This week, we look at the fallout from a sweeping internet age-verification law that went into effect in Britain. We explain why age restrictions are suddenly popping up all over the internet — and how some might create more problems than they solve. Then Matthew Prince, chief executive of Cloudflare, returns to the show to discuss his company’s new plan to help publishers fight back against A.I. scrapers and potentially to create a new online marketplace for quality content in the process. Finally, we round up some headlines from around the tech world in the latest round of HatGPT.Guests:<ul><li>Matthew Prince, chief executive of Cloudflare</li></ul>Additional Reading:<ul><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/27/us/supreme-court-pornography-minors.html">Supreme Court Upholds Texas Law Limiting Access to Pornography</a></li><li><a href="https://www.platformer.news/age-assurance-uk-tea-apple-google-meta/">The U.K.’s age gates are coming to America</a></li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/01/technology/cloudflare-ai-data.html">Cloudflare Introduces Default Blocking of A.I. Data Scrapers</a></li></ul>Also, you can still get a special-edition “Hard Fork” hat! For a limited time, you’ll receive one when you purchase an annual New York Times Audio subscription for the first time. Go to<a href="http://nytimes.com/hardforkhat"> nytimes.com/hardforkhat</a>.We want to hear from you. Email us at <a href="mailto:hardfork@nytimes.com">hardfork@nytimes.com</a>. Find “Hard Fork” on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hardfork">YouTube</a> and <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@hardfork">TikTok</a>.
Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at <a href="http://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Podurama

Home

Trending

Personal

Your Podcasts

New Episodes

My Files

Favourite Episodes

Tags (Folders)

Recently Played

Bookmarks

Followed Playlists

Age-Gating the Internet + Cloudflare Takes On A.I. Scrapers + HatGPT

Hard Fork

AI Chapters

AI Insights

Reviews