Brandon Kirk Williams (Lawrence Livermore) discusses quantum computing—the science behind it, its potential applications, the geopolitics surrounding it, and more. Links: The U.S. Must Win the Quantum Computing Race. History Shows How to Do It The U.S. Needs a Strategy for the Second Quantum Revolution…

Alice Marwick (UNC-Chapel Hill) discusses her new paper, “Child Online Safety Legislation: A Primer.” If you’re wondering, the article Corbin quotes at the top of the show is Zephyr Teachout, Ending Big Tech’s Child Exploitation (Compact Magazine). Topics include: Moral panic in the technical sense The Kids Online Safety Act: not about kids, not ab…

Berin Szóka (TechFreedom) and James Dunstan (TechFreedom) discuss the FCC’s recent orders on Title II common-carrier regulation and digital discrimination. Topics include: A hundred years of telecom law in four minutes The craziest story in the history of federal regulation FCC: Huzzah for crappy Internet (like in Europe)! SCOTUS: Congress must tac…

Arnold Kling discusses his recent article in Reason magazine, “Not Even Artificial Intelligence Can Make Central Planning Work.” Topics include: Why central planning is impossible The importance of prices What is AI good for? Will AI know us better than we know ourselves? What markets will AI disrupt? Social media and tribal gang-sign flashing The …

Renée DiResta (Stanford Internet Observatory) discusses her new book, Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality. Topics include: Social media influencers: the new media elite How do ideas take root? Influencers as exploiters of asymmetries Bullshit: an investigation Could platforms have stopped Stop the Steal? Fixing the expert class …

From January 10, 2022 (Episode 309): Joseph Uscinski (University of Miami) argues that the internet is not increasing the prevalence of conspiracy theories. Links: Don’t Blame Social Media for Conspiracy Theories—They Would Still Flourish Without ItBy TechFreedom

Robert Atkinson is president of the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation. He joins the show to discuss his new book, Technology Fears and Scapegoats: 40 Myths About Privacy, Jobs, AI, and Today’s Innovation Economy, co-authored with David Moschella. Topics include: Tech panic: speeding-uppers vs. slowing-downers Tech and privacy: try livi…

Richard Morrison (Competitive Enterprise Institute) joins the show, in a crossover episode with the Free the Economy podcast. Topics include: The history of podcasts The rise of micro media (find a thousand true fans!) Performative tech doomerism The idleness of romanticizing the past The quest for online community Conservatives in the Technium Lin…

It’s the episode you’ve been waiting for: TechFreedom’s Corbin Barthold and Ari Cohn talk about pornography and free expression. Topics include: The Founding Fathers: epic porn fiends (j/k) Obscenity law, a brief history Do conservatives still want to ban James Joyce? “I know it when I see it”—Worst. Legal standard. Ever. Is there a moral case agai…

Ryan Scirocco is the spacesuit business development lead at Collins Aerospace. Collins, an RTX business, is, along with its partners ILC Dover and Oceaneering, developing a new generation of spacesuits for NASA. Ryan discusses everything that goes into keeping people alive in a freezing zero-gravity vacuum far outside the biosphere. Topics include:…

Corbin Barthold (TechFreedom) discusses, in exquisite detail, the First Amendment problems with H.R. 7521, the House bill to ban TikTok. Topics include: Your First Amendment right to read crazy shit TikTok ban bros: throwing spaghetti at the wall Foreign broadcast-ownership rules: so passé “iT’S nOT sPEech, It’S CoNDuCt” H.R. 7521: Least. Tailored.…

Daphne Keller (Stanford Cyber Policy Center) and Corbin Barthold (TechFreedom) discuss the Supreme Court oral argument in Murthy v. Missouri (government jawboning of social media platforms) and the NetChoice cases (state content moderation laws). Links: Six Things About Jawboning The Lies the 5th Circuit Told You About the Government ‘Pressuring So…

Samuel Hammond (Foundation for American Innovation) discusses his essays on “AI and Leviathan.” Can government institutions cope with the coming technological disruption of AI? Topics include: - AI’s trajectory - New Deal agencies in an AI world - Public Choice Theory vs. the AI juggernaut - Uber and micro-regime changes - Government as a network o…

Byron Tau (NOTUS) discusses his new book Means of Control: How the Hidden Alliance of Tech and Government Is Creating a New American Surveillance State. Topics include: Some history: four generations of data brokers The continuing evolution of data collection and technological surveillance The great danger: data fusion / comprehensive data profiles…

Brandon Gorrell (Pirate Wires) joins the show to discuss The White Pill, his optimistic (and mind-blowing) newsletter covering “the frontiers of tech, science, space, and more.” Topics include: Combatting the overwhelming negativity on social media. Lasers are amazing. Why space exploration? Did the Big Bang really happen? The Pirate Wires brand — …

It’s a big picture episode! One day (soon?), technology will enable convenient, low-cost gender transition. What does that say about human “nature”? What are the implications for society? What are (some) people getting so upset about? Jason Kuznicki (TechFreedom) joins the show to discuss. Gender as Essence and as Economic Choice Cosmos + Taxis iss…

Mike Masnick (Techdirt) and Leigh Beadon (Techdirt) join the show to discuss their new report on the Internet’s (beneficial!) effect on art, entertainment, and culture. The Sky Is Rising: 2024 Edition Rather than Destroying Culture, the Internet Has Saved the Content Industries Filterworld Is a Confused Critique of Algorithms…

Liza Goitein (Brennan Center) joins the show to discuss the FISA Section 702 surveillance program. Why is it so contentious? Why is it such a hot topic now? Why and how should it be changed? And what does the Fourth Amendment have to say about it? Liza explains! Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA): A Resource Page How Co…

TechFreedom’s Ari Cohn and Corbin Barthold discuss whether AI is going to spark an “infocalypse,” bring about the “collapse of reality,” and destroy our elections. Is AI about to “flood” our “screens” with “misinformation” that’s “dangerous to democracy”? Notwithstanding these quotes from recent press stories, the answer is probably no. Ari’s Senat…

From February 16, 2021 (Episode 284): Martin Gurri (Mercatus Center) discusses his book The Revolt of the Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium. The Revolt of the Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium Reality Comes KnockingBy TechFreedom

From March 2, 2022 (Episode 313): Robert Atkinson (Information Technology and Innovation Foundation) discusses the leftwing push to turn broadband into a heavily regulated utility. Anticorporate Broadband Populists’ Real Agenda: Destroy the Current Private-Sector System FCC Revives Common Carriage for the Internet Zombie FCC vs. Schoolhouse-Rock Su…

Blake Reid (Colorado Law) and Berin Szóka (TechFreedom) join the show to discuss the constitutional and policy implications of applying common carrier rules at different layers of the “tech stack.” Should broadband providers be forced to carry content? Should social media platforms? How about both? Or neither? Maybe the former, but not the latter? …

Brian Frye (Kentucky Law) joins the show to say bananas stuff about artificial intelligence, the history of authorship, the economics of copyright, why we’re all misunderstanding plagiarism, the mysteries of free will, and more. Apologia Pro Plagio Suo Should Using an AI Text Generator to Produce Academic Writing Be Plagiarism? Plagiarize This Pape…

Host Corbin Barthold discusses the campaign by states like Arkansas, Texas, and Utah to age-gate the Internet. As Corbin explains, these states are taking aim at a number of recent Supreme Court decisions, including Reno v. ACLU (1997), Ashcroft v. ACLU (2004), Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association (2011), and even (!?) 303 Creative v. Eleni…

Jeff Kosseff (Naval Academy) joins the show to discuss his new book Liar in a Crowded Theater, a defense of your First Amendment right to speak falsely (sometimes!). Liar in a Crowded Theater: Freedom of Speech in a World of Misinformation The Twenty-Six Words That Created the Internet The United States of Anonymous: How the First Amendment Shaped …

Alicia Wanless (Carnegie Endowment) joins the show to discuss the links between information and technology, information competition through history, the need for a better understanding of information ecosystems, whether we’re in an information “civil war,” and much else besides. There Is No Getting Ahead of Disinformation Without Moving Past It The…

Geoff Manne, president and founder of the International Center for Law & Economics, and host Corbin Barthold, internet policy counsel at TechFreedom, discuss the FTC’s lawsuit against Amazon. FTC Chair Lina Khan’s Mission to Destroy Amazon Will Harm Millions of Consumers FTC v Amazon: Significant Burdens to Prove Relevant Markets and Net Consumer H…

Crackdowns on Encrypted Messaging Don’t ‘Help the Children’ The UK Online Safety Bill Must Not Violate Our Rights to Free Speech and Private Communication UK Government ‘Concession’ on Breaking End-to-End Encryption in the Online Safety Act (Just Passed) Turns Out Not to Be One Around the World, Threats to LGBTQ+ Speech Deepen…

The Conservative Futurist: How to Create the Sci-Fi World We Were Promised Faster, Please! Power and Progress Is a Wrongheaded Critique of Tech Progress Tech Policy Podcast #327: The Collapse of Complex SocietiesBy TechFreedom

The Fundamental Problems with Social Media Age-Verification Legislation Texas Legislature Convinced First Amendment Simply Does Not Exist Leak of California Gun Owners’ Private Data Far Wider than Originally Reported Republicans Can’t Decide If They Want Online Privacy or Not Tech Policy Podcast #342: Save the Children (From State Social Media Laws…

Judge Mehta’s summary judgment order Europe’s Antitrust Demagogues Shake Down GoogleBy TechFreedom

Content Moderation’s Legalism Problem Collective Security in a Federated World Tech Policy Podcast #345: Content Moderation Around the World In Internet Speech Cases, SCOTUS Should Stick Up For Reno v. ACLUBy TechFreedom

Dissed Podcast: Lady Justice Isn’t Blind Pacific Legal Foundation’s amicus brief in Loper Bright TechFreedom’s amicus brief in Loper Bright Chevron Is Dead, Long Live Chevron Tech Policy Podcast #311: Administrative Law, and Why You Should CareBy TechFreedom

Ari Cohn, Free Speech Counsel at TechFreedom, joins the show to discuss Missouri v. Biden, the tricky relationship between the First Amendment and government jawboning of social media platforms, and the unhinged discourse around social media “censorship.” Links: Judge Doughty’s opinion The Future of Online Speech Shouldn’t Belong to One Trump-Appoi…

Eric Berger’s Ars Technica profile Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX Jim Dunstan’s new paper on space regulation Jim’s recent appearance before the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology The ending of Nebo Zovyot (“The Sky Beckons”) (1959)By TechFreedom

Read Jim’s new paper on space regulation Catch Jim’s July 13 testimony before the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Tech Policy Podcast #333: The FCC in Space Tech Policy Podcast #306: The New Space RaceBy TechFreedom

Walter Olson’s profile Follow Walter on Twitter Courts Should Reject School Districts’ Suits to Childproof the InternetBy TechFreedom

Adam Thierer profile Adam’s work: Microsoft’s New AI Regulatory Framework & the Coming Battle over Computational Control What If Everything You’ve Heard about AI Policy is Wrong? Can We Predict the Jobs and Skills Needed for the AI Era? Flexible, Pro-Innovation Governance Strategies for Artificial Intelligence U.S. Chamber AI Commission Report Offe…

Daphne Keller profile page Agustina Del Campo profile page Slide deck for the Digital India Act. Daphne’s Lawfare article, “The Three-Body Problem: Platform Litigation and Absent Parties.” Daphne’s new paper, Platform Transparency and the First Amendment. Daphne’s and Corbin’s appearances at Media Law Resource Center’s Legal Frontiers in Digital Me…

Many legislators and policymakers want to ban TikTok from the United States. They claim that the wildly popular social media platform endangers American national security. Although the critics are making a lot of noise, their argument for a ban is surprisingly shaky. What concrete threat does TikTok pose? What First Amendment obstacles stand in the…

What does China’s rise as a tech power mean for American national security? Jimmy Quinn, a writer for National Review, joins the show to discuss. He and Corbin debate the merits of a TikTok ban, consider the new House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, and explore other aspects of the recent uptick in Sino-American competition. For mo…

State governments are passing laws that seek to protect kids from social media. But maybe what we really need is to protect kids—and the Internet—from the government. Mike Masnick, founder and editor of Techdirt, joins the show to discuss California’s AB 2273, Utah’s SB 152 and HB 311, and the wider hysteria over minors and social media use. For mo…

The Federal Trade Commission is making a lot of headlines. Much of that news revolves around the agency’s notable antitrust cases—such as its efforts to block Meta’s purchase of Within, to break up Facebook and Instagram, and to block Microsoft’s purchase of Activision. How aggressive is the FTC’s approach? What is its plan? Our guest is Bilal Sayy…

Three major Internet speech disputes are at, or barreling toward, the Supreme Court. In Gonzalez v. Google, the justices will consider the scope of Section 230. In 303 Creative v. Elenis, they will decide whether a company can be compelled to design a website against its will. And if they grant review (as expected) in Moody v. NetChoice and NetChoi…

Thanks to advancing technology, the police can now easily and cheaply monitor public spaces and identify, profile, and track individuals. Can the Fourth Amendment protect us from sweeping government digital surveillance? Nathan Wessler, a deputy director of the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, joins the show to discuss. For more, che…

On February 21, the Supreme Court will hold oral argument in Gonzalez v. Google, the first Section 230 appeal the justices have ever heard. The future of the Internet hangs in the balance. Host Corbin K. Barthold discusses the case, the briefs, and what to watch for at the argument. Correction: As Corbin explains, the petitioners invoke some inapt …

Liza Lin, a reporter at the Wall Street Journal, is the co-author, with Josh Chin, of Surveillance State: Inside China’s Quest to Launch a New Era of Social Control. She discusses the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to use technology to spur prosperity, quash dissent, and—above all—maintain its grip on power.…

Bad tech policy is a bipartisan affair. Lately, though, the right has particularly excelled at it. TechFreedom’s Corbin Barthold and Ari Cohn discuss the GOP’s obsession with supposed “Big Tech censorship,” its performative new “weaponization” subcommittee, its strange quest to turn spammy fundraising emails into a political cause, and more. The ep…

Is screen time—television, smartphones, social media, video games—harming children? Elizabeth Nolan Brown, senior editor at Reason, returns to the show with some good news: probably not! She fills host Corbin Barthold in on the latest research. For more, see Elizabeth’s recent Reason online article 5 New Studies That Challenge Conventional Wisdom A…

Malcom Kyeyune is the author of The New Gnostics, an article in the autumn issue of City Journal’s print magazine. In the piece, Malcom examines the new quasi-religions taking shape on the Internet. “It’s hard to overstate,” he writes, “how full” today’s “Internet is with itinerant prophets, holy fools, hustlers, fraudsters, and soothsayers.” In th…