Meeting the exospheric bar set by the irreplaceable @corbinkbarthold.bsky.social is a daunting task. But what's life without new challenges? Can't promise the same deep literary/philosophical cuts, but I can promise to keep it fresh, relevant, & entertaining (spicy, even). Exciting things to come!

TechFreedom@techfreedom.org · last mo.

Witness the peaceful transfer of power! On a new Tech Policy Podcast, outgoing host @corbinkbarthold.bsky.social hands the reins to @aricohn.com. To mark the occasion, they go on one final mega-rant about the state of social media and AI regulation. techfreedom.simplecast.com/episodes/438...

If you ever need me to be a judge of something, I'm here for it. Especially if it involves wearing judge robes and a wig. The giant gavel is nice too.

David Greene@davidgreene.bsky.social · 2mo ago

A thrilling tie-breaker victory by @daphnek.bsky.social and @corbinkbarthold.bsky.social 's team, while @masnick.com and @nicoleozer.bsky.social briefly wear wigs ... www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...

A thrilling tie-breaker victory by @daphnek.bsky.social and @corbinkbarthold.bsky.social 's team, while @masnick.com and @nicoleozer.bsky.social briefly wear wigs ... www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...

Cheers to the Winners of EFF’s 18th Annual Cyberlaw Trivia Night!

On a warm June evening in San Francisco, attorneys and other legally-minded friends of EFF gathered for our 18th Annual Cyberlaw Trivia Night, an annual test of tech-related legal knowledge, and the a...

eff.org

This was pretty thrilling for real - we came back from 4th place to carry the day! Having @marklemley.bsky.social not be around probably helped. Also there was a question about me and a team named after something I said. It’s a big year for me and I’m definitely letting it go to my head.

David Greene@davidgreene.bsky.social · 2mo ago

A thrilling tie-breaker victory by @daphnek.bsky.social and @corbinkbarthold.bsky.social 's team, while @masnick.com and @nicoleozer.bsky.social briefly wear wigs ... www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...

The infamous Fifth Circuit has stayed an injunction, meaning the Texas App Store Accountability Act now goes into effect. App stores — essentially, Apple, Google and Microsoft — will now be required to age verify all users, through facial scans and other means.

Fifth Circuit Lifts Block on Texas Age Requirements for Apps (1)

Texas for now can require proof of age to download a smart phone app, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday, unpausing a trial court injunction that halted the law on First Amendment grounds.

news.bloomberglaw.com

It’s been waaaay too long since our last space episode! We fix that today, big time. On a new Tech Policy Podcast, Dr. Mekhi Dhesi of Slingshot Aerospace joins @corbinkbarthold.bsky.social to discuss orbital mechanics, rocket science, black holes, the Fermi paradox, and more. tinyurl.com/mvm24yzt

Kagan writing a solo dissent was the only way you'd get me to read all about the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act.

Down the ages, new ways to communicate spark moral panics. With social media and AI, is history repeating itself? On a new podcast, @corbinkbarthold.bsky.social speaks at a @thefireorg.bsky.social Free Speech Future event with Kmele Foster, @nicoperrino.bsky.social, & @cjferguson1111.bsky.social

Lunch in the real world: highly recommendef.

David Ho@davidho.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Look, it’s @volts.wtf! It’s good not to be the biggest troublemaker named David in the room.

This proposes a licensing scheme, also known as a prior restraint on speech. Those don't usually do well in court because they give the government too much power over what can be said and are presumptively unconstitutional. Thank you for your time. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/04/t...

White House Considers Vetting A.I. Models Before They Are Released

nytimes.com

Oh look. It's that thing @corbinkbarthold.bsky.social warned us about. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/04/t...

White House Considers Vetting A.I. Models Before They Are Released

nytimes.com

This podcast episode opens with @taylorlorenz.bsky.social saying "Give Corbin a chance." Evergreen! 😅 open.spotify.com/episode/23ep...

The Dark Side Of AI Safety Laws

Spotify video

open.spotify.com

If AI outputs aren't protected by the First Amendment, the government gains power to dictate what those systems can say. @corbinkbarthold.bsky.social argues that the case for protecting AI speech is about defending your right to encounter ideas the state hasn't approved. hubs.la/Q04dMpjr0

AI and the First Amendment

LLMs can be infuriating, and they're not even human. Critics may ask: Why should they enjoy First Amendment rights? Corbin Barthold of TechFreedom argues that AI speech is indeed speech, not conduct. ...

hubs.la

"Attacks on AI speech are attacks on you. They rest on the notion that you cannot be trusted to encounter ideas the state deems dangerous... A robust First Amendment tradition assumes the opposite." -- @corbinkbarthold.bsky.social

AI and the First Amendment

LLMs can be infuriating, and they're not even human. Critics may ask: Why should they enjoy First Amendment rights? Corbin Barthold of TechFreedom argues that AI speech is indeed speech, not conduct. ...

liberalism.org

Since we had this convo about algorithms four years ago, the debate has evolved—but the First Amendment problems have not! New Tech Policy Podcast “From the Vault”: @daphnek.bsky.social discusses algorithmic amplification w/ @corbinkbarthold.bsky.social and @aricohn.com. tinyurl.com/yj82rvup

From the Red Scare to Brandenburg, history shows that fear makes bad First Amendment law. As AI reshapes how we think and speak, @corbinkbarthold.bsky.social makes the case for holding the line on free expression.

Amazing episode. @mchangama.bsky.social makes his triumphant debut, and @jkosseff.bsky.social his glorious return. I pepper them with hard questions about the future of free speech, and they do nothing but shine. Don't miss it.

TechFreedom@techfreedom.org · 4mo ago

How do we reverse the global free speech recession? On a new Tech Policy Podcast, @mchangama.bsky.social and @jkosseff.bsky.social discuss their fantastic new book, The Future of Free Speech. techfreedom.simplecast.com/episodes/434...

How do we reverse the global free speech recession? On a new Tech Policy Podcast, @mchangama.bsky.social and @jkosseff.bsky.social discuss their fantastic new book, The Future of Free Speech. techfreedom.simplecast.com/episodes/434...

We need to get back to authentic, artisan, organic, Brooklyn farmers market Bluesky. All code written out by hand in a journal.

Jay 🦋@jay.bsky.team · 4mo ago

Bluesky is made with AI, the engineers and even some non-engineers use Claude code

FYI: I am going to stop summarizing Supreme Court decisions on here as they come down. One comment has been plucked out of context of all my reporting, misread, and used as the basis of a mean-spirited pile-on. I am not going to subject myself to this. If this was your goal, then congratulations.

I have experienced similar pile-ons when my summary of a court's holding was mistaken for my personal view on the matter. This insistence on stripping a post of context then imputing bad faith is making BlueSky unusable for legal reporting. Today's incident shows that the problem is getting worse.

So, the thought occurred to me when reflecting on how little I now use FB (maybe a quick skim 1/week) and how little I used to use Twitter (a few minutes a day, tops) as compared to Bluesky (I'm writing this, ain't I?) is that Bluesky has a truly "addictive" algorithm. 1/?

When we look back at the death of the open and free global internet, the legislative and judicial developments of 2026 will play a starring role.

Jeff Kosseff@jkosseff.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Jacob Mchangama and I have a piece in the WSJ about the dangers of regulating online speech. www.wsj.com/politics/soc...

The Meta ruling is bad, no matter how much you dislike Meta or how much New Mexico tries to pretend this is about "product design" This is an attempt to get around Section 230 (and 1A) protections, hold platforms liable for user speech, implement universal age verification, and end encrypted DMs

A jury hit Meta with a $375 million verdict. The open internet may pay the price.

Meta's loss in a New Mexico 'product design' case could also be a blow against Section 230, free speech, and online privacy.

reason.com

Eighteen months ago, this would have sounded a little hyperbolic. Today, it's very hard to argue with any of it.

Jess Miers 🦝🦞@jmiers230.bsky.social · 4mo ago

The social media cases are going south. @elizabethsipod.bsky.social pointed out that this is going to hit mental health and fitness content the hardest. I think that's right. I don't know how you operate a social media service these days. But I do know content on the fringes can't survive.

Cox v. Sony is out! An ISP is not liable for copyright claims if it “merely provid[es] a service to the general public with knowledge that it will be used by some to infringe copyrights.” For expert analysis, check out our episode on the oral argument with @pamelasamuelson.bsky.social.

1/ Are AI outputs free speech under the First Amendment? Yes. Polling on AI is ... bad. Meanwhile, I'm like Butters in South Park, unironically marveling at how awesome it is. So maybe I'm just asking for a ratio, but I wrote a big paper arguing that AI outputs deserve First Amendment protection.

New Tech Policy podcast! Host @corbinkbarthold.bsky.social speaks at State of the Net with @joellthayer.bsky.social (Digital Progress Institute), @ashkhen.bsky.social (@futurefreespeech.org) and Luke Hogg (FAI). They discuss how the First Amendment should work in a world of algorithms and AI.

When you gaze at the night sky, do you wistfully ask why there isn't an entire podcast episode taking down Justice Barrett's weird and annoyingly influential concurrence in Moody v. NetChoice? Your wait is over.

TechFreedom@techfreedom.org · 5mo ago

Algorithms don’t just fall from the sky. On a new Tech Policy Podcast, host @corbinkbarthold.bsky.social deconstructs Justice Barrett’s surprisingly influential concurrence in Moody v. NetChoice. Or: Why the First Amendment protects algorithms—and AI. podcast.techfreedom.org/episodes/431...

Algorithms don’t just fall from the sky. On a new Tech Policy Podcast, host @corbinkbarthold.bsky.social deconstructs Justice Barrett’s surprisingly influential concurrence in Moody v. NetChoice. Or: Why the First Amendment protects algorithms—and AI. podcast.techfreedom.org/episodes/431...