What the Advent of Radio Can Teach Us About Tech Regulation | Paul Matzko

Last week, the Supreme Court heard arguments challenging Section 230, which gives tech companies immunity from content posted on their platforms. At the core of the debate is whether the government should take a more active role in policing how tech platforms moderate content.

In the 1920s, America was in the midst of a similar debate as the radio gained rapid adoption and gave Americans access to an unprecedented variety of information over the airwaves.

In this episode, Paul Matzko, historian and research fellow at the Cato Institute discusses the parallels between the current debate over tech regulation and attempts to regulate content over the radio, and how government oversight often led to content moderation that, at best, amplified the prejudices of those in power and, at worst, was used for outright political gain.

Matzko's book, Radio Right: How a Band of Broadcasters Took on the Federal Government and Built the Modern Conservative Movement can be purchased here: https://www.amazon.com/Radio-Right-Broadcasters-Government-Conservative/dp/0190073225

You can find Matzko on Twitter @PMatzko

Or on TikTok by searching him by name (he's the only Paul Matzko there).

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