Otherwise Objectionable podcast

Otherwise Objectionable

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.

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.

 

#9

Episode 8: Prescriptions to Save the Internet

Our panel of experts — Charles C.W. Cooke from the National Review, trust and safety exper... more

30 Apr 2025

42 MINS

42:25

30 Apr 2025


#8

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... more

23 Apr 2025

31 MINS

31:11

23 Apr 2025


#7

Episode 6: The Rest of the World

The web gets big enough to impact presidential elections. And the rest of the world grappl... more

16 Apr 2025

24 MINS

24:29

16 Apr 2025


#6

Episode 5: Blowback, and the Dust Settles

The first real attempt to regulate the internet goes down in flames. But what remains is a... more

09 Apr 2025

30 MINS

30:05

09 Apr 2025


#5

Episode 4: The Solution

A bill intended to keep smut off the internet threatens to undo everything Representatives... more

02 Apr 2025

24 MINS

24:34

02 Apr 2025


#4

Episode 3: Law and Disorder

Enter the dotcom era. Dueling lawsuits leave early web companies with a massive question —... more

26 Mar 2025

29 MINS

29:23

26 Mar 2025


#3

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 ... more

19 Mar 2025

25 MINS

25:32

19 Mar 2025


#2

Episode 1: The Most Misunderstood Law on the Internet

Pundits and politicians blame an obscure law for everything bad that happens online. What ... more

12 Mar 2025

41 MINS

41:22

12 Mar 2025


#1

Introducing Otherwise Objectionable

In 1996, two Congressmen drafted a bill that would give us the internet as we know it. Now... more

25 Feb 2025

02 MINS

02:00

25 Feb 2025