In 2015, Elizabeth Holmes and her firm, Theranos, seemed poised to revolutionize blood testing. Everything began to unravel in October of that year, however, when the Wall Street Journal published an investigative report questioning the accuracy of Theranos’s “Edison” blood-testing machine. Holmes was indicted in 2018. Her trial begins later this month. Sara Randazzo, a reporter with the Wall Street Journal , joins the show to discuss Holmes’s rise and fall, her upcoming trial, and what her case...
Aug 12, 2021•29 min•Ep. 298
Section 230 is as important — and as widely misunderstood — as ever. TechFreedom’s Free Speech Counsel, Ari Cohn, joins the show to discuss the latest lawsuits, legal theories, and legislative bills swirling around the great charter of free speech on the Internet. Update: Ari and Corbin fret, on the show, about the Second Circuit’s grant of rehearing in Domen v. Vimeo — a case in which the panel straightforwardly applied Section 230(c)(2). It turns out that the court granted only panel rehearing...
Jul 29, 2021•54 min•Ep. 297
Both the Democrats and the Republicans are introducing antitrust legislation targeted at tech companies. Elizabeth Nolan Brown, senior editor at Reason , joins the show to discuss some of the recent bills, as well as how each party is trying to use antitrust law to further political ends unrelated to antitrust. For more, see Elizabeth’s cover story for this month’s Reason magazine: “ The Bipartisan Antitrust Crusade Against Big Tech .”...
Jul 14, 2021•37 min•Ep. 296
Are social media websites more like newspapers (with strong free speech rights) or common carriers (with weaker free speech rights)? Enjoining enforcement of Florida’s Internet speech law, SB 7072, a federal judge recently wrote that they’re somewhere “in the middle.” Eugene Volokh, of UCLA School of Law, and Berin Szóka, president of TechFreedom, join the show to debate whether that’s right. For more on Eugene’s position ( i.e. , some aspects of social media can properly be analogized to common...
Jul 07, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 295
Border agents have broad authority to search the smartphone or laptop of anyone entering the country. That might be about to change, however, if the Supreme Court takes up one of several cases challenging such searches. Professor Orin Kerr, of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, joins the show to discuss the interplay between the Fourth Amendment and the border, the Court’s evolving views on smart-device searches, and what might happen if any or all of these cases is taken up....
Jun 25, 2021•39 min•Ep. 294
Named in honor of her wonderful essay in The Atlantic , “ The Supply of Disinformation Will Soon Be Infinite ,” this episode is a wide-ranging discussion with Renée DiResta, the technical research manager of Stanford Internet Observatory. Corbin and Berin pick Renée’s brain about the latest trends in misinformation, social media’s role in the “Stop the Steal” movement, the rise of online influencers, how to increase information literacy, and more. Other pieces of Renée’s mentioned or discussed i...
Jun 03, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 293
Thanks in part to outreach by its mayor, Francis Suarez, Miami is becoming a tech hotspot. Matt Haggman, an executive at the Miami-Dade Beacon Council, joins the show to discuss what’s drawing tech entrepreneurs to Miami, as well as what social, political, and environmental challenges could stand in the way of Miami becoming a new Silicon Valley.
May 25, 2021•29 min•Ep. 292
Last week, Facebook’s new Oversight Board issued a much-discussed ruling on the platform’s suspension of Donald Trump. Two of the Board’s members, Ronaldo Lemos and John Samples, join Corbin and Berin for a wide-ranging discussion on the Trump decision, the Board, and content moderation.
May 10, 2021•55 min•Ep. 291
“America is built on a tilt,” runs the apocryphal Mark Twain quote, “and everything loose slides to California.” So it might be said of net neutrality. The court fight over California’s new net neutrality law is only the latest episode in a long-running battle. TechFreedom’s James Dunstan and Corbin Barthold discuss what got us here (net neutrality ping pong at the FCC), where we are (a state trying to regulate an inherently interstate network), and where we need to go (a federal law that finall...
Apr 22, 2021•33 min•Ep. 290
Few public policies are more misunderstood than the Fairness Doctrine that briefly governed American broadcast media. If you think we need a “new Fairness Doctrine” for the Internet, chances are you’re not clear on what the old version was. Paul Matzko, editor for technology and innovation at Libertarianism.org, joins the show to discuss the history of the Fairness Doctrine, why it failed, and why making a new one would be a terrible idea. For more, see Paul’s book, The Radio Right: How a Band o...
Apr 14, 2021•53 min•Ep. 289
Data privacy is a complex and dynamic policy field. Lydia de la Torre, an inaugural board member of the new California Privacy Protection Agency, and Alan Friel, a partner at Squire Patton Boggs, join the show to help make some sense of it. They discuss the history of privacy policy, the growing influence of European privacy principles, and the new privacy laws we are seeing, or can expect, at the state and federal levels here in the United States.
Apr 07, 2021•45 min•Ep. 288
Florida is poised to enact a law limiting social media websites’ ability to ban or moderate users. TechFreedom's Berin Szóka and Corbin Barthold discuss whether the bill is constitutional, and whether it would really protect speech (spoiler alert: no and no). For more, see their essay on the bill in Lawfare , a TechFreedom paper on Section 230 and the First Amendment, and a previous podcast episode on efforts to apply the Fairness Doctrine to the Internet. If you’ve already heard us explain why ...
Mar 24, 2021•41 min•Ep. 287
What can social-media platforms do to address growing concerns about extremism on their sites? Research suggests that YouTube, for one, has made great strides in driving viewers of radical messages toward more mainstream content. As new forms of misinformation arise, YouTube has succeeded in quickly adjusting its algorithmic recommendations. Dr. Anna Zaitsev is a postdoctoral scholar at the UC Berkeley School of Information, and the co-author of the paper “Algorithmic extremism: Examining YouTub...
Mar 08, 2021•33 min•Ep. 286
Data plays an increasingly important role in our criminal justice system, yet there are serious inequalities in prosecutors’ and defendants’ rights of access to it. Rebecca Wexler, assistant professor of law at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law and faculty co-director of the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology, joins the show to discuss the growing role that data plays in criminal investigations and trials; the asymmetries in access to data, code, and more; and how we mi...
Feb 24, 2021•35 min•Ep. 285
The events of the last few years have shown the clear impact that movements beginning online can have in the real world. Social media platforms, as well as the legacy media and the government, have struggled to adapt to this development. Martin Gurri, former CIA analyst, Mercatus Center visiting research fellow, and author of The Revolt of the Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium , joins the show to discuss the technologically driven fragmentation of narratives, what this mea...
Feb 16, 2021•38 min•Ep. 284
China’s approach to surveillance, particularly its dystopian-sounding Social Credit System, has raised serious human rights concerns, particularly in its treatment of minority groups. Sheena Chestnut Greitens , associate professor at the University of Texas’s Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, joins the show to discuss China’s surveillance policies and the influence it could have on privacy around the world....
Jan 10, 2021•36 min•Ep. 283
What can the tech industry expect from the incoming Biden administration? Emily Birnbaum , tech policy reporter at Protocol , joins the show to discuss President-elect Biden and his team’s likely approach to antitrust, Section 230, the gig economy, and artificial intelligence.
Dec 22, 2020•32 min•Ep. 282
Policymakers across the political spectrum are using antitrust law to attack established companies’ acquisitions of smaller competitors. But are these “nascent acquisitions” inherently harmful? Asheesh Agarwal, TechFreedom’s deputy general counsel and competition counsel, and Andy Jung, a law clerk at TechFreedom, join the show to provide some historical context. They argue that nascent acquisitions often benefit both entrepreneurs and consumers. For more, see their new paper, The Long and Succe...
Dec 08, 2020•30 min•Ep. 281
The Global Antitrust Institute’s Report on the Digital Economy is out! Berin Szóka, the founder of TechFreedom, returns to the show to discuss his chapter, Section 230: An Introduction for Antitrust & Consumer Protection Practitioners . On tap: the history of Section 230; how it applies in antitrust and consumer-protection cases; l’affaire Federalist ; adventures in futile litigation; Internet Darwinism; and more. Be sure to check out the full GAI report ....
Nov 25, 2020•51 min•Ep. 280
Social media content moderation has been a hot topic for policymakers throughout the election, with a particular focus on the liability protections offered by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Billy Easley, senior policy analyst at Americans for Prosperity, joins the show to discuss how proposals to limit the scope of Section 230 would harm free speech online, particularly for marginalized communities. For more, see his recent op-ed in Slate ....
Nov 08, 2020•23 min•Ep. 279
The data that we generate in our everyday lives can be immensely useful, but it’s vital that any use of that data carefully protects privacy. Sunny Seon Kang , senior privacy counsel and head of policy at Inpher, joins the show to discuss how data can benefit commerce, healthcare, finance, and more, while still maintaining user privacy.
Nov 07, 2020•20 min•Ep. 278
Last week, the Department of Justice and eleven Republican state attorneys general filed a lawsuit alleging Google has used anticompetitive practices to maintain a monopoly. TechFreedom deputy general counsel Asheesh Agarwal and president Berin Szóka join the show to discuss the problems with the lawsuit and the broader issues within competition policy. For more, see TechFreedom’s work on the subject, including a press release on the lawsuit , an op-ed in The Federalist on the economic harms of ...
Oct 29, 2020•40 min•Ep. 277
While 5G technology is being rolled out across the country, some have been dissatisfied with the speed at which the revolutionary next step in wireless Internet has been deployed and have suggested that the federal government step in directly. Nathan Leamer, vice president at Targeted Victory and former policy advisor to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, explains the flaws in nationalization and highlights the work already being done by Congress and the FCC to enable 5G deployment by the private sector. @N...
Sep 28, 2020•17 min•Ep. 276
Between heavy government regulations, a competitive marketplace, and an uncertain economy, the early stages of an innovative start-up are full of risks that could stifle beneficial new technology. Nina Archie , founder of Innovator Connector, joins the show to discuss threats to innovation, the possibilities of public-private partnerships, and the role innovation will play in shaping the labor market.
Sep 11, 2020•27 min•Ep. 275
With the approaching election, preventing the spread of online misinformation is especially important. Heather West , head of Americas policy at Mozilla, joins the show to discuss how misinformation spreads, how platforms are dealing with it, and how this ties in to the broader discussion on content moderation.
Aug 21, 2020•31 min•Ep. 274
Legislators on both the left and right have raised concerns over the control a few major platforms have over online speech. Is breaking up those platforms a way to protect free expression on the Internet? Neil Chilson, Senior Research Fellow for technology and innovation at the Charles Koch Institute and former acting chief technologist at the FTC, joins the show to discuss the problems with this approach. For more, see his essay on the subject ....
Jul 30, 2020•21 min•Ep. 273
With policing reform at the center of the country’s attention, it’s critical to examine the ways in which the state’s use of technology can enable abuse and discrimination. Joe Miller, president and CEO of the Washington Center for Technology Policy and Inclusion and host of the WashingTech podcast, joins the show to discuss the roles that body cameras, facial recognition, and other technologies play in government surveillance. Follow him on Twitter @joemillerjd...
Jul 16, 2020•18 min•Ep. 272
This is the story of two brilliant Black women — Aerica Shimizu Banks and Ifeoma Ozoma . Pinterest, the company they gave their talents and dedication to, mistreated them and discriminated against them. Pinterest still hasn't done right by them. You can read coverage of their story in The Washington Post , The Business Insider , The Protocol , Politico , The LA Times , Forbes , NPR , USA Today and many other outlets. Here is the Statement from The Color of Change. Follow Aerica and Ifeoma on Twi...
Jul 02, 2020•51 min•Ep. 271
The current economic and social upheaval has made cryptocurrency more important than ever, Andrea O’Sullivan , director of the Center for Technology and Innovation at the James Madison Institute joins the show to discuss the latest policy developments in the area, as well as an update on the state of tech policy in Florida.
Jun 26, 2020•26 min•Ep. 270
Given the importance of staying home to minimize the spread of the coronavirus, telehealth is more vital than ever. Recently, the federal government has eased regulations to allow easier access to alternatives to in-person doctor visits. Rene Quashie, Vice President of Digital Health for the Consumer Technology Association, joins the show to discuss the implications of these regulatory rollbacks, particularly with regard to privacy. For more on the subject, see CTA’s guiding principles on digita...
Jun 15, 2020•17 min•Ep. 269
