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

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. 

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