Elizabeth Nolan Brown
@enbrown.bsky.social
sex, speech, tech, justice, parenting, politics, & panic ✨ senior editor @reason.com, journalism instructor at University of Cincinnati, Midwestern mom
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The TRUMP AMERICA AI Act is every bit as bad as you would expect. Maybe worse.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s latest is an anti-tech omnibus, combining years' worth of dangerous policy ideas into one big, bad bill.
reason.com
The TRUMP AMERICA AI Act is every bit as bad as you might expect. Maybe worse. reason.com/2025/12/29/t...
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
Having Grok issue an “apology” is not just insulting and stupid (obviously Grok cannot actually “regret” anything, deeply or otherwise) but cowardly: It asks us to assign responsibility to an unconscious piece of software rather than the humans and institutions who should actually be blamed.
January 2, 2026 at 3:12 AM
Having Grok issue an “apology” is not just insulting and stupid (obviously Grok cannot actually “regret” anything, deeply or otherwise) but cowardly: It asks us to assign responsibility to an unconscious piece of software rather than the humans and institutions who should actually be blamed.
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s latest is an anti-tech omnibus, combining years' worth of dangerous policy ideas into one big, bad bill.
The TRUMP AMERICA AI Act is every bit as bad as you would expect. Maybe worse.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s latest is an anti-tech omnibus, combining years' worth of dangerous policy ideas into one big, bad bill.
reason.com
December 30, 2025 at 1:56 AM
Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s latest is an anti-tech omnibus, combining years' worth of dangerous policy ideas into one big, bad bill.
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
A SWAT team threw 30+ grenades into an innocent man’s business while chasing a suspect.
L.A. left him with a $60,000 bill. His livelihood was destroyed.
A federal court says he’s entitled to $0. Whatever your politics, that’s a travesty. reason.com/2025/12/29/i...
L.A. left him with a $60,000 bill. His livelihood was destroyed.
A federal court says he’s entitled to $0. Whatever your politics, that’s a travesty. reason.com/2025/12/29/i...
Innocent man sues for over $60,000 after police blew up his business. A court says he's entitled to nothing.
Carlos Pena sued Los Angeles for over $60,000 after law enforcement destroyed his printing shop in pursuit of a fugitive who had broken in.
reason.com
December 30, 2025 at 2:29 PM
A SWAT team threw 30+ grenades into an innocent man’s business while chasing a suspect.
L.A. left him with a $60,000 bill. His livelihood was destroyed.
A federal court says he’s entitled to $0. Whatever your politics, that’s a travesty. reason.com/2025/12/29/i...
L.A. left him with a $60,000 bill. His livelihood was destroyed.
A federal court says he’s entitled to $0. Whatever your politics, that’s a travesty. reason.com/2025/12/29/i...
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
@mmasnick.bsky.social: "The US government is blocking people from entering the country because those people advocated for content moderation policies the government doesn’t like....it’s doing this in the name of protecting free speech" www.ms.now/opinion/marc...
Opinion | Marco Rubio is using real censorship to fight fake censorship
Mike Masnick: In the name of protecting free speech, the U.S. government just banned five Europeans from entering the country because it doesn’t like their speech.
www.ms.now
December 27, 2025 at 8:13 PM
@mmasnick.bsky.social: "The US government is blocking people from entering the country because those people advocated for content moderation policies the government doesn’t like....it’s doing this in the name of protecting free speech" www.ms.now/opinion/marc...
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
Blog Post: Too Many Courts Are Letting States Take Wrecking Balls to the Internet (Roundup) 📉
blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/202...
blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/202...
Too Many Courts Are Letting States Take Wrecking Balls to the Internet (Roundup) - Technology & Marketing Law Blog
‘Tis the season for Internet censorship. 🎄 More accurately, Internet censorship is now a four-season sport in state legislatures. There is not a stereotypical red state/blue state divide. Instead, the...
blog.ericgoldman.org
December 28, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Blog Post: Too Many Courts Are Letting States Take Wrecking Balls to the Internet (Roundup) 📉
blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/202...
blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/202...
Brought home a few Christmas Oreos from my mom’s yesterday & my 4-year-old said “oooh can I have a macaron?” and I don’t know whether I feel good or bad about this 😏
December 30, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Brought home a few Christmas Oreos from my mom’s yesterday & my 4-year-old said “oooh can I have a macaron?” and I don’t know whether I feel good or bad about this 😏
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
“…managing to combine nearly every bad tech policy idea of the past half-decade—including gutting Section 230 and creating new requirements around the suppression of sexuality online—into one massive piece of Trump-branded legislation.”
The TRUMP AMERICA AI Act is every bit as bad as you might expect. Maybe worse. reason.com/2025/12/29/t...
The TRUMP AMERICA AI Act is every bit as bad as you would expect. Maybe worse.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s latest is an anti-tech omnibus, combining years' worth of dangerous policy ideas into one big, bad bill.
reason.com
December 29, 2025 at 6:53 PM
“…managing to combine nearly every bad tech policy idea of the past half-decade—including gutting Section 230 and creating new requirements around the suppression of sexuality online—into one massive piece of Trump-branded legislation.”
The TRUMP AMERICA AI Act is every bit as bad as you might expect. Maybe worse. reason.com/2025/12/29/t...
The TRUMP AMERICA AI Act is every bit as bad as you would expect. Maybe worse.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s latest is an anti-tech omnibus, combining years' worth of dangerous policy ideas into one big, bad bill.
reason.com
December 29, 2025 at 6:35 PM
The TRUMP AMERICA AI Act is every bit as bad as you might expect. Maybe worse. reason.com/2025/12/29/t...
"An expanding body of evidence suggests that the age of an ovary, not just the eggs it contains, is important to reproduction and healthy aging." www.nytimes.com/2025/12/27/h...
It’s Time to Give the Ovary Some More Respect
www.nytimes.com
December 29, 2025 at 2:17 PM
"An expanding body of evidence suggests that the age of an ovary, not just the eggs it contains, is important to reproduction and healthy aging." www.nytimes.com/2025/12/27/h...
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
Your yearly reminder that St. Nicholas is the patron saint of sx workers. How did he help sx workers? Not with punishment, but with bags of gold coins.
Be like St. Nicholas: instead of supporting policing, give your money to wh*res 💰💰💰
Be like St. Nicholas: instead of supporting policing, give your money to wh*res 💰💰💰
December 24, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Your yearly reminder that St. Nicholas is the patron saint of sx workers. How did he help sx workers? Not with punishment, but with bags of gold coins.
Be like St. Nicholas: instead of supporting policing, give your money to wh*res 💰💰💰
Be like St. Nicholas: instead of supporting policing, give your money to wh*res 💰💰💰
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
Tucker Carlson spent yesterday racist ranting that sex work is currently biggest threat to civilization.
“Is radical Islam more dangerous than OnlyFans? It’s not even close. Turning some huge percentage of American women into prostitutes. That’s not radical Islam doing that, actually.”
“Is radical Islam more dangerous than OnlyFans? It’s not even close. Turning some huge percentage of American women into prostitutes. That’s not radical Islam doing that, actually.”
Tucker Carlson Slammed Over Wild 'Radical Islam' Comments
Tucker Carlson is facing backlash from conservative critics after he said he feels "sorry" for people who view "radical Islam" as a bigger threat than OnlyFans.
www.mediaite.com
December 27, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Tucker Carlson spent yesterday racist ranting that sex work is currently biggest threat to civilization.
“Is radical Islam more dangerous than OnlyFans? It’s not even close. Turning some huge percentage of American women into prostitutes. That’s not radical Islam doing that, actually.”
“Is radical Islam more dangerous than OnlyFans? It’s not even close. Turning some huge percentage of American women into prostitutes. That’s not radical Islam doing that, actually.”
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
bluesky is where elder millennials enjoying internet retirement meet younger millennials with untreated depression
December 28, 2025 at 1:54 AM
bluesky is where elder millennials enjoying internet retirement meet younger millennials with untreated depression
Forget your gay apparel; let's pass the mead!
How ‘Deck the Halls’ lost its booze
Forget your gay apparel; let's pass the mead!
reason.com
December 24, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Forget your gay apparel; let's pass the mead!
Age verification is quickly going to take over the whole internet reason.com/2025/12/22/s...
Shein can't sell sex toys unless it checks IDs, French court says
Laws requiring porn platforms to age-check visitors are becoming "a Swiss army knife for the government."
reason.com
December 22, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Age verification is quickly going to take over the whole internet reason.com/2025/12/22/s...
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
"It was a perfectly pointless speech, and that's the best we could have hoped for," writes @enbrown.bsky.social.
reason.pub/454HHB2
reason.pub/454HHB2
'Now we're the hottest country anywhere in the world': Trump's blessedly pointless national address
Trump announced neither stimulus checks nor war in Venezuela.
reason.com
December 18, 2025 at 2:49 AM
"It was a perfectly pointless speech, and that's the best we could have hoped for," writes @enbrown.bsky.social.
reason.pub/454HHB2
reason.pub/454HHB2
the only thing we had to fear was an insanely inflated annual performance review reason.com/2025/12/17/n...
'Now we're the hottest country anywhere in the world': Trump's blessedly pointless national address
Trump announced neither stimulus checks nor war in Venezuela.
reason.com
December 18, 2025 at 2:43 AM
the only thing we had to fear was an insanely inflated annual performance review reason.com/2025/12/17/n...
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
I am both a network & software engineer, and speaking as someone who did this for Facebook:
Beyond IP-address & AS-number reputation databases, automated identification of VPN & proxy users is a subjective black art that frequently risks disconnecting millions of users via false positives.
Beyond IP-address & AS-number reputation databases, automated identification of VPN & proxy users is a subjective black art that frequently risks disconnecting millions of users via false positives.
a man wearing headphones is smiling in front of a microphone with the words this is like so hard above him .
ALT: a man wearing headphones is smiling in front of a microphone with the words this is like so hard above him .
media.tenor.com
December 17, 2025 at 9:43 PM
I am both a network & software engineer, and speaking as someone who did this for Facebook:
Beyond IP-address & AS-number reputation databases, automated identification of VPN & proxy users is a subjective black art that frequently risks disconnecting millions of users via false positives.
Beyond IP-address & AS-number reputation databases, automated identification of VPN & proxy users is a subjective black art that frequently risks disconnecting millions of users via false positives.
Reason is hiring an editorial manager, a freelance copy editor, a reporting fellow, and a producing fellow! More info here: reason.org/jobs/
Employment Opportunities - Reason Foundation
For most roles, applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the positions are filled. Internships and Fellowships have seasonal deadlines. All job and internship applications should be subm...
reason.org
December 17, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Reason is hiring an editorial manager, a freelance copy editor, a reporting fellow, and a producing fellow! More info here: reason.org/jobs/
Indiana... U.K... social media ... porn... doesn't matter the particulars, we keep seeing this come back to banning VPNs
OF COURSE it was going to come to this... Indiana now saying it's not enough for adult websites to block people in response to state age-verification law—since VPNs exist, they're still in violation.
That leaves 3 options for porn platforms: check IDs, don't exist, or block all VPNs...
That leaves 3 options for porn platforms: check IDs, don't exist, or block all VPNs...
Porn sites must block VPNs to comply with Indiana's age-verification law, state suggests in new lawsuit
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita says porn sites must block VPNs to satisfy the state’s age-verification requirements.
reason.com
December 17, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Indiana... U.K... social media ... porn... doesn't matter the particulars, we keep seeing this come back to banning VPNs
OF COURSE it was going to come to this... Indiana now saying it's not enough for adult websites to block people in response to state age-verification law—since VPNs exist, they're still in violation.
That leaves 3 options for porn platforms: check IDs, don't exist, or block all VPNs...
That leaves 3 options for porn platforms: check IDs, don't exist, or block all VPNs...
Porn sites must block VPNs to comply with Indiana's age-verification law, state suggests in new lawsuit
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita says porn sites must block VPNs to satisfy the state’s age-verification requirements.
reason.com
December 17, 2025 at 8:12 PM
OF COURSE it was going to come to this... Indiana now saying it's not enough for adult websites to block people in response to state age-verification law—since VPNs exist, they're still in violation.
That leaves 3 options for porn platforms: check IDs, don't exist, or block all VPNs...
That leaves 3 options for porn platforms: check IDs, don't exist, or block all VPNs...
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
Indiana just sued Pornhub under the state’s AV law, claiming it fails to block Indianans from using VPNs to access the site.
Indiana wrote a bad law that they were warned was grossly ineffective, and rather than admit it or fix it, they’re blaming porn sites.
Indiana wrote a bad law that they were warned was grossly ineffective, and rather than admit it or fix it, they’re blaming porn sites.
Indiana Sues Aylo for Violating AV Law by Not Blocking VPN Use AVN
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, a Republican, announced today that his office sued Aylo, its affiliated companies, and the ownership group Ethical Capital Partners for allegedly violating the st...
avn.com
December 15, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Indiana just sued Pornhub under the state’s AV law, claiming it fails to block Indianans from using VPNs to access the site.
Indiana wrote a bad law that they were warned was grossly ineffective, and rather than admit it or fix it, they’re blaming porn sites.
Indiana wrote a bad law that they were warned was grossly ineffective, and rather than admit it or fix it, they’re blaming porn sites.
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
Not surprised that the Center for Christian Virtue, now one of Ohio's most powerful lobbies and proponents of the state's AV laws, abortion bans and anti-trans bills, got its start by famously shutting down a Mapplethorpe exhibition in '90.
Censorship is about erasure and repression.
Censorship is about erasure and repression.
'They’re relentless.' How a Christian group turns beliefs into bills
A little-known Christian policy group's growing impact is blurring the lines between church and state.
www.dispatch.com
December 16, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Not surprised that the Center for Christian Virtue, now one of Ohio's most powerful lobbies and proponents of the state's AV laws, abortion bans and anti-trans bills, got its start by famously shutting down a Mapplethorpe exhibition in '90.
Censorship is about erasure and repression.
Censorship is about erasure and repression.
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
I see this argument made all the time and it's embarrassing for CCDH to keep making it, because it's a lie. Section 230, what they're talking about, does not give anyone a "get out of jail free" card. It simply puts the liability on the party who actually engaged in the violative behavior.
"Without checks and balances, [social media companies] have become a little bit tyrannical, very arrogant, and completely dismissive of their impact on our society."
Our CEO @imranahmed.bsky.social in @kpbssandiego.bsky.social ⤵️
https://bit.ly/48Xjtdl
Our CEO @imranahmed.bsky.social in @kpbssandiego.bsky.social ⤵️
https://bit.ly/48Xjtdl
December 16, 2025 at 10:03 PM
I see this argument made all the time and it's embarrassing for CCDH to keep making it, because it's a lie. Section 230, what they're talking about, does not give anyone a "get out of jail free" card. It simply puts the liability on the party who actually engaged in the violative behavior.
There's an appealingly simple logic to anti-tech arguments: phone & social media use went up, so did bad things. Ergo, the phones & Instagram did it
Correlation is 9/10 of moral-panic law
But a growing body of research challenges easy narratives about young people & tech
Correlation is 9/10 of moral-panic law
But a growing body of research challenges easy narratives about young people & tech
Young people's mental health is improving. Tech alarmists take note.
Depression and anxiety are declining, adding yet more complications to the anti-smartphone and anti–social media narratives.
reason.com
December 16, 2025 at 1:50 PM
There's an appealingly simple logic to anti-tech arguments: phone & social media use went up, so did bad things. Ergo, the phones & Instagram did it
Correlation is 9/10 of moral-panic law
But a growing body of research challenges easy narratives about young people & tech
Correlation is 9/10 of moral-panic law
But a growing body of research challenges easy narratives about young people & tech
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
But SoCiAl MeDiA! ViDeO gAmEs!! ThAt MuSiC!!! & yet, 'Young people's mental health seems to be getting better... survey also registered significant drops in moderate depressive symptoms, moderate and severe anxiety symptoms, and loneliness' New, from @enbrown.bsky.social reason.com/2025/12/15/y...
Young people's mental health is improving. Tech alarmists take note.
Depression and anxiety are declining, adding yet more complications to the anti-smartphone and anti–social media narratives.
reason.com
December 16, 2025 at 12:30 PM
But SoCiAl MeDiA! ViDeO gAmEs!! ThAt MuSiC!!! & yet, 'Young people's mental health seems to be getting better... survey also registered significant drops in moderate depressive symptoms, moderate and severe anxiety symptoms, and loneliness' New, from @enbrown.bsky.social reason.com/2025/12/15/y...