Ep. 246: Tech check — AI moratorium, Character AI lawsuit, FTC, Digital Services Act, and FSC v. Paxton

We’re checking in on the latest news in tech and free speech.

We cover the state AI regulation moratorium that failed in Congress, the ongoing Character A.I. lawsuit, the Federal Trade Commission’s consent decree with Omnicom and Interpublic Group, the European Union’s Digital Services Act, and what comes next after the Supreme Court’s Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton decision.

Guests:

Ari Cohn — lead counsel for tech policy, FIRE

Corbin Barthold — internet policy counsel, TechFreedom

Timestamps: 

00:00 Intro

02:38 State AI regulation moratorium fails in Congress

20:04 Character AI lawsuit

41:10 FTC, Omnicom x IPG merger, and Media Matters

56:09 Digital Services Act

01:02:43 FSC v. Paxton decision

01:10:49 Outro 

Read the transcript here: https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/so-speak-podcast-transcript-tech-check-ai-moratorium-character-ai-lawsuit-ftc

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Show notes:

• “The AI will see you now” Paul Sherman (2025)

• Megan Garcia, plaintiff, v. Character Technologies, Inc. et. al., defendants, United States District Court (2025)

• Proposed amicus brief in support of appeal - Garcia v. Character Technologies, Inc. FIRE (2025)

• “Amplification and its discontents: Why regulating the reach of online content is hard” Daphne Kelly (2021)

• “Omnicom Group/The Interpublic Group of Co.” FTC (2025)