Tech Policy Podcast

TechFreedom

Tech policy is at the center of the hottest debates in American law and politics. On the Tech Policy Podcast, host Corbin Barthold discusses the latest developments with some of the tech world's best journalists, lawyers, academics, and more.

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#440
Yesterday · 1 hr 8 min
440: The Fellas at the Freaking FCC
How far can the government go when a president doesn’t like what a broadcaster says? Host Ari Cohn is joined by Berin Szóka (TechFreedom) and Bob Corn-Revere (FIRE) to unpack the escalating fight between ABC and the FCC. From The View and Jimmy Kimmel to ABC’s broadcast licenses, they examine what happens when political pressure collides with the government’s regulatory power—and what it could mean for free speech, the free press, and beyond. Links: TechFreedom and Protect Democracy’s amicus b
#439
August 21 · 1 hr 18 min
439: KOSA and the Fight for Anonymous Speech
New host Ari Cohn sits down with Taylor Lorenz to unpack the latest push for the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), the SCREEN Act, and online age verification. They discuss the free speech and privacy implications of these laws, how government pressure can lead platforms to over-censor, the risks of mandatory identity verification, and why protecting kids online can have consequences for everyone. Ari and Taylor also explore the political forces and moral panic driving tech regulation—and why anony
#438
June 25 · 1 hr 3 min
438: I Hosted 157 Episodes and All I Got Was This Stupid Digital Censorship
Corbin is signing off as host. To mark the occasion, he and new host Ari Cohn go on one final super rant about the state of social-media and AI regulation. Links: Supreme Court to Hear Violent Video Game Case (https://tinyurl.com/y969cv6r) India’s Republic of Uncles (https://tinyurl.com/22xbx668) Save Us, Digital Cronkite! (https://tinyurl.com/35sess4r)
#437
June 4 · 52 min
437: Data Centers Are Good, Actually
Judge Glock (Manhattan Institute) joins the show to discuss the past, present, and future of data center construction in the United States. Links: The Surprising Heart of the Data-Center Boom (https://tinyurl.com/mpdry7fk)
#436
May 26 · 50 min
436: The Future of Space Exploration
Dr. Mekhi Dhesi is a space industry executive at Slingshot Aerospace and a space communicator. She joins the show to discuss orbital mechanics, rocket science, black holes, the Fermi paradox, and more. Follow her on Instagram @cosmic_mekhi!
#435
May 13 · 1 hr 16 min
435: Live: The Perennial Urge to Censor New Technology
Host Corbin Barthold heads to New York to speak at FIRE’s Free Speech Future event series. The panel features Kmele Foster (The Fifth Column), Nico Perrino (FIRE), and Prof. Christopher Ferguson (Stetson University). Links: Free Speech Future: Episode III – Cycles of Censorship: Emerging Technologies (https://tinyurl.com/5n9xxsks) Free Speech Future (https://tinyurl.com/5n7mmbmw)
April 28 · 1 hr
From the Vault: Algorithmic Amplification
From January 9, 2022 (Episode 310): Daphne Keller discusses her paper “Amplification and Its Discontents” with Corbin Barthold and Ari Cohn. Links: Amplification and Its Discontents: Why Regulating the Reach of Online Content Is Hard (https://tinyurl.com/3sjtbac5) Tech Policy Podcast 389: The Rise of the Compliant Speech Platform (https://tinyurl.com/3hm5wnwh)
#434
April 14 · 59 min
434: The Free Speech Recession
Jacob Mchangama and Jeff Kosseff discuss their fantastic new book, The Future of Free Speech. Links: The Future of Free Speech: Reversing the Global Decline of Democracy's Most Essential Freedom (https://tinyurl.com/3dcttf39)
#433
April 7 · 1 hr 6 min
433: AI and the First Amendment
TechFreedom’s Corbin Barthold, Santana Boulton, and Andy Jung discuss whether AI promotes free speech, why AI outputs are protected free expression, why Anthropic should win its First Amendment lawsuit against the Department of War, and much else besides. Links: AI + 1A: Why the First Amendment Protects Artificial Intelligence (https://tinyurl.com/4syfps2h) Don’t Ban Kids From Using Chatbots (https://tinyurl.com/bdd3a7ju) Heaven’s Gate—How and When It May Be Entered (https://tinyurl.com/2rxd
#432
March 23 · 56 min
432: Live: The New Frontiers of Speech
Our host, Corbin Barthold (TechFreedom), speaks on a panel at State of the Net with Joel Thayer (Digital Progress Institute) and Ashkhen Kazaryan (The Future of Free Speech), and Luke Hogg (Foundation for American Innovation). They discuss how the First Amendment should work in a world of algorithms and AI. Links: AI + 1A: Why the First Amendment Protects Artificial Intelligence (Corbin’s new paper) (https://tinyurl.com/mw5vbuzf) State of the Net 2026 (https://tinyurl.com/bded5jb9) Tech Podc
#431
March 9 · 51 min
431: Barrett’s Moody Concurrence: Oddly Popular, Wholly Wrong
Host Corbin Barthold (TechFreedom) deconstructs Justice Barrett’s surprisingly influential concurrence in Moody v. NetChoice. Or: Why the First Amendment protects algorithms and AI. Links: Moody v. NetChoice (https://tinyurl.com/yft37kmm) The Post-human First Amendment (https://tinyurl.com/4fs9m5kb) Tech Policy Podcast 286: How Algorithms Can Fight Extremism (https://tinyurl.com/58pdr7vs) Tech Policy Podcast 414: Beware the Butlerian Jihad (https://tinyurl.com/38h8ymsm)
#430
February 26 · 52 min
430: Social Media on Trial
A landmark bellwether trial in Los Angeles is testing whether Instagram and YouTube can be blamed for teen addiction and mental health problems. Clay Calvert (American Enterprise Institute) and Corbin Barthold (TechFreedom) review the many problems with letting plaintiffs’ lawyers demagogue social media platforms in front of a jury. Links: Social Media Addiction Lawsuits: The Deceptively Flawed Tobacco Analogy (https://tinyurl.com/mr44rt2m) Tech Policy Podcast 347: When Schools Scapegoat Soci
#429
February 11 · 52 min
429: AI and Jobs
Brent Orrell (American Enterprise Institute) discusses the future of work in a world of genius machines. Links: De-Skilling the Knowledge Economy (https://tinyurl.com/2kwbrt2s) What Anthropic’s Internal Study Suggests About the Future of Work (https://tinyurl.com/4ha64v5m) Did the Canaries Just Die? (https://tinyurl.com/yn3upp8j) AI and the Future of Work Looks Bright (https://tinyurl.com/k62z33cu)
#428
January 28 · 1 hr 3 min
428: New Right Antitrust: Culture War Over Consumer Welfare
Thom Lambert (Mizzou Law) discusses the Trump II administration’s new right antitrust regulators. Stay calm everyone, they just want the discretion to reward friends and punish enemies. Correction: Contrary to the claim at 34:00, Andrew Ferguson was not on the FTC when it repealed the Section 5 policy statement (2022) or issued the latest merger guidelines (2023). We regret the error. Links: ‘New Right’ Antitrust (https://tinyurl.com/5xureh8p) New Right vs. Conservative Antitrust (https://ti
#427
January 13 · 53 min
427: More State Tech Policy Than You Can Poke a Stick At
Scott Babwah Brennan is the director of NYU’s Center on Technology Policy. Scott and his team have just released their 2025 State Technology Policy Report—a thorough and thoughtful survey and analysis of the tech legislation coming out of statehouses across the country. Scott joins the show to discuss the report and break down how states are shaping the regulatory landscape on AI, child online safety, data privacy, and more. Links: The Center on Technology Policy: State Technology Policy Repor
Dec 29, 2025 · 1 hr 10 min
New Year’s Message / From the Vault: Age Verification
Host Corbin Barthold offers some end-of-year reflections on the moral panic over kids’ use of social media and AI. Then we revisit Episode 405 (“No, Internet Age Verification Has Not Been ‘Solved’,” Apr. 30, 2025), in which Prof. Eric Goldman discusses his paper “The ‘Segregate-and-Suppress’ Approach to Regulating Child Safety Online.” Links: This Country Banned Social Media for Young Teens. Here’s how They’re Defying It. (https://tinyurl.com/y2t8sj6y) Australia’s Social Media Ban Goes Into E
#426
Dec 11, 2025 · 47 min
426: Copyright v. The Internet
Pamela Samuelson (UC Berkeley) discusses the Supreme Court oral argument in Cox v. Sony, a copyright case that could have major ramifications for the internet. Links: Cox Communications, Inc. v. Sony Music Entertainment (https://tinyurl.com/ycyy37yf)
#425
Dec 2, 2025 · 1 hr 1 min
425: Social Media Is Always Changing
Corbin heads over to the Techdirt Podcast, hosted by the one and only Mike Masnick, for a wide-ranging discussion about the state of social media.
#424
Nov 20, 2025 · 57 min
424: Meta Beats the Antitrust Regulators
Geoff Manne (ICLE) returns! He and Corbin break down a judge’s ruling (politely) laughing the FTC’s antitrust lawsuit against Meta out of court. Topics include: - The bizarro world of antitrust trash tweeting - “‘Antitrust’ means what I want it to mean!” - Back in reality: a straightforward ruling - Maybe Zuck just . . . knows what he’s doing? - Users want what they want ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ - Does your market definition pass the laugh test? Links: Tech Policy Podcast 384: The Facebook Antitrust Case
#423
Nov 13, 2025 · 58 min
423: Free Speech Hypocrites
Ari Cohn (FIRE) and host Corbin Barthold (TechFreedom) survey the Trump administration’s many attacks on the First Amendment. Topics include: - Law firms you should no longer hire - Political opponents = terror groups?! - Brendan Carr is a lap dog - Jawboning rebrand: it’s “outreach”! - Terrorizing foreign students is bad Links: What if the Big Law Firms Hadn’t Caved to Trump? (https://tinyurl.com/3fzyve5c) The Global Free Speech Recession (https://tinyurl.com/2p9jbtek) Tech Policy Podcast

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