Beyond the Filter cover art

Beyond the Filter

Beyond the Filter

Written by: Beyond the Filter
Listen for free

About this listen

 Beyond the Filter is a podcast about censorship. It includes censorship through laws, self-censorship, and corporate censorship. It includes censorship of art and fiction, censorship of political dissent, and censorship of self-expression, especially when it comes to sex and gender. It also looks at the reasons why we censor, the effects of censorship, and alternatives to censorship.Published by the Center for Online Safety and Liberty Inc Hygiene & Healthy Living Philosophy Political Science Politics & Government Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Beyond the Filter: Sexual Content Online: Who Gets Protected and Who Gets Policed?

    Beyond the Filter: Sexual Content Online: Who Gets Protected and Who Gets Policed?
    Mar 3 2026

    In the season finale of Beyond the Filter, Jeremy and Brandy are joined by Shambhawi Paudel (ILGA Asia) and Mar Díaz (digital rights and LGBTQ advocate) for a wide-ranging conversation on censorship, platform power, and queer expression across Europe and Asia.

    From colonial-era morality laws and online entrapment in parts of Asia to shadowbanning, algorithmic bias, and the limits of the EU’s Digital Services Act, the episode explores how governments and platforms alike are reshaping digital space in the name of “safety.” The guests examine why sex workers and LGBTQ+ communities are often first and hardest hit by over-moderation, how fictional and AI-generated content is being swept into expanding criminal frameworks, and whether privacy and human rights law offer better tools to address real harms like deepfake abuse.

    As a preview of two upcoming RightsCon workshops, the conversation asks a central question: how do we protect people online without collapsing the line between personal expression and lived abuse?

    Resources mentioned during this episode

    Drawing the Line Watchlist 2025 – A research report covering 10 countries that reveals how the conflation of personal expression with lived abuse is diverting resources away from protecting real victims from harm.

    Resources – ILGA Asia – A central repository of reports, policy briefs, statements, and research publications produced by ILGA Asia, covering LGBTIQ human rights, civic space, legal reform, and regional advocacy developments across Asia..

    Legal Barriers to Freedom of Expression – From the ILGA World Database, an interactive global database documenting laws that restrict freedom of expression related to sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC), including criminal, administrative, and morality-based provisions affecting LGBTIQ communities.

    Platform Accountability: a rule-of-law checklist — a report by the European Sex Workers’ Rights Alliance outlining recommendations on platform governance, content moderation, and accountability for sex workers’ rights.

    Freedom on the Net 2024: The Struggle for Trust Online — Freedom House’s annual digital rights assessment across 72 countries, covering internet freedom and online expression.

    Repro Uncensored Research Page — the research archive page for Repro Uncensored, featuring reports and investigations on digital censorship and platform control.

    Manifesto for Sex-Positive Social Media — a manifesto setting out guiding principles for platforms, governments, and policymakers to support sex-positive approaches to social media content and governance.

    The post Beyond the Filter: Sexual Content Online: Who Gets Protected and Who Gets Policed? appeared first on Center for Online Safety and Liberty.
    Show More Show Less
    Less than 1 minute
  • Beyond the Filter: Tech-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence

    Beyond the Filter: Tech-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence
    Feb 1 2026

    In this episode of Beyond the Filter, Brandy and Jeremy examine how gender-based harm is being amplified by digital platforms and AI tools, using the recent Grok scandal on X as a case study. The chatbot’s ability to generate sexualized, non-consensual images of real women and girls exposed serious failures in platform governance and safeguards beyond-the-filter-ep-11.

    Joining the discussion is Sofia Bonilla, Director of Strategy & Partnerships at the Integrity Institute, who explains what TFGBV is, who is most vulnerable to it, and why online abuse often escalates into lasting psychological, social, and economic harm. The conversation explores how AI image generation has lowered the barriers to abuse, blurred legal and ethical boundaries, and intensified the silencing of women, girls, and gender-diverse people online.

    References
    • Technology‑facilitated Gender‑based Violence: A Growing Threat
    • An Infographic Guide to Technology‑facilitated Gender‑based Violence (TFGBV)
    • Measuring the Prevalence of Online Violence against Women
    • It’s Everyone’s Problem: Mainstreaming Responses to Technology‑Facilitated Gender‑Based Violence
    • Digital Violence, Real World Harm: Evaluating Survivor‑Centric Tools for Intimate Image Abuse in the age of Gen AI
    • New Report Calls for Proactive Solutions to Tech‑Facilitated Gender‑Based Violence
    • Strong Words, Slow Action: The Grok Reckoning
    • What OpenAI’s Latest Red‑Teaming Challenge Reveals About the Evolution of AI “Safety” Practices
    • Fostering Healthy Masculinities: Building Resilience Against Online Misogyny
    • Safety by design, online content moderation & community management

    The post Beyond the Filter: Tech-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence appeared first on Center for Online Safety and Liberty.
    Show More Show Less
    Less than 1 minute
  • Beyond the Filter: Australia’s Under 16 Social Media Ban

    Beyond the Filter: Australia’s Under 16 Social Media Ban
    Jan 1 2026
    This episode discusses Australia’s groundbreaking social media minimum age law, which mandates that platforms block users under 16. The conversation explores the implications of this law on free expression, mental health, cyberbullying, and the responsibilities of both the government and parents. It also delves into the enforcement challenges and the potential impact on adult users’ privacy, while considering alternative approaches to protecting children online without infringing on their rights. Further reading for this episode Australian social media minimum-age law & age assurance Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 – Bill Digest, Parliament of Australia.Australian Government, Social Media Minimum Age – Fact Sheet (Infrastructure and Transport Dept, July 2025).Dept. of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Comms & Arts: Social media minimum age explainer (Infrastructure and Transport Dept)eSafety Commissioner: Social media age restrictions hub (eSafety Commissioner)OAIC: Social Media Minimum Age privacy guidance, including age assurance types (OAIC)eSafety: Age Assurance Issues Paper (July 2024, eSafety Commissioner)Age Assurance Technology Trial reports (Age Assurance Technology Trial) Prevalence of youth social-media use ACIL Allen / eSafety research: “Navigating the digital world: social media and the wellbeing of Australia’s youth” – 96% of 10–15-year-olds had used social media (ACIL Allen and eSafety Commissioner) Mental health & social media Sala et al., “Social Media Use and adolescents’ mental health and well-being: An umbrella review” (Current Opinion in Psychology, 2024).Blackwell et al., “Adolescent Social Media Use and Mental Health in the Digital Age” (J Adolescent Health, 2025).Kerr et al., “Problematic social media use and its relationship with depression or anxiety” (J Adolescent Health review context).Fassi et al., “Social media use in adolescents with and without mental health conditions” (Nature Human Behaviour, 2025).Barzilay et al., “Smartphone Ownership, Age of Smartphone Acquisition, and Health Outcomes” (Pediatrics, 2026). Cyberbullying Patchin & Hinduja, “2023 Cyberbullying Data” (Cyberbullying Research Center, Feb 2024).Pew Research Center, Teens and Cyberbullying (Pew Research Center, 2022).PACER bullying stats and tween cyberbullying data (PACER Center). Online child sexual exploitation & grooming Malcolm, “Against ‘chat control’: we can’t eliminate child abuse by eliminating privacy” (The Guardian, October 2025) NSPCC FOI analysis on “Sexual communication with a child” offences and platform breakdown (NSPCC).Childlight Global Child Safety Institute, Into the Light index + UNSW “More than 300 million child victims of online sexual abuse globally” explainer (CSA Centre).ACCCE / AFP releases on 41% increase and 82,764 reports (Australian Federal Police) Radicalisation & extremism online Europol, EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT) 2023 & 2024–25 (Europol)RAN, Extremists’ use of gaming (adjacent) platforms and Online radicalisation papers (Migration and Home Affairs)Australian Parliament, Extremism and the online environment (Australian Parliament House Committee report citing ASIO). Age assurance & bias / effectiveness AATT reports + Senate Committee chapter on age assurance bias and teen thresholds (The Guardian)OAIC guidance and UK Ofcom statements on age assurance and age checks (Financial Times)Shaffique, “Behavioural profiling for age assurance: do the ends justify the means?” (International Data Privacy Law, 2025). Parental controls, parenting practices Family Online Safety Institute, Connected & Protected: Insights from FOSI’s 2025 Online Safety Survey (Family Online Safety Institute).Pew Research Center, Parents, Teens and Digital Monitoring (Pew Research Center, 2016).Kaspersky on parental-control uptake (~50%) (Kaspersky)HCI/CS studies on parental mediation & complexity (e.g. Yu et al. 2024 arXiv). Alternatives: age-appropriate design, targeted age checks, etc. UK ICO Children’s Code / Age-Appropriate Design Code (ICO).California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (AB 2273) and commentary (Legislative Information)UK Online Safety Act explainer and age-assurance rules for pornography and harmful content (Financial Times). The post Beyond the Filter: Australia’s Under 16 Social Media Ban appeared first on Center for Online Safety and Liberty.
    Show More Show Less
    Less than 1 minute
No reviews yet