My guest today is Mike Masnick, the founder and CEO of Techdirt, the excellent and long-running tech policy blog. Mike has been writing about government overreach, privacy in the digital age, and other related topics for decades now, and he’s an expert on how the internet and the surveillance state have grown in interconnected ways over the past two decades.
I wanted to have Mike on the show to discuss the messy, fast-moving situation at Anthropic, the maker of Claude that now finds itself in a very ugly legal battle with the Pentagon. Instead of covering the daily drama, I wanted to dig in specifically on Anthropic's surveillance red line, and the important history and context around digital privacy in the U.S. that shapes how we should think about this going forward. 
Links: 
<ul>
 <li>AI bros wanted Trump — now they learn what happens when you tell him no | <a href="https://www.techdirt.com/2026/03/02/ai-bros-wanted-trump-now-they-learn-what-happens-when-you-tell-him-no/">Techdirt</a>
</li>
 <li>OpenAI’s ‘red lines’ are written in the NSA’s dictionary | <a href="https://www.techdirt.com/2026/03/02/openais-red-lines-are-written-in-the-nsas-dictionary-where-words-mean-what-the-nsa-wants-them-to-mean/">Techdirt</a>
</li>
 <li>Anthropic is suing the Department of Defense | <a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/891377/anthropic-dod-lawsuit">The Verge</a>
</li>
 <li>Anthropic launches new think tank amid Pentagon fight | <a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/892478/anthropic-institute-think-tank-claude-pentagon-jack-clark">The Verge</a>
</li>
 <li>How OpenAI caved to the Pentagon on AI surveillance | <a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/887309/openai-anthropic-dod-military-pentagon-contract-sam-altman-hegseth">The Verge</a>
</li>
 <li>Inside the backlash to the AI war machine | <a href="https://www.platformer.news/openai-protest-military-ai-movement/">Platformer</a>
</li>
 <li>The Pentagon is violating Anthropic's First Amendment rights | <a href="https://www.fire.org/news/pentagon-violating-anthropics-first-amendment-rights">FIRE</a>
</li>
 <li>Why the Pentagon wants to destroy Anthropic | <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/06/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-dean-ball.html">Ezra Klein / NYT</a>
</li>
</ul>
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Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Decoder is produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt and edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane. 
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

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