In this special edition of Beyond the Filter, hosts Brandy Brightman and Jeremy Malcolm present the global launch of the Drawing the Line Watchlist—a groundbreaking report examining how ten countries around the world are increasingly blurring the line between personal expression (art, fiction, advocacy, consensual adult material) and lived abuse involving real victims.
Joined by three members of the project’s Advisory Board—Emma Shapiro, Ashley Remminga, and Zora Rush—this live podcast-webinar explores how censorship, moral panic, and poorly drafted laws are reshaping the digital landscape for artists, queer communities, and marginalized creators.
Together, the panel unpacks:
- Why fictional content is being conflated with real sexual abuse, and how law enforcement resources are being redirected away from crimes with actual victims
- How artists, especially those depicting bodies or erotic themes, face uneven and often punitive moderation
- The impact of moral panics on queer and trans fandom spaces, and the historical roots of these controversies
- How AI systems struggle with context, nuance, and cultural bias—and what it means for sexual expression and safety online
- Examples of global overreach, including prosecutions of artists, writers, and even teenagers for fictional material
- Five key reforms governments should adopt to restore clarity, protect children, and uphold human rights
Guests share on-the-ground insights from their domains—arts advocacy, queer cultural research, and responsible AI—while Jeremy previews the Watchlist’s findings, including startling shifts in enforcement patterns and international case studies.
The conversation closes with actionable recommendations for policymakers, platforms, and civil society about how to genuinely keep children safe without eroding creative and queer expression.
For the full report and the Drawing the Line Principles, visit: drawingthelineprinciples.org.
You can also watch this episode as a webinar, with bonus live Q&A content.
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One thought on “Beyond the Filter: Drawing the Line Watchlist”
Thank you for having those important conversations and creating this important initiative! There is a lot to talk about those topics, one hour conversation can only have so much. One of the better videos I’ve seen on the CSAM adjacent topic recently was a talk by Kate Sim with title “Not an Impasse: Child Safety, Privacy, and Healing Together” from 39c3 (it’s available on ccc.de website publicly for free), while it doesn’t directly talk about artistic depictions, I still think anyone interested in the topic will find it a useful resource to take in and think about. It speaks about how protectionist approach often fails short of delivering results and the society focuses too much on punitive measures instead of education, healing and tacking systemic issues that allow abuse to happen.
It does appear that the e-mailer for the Drawing the Line report struggles with sending e-mails like mentioned on the webinar in Q&A session, which is a shame, sounds like something that should really be as accessible as possible.
P.S The video on YouTube with Drawing the Line Watchlist has year 2015 not 2025 which seems like obvious mistake 😉