Cox v. Sony is out! An ISP is not liable for copyright claims if it “merely provid[es] a service to the general public with knowledge that it will be used by some to infringe copyrights.” For expert analysis, check out our episode on the oral argument with @pamelasamuelson.bsky.social.

🗓️ Register for our in-person event on Monday, March 30 (12–2 PM). Join @techfreedom.org & Georgetown Law’s Tech Institute for a discussion on how the First Amendment limits the FTC’s powers, particularly as it ramps up investigations into media & tech over alleged bias. tinyurl.com/y8jzyz37

📢 Let's clear the air: There’s a lot of misinformation about Section 230. The reality is that today's user-driven Internet simply wouldn't exist without it. As we mark the 30th anniversary of the law that helped create the Internet, we're debunking some common misconceptions.

1/ Are AI outputs free speech under the First Amendment? Yes. Polling on AI is ... bad. Meanwhile, I'm like Butters in South Park, unironically marveling at how awesome it is. So maybe I'm just asking for a ratio, but I wrote a big paper arguing that AI outputs deserve First Amendment protection.

2/ The case has little to do with whether you like AI, and a lot to do with how scared you should be of letting the government control what AI says. I threw a ton into this thing, and I hope my law nerds will read it all! techfreedom.org/wp-content/u...

New Tech Policy podcast! Host @corbinkbarthold.bsky.social speaks at State of the Net with @joellthayer.bsky.social (Digital Progress Institute), @ashkhen.bsky.social (@futurefreespeech.org) and Luke Hogg (FAI). They discuss how the First Amendment should work in a world of algorithms and AI.

PEN America has joined 75+ free speech experts to call on FCC chairman Brendan Carr to stop weaponizing the agency's rules to censor media coverage the President doesn't like. (1/2)

My statement on the National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence:

Today, @knightcolumbia.org joined @techfreedom.org and other orgs to urge FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to stop pressuring news broadcasters over their coverage. Recent threats by Carr and President Trump constitute unconstitutional jawboning & threaten #pressfreedom. knightcolumbia.org/blog/knight-...

FCC Chair Brendan Carr keeps violating the First Amendment. Today, @cdt.org joined @techfreedom.org, civil society orgs, First Amendment experts, and former FCC Commissioners in a letter to Chair Carr expressing our concerns with the weaponization of the FCC to censor speech.

Here's @freepress.bsky.social statement on this important rebuke of Brendan Carr's attacks on free speech and freedom of the press, w/ @techfreedom.org, @publicknowledge.bsky.social, @eff.org, @penamerica.bsky.social, @knightcolumbia.org, @aclu.org & dozens more. www.freepress.net/news/leading...

Attn: Members of Congress who allegedly care about "jawboning" and government censorship. I've argued with @techfreedom.org for years about policy. But we're on the same side here because we believe in free speech, press freedom and the government staying out of newsrooms and editorial decisions.

Chair Carr has offered to help broadcast media get their facts straight. "Facts" means only positive coverage of the President. "Help" means the threat of federal license review. He knows the First Amendment limits what the FCC can actually do here. Doesn't matter, bc the threats are working.

FCC Chair Brendan Carr is weaponizing the “public interest” standard against viewpoints he dislikes. Such jawboning violates the First Amendment, due process, and the rule of law. 75+ civil society groups & free speech experts joined us in this coalition letter 🧵 techfreedom.org/fcc-threats-...

"Today's decision illustrates that such bills will likely fail First Amendment scrutiny unless they offer much clearer guidance on how to avoid liability." @berinszoka.bsky.social of @techfreedom.org responds to the Ninth Circuit ruling that California's Online Speech Code is unconstitutional.

When you gaze at the night sky, do you wistfully ask why there isn't an entire podcast episode taking down Justice Barrett's weird and annoyingly influential concurrence in Moody v. NetChoice? Your wait is over.

Algorithms don’t just fall from the sky. On a new Tech Policy Podcast, host @corbinkbarthold.bsky.social deconstructs Justice Barrett’s surprisingly influential concurrence in Moody v. NetChoice. Or: Why the First Amendment protects algorithms—and AI. podcast.techfreedom.org/episodes/431...

"A good newspaper keeps you coming back—that doesn't mean you're addicted to it." On a new Tech Policy Podcast, Clay Calvert (AEI) reviews the many problems with letting plaintiffs' lawyers demagogue social media platforms before a jury. podcast.techfreedom.org/episodes/430...

A Los Angeles jury will opine if Instagram and YouTube are responsible for teens’ mental health. On a new Tech Policy Podcast, Clay Calvert (AEI) and @corbinkbarthold.bsky.social review the many problems with letting plaintiffs’ lawyers demagogue social media platforms before a jury.

What does meaningful work look like in a world of genius machines? On a new Tech Policy Podcast, Brent Orrell (AEI) and @corbinkbarthold.bsky.social explore and debate how AI will disrupt the job market. podcast.techfreedom.org/episodes/429...

"What does America First antitrust action mean in practice?" Probably just rewarding friends and punishing enemies. For more on why "America First antitrust" is neither pro-America nor proper antitrust, check out our latest episode of the Tech Policy Podcast: tinyurl.com/mz6sa83k

Relax, they just want the discretion to reward friends and punish enemies. On a new Tech Policy Podcast, Thom Lambert (Mizzou Law) and @corbinkbarthold.bsky.social discuss the Trump II administration’s new right antitrust regulators. podcast.techfreedom.org/episodes/428...

You should maybe look at this piece bc it has my thoughts on a hypocritical (possibly theocratic?) FTC commissioner named Mark Meader. But you should definitely look at it bc I convinced @mmasnick.bsky.social to put a picture (!) on top of a Techdirt article. www.techdirt.com/2026/01/20/c...

This is a must-read from friend of the show @corbinkbarthold.bsky.social about the state of the FTC (not great, Bob!) and the hypocritical balls-and-strikes, finger-wagging rhetoric coming from one of its most politicized actors. Go check it out! corbinkbarthold.substack.com/p/can-you-tr...

🚨 SO MUCH STATE TECH POLICY 🚨

On a new Tech Policy Podcast, Scott Babwah Brennan, director of NYU’s Center on Technology Policy, breaks down how states are shaping the regulatory landscape on AI, child online safety, data privacy, and more. podcast.techfreedom.org/episodes/427...

Ring in the new year with (what else?) a tech policy podcast. (Ahem, *the* Tech Policy Podcast.) First: Some thoughts from me on the tech + kids moral panic. Then: We revisit an epic 2025 episode on age verification, featuring the great @ericgoldman.bsky.social. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/n...

Attention Internet law nerds! The legendary Pamela Samuelson joined me this week to talk about Cox v. Sony -- a SCOTUS case in which Internet access is under threat from rampaging copyright law. It was an honor to have her on the show. Do check it out. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/4...

New Tech Policy Podcast! @pamelasamuelson.bsky.social (UC Berkeley) and @corbinkbarthold.bsky.social discuss the Supreme Court oral argument in Cox v. Sony, a copyright case that could have major ramifications for the internet. podcast.techfreedom.org/episodes/426...

The job of the FCC is to serve the public – not the president. Free Press joined @publicknowledge.bsky.social @techfreedom.org to protest against censorship at the FCBA annual dinner last week. This is why: https://publicknowledge.org/resisting-censorship-why-we-took-a-stand-at-the-fcba-dinner/

Last week, we gathered with @freepress.bsky.social and @techfreedom.org to protest against censorship at the FCBA annual dinner. Special thanks to Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church for hosting us! Read our breakdown from Policy Analyst @mwils.bsky.social below:

Two of my favorite people. Don't miss it!

In which Mike Masnick and I have a long talk about the state of social media, and Mike still finds a way to wrap things up with a note of optimism.

Crossover time! On a new Tech Policy Podcast, @corbinkbarthold.bsky.social heads over to the @techdirt.com Podcast, hosted by the one and only @mmasnick.bsky.social, for a wide-ranging discussion about the state of social media. podcast.techfreedom.org/episodes/425...

📣 GNI is pleased to announce four new members to its NGO constituency: @womenatthetable.bsky.social joined in January of this year, while Fundación Multitudes, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, and @techfreedom.org joined in October 2025. globalnetworkinitiative.org/gni-welcomes...

Trump's FTC Chair promised he'd use antitrust to stop Big Tech "censorship" of conservatives, but antitrust can only police anticompetitive business practices, not editorial judgments about speech. That's what SCOTUS meant in Moody v. NetChoice. My new essay explains: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

This is real news. Reporters, please report on it. ELEVEN former top FCC officials, Republican and Democratic, came together to condemn FCC Chairman Carr's abuses of power and efforts to suppress legal speech. It's not just Jimmy Kimmel. The FCC's jawboning and chill on legal speech is ongoing.

Government has no business policing media for viewpoint bias or balance. The FCC must repeal its news distortion policy, urges a bipartisan group of 11 former FCC Chairs, Commissioners & other top officials in a petition we filed today with @protectdemocracy.org protectdemocracy.org/work/fcc-new...

They promised us free speech—but all they’ve given us is hypocrisy! On a new Tech Policy Podcast, @aricohn.com (@thefireorg.bsky.social) and host @corbinkbarthold.bsky.social survey the Trump administration’s many attacks on the First Amendment. podcast.techfreedom.org/episodes/423...

At today's People's Oversight Hearing, Bilal Sayyed, Counsel, Cadwalader & Senior Competition Counsel, @techfreedom.org, had this to say on the FTC: "The FTC is diminished in its ability to perform its law enforcement, regulatory, & advocacy mission as compared to the end of the first Trump admin."

She’s back! On the latest Tech Policy Podcast, former host Ashkhen Kazaryan (@ashkhen.bsky.social) of @futurefreespeech.org returns for a wide-ranging discussion about powerful algorithms, attacks on Section 230, and much, much more. podcast.techfreedom.org/episodes/422...

🚨 TOMORROW at 12:10 PM ET 🚨 Join @berinszoka.bsky.social at @cdt.org’s Future of Speech Online Conference to discuss the First Amendment’s limits on FCC and FTC authority over editorial policies. standtogether.swoogo.com/foso25/9611110

New Tech Policy Podcast! Sri Muppidi of @theinformation.com discusses OpenAI’s effort to overhaul its corporate structure—and the resulting power struggle over the company’s future. podcast.techfreedom.org/episodes/421...

🗓️ Mark your calendars 🗓️ We're excited to have @berinszoka.bsky.social representing @techfreedom.org at The People’s Oversight Hearing on Wednesday, November 12. Register today to secure your spot! www.eventbrite.com/e/the-people...

Will America remain a magnet for researchers, innovators, and entrepreneurs? On a new Tech Policy Podcast, Jeremy Neufeld (Institute for Progress) discusses why it should, why it might not, and how to make sure it does. podcast.techfreedom.org/episodes/420...

🗞️ Don’t miss out on our newsletter—stay informed about threats to free speech & more! This week, we recap our letter—joined by 70+ organizations and scholars—warning the FCC against threatening broadcasters over constitutionally protected speech. techfreedom.substack.com/p/broadcasti...

1/ The FCC has no authority to police content for bias or balance. We—and more than seventy other organizations and scholars—warned FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. techfreedom.org/wp-content/u...

Do tech optimists have a political home? On a new Tech Policy Podcast, @adamkovac.bsky.social, founder and CEO of @chamberofprogress.bsky.social, discusses the populist / anti-tech turn in politics, and what can be done about it. podcast.techfreedom.org/episodes/419...

New Tech Policy Podcast! @aricohn.com (@thefireorg.bsky.social) and Tom Kurland (Patterson Belknap) discuss the spate of product-liability lawsuits against social-media and AI companies. podcast.techfreedom.org/episodes/418...

I went on a rant about Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton and all the damage it's already doing. Tune in if you're a fan of the First Amendment, excruciating legal wonkery, or both.