Ep. 265: Anthropic, age verification laws, and press freedom
From So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast by FIRE
March 11, 2026 · 1h 1m · Episode 265
About this episode
The episode discusses government interventions in speech and technology, focusing on the Pentagon's actions against Anthropic, age verification laws, and a DOJ raid on a journalist.
Several stories have put government power over speech and technology back in the spotlight. In this episode, we break down the Pentagon's targeting of the AI company Anthropic, the push for government-mandated age verification technologies, and the Department of Justice's raid on a Washington Post reporter's home. We are joined by: Jennifer Huddleston, senior fellow in technology policy at the Cato Institute Mike Godwin, AI and privacy expert, first staff counsel at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, first full-time general counsel at Wikimedia, and author of two books on internet law and policy Greg Lukianoff, president and CEO of FIRE Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 03:19 The Pentagon vs. Anthropic? 22:40 The FTC, Congress, and age verification laws 48:15 Is it unusual for the DOJ to seize a reporter's computer? 59:46 Outro Don't miss the free speech event of the year! Get your tickets and learn more about the Soapbox Conference here . Enjoy listening to the podcast? Donate to FIRE today and get exclusive content like member webinars, special episodes, and more. If you became a FIRE Member through a donation to FIRE at thefire.org and would like access to Substack's paid subscriber…
People in this episode
Guests: Jennifer Huddleston, Mike Godwin, Greg Lukianoff
Topics covered
- government power
- speech
- technology
- age verification laws
- press freedom
- AI
Keywords
- Pentagon
- Anthropic
- age verification
- press freedom
- DOJ
- AI
- Cato Institute
- Electronic Frontier Foundation
- FIRE
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Pentagon, Anthropic, FTC, Congress, Department of Justice, Washington Post, Cato Institute, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Wikimedia, FIRE
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