Techdirt

We've written a lot about how AI can empower users when employed the right way, but how this is difficult when a few giant tech firms control the technology. One company that is trying to move in a different direction is DuckDuckGo with its Duck.ai offering. This week, DuckDuckGo founder and CEO Gabriel Weinberg joins the podcast for a deeper dive into what the company is doing in the AI space.

Last year, Renée DiResta joined us on an episode of the podcast to talk about her book, Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality, all about the people who have crafted a massive fictional narrative about the state of social media and government's involvement in content moderation. Now that Jim Jordan is celebrating Google's recent letter about the Biden administration and spreading all sorts of false claims about what it says, Renée joins us again to talk about maddening irony and overall craziness of this narrative that just won't go away. Last year's episode: https://www.techdirt.com/2024/07/09/techdirt-podcast-episode-397-the-people-who-turn-lies-into-reality/ Renée's book: https://www.reneediresta.com/books/ Our coverage of Google's letter: https://www.techdirt.com/2025/09/25/jim-jordan-celebrates-google-caving-to-his-pressure-in-letter-that-says-caving-to-government-pressure-is-wrong/

Berin Szoka, President of TechFreedom, and Riana Pfefferkorn, a policy fellow at Stanford HAI, dive into the complexities of the FTC's settlement with Aylo, the parent company of Pornhub. They discuss the implications of mandated CSAM scanning and how it could undermine criminal investigations. Szoka highlights concerns over constitutional rights, while Pfefferkorn emphasizes risks of harming victims. The conversation also touches on broader industry impacts, including potential chilling effects on content moderation and free speech.

In what feels like something of a throwback to much earlier days of Techdirt, the Supreme Court is getting into the weeds of the DMCA. Cox v. Sony is a case centered around questions of repeat infringers and intermediary liability, and we've submitted an amicus brief from the Copia Institute, written by Cathy Gellis. This week, Cathy joins the podcast to discuss the Supreme Court's opportunity to fix the first amendment problems with platform copyright liability. Copia Institute brief: https://www.techdirt.com/2025/09/05/something-good-the-supreme-court-could-do-finally-fix-the-first-amendment-problems-with-platform-liability-for-copyright-infringement/

Join Alix Dunn, host of the Computer Says Maybe podcast and a decentralization enthusiast, as she dives into rich discussions about the evolution of the internet. They explore decentralization's impact, the nostalgia for a more open web, and the arrival of innovative platforms like Bluesky. The conversation also addresses ethical advertising strategies and the need for user-friendly digital migration tools, all while emphasizing the importance of empowering users in a rapidly commercialized digital landscape.

The goal of Bluesky and the ATProtocol, and of the push for protocols over platforms in general, has always been to see more people building their own communities in a modular fashion. One of the most interesting projects demonstrating this potential is Blacksky, created by Rudy Fraser, which started as a custom feed within Bluesky but has grown into something much bigger. Today, Rudy joins the podcast for a conversation all about Blacksky and what it teaches us about open social media protocols.

Chris Riley, Executive Director of the Data Transfer Initiative, dives into the critical need for data portability in the age of AI. He emphasizes how user control over personal data is vital to prevent AI from controlling us. The discussion also tackles the challenges of service lock-in and the competitive landscape of AI providers. Furthermore, Riley highlights the shift towards locally hosted AI models driven by trust issues, and the importance of regulations like the DMA and GDPR in fostering a robust data portability ecosystem.

One of the most troubling things about this era in American history is the number of institutions that have caved to Trump's bullying and given him what he wants, especially when it comes to media organizations. The folks over at the non-profit Free Press have done a lot of research and put together the new Media Capitulation Index, which aims to track and dissect this distressing phenomenon. This week, Free Press's Nora Benavidez and Timothy Karr join the podcast to talk about how they made the Index and what it can teach us.

We've got a bunch of brand new episodes of the Techdirt podcast coming over the next few weeks, but first we've got one special cross-post from our other podcast made in partnership with Ben Whitelaw from Everything in Moderation: Ctrl-Alt-Speech. As we take a little break from that podcast for the month of August, we're posting a few special episodes, starting with this conversation about how it got started, how we create the episodes, our philosophy about sponsorship, and what we need to make Ctrl-Alt-Speech sustainable in the long run. We're cross-posting it here on the Techdirt podcast feed, and we hope you enjoy it!

In this engaging discussion, Aaron Ross Powell, host of the Reimagining Liberty podcast and advocate for radical liberalism, dives into the transformative power of internet decentralization. He and Mike explore the philosophical implications of an open internet, urging a shift from centralized control to enhance personal freedom. They analyze the challenges of replicating user-friendly experiences in decentralized systems and the emotional toll journalists face transitioning from traditional platforms. Together, they champion smaller, diverse online communities over monolithic ones.