Otherwise Objectionable - podcast cover

Otherwise Objectionable

Competitive Enterprise Institute•rss.com
Technology
Government

The true story of the most misunderstood law on the internet. Tech journalist Mike Masnick brings you inside the making of Section 230 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, featuring witnesses to Silicon Valley’s Wild West era, the Congressmen who wrote the law, and innovators who benefited from its balance of freedom and responsibility. Why do so many people hate this law, how does the rest of the world deal with these issues, and how can it be used to take on new challenges like A.I.? Listen to find out.

Otherwise Objectionable is executive produced by Bilander Media.

Last refreshed: ⓘ
Follow this podcast in the Metacast mobile app to refresh it and see new episodes.
Follow on
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
RSS
YouTube
Overcast
Pocket Casts
Episodes.fm
Download Metacast podcast app
Podcasts are better in Metacast mobile app
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more

Episodes

Episode 8: Prescriptions to Save the Internet

Our panel of experts — Charles C.W. Cooke from the National Review, trust and safety expert Dave Willner, Mike Masnick from Techdirt, and CEI’s Jessica Melugin — dissect this podcast’s raison d'être. What have we learned? Where are we now? And where are we going?

Apr 30, 2025•42 min

Episode 7: The Future of Speech Online

The rise of A.I. has ushered in a new era for the internet, right when Section 230 and its protections have never been more threatened. Today’s innovators look to the past for guidance.

Apr 23, 2025•31 min

Episode 6: The Rest of the World

The web gets big enough to impact presidential elections. And the rest of the world grapples with speech on the internet.

Apr 16, 2025•24 min

Episode 5: Blowback, and the Dust Settles

The first real attempt to regulate the internet goes down in flames. But what remains is a structure to support the new, more interactive world of Web 2.0.

Apr 09, 2025•30 min

Episode 4: The Solution

A bill intended to keep smut off the internet threatens to undo everything Representatives Christopher Cox and Ron Wyden have accomplished. How will their compromise play out?

Apr 02, 2025•25 min

Episode 3: Law and Disorder

Enter the dotcom era. Dueling lawsuits leave early web companies with a massive question — can they moderate speech without getting sued off the face of the earth? Two tech-savvy Congressman just might have an answer.

Mar 26, 2025•29 min

Episode 2: The Dawn of the Internet

We travel back in time to the birth of the world wide web to hear how the earliest forums sparked a war over the future of free speech on the internet.

Mar 19, 2025•26 min

Introducing Otherwise Objectionable

In 1996, two Congressmen drafted a bill that would give us the internet as we know it. Now Democrats and Republicans want it gone. Follow the true story of the most misunderstood law on the internet starting March 12.

Feb 25, 2025•2 min
For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android