I've been traveling, so I missed yet another Ctrl-Alt-Speech this week, but @benwhitelaw.bsky.social secretly replaced me with @caseynewton.bsky.social and I don't think anyone could tell the difference... podcast.ctrlaltspeech.com/2315966/epis...

“A subscription to news outlets doesn’t just have to provide access to journalism, it can feature participation in journalism.” 👏👏👏 @techdirt.com’s @karlbode.com notes that online comment sections can actually help bring new life to a news organization.

*chef's kiss*

The consensus I'm getting from nearly everyone I speak to – with the notable exception of Spurs fans – is that Spurs going down would be the shot in the arm the country needs at this difficult moment #lufc

I had a great time talking the latest tech policy news with Ben, including some deep cuts on meta political ads during Hungary’s parliamentary election and a new report on debanking from @publicpubics.bsky.social and @internetmaggie.com

Come for the 2000s pop rock episode title, stay for @blakeplease.bsky.social’s razor sharp insights and American eagle impression. This week’s Ctrl-Alt-Speech is live! podcast.ctrlaltspeech.com/2315966/epis...

The social media ban brigade won’t like this one

‘Open digital sovereignty’ has the vibe of a couple insisting they’re ‘taking space’, right before a messy breakup. as.ft.com/r/21a7dcc7-f...

Oh cool- @signal.org just added a feature that was part of my PhD dissertation: pinned messages in online groups signal.org/blog/pinned-...

Bit of a stonking week in podcast listening: * @benwhitelaw.bsky.social and @masnick.com on the return of comments * Ezra Klein, Cory Doctorow and Tim Wu on the internet we ended up with * @arusbridger.bsky.social and @lionelbarber.bsky.social interviewing @eliothiggins.bsky.social. Links here:

The number eight at Bramall Lane that #LUFC should consider buying is, ironically, not the one we’ve been linked to for the last two years.

New Ctrl-Alt-Speech: Think Globally, Stack Locally with guest host @kkomaitis.bsky.social! podcast.ctrlaltspeech.com/2315966/epis... This week we start with a stack of TikTok stories: new ownership, unnecessary ToS freakout, unnecessary moderation freakout, but also some actual concerns.

I spoke with WIRED about the risks online age verification present, especially under the threat of an administration that will do anything in their power to surveil, oppress, and kill us. www.wired.com/story/age-ve...

You never know what’s going to happen in the comments. Here, over a decade ago, a commenter on a Times of London article bore their soul, and other commenters showed up for them. @benwhitelaw.bsky.social l says, “I believe in the comments, and I think they have a future.”

A woman on my commuter train just squeezed herself onto a busy carriage, shouted ‘who dares wins!’ at the people standing on the platform and laughed maniacally and that’s why I love this city

News site comment sections can be oases of public discourse because newsrooms are invested in quality. Encouraging to read they may be having a renaissance according to @benwhitelaw.bsky.social who shares lessons from moderating comments at the Times of London. newpublic.substack.com/p/why-newsro...

My Stoop Inbox account — which I used for managing newsletters — wasn't updating. So I emailed the team and it turns out it's been closed down :( Any suggestions for apps to read/categorise/search newsletters? Is @feedly.com good for that now?

Reports of Ctrl Alt Speech's demise are greatly exaggerated... back for 2026 and with plenty to say

What’s next for EiM in 2026? More reporting on T&S roles, AI and the shifting online safety landscape. We’re also creating more chances for the community to connect. 'Cos we need it. Read @benwhitelaw.bsky.social & @aagh.bsky.social's plan: www.everythinginmoderation.co/everything-i...

In the 2010s, too many newsrooms shuttered their comments sections. But now there’s a mini renaissance happening, according to @benwhitelaw.bsky.social. He ran the comment section for the Times of London, and learned firsthand about its value (in building community, and revenue!)

Hard to take this at face value when it’s coming from someone with a long history of extreme misogyny. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Elon Musk calling accountability for nonconsensual sexual images an "excuse of for censorship" perfectly exposes the lie at the heart of his "censorship industrial complex" crusade. When addressing abusive material of women and children is labeled "censorship," the term has lost all meaning.

You don't get to turn your chatbot into a tool of mass sexualized harassment and then two weeks later say the problem is fixed because the abusers have to pay for the privilege.

This job would be so fun. You would just put up one billboard that said "Buy Nvidia chips" and then at the end of the quarter send an email that says "great news! We sold 100 percent of our chips this quarter" and attach a picture of the billboard

Big fan of @brihreed.bsky.social's Nieman Lab prediction and the way he unpacks his own changing mindset about social media regulation in the US. Go and read, then fight your way through the other 200+ predictions www.niemanlab.org/2025/12/jour...

Bluesky, do your thing

Good news; a judge has blocked the detention of a technology researcher that the State Department had slated to deport. However, this is just the start of what will certainly be a longer-term challenge. What can we do about this? A thread. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/25/u...

I’m usually Struijk’s biggest critic but he’s been colossal today. Needed to be with Rodon going off. Big sexy pirate is back #LUFC

If we’d scored that goal under Marcelo, people would still be talking about it. Back to front in a flash #LUFC

Last Ctrl-Alt-Speech of the year is coming out shortly, but with this new trend of EVERY DAMN SERVICE on the internet doing a year-end "wrapped" here's our podcasting service, Riverside, showing that @benwhitelaw.bsky.social and I laugh a lot. It's... kinda creepy.

Labeling is censorship. Fact-checking is censorship. Since the EU fined X, transparency & data access are censorship too. Anything that moderately inconveniences a right-wing populist is censorship — even as MAGA increasingly realizes that X is riddled with scams. open.substack.com/pub/agentsof...

Soooo… I interviewed Liz Truss about her new non-club club as.ft.com/r/a3431eea-f...

It’s Ctrl-Alt-Speech recording day! @mmasnick.bsky.social and I are limbering up our vocal cords to talk about this week's online speech, content moderation and internet regulation stories. What burning topic should we determinedly over-analyse first? Which questions you desperately want answered?

Australian adults: under 16s don't understand tech or policy and need us to protect them Zoe: hold my (ginger) beer

I received 203 emails a day last month. 80% went unread. I ran a Python script on my inbox to find out why, then wrote a report about it. It's to help me inform workshops where I try to help PRs produce better pitches (which helps me produce better stories) www.stokel-walker.com/s/The-signal...

Farke’s three subs were spot-on today. A goal, and two assists from the #LUFc trio that came on after an hour. The German has got everything right over the last week

That Stach goal was all Aaronson. Popped up on the #LUFC left and took the initiative. Lovely stuff

We’re only four days into December but we’ve already seen Goal of the Month, maybe the season

Do not ask why this just came up in a professional conversation, which it did, but my all-time favourite chart on Wikipedia is the line of succession of Sugababes. It's like a 17th century schism.

The #lufc left hand side is softer than a Creme Egg. Can’t remember a goal that didn’t come from bypassing Okafor and Gudmundsson with ease

Ok Bluesky, let’s give this a go: I found this postcard in the back of a photo frame I bought at a London thrift shop. It’s an unsent postcard from a woman called Linda to her parents. The front shows the Kremlin in Moscow and the stamp says 1984 (!). I’d love to return it to Linda - can you help?

New Ctrl-Alt-Speech: You Can't Antitrust Anyone These Days. podcast.ctrlaltspeech.com/2315966/epis... I'm going to talk about the various stories we discussed this week, but make sure you read to the end as @benwhitelaw.bsky.social and I are giving a task to the internet...

This week's EiM's Week in Review has: • Digital Services Act progress report • Platforms sue US states over child‑safety legislation (again) • Antitrust case goes in Meta's favour • Judy Korn on how extremism is changing Read, share, subscribe www.everythinginmoderation.co/roblox-chat-...

NEW The letter the BBC could send back to Trump A proposal for a reply to his $1bn claim By me. Enjoy. emptycity.substack.com/p/the-letter...

Come for @leighb.bsky.social’s stellar episode title, stay for @mmasnick.bsky.social being ribbed about not yet reaching 200k Bluesky following #GetMiketo200k

“There’s a risk that today’s AI revolution will end up with the same old incentives and the same old outcomes. As AI locks into the same extractive patterns as the web giants, we can’t afford to ignore what that will mean for our future.” - @parmy.bsky.social www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Your Week in Review just dropped: 🇩🇰 Denmark scraps its "chat control" plans — for now 🇦🇺 Oz adds platforms to social media ban 🌍 New Integrity Institute CEO ...and more! Plus posts of note from @alixdunn.com, @rude1.blacksky.team and Suba Vasudevan. www.everythinginmoderation.co/france-shein...

New Ctrl-Alt-Speech: New Blocks On The Kids (And yes, this may be my favorite title of an episode ever). podcast.ctrlaltspeech.com/2315966/epis... @benwhitelaw.bsky.social & I talk about Australia blocking kids from more social apps (Reddit?!?) and how kids always find a way around blocks...

There's something quite wonderful about X/Twitter's Head of Global Government Affairs saying the company invests "significant resources to improve the enforcement capabilities across the world” *just days after* Elon said that it doesn't "censor people"

Chatbots your thing? This week’s edition of Week in Review is full of 'em: • Under 18s face Character.ai chatbots lockdown • OpenAI's transparency drive • Better platform data access for researchers • Former safety researcher speaks out 🔗 www.everythinginmoderation.co/characterai-...