techdirt’s Uncompromising Coverage, Get Our First Commemorative Coin (Techdirt)US Ambassador Slams EU Tech Rules as Musk’s X Hit With Fine (Bloomberg)Why the X fine is causing so much transatlantic drama (Politico)Tech workers face new H1-B scrutiny as Trump targets ‘censorship’ (Washington Post)H1-B visa advice (LinkedIn - Alice Hunsberger)Australian leader defends social media ban as teens flaunt workarounds (Reuters)Age restrictions alone won't keep children safe online (Unicef)Focus must be on making social media safe for children as Australia brings in ban (Save The Children)Operation Bluebird tries to reclaim Twitter (LinkedIn)This episode is brought to you by our sponsor CCIA, an international, not-for-profit trade association representing a broad cross section of communications and technology firms and that promotes open markets, open systems, and open networks. Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at [email protected] and sponsorship enquiries to [email protected]. Thanks for listening.

In this week’s roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Ben is joined by Vaishnavi J, former head of youth policy at Meta and founder and principal of Vyanams Strategies, a product advisory firm that helps companies, civil society, and governments build safer age appropriate experiences. Prior to founding Vys, she led video policy at Twitter, built its safety team in APAC and was Google's child safety polciy lead in APAC. Together Ben and Vaishnavi discuss:House overhauls KOSA in a new kids online safety package (The Verge)A nationwide internet age verification plan is sweeping Congress (The Verge)Grindr supports app store age-verification bill despite censorship concerns (Pink News)A summary of the technology sector’s response to the UK’s new online safety rules (Ofcom)Age Assurance Implementation Handbook (Vyanams)Interoperable Age Assurance (Age Verification Providers Association)EU's non-binding resolution around revamping child safety rules (European Parliament)‘We’ll be watching’: Social media companies warned about complying with ban as teens flock to alternative apps (Crikey)The Salesforce of safety: Software vendors as infrastructural/professional nodes in the field of online trust and safety (Sage, Platforms & Society)It's their job to keep AI from destroying everything (The Verge) Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at [email protected] and sponsorship enquiries to [email protected]. Thanks for listening.

In this sponsored Spotlight episode of Ctrl-Alt-Speech, host Ben Whitelaw speaks with George Vlasto, head of the Trust & Safety division at Resolver, as the organisation marks its 20th anniversary. Their conversation looks back at two decades of Resolver’s work supporting platforms and safeguarding online communities, and explores how that legacy has shaped its newest innovations.Ben and George dig into Resolver’s unique approach to scaling the detection of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) and unpack why ATHENA — the company’s latest breakthrough — may be one of the most significant yet under-recognised tools in the fight against online harms.Further reading: Twenty Years of Protecting Children Online The Human at the Heart of the Machine: A 20-Year Lesson in Online Safety From Reactive to Predictive: Why It’s No Longer Enough to Spot What’s Already HappenedThis episode is brought to you in partnership with Resolver. Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast from Techdirt and Everything in Moderation. Send us your feedback at [email protected] and sponsorship enquiries to [email protected]. Thanks for listening.