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Newsletter #6—September 2025
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Defending scoundrels
“The trouble with fighting for human freedom,” as journalist H.L. Mencken once famously said, “is that one spends most of one’s time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all.”
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It's for this reason that so many free speech battles concern pornography, a stigmatized form of expression with few vocal defenders (think of the Hustler lawsuit, immortalized in the film The People vs Larry Flynt). Less well known, but far more important in its precedential value, is the case of Stanley v Georgia, in which a man was charged over “obscene” 8-mm adult film reels found in his home. The court found that the government had no business criminalizing people over private possession of such material in their private homes.
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COSL refers to this case in our amicus curiae brief in the case of United States v Anderegg, which is the subject of our first featured blog post below. Again, the government is trying to have a man prosecuted over private possession of obscene content, only in this case it tries to draw a distinction from Stanley on the basis that the obscene material depicts fantasy sexual illustrations of minors.
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This even more stigmatized edge case was the subject of another landmark case, Ashcroft v Free Speech Coalition, also referred to in our brief. In that case, the plaintiffs argued that an over-broad prohibition against depictions of characters that “appears to be” or “convey the impression” of being minors could result in works from Romeo and Juliet to American Beauty, Lolita, and Traffic being banned. They succeeded, and the law was found unconstitutional to the extent that it covered fantasy representations.
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The fantasy characters depicted in the AI renderings that Anderegg produced don't rise to the level of artistry as Shakespeare's doomed lovers, but it's still important to draw a line that separates them from real abuse, in the face of persistent attempts to blur that line. For example, a UK lawmaker has declared that those who disseminate such art are “just as disgusting as those who pose a threat to children in real life". But being "disgusting” (or a "scoundrel”) is a world away from being a criminal child abuser—or at least it should be.
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That's the simple proposition that COSL advances through our Drawing the Line project, which we also feature in this month's newsletter, announcing our receipt of a $10,000 grant. The grant will fund a legal research project that will map global baselines and best practices in this area, ranging from countries such as Australia that treat fantasy content as equivalent to real abuse material, through to those such as Japan that uphold a vital distinction between the two.
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In the Anderegg case, the government is testing the waters with a defendant for whom it may be difficult to feel sympathy. But don't believe for a moment that once the criminalization of obscene content in the home is established, it will end with arresting scoundrels over dirty pictures. As our blog post explains, the government's agenda ties directly into the legislative playbook of an administration for which banning all pornography is just a starting point, with non-sexual content about transgender topics next in line to be criminalized.
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Law enforcement efforts that centers on punishing “scoundrels” for being "disgusting” detract from the more important task of preventing actual crimes, and bringing justice to real victims. As it is, the system is flooded with false positives, a wave of people are suffering account bans over innocent content, and people such as parents, grandparents, and children themselves are being falsely implicated in child sex crimes due to overzealous policing. It's not the time to be widening the net still further.
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Targeting fantasy content at the same level as real abuse material risks metastasizing into a broader purity campaign dedicated to the elimination of all forms of “degeneracy”—which is especially dangerous at a time when trans and queer communities are already in the government's spotlight.
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To be clear, it is important that people aren't exposed to even fantasy sexual content without their consent. That's exactly why COSL champions approaches based on providing clear content warnings, rather than using criminal law as a cudgel. This is explained more in our second featured blog post from this month's newsletter, in which we announce the launch of a new version of our free content warning plugin, Dead Dove.
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Freedom is never tested on the speech we all find agreeable. It is tested at the edges—where disgust and fear can tempt us to hand the state a weapon it will inevitably turn against far more than “scoundrels.” By defending the boundary between fantasy and real harm, between offense and crime, we’re not protecting obscenity for its own sake. We’re protecting a principle that shields everyone: that the government cannot dictate what we may read, watch, or imagine in private, nor decide which identities and communities are too “degenerate” to be seen or heard.
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That is why COSL takes up cases like Anderegg, and why we invest in tools like Dead Dove. They are reminders that the fight for human freedom is rarely glamorous—but it is always urgent. To defend the margins is to defend the center, and to stop oppression at the beginning is the only way to stop it at all.
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The Latest from Our Blog
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COSL files an anti-thoughtcrime amicus brief
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Today, the Center for Online Safety and Liberty (COSL) filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in United States v. Steven Anderegg in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. This case matters far beyond the parties. It goes to a question with consequences for artists, readers, queer and trans communities, survivors, and frankly anyone who …
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Dead Dove: Beyond Blanket Censorship
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download the plugin donate to our fundraiser In an era where content moderation often feels like a blunt instrument—either everything is visible or nothing is—Dead Dove offers a nuanced alternative. Rather than imposing one-size-fits-all restrictions, this website plugin empowers both creators and viewers to define their own comfort levels through a sophisticated tagging and warning system. Today we're excited to …
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Beyond the Filter: Porn and Censorship
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Brandy and Jeremy speak with journalist Michael McGrady Jr about two growing threats to online sexual expression: financial censorship and age verification laws. They discuss recent crackdowns, including the financial censorship of adult games on Steam and itch.io, and the effects of the UK’s Online Safety Act requiring ID checks for many sites. Michael explains how these measures harm both privacy and …
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COSL Secures a Grant for Drawing the Line
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The Center for Online Safety and Liberty (COSL) is proud to announce that we have been awarded a $10,000 charitable grant from the William A. Percy Foundation to support legal research as part of our Drawing the Line project.
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Drawing the Line Between Personal Expression and Lived Abuse is COSL’s response to a dangerous global trend: politicians and policymakers are deliberately blurring the distinction between fictional sexual content and real-world sexual abuse. This conflation harms real survivors by diluting the language of their trauma and diverting scarce resources away from prevention and support. It also places writers, artists, LGBTQ+ communities, librarians, and educators at risk of censorship and even criminal prosecution for fictional works, memoirs, and educational materials.
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The Percy Foundation grant will specifically support a legal research project aimed at exposing the misuse of online safety discourse to criminalize non-harmful, fictional sexual expression by conflating it with real child sexual abuse material (CSAM). This comparative legal review will examine laws in ten countries, representing common law, civil law, and mixed systems across different cultural and economic contexts. It will assess the compatibility of these regimes with international human rights standards, and its findings will inform public education, media advocacy, and policy reform efforts.
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We are deeply grateful to the Percy Foundation for recognizing the urgency of this cause. Their grant strengthens our ability to defend free expression, protect marginalized communities, and ensure that justice for real survivors is not sidelined by misplaced censorship.
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Two Board Members Bid Farewell
Two members of COSL's Board, Fay Brown and Kristin Spooner, have resigned this month for separate personal reasons. COSL thanks them for their service and wishes them well in their future endeavors. Fay Brown is a qualified person-centred Counsellor with 17 yrs experience, specialising in trauma processing, child-part work, and creative therapy, while Kristin Spooner is a Doctor of Social Work, AASECT Certified Sex Therapist (CST), & Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW).
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Fay and Kristin both shared expertise in our Cyberbullying and Abuse priority area. They stood for the proposition that abuse should be treated as a preventable public health issue, rather than as an unchangeable fact of online life, or an inevitable result of individual pathology. By following an approach that focuses on prevention and social well-being, they believed we could could create safer online spaces and reduce harm, without fueling stigma that can lead to cyberbullying, discrimination, and over-criminalization of minorities.
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Among the projects for which Dr Spooner took personal responsibility at COSL, some are being archived while others are being transitioned into new oversight.
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COSL is now recruiting for two new Board member positions. Are you interested, or do you know anyone who might be? Please encourage them to express their interest below.
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PAID Communications Position Available
We seek a Strategic Communications & Outreach Lead to spearhead our Drawing the Line launch while building the relationships and reputation that will fuel COSL’s long-term impact. This external-facing role requires someone who can translate complex digital rights issues into compelling narratives for diverse audiences.
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You’ll also support COSL’s other initiatives: advocacy campaigns, our offshore free speech hosting platform Liberato, and Fan Refuge, a safe social network for fandom communities.
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This part-time role (20 hours/week, fully remote) needs someone who can:
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- Secure media coverage, endorsements, and speaking opportunities
- Build bridges between diverse communities—from activists to funders to tech leaders
- Translate complex digital rights issues into compelling narratives
- Work entrepreneurially in a startup environment
We welcome diverse backgrounds: nonprofit communications pros, journalists pivoting to advocacy, digital rights activists with media savvy, or content creators with strong networks in relevant spaces.
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- 2-month contract, with a 1-month trial period and extension potential
- $2,500-$3,500 per month
- Report directly to COSL's Chair with significant autonomy
- Help launch a movement from the ground up
To apply: Send resume, cover letter, and one work sample to info@c4osl.org
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We're looking for passion and communication skills over perfect credentials. If you believe in both safety and liberty online, we want to hear from you. Interested? Reach out today and be part of the movement to safeguard online freedom and safety!
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Pledging your monthly support for our work is the best way that you can support us, because it gives us the stability to plan ahead. You can pledge your support at three levels.
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