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
Pinned
Does big tech do more good than harm?
@reason.com is hosting a debate, Dec. 10, in DC!
It’s me & Robby Soave vs Emily Jashinsky & @ryangrim.bsky.social
Come watch! But only if you’re going to vote for my side! (JK, JK)
Tickets here: www.unionstagepresents.com/shows/reason...
@reason.com is hosting a debate, Dec. 10, in DC!
It’s me & Robby Soave vs Emily Jashinsky & @ryangrim.bsky.social
Come watch! But only if you’re going to vote for my side! (JK, JK)
Tickets here: www.unionstagepresents.com/shows/reason...
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
'It's hard to look at legislation like this and imagine that it's actually about anything but punishing women who have abortions.' - @enbrown.bsky.social in @reason.org. And punishment is the point, ofc. But, maybe better than North Dakota... & what a closing image... reason.com/2025/11/24/c...
'Catch kits' for fetal remains are Republicans' latest dystopian plan to punish abortions
GOP lawmakers in Wisconsin and elsewhere are pushing the idea that abortions are a water quality issue.
reason.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:32 PM
'It's hard to look at legislation like this and imagine that it's actually about anything but punishing women who have abortions.' - @enbrown.bsky.social in @reason.org. And punishment is the point, ofc. But, maybe better than North Dakota... & what a closing image... reason.com/2025/11/24/c...
"the researchers had a woman who visibly appeared pregnant enter a busy train, and observed how often people offered to give up their seats. They then repeated this scenario with...a man dressed as Batman entered from another" door futurism.com/health-medic...
Scientists Discover That People Act Way Better When Batman Is Present
It turns out that the mere presence of a guy dressed as Batman is enough to turn dead inside commuters into momentary altruists.
futurism.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:51 PM
"the researchers had a woman who visibly appeared pregnant enter a busy train, and observed how often people offered to give up their seats. They then repeated this scenario with...a man dressed as Batman entered from another" door futurism.com/health-medic...
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
Excuse me what? The RIAA is now funding NCOSE to file bullshit amicus briefs before the Supreme Court?!?
That is way more fucked up than even usual RIAA nonsense.
Let me explain...
That is way more fucked up than even usual RIAA nonsense.
Let me explain...
October 22, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Excuse me what? The RIAA is now funding NCOSE to file bullshit amicus briefs before the Supreme Court?!?
That is way more fucked up than even usual RIAA nonsense.
Let me explain...
That is way more fucked up than even usual RIAA nonsense.
Let me explain...
Does big tech do more good than harm?
@robbysoave.bsky.social and I will argue yes, it does, in the next Reason Versus debate series...
reason.org/event/reason...
@robbysoave.bsky.social and I will argue yes, it does, in the next Reason Versus debate series...
reason.org/event/reason...
November 21, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Does big tech do more good than harm?
@robbysoave.bsky.social and I will argue yes, it does, in the next Reason Versus debate series...
reason.org/event/reason...
@robbysoave.bsky.social and I will argue yes, it does, in the next Reason Versus debate series...
reason.org/event/reason...
An abundance agenda for slop?
Turns out, people like having too many options for entertainment, news, & communication online!
"We found that appreciation for abundance was about twice as common as overload," write researchers reason.com/2025/11/19/p...
Turns out, people like having too many options for entertainment, news, & communication online!
"We found that appreciation for abundance was about twice as common as overload," write researchers reason.com/2025/11/19/p...
People like having too much content, says Swiss study on information abundance
A new Swiss study shows people often appreciate abundant information more than they feel overwhelmed by it.
reason.com
November 19, 2025 at 6:52 PM
An abundance agenda for slop?
Turns out, people like having too many options for entertainment, news, & communication online!
"We found that appreciation for abundance was about twice as common as overload," write researchers reason.com/2025/11/19/p...
Turns out, people like having too many options for entertainment, news, & communication online!
"We found that appreciation for abundance was about twice as common as overload," write researchers reason.com/2025/11/19/p...
Does big tech do more good than harm?
@reason.com is hosting a debate, Dec. 10, in DC!
It’s me & Robby Soave vs Emily Jashinsky & @ryangrim.bsky.social
Come watch! But only if you’re going to vote for my side! (JK, JK)
Tickets here: www.unionstagepresents.com/shows/reason...
@reason.com is hosting a debate, Dec. 10, in DC!
It’s me & Robby Soave vs Emily Jashinsky & @ryangrim.bsky.social
Come watch! But only if you’re going to vote for my side! (JK, JK)
Tickets here: www.unionstagepresents.com/shows/reason...
November 19, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Does big tech do more good than harm?
@reason.com is hosting a debate, Dec. 10, in DC!
It’s me & Robby Soave vs Emily Jashinsky & @ryangrim.bsky.social
Come watch! But only if you’re going to vote for my side! (JK, JK)
Tickets here: www.unionstagepresents.com/shows/reason...
@reason.com is hosting a debate, Dec. 10, in DC!
It’s me & Robby Soave vs Emily Jashinsky & @ryangrim.bsky.social
Come watch! But only if you’re going to vote for my side! (JK, JK)
Tickets here: www.unionstagepresents.com/shows/reason...
"Virginia's government cannot force you to read a book in one-hour chunks, and it cannot force you to watch a movie or documentary in state-preferred increments. That does not change when the speech in question happens online" netchoice.org/netchoice-v-...
NetChoice v. Miyares (Virginia) - NetChoice
On November 17, 2025, NetChoice filed a lawsuit against Virginia in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to stop SB 854. This new law, set to […]
netchoice.org
November 19, 2025 at 2:07 PM
"Virginia's government cannot force you to read a book in one-hour chunks, and it cannot force you to watch a movie or documentary in state-preferred increments. That does not change when the speech in question happens online" netchoice.org/netchoice-v-...
"It’s striking that in 2025, we’re still seeing sweeping Section 230 reform proposals — as if the last 10 years of jurisprudence and litigation never happened."
www.theargumentmag.com/p/mad-libs-p...
www.theargumentmag.com/p/mad-libs-p...
Mad Libs: Purser v. Wertheimer
No subtweeting allowed...
www.theargumentmag.com
November 19, 2025 at 1:48 PM
"It’s striking that in 2025, we’re still seeing sweeping Section 230 reform proposals — as if the last 10 years of jurisprudence and litigation never happened."
www.theargumentmag.com/p/mad-libs-p...
www.theargumentmag.com/p/mad-libs-p...
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
Are lawyers heeding warnings about hallucinated citations? There were at least 3 hallucinated citation cases JUST YESTERDAY 🤖😵
Cojom v. Roblen digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/cgi/viewcont...
Schlichter v. Kennedy cases.justia.com/california/c...
Neal v. Frayer digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/cgi/viewcont...
Cojom v. Roblen digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/cgi/viewcont...
Schlichter v. Kennedy cases.justia.com/california/c...
Neal v. Frayer digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/cgi/viewcont...
cases.justia.com
November 18, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Are lawyers heeding warnings about hallucinated citations? There were at least 3 hallucinated citation cases JUST YESTERDAY 🤖😵
Cojom v. Roblen digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/cgi/viewcont...
Schlichter v. Kennedy cases.justia.com/california/c...
Neal v. Frayer digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/cgi/viewcont...
Cojom v. Roblen digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/cgi/viewcont...
Schlichter v. Kennedy cases.justia.com/california/c...
Neal v. Frayer digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/cgi/viewcont...
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
"Companies will always prioritize their needs and safety over yours, and that uploading sensitive information to the internet will always come with risks and vulnerabilities, no matter how safe these companies claim your data is in their hands."
Give Us Your Face or Lose Your Account: AI Age Verification Is Here, and Experts Are Worried
From Spotify to YouTube, platforms now demand biometric proof of age. Experts warn that you could lose access—and your privacy—if the algorithms get it wrong.
www.pcmag.com
November 18, 2025 at 9:10 PM
"Companies will always prioritize their needs and safety over yours, and that uploading sensitive information to the internet will always come with risks and vulnerabilities, no matter how safe these companies claim your data is in their hands."
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
We have to outlaw wildfire and invasive plant metaphors until someone can figure out what the hell is going on
November 18, 2025 at 1:52 AM
We have to outlaw wildfire and invasive plant metaphors until someone can figure out what the hell is going on
It's been funny to watch everyone, left & right, write their own preferred cultural narrative or pet peeve onto that survey about HS girls & marriage ... reason.com/2025/11/17/a...
Ambivalence about marriage grows—among girls
Disentangling the good from the bad of declining marriage rates is a much more complicated project than culture-war narratives will allow for.
reason.com
November 17, 2025 at 7:15 PM
It's been funny to watch everyone, left & right, write their own preferred cultural narrative or pet peeve onto that survey about HS girls & marriage ... reason.com/2025/11/17/a...
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
pretty funny in retrospect that QAnon hinged on the idea that powerful elites at the highest levels of government were smart enough to talk in code when sending emails to each other about their despicable crimes
November 12, 2025 at 10:08 PM
pretty funny in retrospect that QAnon hinged on the idea that powerful elites at the highest levels of government were smart enough to talk in code when sending emails to each other about their despicable crimes
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
hint for comedians and politico reprters - a sex worker might be a cam girl
I’m a hooker, and a prostitute, but not everyone has literal sex for money
so despite your efforts to pretend we’re word policing, these are literally different words not just fun slurs
Also prostitute is a letter longer
I’m a hooker, and a prostitute, but not everyone has literal sex for money
so despite your efforts to pretend we’re word policing, these are literally different words not just fun slurs
Also prostitute is a letter longer
maybe I’m just a simple folk who sucks dicks for a living and not a big time politico insider but i’m not sure this is it folks
November 12, 2025 at 2:11 AM
hint for comedians and politico reprters - a sex worker might be a cam girl
I’m a hooker, and a prostitute, but not everyone has literal sex for money
so despite your efforts to pretend we’re word policing, these are literally different words not just fun slurs
Also prostitute is a letter longer
I’m a hooker, and a prostitute, but not everyone has literal sex for money
so despite your efforts to pretend we’re word policing, these are literally different words not just fun slurs
Also prostitute is a letter longer
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
maybe I’m just a simple folk who sucks dicks for a living and not a big time politico insider but i’m not sure this is it folks
November 12, 2025 at 2:06 AM
maybe I’m just a simple folk who sucks dicks for a living and not a big time politico insider but i’m not sure this is it folks
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
I represent dozens (yes, dozens) of people raped by guards in the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
It sure would be nice if DOJ gave a tenth as much of a shit when it comes to compensating them.
It sure would be nice if DOJ gave a tenth as much of a shit when it comes to compensating them.
NEW: DOJ has been in settlement talks with Michael Flynn -- Trump's first national security adviser seeking $50M for his prosecution by ex-special counsel Robert Mueller -- and Stefan Passantino, a Trump I White House lawyer who accused the House Jan. 6 committee of privacy violations
bit.ly/4hWdolc
bit.ly/4hWdolc
November 14, 2025 at 3:46 PM
I represent dozens (yes, dozens) of people raped by guards in the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
It sure would be nice if DOJ gave a tenth as much of a shit when it comes to compensating them.
It sure would be nice if DOJ gave a tenth as much of a shit when it comes to compensating them.
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
The UK is looking at possibly criminalizing a staggering number of things related to adult speech and conduct. This would be devastating for sex workers, and anyone who even tangentially supports us.
One bit would make it pimping to allow sex work ads (up to 10 years in prison) or facilitate prostitution in any way, even for no personal gain
Another would define adult performers pretending to be under 18 as child porn
There's more, too. Check it out here reason.com/2025/11/12/m...
Another would define adult performers pretending to be under 18 as child porn
There's more, too. Check it out here reason.com/2025/11/12/m...
Moral panic about rough sex gives way to censorship in the UK
British regulators and lawmakers are hot on a measure that would make possessing or publishing strangulation porn a crime.
reason.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:03 PM
The UK is looking at possibly criminalizing a staggering number of things related to adult speech and conduct. This would be devastating for sex workers, and anyone who even tangentially supports us.
Once again, the U.K. reminds me to be ever so grateful for the First Amendment
reason.com/2025/11/12/m...
Let's do a brief thread about some of the crazy sex- and speech-related proposals in the country's new crime bill
reason.com/2025/11/12/m...
Let's do a brief thread about some of the crazy sex- and speech-related proposals in the country's new crime bill
November 13, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Once again, the U.K. reminds me to be ever so grateful for the First Amendment
reason.com/2025/11/12/m...
Let's do a brief thread about some of the crazy sex- and speech-related proposals in the country's new crime bill
reason.com/2025/11/12/m...
Let's do a brief thread about some of the crazy sex- and speech-related proposals in the country's new crime bill
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
It’s never ever ever about really making people safe.
To be clear, you should NOT choke people, that’s a VERY dangerous thing to do.
But this is not going to protect a single person. Only harm.
To be clear, you should NOT choke people, that’s a VERY dangerous thing to do.
But this is not going to protect a single person. Only harm.
Hidden in the controversial about UK "choking ban" proposal are a host of even more egregious proposals that could:
* make camming illegal
* redefine escort ads as pimping
* render model contracts unenforceable
* criminalize discussions of teen sexuality
And a whole lot more ...
* make camming illegal
* redefine escort ads as pimping
* render model contracts unenforceable
* criminalize discussions of teen sexuality
And a whole lot more ...
Moral panic about rough sex gives way to censorship in the UK
British regulators and lawmakers are hot on a measure that would make possessing or publishing strangulation porn a crime.
reason.com
November 12, 2025 at 11:52 PM
It’s never ever ever about really making people safe.
To be clear, you should NOT choke people, that’s a VERY dangerous thing to do.
But this is not going to protect a single person. Only harm.
To be clear, you should NOT choke people, that’s a VERY dangerous thing to do.
But this is not going to protect a single person. Only harm.
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
Appreciate the s/o from @enbrown.bsky.social here re: U.K. strangulation ban in porn
reason.com/2025/11/12/m...
reason.com/2025/11/12/m...
November 12, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Appreciate the s/o from @enbrown.bsky.social here re: U.K. strangulation ban in porn
reason.com/2025/11/12/m...
reason.com/2025/11/12/m...
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
Ten years in prison for tipping a cam model to masturbate.
The Crime and Policing Bill is working overtime to re-criminalize sex work ... which I guess will give them crime and more funds for policing.
The Crime and Policing Bill is working overtime to re-criminalize sex work ... which I guess will give them crime and more funds for policing.
November 12, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Ten years in prison for tipping a cam model to masturbate.
The Crime and Policing Bill is working overtime to re-criminalize sex work ... which I guess will give them crime and more funds for policing.
The Crime and Policing Bill is working overtime to re-criminalize sex work ... which I guess will give them crime and more funds for policing.
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
Hidden in the controversial about UK "choking ban" proposal are a host of even more egregious proposals that could:
* make camming illegal
* redefine escort ads as pimping
* render model contracts unenforceable
* criminalize discussions of teen sexuality
And a whole lot more ...
* make camming illegal
* redefine escort ads as pimping
* render model contracts unenforceable
* criminalize discussions of teen sexuality
And a whole lot more ...
Moral panic about rough sex gives way to censorship in the UK
British regulators and lawmakers are hot on a measure that would make possessing or publishing strangulation porn a crime.
reason.com
November 12, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Hidden in the controversial about UK "choking ban" proposal are a host of even more egregious proposals that could:
* make camming illegal
* redefine escort ads as pimping
* render model contracts unenforceable
* criminalize discussions of teen sexuality
And a whole lot more ...
* make camming illegal
* redefine escort ads as pimping
* render model contracts unenforceable
* criminalize discussions of teen sexuality
And a whole lot more ...
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
Politically it's easier to pass the less onerous restrictions, the ones that just seem like common sense — "like flashing your ID at a liquor store!" The government builds a moral panic, then promises its easily solvable.
That panic, once taken hold, now provides cover for bolder restrictions.
That panic, once taken hold, now provides cover for bolder restrictions.
November 12, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Politically it's easier to pass the less onerous restrictions, the ones that just seem like common sense — "like flashing your ID at a liquor store!" The government builds a moral panic, then promises its easily solvable.
That panic, once taken hold, now provides cover for bolder restrictions.
That panic, once taken hold, now provides cover for bolder restrictions.
Reposted by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
Tighter government control of the internet is, of course, the natural outgrowth of initial failed attempts to control the internet.
In fact, in some cases, that initial failure is entirely expected and built into the plan. In the US, AV advocates said early on they knew initial bans wouldn't work.
In fact, in some cases, that initial failure is entirely expected and built into the plan. In the US, AV advocates said early on they knew initial bans wouldn't work.
November 11, 2025 at 11:55 PM
Tighter government control of the internet is, of course, the natural outgrowth of initial failed attempts to control the internet.
In fact, in some cases, that initial failure is entirely expected and built into the plan. In the US, AV advocates said early on they knew initial bans wouldn't work.
In fact, in some cases, that initial failure is entirely expected and built into the plan. In the US, AV advocates said early on they knew initial bans wouldn't work.