#and a ban would censor US citizens.

[newsreleted]

TikTok set to be banned in the US after losing appeal

See More.....

[sunny-day-jack-official]

URGENT! Stop KOSA!

Hey all, this is BáiYù and Sauce here with something that isn't necessarily SnaccPop related, but it's important nonetheless. For those of you who follow US politics, The Kids Online Safety Act passed the Senate yesterday and is moving forward.

This is bad news for everyone on the internet, even outside of the USA.

What is KOSA?

While it's officially known as "The Kids Online Safety Act," KOSA is an internet censorship masquerading as another "protect the children" bill, much in the same way SESTA/FOSTA claimed that it would stop illegal sex trafficking but instead hurt sex workers and their safety. KOSA was originally introduced by Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass. and Bill Cassidy, R-La. as a way to update the 1998 Children’s Online Privacy Act, raising the age of consent for data collection to 16 among other things. You can read the original press release of KOSA here, while you can read the full updated text of the bill on the official USA Congress website.

You can read the following articles about KOSA here:

EFF: The Kids Online Safety Act is Still A Huge Danger to Our Rights Online

CyberScoop: Children’s online safety bills clear Senate hurdle despite strong civil liberties pushback

TeenVogue: The Kids Online Safety Act Would Harm LGBTQ+ Youth, Restrict Access to Information and Community

The quick TL;DR:

KOSA authorizes an individual state attorneys general to decide what might harm minors

Websites will likely preemptively remove and ban content to avoid upsetting state attorneys generals (this will likely be topics such as abortion, queerness, feminism, sexual content, and others)

In order for a platform to know which users are minors, they'll require a more invasive age and personal data verification method

Parents will be granted more surveillance tools to see what their children are doing on the web

KOSA is supported by Christofascists and those seeking to harm the LGBTQ+ community

If a website holding personally identifying information and government documents is hacked, that's a major cybersecurity breach waiting to happen

What Does This Mean?

You don't have to look far to see or hear about the violence being done to the neurodivergent and LGBTQ+ communities worldwide, who are oftentimes one and the same. Social media sites censoring discussion of these topics would stand to do even further harm to folks who lack access to local resources to understand themselves and the hardships they face; in addition, the fact that websites would likely store personally identifying information and government documents means the death of any notion of privacy.

Sex workers and those living in certain countries already are at risk of losing their ways of life, living in a reality where their online activities are closely surveilled; if KOSA officially becomes law, this will become a reality for many more people and endanger those at the fringes of society even worse than it already is.

Why This Matters Outside of The USA

I previously mentioned SESTA/FOSTA, which passed and became US law in 2018. This bill enabled many of the anti-adult content attitudes that many popular websites are taking these days as well as the tightening of restrictions laid down by payment processors. Companies and sites hosted in the USA have to follow US laws even if they're accessible worldwide, meaning that folks overseas suffer as well.

What Can You Do?

If you're a US citizen, contact your Senators and tell them that you oppose KOSA. This can be as an email, letter, or phone call that you make to your state Senator.

For resources on how to do so, view the following links:

https://www.badinternetbills.com/#kosa

https://www.stopkosa.com/

https://linktr.ee/stopkosa

If you live outside of the US or cannot vote, the best thing you can do is sign the petition at the Stop KOSA website, alert your US friends about what's happening, and raise some noise.

Above all else, don’t panic. By staying informed by what’s going on, you can prepare for the legal battles ahead.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Jessica Valenti at Abortion, Every Day:

Anti-Abortion Strategy

Well, they’re back at it! Texas Rep. Steve Toth introduced a bill this week that would ban pro-choice websites. Under the “Women and Child Safety Act,” internet service providers would be forced to block any site that contains information about how to obtain abortions or abortion medication. That means the websites of pro-choice organizations and abortion funds would be banned—even Abortion, Every Day would be illegal under the bill.

The bill even includes a list of specific websites that would be banned in the state, including: Aid Access, Hey Jane, Plan C Pills, Just the Pill, and Carafem. If passed, the law would allow citizens to bring civil suits against internet service providers that don’t block these websites. (Which is sort of Texas’ thing—they love to incentivize communities turning on each other over abortion.) But it doesn’t end there: Toth’s legislation would charge anyone who raises money for abortion care with a felony—with a particular eye towards targeting abortion funds. In fact, the legislation prompts the state Attorney General to investigate and charge abortion funds using the RICO Act, which is meant to go after organized crime. (If you’ve read my book, you know all about this; Republicans are eager to go after ‘the helpers.’)

If all of this sounds familiar, it’s because Toth introduced a near-identical bill last year. And he’s not alone. Iowa Republicans also tried to pass legislation to ban pro-choice websites last year; their legislation would have also allowed citizens to sue internet service providers and prosecute abortion funds under the RICO Act. The bills are part of a broader attack on free speech about abortion. Idaho and Tennessee, for example, both passed laws recently that make it illegal to help teens access abortion. Under these policies, even texting a teen the url to an out-of-state clinic would be considered criminal ‘abortion trafficking.’ (Both laws are currently blocked on First Amendment grounds.) The Republicans trying to pass this kind of legislation all say the same thing: that helping someone get an abortion isn’t protected speech. 

Red state censorship in action: Texas HB991 would censor pro-choice websites within the Lone Star State.

[xclowniex]

Will you get red note?

No. Tik tok isn't banned in NZ so I don't really see a point. Like rednote has to follow ccp rules around what content is allowed and the guidelines just aren't something I personally could get behind so I don't want the app.

I will say that a lot of the discourse surronding tik tok being banned is just.... ignorant. Both in like what actual censorship is and the ccp laws surronding data collection. This post is long but it covers tik tok censorship, ccp laws surronding data collection and the sinophobia behind the US governments decision to ban tik tok.

Like I truly don't care what social media another person uses, but I do find it hilarious that the same people who complained about tik tok censorship, are now getting censored by the ccp. Like I've seen a few posts from people complaining they can't post lgbt content as it gets removed. And this is because the ccp is not pro lgbt and your content must adhere to ccp values when you post on rednote.

And I find it funny because tik tok censorship isn't really like that heavy? They don't allow discussions of violence and sex if it's not educational, and dont allow hate and that's about it. People often would complain about how "when I talk about x my videos get less views" yet I've seen plenty of other creators who post similar videos in x topic get the same amount of view. Like it's nor censorship, your current audience just doesn't like when you make x content.

And this is particularly also applicable to people saying tik tok censorship discussions of Palestine as they don't. It's beneficial for them to push that content as rage bait is a huge part of their algorithm. By giving you content which makes you angry or upset, you're more likely to comment which means you spend more time on the app and more of that same content gets pushed to you.

Also literally every instance of leftist antisemitism involving Palestine I've reported on tik tok has been found not to break guidelines.

And the ccp can get your data from tik tok. Whilst US data is stored in US data centres, because the parent company byte dance is a Chinese company, the ccp can request that data and get it. Like their request will not be denied.

I also see a lot of people being like "well what is the ccp going to do with my data" and they're not going to do much with just your data, but it's when they have data from large groups of people is where concern comes in.

In information security, it's not uncommon knowledge that the CCP wants to do propaganda through social media. If they have data from a lot of people, it's essentially as if they've surveyed enough people to get the general views of entire populations. That's the bit which is dangerous.

And the reason for the tik tok ban isn't because of pro Palestine activism. It's because of genuine data concerns but mainly sinophobia.

Like the fact that US social media companies also collect a shit tone of data about you (and also sell it) yet don't get banned but tik tok does, is sinophobia.

The concern from the US government isn't that the data is collected in the first place, it's that China is the ones collecting it.

Because if it was privacy concerns, privacy laws would be much more useful, and would also likely lead to tik tok still being banned because of ccp laws where China can access data collected by Chinese companies at any time.

And I do want to stress that this doesn't mean that tik tok is this evil company as it isn't. It's not their choice that the ccp has access to the data they collect. The ccp didn't create tik tok full stop but also certainly didn't create it to collect data. And I also want to stress that my criticisms lie with the ccp and not Chinese citizens or the Chinese diaspora.

And last thing on the topic I have to say, the ccp will get your data one way or another if they truly wanted it.

Like they don't need tik tok to get your data. Xi jingping isn't sitting there going "well fuck, my plans are all ruined because tik tok was banned". The ccp has hacked the NZ parliment multiple times over the years. Like I think tik tok collecting data is the least of our concerns about data being collected.

Especially since it's not just China wanting your data. The data of people in a country and outside of it is beneficial to any government as it does help them plan stuff both in terms of positive and negative things domestically and for defense and military purposes. Is it good for them to collect it? Fuck no. Should they? Also fuck no. And any country which really wants your data, will get it anyway with or without a social media app. Which is why I still choose to use tik tok.

The only way for you to have no foreign government collect data is if you're born in the middle of rural buttfuck nowhere, never get registered so the government doesn't know you exist and live completely off the grid.

Because of this, I do think we should be focusing on getting more privacy laws and also upping cyber security in every country. We need to invest far moeeninto cyber security

[nyabbycat]

yeah chinese people are nice and living cost there is much wayy lower than usa's. chinese government not nice. theysorry i am high but its kinda like bread y circuses you know anyway nice to meet you hi

oh I know. that's the most annoying part of notifications on that post. I never said their government was GOOD. I never said there's no suffering in china. even on that app the chinese citizens will tell you many of them had or wanted to escape to america for a better life. they'll tell you what their government has done to them

I'm saying now that they know what average life is like here they are grateful to NOT be here. whatever circumstances they wanted to run away from they realized their chances for being able to survive are better in china. I'm saying THAT'S how bad it is here

and all the annoying comments about government censorship too. as if our government isn't doing the same thing. as if our news sources weren't trying desperately to make us all hate the ceo shooter. the reason this whole situation even happened is because they banned tiktok BECAUSE it had content that "could sway the american people to dislike their government." they admitted this. and now that tiktok is back and the american government has their hands on it, it's just another social media where any comments supporting luigi are deleted, any comments talking bad about facebook or meta are deleted, any comments talking bad about trump are deleted, positive/neutral content about trump is pushed. and livestreams are gone, probably because they're harder to control and censor

the comments on that post needing to remind me every 5 seconds that "wait guys china still sucks" are annoying because we KNOW. we have not forgotten. it's just that things are SO BAD here at this point we are jealous of another dictatorship. things are so bleak we're like "well if we would be under an evil murderous government that doesn't listen to us and takes away our rights either way, the one where you can comfortably survive working only one job and still have extra money to treat yourself AND be able to still save money plus good public transportation all while you don't have the daily fear of guns is definitely the better situation"

[justforbooks]

That Librarian by Amanda Jones

A small-town US librarian’s lively account of her battle with a group of far-right censors reveals the toll it took on her health

Amanda Jones’s story is awful – and important. A school librarian for 23 years in her home town of Watson, southern Louisiana, she has watched with concern in recent years as a movement of book-banning swept across the US. According to the American Library Association, “book challenges” in public libraries almost doubled from 729 in 2021 to 1,269 in 2022.

In July 2022, when Jones heard about a public meeting that would discuss “book content” in local libraries, she went along. A board member said she was “concerned” about some “inappropriate” material in the local library’s children and young adult sections. In response, Jones gave a measured speech, explaining her belief that “while book challenges are often done with the best intentions, and in the name of age appropriateness, they often target marginalised communities” and “books on sexual health and reproduction”. She went on to detail the “First Amendment right to borrow, read, view, and listen to library resources”.

“I said nothing earth-shattering,” Jones writes in her memoir. But within days her life had been upended because of two posts on social media. The first was by the Facebook page of Citizens for a New Louisiana, a far-right group whom Jones knew had worked to defund a library in nearby Lafayette and whose executive director was a man named Michael Lunsford. It accused Jones of “fighting so hard to keep sexually erotic and pornographic materials in the kids’ section”. The second Facebook post was made by local man Ryan Thames, who wrote that Jones advocated “teaching anal sex to 11-year-olds”.

The posts were shared widely by local people, including many Jones knew. “One parent in particular whose child I had helped with getting services for a learning disability was especially vicious,” she writes, devastatingly. Later, she received a death threat. Over the course of the next year, Jones, who is in her mid-40s, lost a lot of weight, experienced hair loss and took medical leave from work. In the spring of 2023 she sued Lunsford and Thames for defamation.

That Librarian is Jones’s account of the 2022 public meeting that started her ordeal, the ultimately unsuccessful court case and all that followed. She has a lively, convivial style: “I worried that my friends and family would be targeted next. Spoiler alert: they were.” Sometimes this breeziness veers into pettiness, as when she describes an opponent who has “the spelling and grammar of a child of 10”, or refers to Valarie Hodges, a member of the Louisiana state senate who posted online against Jones, as “my gal pal Val”.

The more wistful sections are warming. Jones describes how she was in high school when Watson had its first traffic light installed – that’s how small a town it is. She credits her teenage reading of Judy Blume, one of the most banned authors ever, with “making me more empathetic”. Jones believes uncompromisingly in the power of books to open minds. And through working as a school librarian, has seen the impact of exclusion politics: “I have lost more former students to suicide than I care to think about, many of whom, I suspect, died as a direct result of being made to feel excluded in our society.” Together, these experiences have informed her anti-censorship mentality.

But she knows party politics comes into it too. Her local area has become “extremely alt-right and conspiratorial” in recent years, and she has noticed that “all book banners seem to be Republican”. She is refreshingly honest about her relative complicity. “It wasn’t until I was into my 40s that I realised some aspects of our country weren’t that great,” she writes, before admitting that she voted for Donald Trump in 2016. She regrets it now, but these admittances are important. Listening to voices from across the political divide, and understanding the ways in which we are both similar and different to those who vote similarly and differently to us is crucial in understanding why the world is the way it is – even more so after Trump’s re-election.

Several times, Jones refers to how she has tracked her defamers to see they have also donated to election campaigns of particular pro-ban politicians. But she never fully examines the intricacies of this likely organised overlap, or takes a step back to consider how this current wave of book banning compares with historical cases. As such, “my fight against book banning in America” would be a more suitable subtitle, not “the fight”. This is a brave, fascinating book, but it’s the personal story of Jones’s ordeal – about which she is evidently still very bitter – rather than an account of the movement as a whole.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[fireheartedpup]

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A post shared by Lisa Remillard (@lisa.remillard)

...so apparently it's been decided that the Tiktok ban will move forward, in spite of the fact that this will affect the ability of many US citizens to earn an income. They acknowledge that it's a place where we can speak freely, and say that the "threat to safety" is too much to ignore.

Bullshit.

Here's a form letter from the ACLU for your government representative. Their stance:

"Banning TikTok would lay the groundwork for excessive government control over the internet and would violate our First Amendment rights. Data collection by apps has real consequences for our privacy, but selectively censoring entire platforms based on their country of origin is not the solution."

You don't have to rewrite the letter if you don't want to. You input your name, email, and address. I'm assuming they'll use that to look up your representative for you, since the letter is addressed to "Dear representative."

Here's the contact form for the Supreme Court. I'm going to be looking into how to contact my state's justices directly.

Please give them hell.

[reality-detective]

https://x.com/David_Baumblatt/status/1717269393757847647?s=20

If you can't see this 👆

Here is his rumble channel 👇

https://rumble.com/v3dz6oy-david-baumblatt-episode-1.html

His website 👇

Information about David 👇

To the American People: Hello, my name is David Baumblatt, born and raised in New York, I am a West Point Graduate and Former FBI Agent who has been under an unconstitutional investigation by the corrupt FBI for over a decade. I am considered a National Security Threat who is no longer welcome to return to the USA, the last time I visited the USA in 2019, I was detained, searched, interrogated, spied on, deceived, and physically assaulted by the US Government. I have brought formal allegations against the FBI, Inspector Generals of the DOJ and DHS, and have written every single congressman and senator, however they have all ignored me. To access the formal allegation document and the email communications, please go to my website and at the bottom of the page, click on the "Request Government Complaint" button and you will have access to the documents. http://terebinth.info/david In 2005, I knew that America was headed for Civil War and Collapse, because we have abandoned our values of FAITH, FAMILY, FREEDOM. In 2007 I left the immoral, corrupt, and incompetent FBI. I wanted nothing more to do with this corrupt government agency, however the FBI has continued to spy on me and destroy my life and career. In 2010, I decided to leave America, as I had no desire to continue to argue my point about my America's coming collapse, as most people disagreed with me. I just wanted to move on with my life and did not wish to argue anymore. The FBI then began spying on me overseas and colluding with foreign intelligence agencies to yet again destroy my life. At this time, I knew I had to take a stand, and therefore, here I am, publicly telling my story about the corrupt FBI. I have recently begun producing social media content, however my very first video on YouTube has been censored, and I have also been banned on LinkedIn; so now I am using Rumble. I am trying to get my message to the American Patriotic Media, and I appreciate your support. This is my story 👇

I am a Whistle-Blower trying to expose U.S. Government illegal and immoral conduct.  Mainstream Media has ignored me, therefore, I ask you for your support to please send this message far and wide.  If you are a Media Professional, Podcast Host, etc. I would be happy to be a guest on your show.  Please send me your contact information, or you can email me at leadership@terebinth.info I have also recently published a book about this affair entitled Patriots Betrayed, A Soldier, Scholar, Spy's warning about America's Leadership Crisis. (E Book, Audio Book, Hard/Soft Cover) https://terebinth.info/book Like myself, there are millions of other innocent American Citizens being unconstitutionally spied upon by our corrupt government. I would have never imagined that as a Military Veteran my own government would illegally and immorally continue to destroy my life, and then to completely ignore me, when I take a stand. If you are still not convinced on how corrupt our government is, please watch this video of me working for the Boeing Corporation (the Military Industrial Complex) in China, and you will see what a Traitorous Corporation Boeing is to the American people. Boeing like other American Globalist Corporations will put China over the welfare of American Citizens.

The number one enemy to the American People is the American Globalist Government and the American Globalist Corporations. America is headed toward Civil War and Collapse, I was convinced of this back in 2005, and I am now even more convinced. To the American Patriots, get ready to fight, it is going to get dangerous in America. We have been betrayed by our Unpatriotic Government and Unpatriotic Corporations. I appreciate your help and may God be with us. 🙏⚔️🛡️

[reynita9]

I can’t stop thinking about how Cocomelon is damaging babies because the fast pace scene changes can “interfere with the development of executive functions”, and how thin parents are spread in capitalism that they rely on television to entertain/keep their babies company just so they have some time to complete domestic tasks. I am thinking about disintegrated Community Care/structure. I am thinking about how Instagram, Tiktok, Twitter, Tumblr, all media are engineered to be addictive and alter the executive functioning of kids, tweens, teens, and adults of all ages. How malleable our minds are..bread and circuses. Everything we consume has the power to heal or destroy us. I think about Congress Bill 686, and feel discouraged and powerless. You may have heard of it as “The TikTok Ban” of course, the media intentionally oversimplifies it as a ban on TikTok, but really it is the means for The State to restrict the sharing of information on the internet and to censor us, keep us misinformed and suppressed. The State knows that knowledge is power so they keep us intentionally in the dark and distracted, plucking away human rights one by one while we are watching the stage. The Restrict Act would require the Department of Commerce to “identify, deter, disrupt, prevent, prohibit, investigate, and mitigate transactions involving ICT products and services” 🤳🏼👁️ (ICT means Information and Communications Technology, ICT Products and services refers to social media) When COVID first hit, my friend said “this will be like 9/11, there was the world pre 9/11 and post 9/11” I am not one to believe we are “post-covid” because we are still in the grips of the Covidian information wars, which I feel will be one of the main long term take aways from The-Covid-Years. Bill 686 harms all, because any group of 1 million people organizing or sharing information online can be persecuted, banned and shut down under the guise of ��prohibiting certain transactions between persons of the United States and foreign adversaries” Congress Bill 686 establishes both civil and criminal penalties for violations of the bill, meaning anything that they consider an “unacceptable risk to national security.” Please don’t forget we live in a police state which is meant to protect the empire. In The United States privacy is not sacrosanct, and actually American big brother corporations like Meta and Google are investing millions into anti-TikTok propaganda, because it clears their competition and allows them back into the palms of citizens, so they can personally be the ones to steal our time and data. It makes me angry, it’s painful. How can we organize against the faceless enemy? It’s all subversion and censorship, anything to get the undiluted power to be placed back into the hands of an American corporation. It will always be The State, Corporations, and Colleges keeping information tucked away and inaccessible to the masses. We must do what we can to preserve the internet as a place of free information sharing and connection. The infrastructure of our communities in real life are generally weak. Weekly I hit a paywall online, and I have seen my own words be instantaneously given an AI generated COVID misinformation banner before. It’s insane, and most people are not comfortable admitting out loud that we are alive during fascism. What’s funny in a way is, I have long hated TikTok, but now that it risks being banned in this “land of the free” I find myself urgently realizing how important it is to preserve and protect.. It is on the individual to use the internet wisely and with boundaries, not the state to restrict people’s access to information. Privacy is important and data-preservation is important, obviously, but if this is what 686 was truly about, we would be having different conversations. All legislation is created to build a precedent.

[colorisbyshe]

Per April 2024 press release via internet archive, USAID was also responsible for $600 Million for family planning and reproductive health access to women in developing countries. This was also about hurting women in other countries and cutting off access to life saving birth control, condoms, morning after pills, etc. That’s a material harm to marginalized people who needed that aid. Pair that with the loss of anti malarial netting and infectious disease research that USAID also supported… it’s going to be so bad. We should be alarmed by this.

It's also programs against child marriage in Zimbabwe.

It's medical care in Gaza, which the Trump campaign is demonizing by saying it's "condoms for Hamas" which is why it must be stopped (also they claimed they stopped $50M from going to it but I'm unsure if that is also a lie) when in reality it's about like... helping Gazan mothers give birth, a neonatal ICU, an ER, and a program for malnourished children.

It's apparently STILL HIV/AIDS prevention/treatment and they lied about letting it continue, this was fun to fact check.

God, it's so fucking hard to find information because THEY LITERALLY TOOK DOWN THE ENTIRE USAID WEBSITE TO CENSOR IT AND MAKE IT DIFFICULT FOR CITIZENS TO FIND OUT WHAT HAS POTENTIALLY BEEN LOST AND WHAT WILL BE CUT WITHOUT ANNOUNCEMENT

It's MPOX vaccines in the Congo. And water sanitation.

Eradicating polio in Indonesia.

Like... congress people were literally denied office, people from USAID were sent out of the office to work from home as Elon promises to "shut it down."

The US government has already tried not listening to court orders freezing its ban on federal spending and it's unclear how the latest restraining order will hold up, I doubt any defense of USAID would go much better. Especially when the DOJ is arguing Trump doesn't have to obey anything.

Everyone should be horrified right now.

[libraryresources]

Weekly Round-Up

Weekly Round-Up is an information initiative with two goals. The first is to help – in whatever small way – to highlight down-ticket items that are easily lost in the deluge of information about the presidential election. The second is to raise awareness about the severity of politically-motivated book bans in the US and the impact on libraries and schools.

Sources: Election news is sourced primarily from Ballotpedia, unless otherwise noted; remember to check Vote.org for more insights into your local ballot.

Library & intellectual freedom articles are sourced from weekly emails I receive from the New York Library Association (NYLA), one of my own professional organizations.

From Ballotpedia

Voters set to decide the highest number of ballot measures since 2018; Candidates for Attorney General of Pennsylvania; Oklahoma Gov. moves minimum wage measure to 2026 ballot

For Ballotpedia's complete list of 2024 ballot measures (as of Sept. 27), click here.

Ballotpedia reports a record number of abortion-related ballot measures. As reported on Sept. 18th, measures in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Nevada, and South Dakota would guarantee a right to abortion in those states. An initiative in Nebraska would prohibit abortions after the first trimester.

8 states will decide on measures that, if passed, would prohibit non-citizen voting. Many states are deciding on measures that would make changes to the electoral process, mainly whether to use, repeal, or ban ranked choice voting as an electoral method.

The other most common ballot measures this year include criminal justice and police funding, minimum wage initiatives, and the legalization of marijuana or other substances.

As for the business in Oklahoma: The measure in question would begin the process of raising OK's minimum wage from the federal standard ($7.50/hour) to $15/hour by 2029.

Personally I find it interesting that the governor (Kevin Sitt (R)) wants to take the measure off the 2024 ballot and move it to a special election during the PRIMARIES in 2026. Almost as if he knows people are less likely to participate or pay attention during midterm elections and primaries...?

Intellectual Freedom News

With Banned Books Week coming to an end, take a look at the American Library Association's preliminary data regarding book bans in 2024. The ALA and the Office of Intellectual Freedom (OIF) track bans and challenges annually and assist libraries that are facing acts of censorship.

As Unite Against Book Bans states on the webpage:

Between January 1 and August 31, 2024, ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom reported 414 attempts to censor library materials and services and documented challenges to 1,128 unique titles. While those numbers are lower than last year's record shattering figures, they are still much higher than the numbers prior to 2020. In particular, ALA noted the effect of "soft censorship" on this year's data, where books are purchased but placed in restricted areas, not used in library displays, or otherwise hidden or kept off limits due to fear of challenges. According to ALA, these include circumstances where books have been preemptively excluded from library collections, taken off the shelves before they are banned, or not purchased for library collections in the first place. Simply put, censorship is already happening before challenges to books and services can take place because of the fear of challenges being brought.

UABB (which is itself an ALA initiative) provides a comprehensive summary of the situation, but you can read the entire report on the ALA website.

Lest you believe that book bans only happen in Texas or Florida... This article details how a group of students in Orchard Park, NY took a stand against the sharp increase in book challenges in their community, ultimately founding an organization called Students Protecting Education.

From the article:

Proponents for bans, or at least restrictions, argue access to “R-rated” books with explicit language and graphic content, should be a parent’s decision and not their child’s.  Lippitt disagrees.  “We're young adults. We're not kids anymore," he said. "We're entering a world where these things are all around us, and [there's] no worse way to send your kid out into the world than know nothing about it.”

That's it for the first Weekly Round-Up! I'm hoping to post one every Saturday or Sunday for the next month or so. With luck, somebody out there will find this helpful for expanding and maintaining their own personal information ecosystem.

[jessiarts]

Look I hate the tiktokifocation of social media as much as everyone else, but I hope we can all still agree the US trying to ban TikTok here is a problem.

TikTok, for all its problems, been a great help in raising awareness for various causes. The news of the train derailment in Ohio spread there way before the mainstream news. There was barely a peep of the protests going on in Iran anywhere else before it started taking off on TikTok. Same for the general strike happening in France. It's provided a place for people to organize much easier than other platforms for activism and causes like protesting the pipelines, the BLM protests, bringing awareness to ICWA and the StopWIllowProject, etc.

Obviously, no one should get all their news from any social media. I'm not implying that at all.

No one is immune to propaganda, and it exists everywhere, even here, regardless if you wish to acknowledge it.

But we still can't deny that this proposed ban isn't about privacy. Sure, I'll give them wanting to ban it on Federal/government devices, whatever. But they really couldn't care less about everyone else's data privacy. Hell, they let FB, Google, Apple, Twitter, etc, gobble up as much of our data as they want and use it, even sell it, all with no fuss.

It's really about control. They don't like that people are hearing about these events and causes in real time on TikTok faster than any other social media or even most news media. They don't like that the increased awareness is inspiring people to organize and pressure the powers at be and corporations to do better. They don't like that they don't have the power to suppress coverage they don't like or push any coverage they do. (I'm not saying it's great that ByteDance has that power either, but I hope you get my point)

But my main point is this, if they succeed in banning TikTok, a place that's helped bring awareness to so many important causes, it sets a precedent that they can ban any other social media they deem a threat too.

And because I know half of you are incapable of caring unless presented with an example that directly affects you, say tumblr manages to gather similar success to TikTok at becoming a platform to raise awareness. They can find a reason to nuke this place too. One day they could just decide too many people are wanting to organize for change over on the blue fandom cringe site. Then it's bye-bye tumblr.

Idk if you've been paying attention, but they've already turned back Roe v Wade, with some states (SC, KY, TX, OK, AR) now pushing bills to make seeking an abortion punishable by the death penalty, with vague enough wording to potentially include miscarriages. They're trying to eradicate trans people- some (36) states are pushing anti-trans bills, with some wanting to ban gender-affirming care, force detransition, or even take children from homes just for having a trans parent or sibling. They're trying to overturn ICWA, which would allow them to take Native American children from their families and place them in white Christian homes. There's so much more.

What I'm saying is fascism is already here, and what do fascists also do? Cut off citizens' access to the outside world.

Unless you want the US to join the list of countries like China, Russia, and North Korea, who block the outside world from their citizens by censoring their internet/news and cutting off access to certain social medias, then you should care about this.

Let's not let this slide just because it's happening to TikTok and it's fun to hate on whatever is popular at the moment.

[ghouldump]

https://www.tumblr.com/ghouldump/766640228765253632?source=share

girl, after the election results, I been struggling to enjoy my hobbies and just life in general, like I feel like I’m in survival mode right now ugh. I been tryna write, tryna read fanfic, tryna watch my shows, but I just can’t. I keep struggling to immerse myself back into anything. Which is crazy because three days ago, I was FULLY immersed.

I was so pissed off at work today because my coworkers and bosses were smiling and laughing and my problem causing brain was thinking… ain’t shit funny rn. There’s nothing to laugh or smile about rn, I don’t know why these people laughing. lol I’ve been such a bitch.

How are you managing to keep writing and keep creating? I try to put pen to paper and then remember about the upcoming book ban and the upcoming censoring of certain types of media such as fanfic (which is overwhelmingly queer and obviously involves explicit content) and all momentum leaves me. And think about it. IWTV is the literal definition of queer… they’re not gonna allow us to watch it once he outlaws all queer media. I could be reading a fanfic and then all of a sudden think about how this might be the last time I read it freely online before that man’s inauguration. I’m just so… ugh.

Yeah, I agree that everything is going to shit, but- I’m trying to find the proper way to articulate my stance. I’ve been through hell all my life, things I would never want anyone to go through, but through healing, I have been able to become…relaxed. I live day to day, we can't think about tomorrow because it has a mind of its own. Hell, we’re not even promised a tomorrow, no one is.

There is nothing we can do (I mean make sure you vote during midterms!!!) but there is nothing we can really do to stop the government as ordinary citizens, and so all we can do is keep living. The book ban, for now, will be only for schools and public libraries (not taking away from the fact that it is still terrible).

I love reading, I love writing, I love fanfiction, and I LOVE IWTV and I won't stop what I love, because of circumstances that are to come until the platform is completely gone, until my home library is gone, until my pencil, phone, and computer is torn from my hands.

Stay educated, but remember to live for today and appreciate today, because we don't know tomorrow. The future is scary, but if all of this is gone in a few weeks, a few months, few years, I want to look back and know that I enjoyed sharing my craft with others who have loved it just as much before it was all over.

I hope this helps, I understand and hear how you feel 🩷

[risu442]

UPDATE!

Thank you for all who filled it! Now we just hope in a good result! 🙏❤️

STOP!

I'm here to ask a big favour!

If u are an EU citizen, please, fill this form!

For you it's just a second, for us it's a big help!

There are huge problems in Hungary right now, and even small gestures can show that we don't have to fight alone! We have to take care of our childrens and lgbtq+ citizens, too! Pls, sign it and reblog to more people could notice this and help!

Thank you! 🙏

https://www.forbidden-colours.com/2023/01/19/petition/?fbclid=PAAabjkl59_FGBpWnX9DUJ-GLzd6hzknqrjSa-jHtPkzAuLQJBRy_Z9q0znog

What is this about?

"In June 2021, the Hungarian parliament adopted a law, copy-pasted from Russia, that censors the LGBTIQ+ communities in the country. This ‘anti-LGBT propaganda law’ bans the depiction of LGBTIQ+ people and the promotion of LGBTIQ+ topics in the media and in all the places where children could be, meaning almost everywhere...."

"...The European Commission has finally decided to bring Hungary in front of the European Court of Justice as this law goes against the most fundamental European norms and values.

We are very confident that the Court will rule to protect LGBTIQ+ people. This ruling would be important not only to repeal the law but also to prevent similar laws to be adopted in other Member States of the EU such as Poland or Romania.

This makes this court case is a unique opportunity for us all to deliver a powerful and clear message: we stand for our EU values of inclusion, equality, rule of law, and democracy.

This is our opportunity to show Viktor Orbán’s government that the citizens from all the Member States of the EU despise his anti-LGBTIQ+ rhetoric and laws.

And this is where you can act.

We need your support to convince your government to join the case alongside the European Commission to make it clear that these ‘anti-LGBTIQ+ propaganda laws’ are not welcome in Hungary, in your country, nor anywhere in the EU.

Sign our petition now to request your government to join the procedure and say ‘Enough’ to Viktor Orbán."

[saintmeghanmarkle]

Lady C Tea YouTube 9/26/23 (a few nuggets paraphrased by me) by u/daisybeach23

Lady C Tea YouTube 9/26/23 (a few nuggets paraphrased by me) Greetings from Castle Goring!Lady C, Did you see the charity event that Harry and Meghan attended with Kevin Costner? They looked so desperate for attention. Meghan grabbed the microphone (meant for someone else) and she grabbed an award meant for Kevin Costner. The cameras filmed their every move and the behavior was just so bizarre. Well, I have been on the bongo drums and I have a little bit of news from LA. First of all, WME has a connection to all the celebrities there. My understanding is that Kevin Costner allowed Harry and Meghan to be special guests at the request of WME. I also understand that Kevin Costner could barely tolerate them when they were all waiting to go on. If you watch the video, he made sure to have no contact with Meghan. Kevin Costner is very committed to the charity for local first responders. He is also a team player. He understands the necessity of “scratching each other’s back.” My understanding is that Meghan makes him cringe but he does have an affinity for Princess Diana because there were talks of her starring in The Bodyguard (even though she wasn’t seriously going to star in that movie). The person who spoke to me says Kevin Costner is very conscious of money. He was taken for a ride by his first wife. His second wife tried to take him for a ride and he is very uncomfortable in Meghan’s presence. In fairness to Meghan, maybe Meghan thought she was supposed to take the microphone? But I was told she was not supposed to do anything except stand beside Harry. My source says Kevin Costner dislikes Meghan but he is a team player. Notice he avoided her. Their appearance was 100% arranged by Ari Emmanuel at WME. Some people who saw her at the event said she looked like she was “flying high” and looked dreadful. She looked emaciated and her face has huge lines, the Ozempic look. That Olive Oil bun was the only option for her (expensive) Turkish hair because of the collar on her cloak. And they were so perplexed why she was half dressed in Germany where it was cooler and bundled up in a cloak in California where it was warmer. Harry and Meghan were desperate for some attention after Prince William’s successful visit to America. Apparently, Prince William is popular with both the Republicans and Democrats – oh dear….. oh dear.Lady C, I read that a few years ago, when Meghan was in New York and visited a school, she made all the teachers sign agreements they would not say anything bad about them now and in the future. Also, I read that she banned all British newspapers from attending even though this was a publicly owned building . Why do people let them do these things? Well, two years ago they were more popular than they are today. There is that. They have been trading on their status as detached members of the Royal Family. They banned the British Press because they knew the American Press would report on the censored version they present and the British Press would catch on better to what Meghan and Harry are doing. We are living in frightening times and Meghan harry want to sensor what people say and wrote about them. We should all be very concerned because Meghan and Harry’s censorship agenda is closer to being realized that we all realize. Harry is using litigation and his celebrity to sue the media. Most people who are born into wealth and privilege loathe the press.Lady C spent 30 minutes saying British Parliament is using the law to deprive its citizens of Free Speech and liberties.Toodles Sinners! post link: https://ift.tt/tXwboQZ author: daisybeach23 submitted: September 27, 2023 at 02:37AM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit

[borealing]

anon im not going to publish your ask but i will say a few things

china is a homophobic country with homophobic laws including censorship of tv. the censorship of tv is however, not limited to just lgbt media.

china DEFINITELY had a problem with production of cql. not just the gay stuff, theres a lot in mdzs that goes against chinas censorship laws. there were many scenes that had to be cut/scenes put in different orders (infamously, when cql aired in japan it had the ending scenes in a different order) and its. its literally censored. they have since banned all productions that are based on bl books.

if a public personality is too publicly associated with things that the government disapproves of then that person can have their opportunities in things like endorsements and show opportunities reduced/removed

the general reason that solo fans tend to use as justification for pushing back on cp (pair) appearances are 1. they want their idol to themself and 2. their idols popularity is harmed by appearing with someone else

this does not mean that all cnetz are homophobic

are your ideals absolutely 1:1 reflected by your government? why would you assume the same of china and chinese citizens?

please do not be homophobic in my askbox. please do not be sinophobic in my askbox