#censorship is bad

[jesterchan]

THIS!!! THIIISSSS!!!

People need to realize this more! I'm tired of seeing people shred creators because of their TRIGGERING content appearing in their feeds!

People need to STOP being sensitive on social media in general. The internet is a SHARED SPACE! The only safe space on a platform is YOUR PERSONAL ACCOUNT!

Listen, I don't like proshippers, lolicons, or other icky people. But as long as the platform allows these types of content, it is YOUR JOB to avoid it! Blaming people because their content appeared on your feed is IMMATURE and RUDE!!

You don't get to tell people what to post and what not to post, as long as their content doesn't break the platform's rules, that's OUT of your control!

If you can't handle most of the content on a certain Social Media platform, then it's not wise to go to that platform.

Policing a ship is one of the MOST CHILDISH things I have seen online!

I personally do not like certain ships or proships but I can't wipe them off of existence. I have no choice but to tolerate the existence and set a boundary against the content of these ships. That applies to EVERYONE including ME!

On the internet, you will hear opinions you don't like, other people aren't required to think like you and no one is obligated to make you feel safe, validated, or catered to.

YOU are responsible for your feelings, words, and actions online!

If you can't handle the basic rules on the internet, then LOG OFF and later on, come back with a BETTER BRAIN!!

The internet is not a safe space and NEVER will be... if a person's content bothers you THAT much, use the block button and use the block tags to prevent that content from showing up in your feed... As long as the social media platform allows the content, use your block tools to get rid of the content!

End of rant!

The Three Laws of Fandom

If you wish to take part in any fandom, you need to accept and respect these three laws.

If you aren’t able to do that, then you need to realise that your actions are making fandom unsafe for creators. That you are stifling creativity.

Like vaccination, fandom only works if everyone respects these rules. Creators need to be free to make their fanart, fanfics and all other content without fear of being harassed or concern-trolled for their creative choices, no matter whether you happen to like that content or not.

The First Law of Fandom

Don’t Like; Don’t Read (DL;DR)

It is up to you what you see online. It is not anyone else’s place to tell you what you should or should not consume in terms of content; it is not up to anyone else to police the internet so that you do not see things you do not like. At the same time, it is not up to YOU to police fandom to protect yourself or anyone else, real or hypothetical.

There are tools out there to help protect you if you have triggers or squicks. Learn to use them, and to take care of your own mental health. If you are consuming fan-made content and you find that you are disliking it - STOP.

The Second Law of Fandom

Your Kink Is Not My Kink (YKINMK)

Simply put, this means that everyone likes different things. It’s not up to you to determine what creators are allowed to create. It’s not up to you to police fandom. 

If you don’t like something, you can post meta about it or create contrarian content yourself, seek to convert other fans to your way of thinking.  

But you have no right to say to any creator “I do not like this, therefore you should not create it. Nobody should like this. It should not exist.”

It’s not up to you to decide what other people are allowed to like or not like, to create or not to create. That’s censorship. Don’t do it.

The Third Law of Fandom

Ship And Let Ship (SALS)

Much (though not all) fandom is about shipping. There are as many possible ships as there are fans, maybe more. You may have an OTP (One True Pairing), you may have a NOTP, that pairing that makes you want to barf at the very thought of its existence.

It’s not up to you to police ships or to determine what other people are allowed to ship. Just because you find that one particular ship problematic or disgusting, does not mean that other people are not allowed to explore its possibilities in their fanworks.

You are free to create contrarian content, to write meta about why a particular ship is repulsive, to discuss it endlessly on your private blog with like-minded persons.

It is not appropriate to harass creators about their ships, it is not appropriate to demand they do not create any more fanworks about those ships, or that they create fanwork only in a manner that you deem appropriate.

These three laws add up to the following:

You are not paying for fanworks content, and you have no rights to it other than to choose to consume it, or not consume it. If you do choose to consume it, do not then attack the creator if it wasn’t to your taste. That’s the height of bad manners.

Be courteous in fandom. It makes the whole experience better for all of us.

[iri-desky]

GET KOSA TRENDING.

STOP SCROLLING NOW!

AS OF FEBRUARY 21ST, 2024, WE GOT FIVE DAYS UNTIL THE DAY OF DECISION OF THE KOSA BILL, WHICH WILL CAUSE MASS CENSORSHIP ROUND THE INTERNET IF PASSED. WE NEED EVERYONE TO KNOW ABOUT THIS AND CONTRIBUTE. I'M NOT GIVING UP ON YOU ALL.

(IMPORTANT UPDATE: Kosa will not necessarily pass on the 26th. It only has the support to pass in Senate, and we STILL HAVE TIME. That being said, time is of the essence.)

WE'RE DOWN TO THE WIRE BUT WE CAN'T GIVE UP YET. IF WE GIVE UP, EVERYTHING IS OVER. IF WE DON'T, AT LEAST WE HAVE A CHANCE.

I'M THE ONE WHO SOUNDED THE ALARM, AND I'M NOT GOING TO CURL UP AND DIE YET.

Reblog this post in every LEGAL way you can under the Tumblr guidelines with the appropriate tags. TELL AND TAG EVERYONE YOU KNOW, then add the tags to see below... and more if you can think of any complying.

Visit badinternetbills.com if you want to find a way to defeat KOSA. It WILL NOT take much of your time. Reblog with any other information or sources, too-- but make sure to reblog if you can.

Reblog if you support lgbtq+ content.

Reblog if you support questioning queer youth and/or abused youth getting the information they need.

Reblog if you support Ao3 and/or other sites that wholeheartedly preserve talentedly made media.

Reblog if you're going to repost this on other sites than Tumblr and spread the word across Twitter, Tik Tok, Pinterest, or elsewhere, alongside the link to badinternetbills.com.

Reblog if you think KOSA is unfair and shouldn't be anyone's problem -- including the adults ALL OVER THE DAMN EARTH forced to face the mass censorship it causes because "think of the American Children!".

Reblog if you support internet activism and Palestine.

Reblog if you hate fascism or censorship, and don't want actually serious and helpful conversations censored on the internet.

Reblog if you value the internet in any way at all whatsoever.

CHECK THIS PETITION, TOO! https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-kosa?recruiter=1331807538&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=sms&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=psf&recruited_by_id=57368c40-d0fd-11ee-98f7-2175430f819f&share_bandit_exp=initial-36809664-en-US

(Also, please reblog with at least "stop kosa" as a tag and not "kosa". I made the mistake of not adding just "kosa" as a tag...)

We won't let this stand any longer. Let's start a riot and get this trending.

[taikeero-lecoredier]

CHAT CONTROL TO BE VOTED ON THIS THURSDAY

Original tweet

I know americans are busy with fighting KOSA but I urge you to please help us by spreading the word about this, I can't say this enough, if chat control passes, citizen's private messages will be scanned via artifical intelligence,and they must comply,otherwise theyre not allwoed to send pictures,videos,or links anymore. We have a discord server made to organize against it,with emails scripts you can use when contacting your meps : https://discord.com/invite/e7FYdYnMkS

Find your meps and tell them to vote no on this :

[deviantjenny2]

Fuck you, Tumblr — 10 posts . . . with hundreds more that have been censored or deleted.

[gilamasan]

KOSA'S BACK

I'm not going to leave this unmentioned as the news isn't doing enough to warn people. The short of it is, the bill which disguises itself as a means to make the web safer was written by The Heritage Foundation to give the FTC full authority on what's deemed safe on the web. Under the new administration, it will be used to censor LGBT content. We know this was the point, as its proponents have shared this exact plan. It can still be beaten if called and emailed their senators, making it clear what harm the bill will do I'll link pages that can give you a line to your lawmakers, a way to write to them, and also a petition to sign.. The former only takes two minutes, and the latter has a pre-written script if you need it. This is more than important enough for your time. Even if you're in a red state, some conservatives oppose this bill beleive it will silence conservative voices too, so if you think that line of reasoning would work better on them, go for it!

[saurotitan]

A Librarian's Faith

This post is a tiny bit more serious than some others I've written. Don't worry, it's not all dry and boring. Instead, it's a rant about my thoughts on library censorship. This will either be a big hit, or a lightning rod for trouble. Wish me luck!

There are some things that I’ve learned about the internet in my time, and I don’t just mean how to read webcomics or use social media. Some of the earliest lessons I learned about this beautiful world wide web is that you don’t use your full legal name, you don’t tell people where you live, and you don’t talk about your deeply-held personal beliefs. I’ve heard horror stories about people who…

[dib-thing-wannabe]

OKAY SO GOOD NEWS: THE KOSA HEARING HAS APPARENTLY BEEN MOVED TO MARCH 13-16 INSTEAD!! WE STILL HAVE PLENTY OF TIME!!!

THAT BEING SAID, WE STILL DEFINITELY NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S NOT GOING TO PASS!!

For Palestines sake.

For Yamens sake.

For Congos sake.

For LGBTQIA+ kids and adults alike.

For everyone.

FUCK OFF KOSA, AND FUCK OFF AMERICA!

[hamadisthings]

HELP US STOP CHAT CONTROL!

If you live in the EU, you absolutely need to pay attention to what's to come. What is Chat Control, you may ask? In a (failed) attempt to combat child abuse online the EU made Chat Control, Chat Control will result in getting your private messages and emails to be scanned by artificial intelligence aka AI to search for CSAM pictures or discussion that might have grooming in there. And on top of having your private conversations handed to AI or the police to snoop in, like your family pictures, selfies, or more sensitive pics, like the medical kind, only meant to be seen by your doctors, or the "flirtatious" kind you send to your partner, you either have to ACCEPT to be scanned...or else you will be forbidden from sending pictures, videos, or even links, as said here.

Kids should absolutely be protected online, without question, but the things that Chat Control gets wrong is that this is a blatant violation of privacy, without even considering the fact that AI WILL create tons of false positives, this is not a theory, this is a fact. And for all the false positives that will be detected, all of them will be sent to the police, which will just flood their system with useless junk instead of efficiently putting resources to actual protect kids from predators.

It also does not help that politicians, police officers, soldiers etc will be exempt from Chat Control if it passes. If it's for the sake of protection, shouldn't everyone get the same treatment? Which further prove that Chat Control would NOT keep your data of private life safe. Plus, bad actors will simply stop using messenger apps as soon as they know they're being tracked, using more obscure means, meanwhile innocent people will be punished by using those services On top of this, the EU also plans on reintroducing Data retention called "EU Going Dark". Both Chat Control and EU Going Dark are clear violation of the GDPR, and even if they shouldn't stand a chance in court, its not going to prevent politicians from trying to ram these through as an excuse to mass surveil European citizens, using kids as a shield. Even teenagers sending pictures to each other won't be exempt, which entirely goes against the purpose of protecting kids by retaining their private photos instead. Furthermore, once messaging apps are forced to comply with Chat Control, the president of Signal, a secured messaging app with encryption, have confirmed that they will be forced to leave the EU if this is enforced against them.

If Chat Control also ends up targeting any websites with the option of private messages, you better expect Europe to be geo-blocked by any websites offering such function. I would also like to add that EU citizens were very vocal in the fight against KOSA, an equally bad internet bill from the US-- and it showed! Which is why we heavily need the help of our fellow US peers to fight against Chat Control too, so please, because we all know if it passes, the US government will take a look at this and conclude "Ooh, a way to force mass surveillance on citizens even more than before? don't mind if I do!" It's always a snowball effect.

KEEP IN MIND THE EUROPE COUNCIL WILL LIKELY VOTE ON CHAT CONTROL THIS 19 JUNE OF NEXT WEEK TO SEE IF IT WILL ENTER TRILOGIES OR NOT. Even if it does enter Trilogues, the fight will only be beginning. Absentees may not count as a no, so it is crucial that you contact your MEPs HERE, as well as HERE, and you can also show your support for Edri's campaign against Chat Control HERE.

You can read more on Chat Control here as well, and you can find useful information as to which arguments to use when politely contacting your MEP (calling is better than email) here, and beneath you will find graphics you can use to spread the word!

YOU CAN ALSO JOIN OUR DISCORD SERVER (linked here) TO HELP ORGANIZE AGAINST CHAT CONTROL NON EU PEOPLE ARE MORE THAN WELCOME TO JOIN TOO!

https://discord.gg/FPDJYkUujM

PLEASE REBLOG ! NON EU PEOPLE ARE ENCOURAGED TO REBLOG AS WELL CONTACT YOUTUBERS, CONTENT CREATORS, ANYONE YOU KNOW THAT MAY HELP GET THE WORD OUT ! Let's fight for our Internet and actually keep kids safe online! Because Chat Control and EU Going Dark will only endanger kids.

PLEASE REBLOG! NON EU PEOPLE ARE ENCOURAGED TO REBLOG AS WELL CONTACT YOUTUBERS, CONTENT CREATORS, ANYONE YOU KNOW THAT MAY HELP GET THE WORD OUT !

Let's fight for our Internet and actually keep kids safe online! Because Chat Control and EU Going Dark will only endanger kids.

[eziojensenthe3rd]

Republicans nuked KOSA. Its considered DOA and wont be showing up at the house. This is good news certanly but its not entirely over. This bill got bipartisan support back in the senate, dickheads from both sides thought the idea behind kosa was worth doing, its just that the republican party decided to nuke it for reasons im trying to figure out? To try to deny a win for democrats similar to how they stopped a cancer research bill?

Something like kosa will pop up again, kosa itself may just rise from the grave and we'll have to go through this same song and dance so all i can say is stay informed on this type of shit. Inform your senators and reps not to support this shit and if they dont oppose it, vote them out in the next election they're running in.

There are bills that do in fact regulate the internet in a way that helps but also doesnt violate free speech by targeting how data is harvested. Thise bills should be pushed while censorship should die. For now, celebrate this day. KOSA atm is dead, done so in a manner so anticlimatic yet deserving. But be vigilant.

[ajxrn-archive]

To my mutuals or followers, or just anyone who sees this:

Please reblog the kosa bill posts from me and others. This bill is EXTREMELY dangerous to the queer community and especially queer minors. As a queer and trans minor in a bad home situation, I and many others would be in so much danger if this bill is approved. Its actually so horrific. One of the senators who introduced it, Marsha Blackburn, said that "protecting minor children from the transgender in this culture" was a top priority. As a trans minor, I find this disgusting and harmful to my existence, I'm sure many others my age feel the same way. So please: REBLOG THE KOSA BILL POSTS.

EDIT: IT WILL ALSO CENSOR THE PALESTINE GENOCIDE POSTS AND MANY MORE THINGS!!! WE WILL BE BLOCKED FROM THE TRUTH!!! Also I do not know many things about the kosa bill, this is the limit of my knowlege, so I can't answer any questions. I'm sorry!

[iamnmbr3]

More on why KOSA is not good here.

KOSA update 7/25/24:

Well, unsurprisingly, KOSA passed the Senate procedural vote 86-1.

Proof:

Again, they still have to vote on the final passage & the House still has to vote on it as well.

So, focus on your House Representative now; Continue to call them & tell them to vote ‘No’ to KOSA. Remember: There is more opposition to KOSA in the House.

Spread this around. Don’t panic!

Keep calm & keep fighting!!

[silverstarssart]

STOP KOSA

The thing about KOSA that makes me feel the worst is that I am helpless. I am not an American. I have no power to change the votes or reps. But the internet and social media are used by everyone.

Please. If you have the power. Email your representatives, vote against this bill.

Because so many of us don't have that power

If we lose the internet as it is now. We lose some of the most important resources we have in our modern day. Widespread information, online communities, connections to others that are different than us, online safety, understanding.

Movements like Free Palestine will be censored, LGBTQ topics and protection online will be exposed, we will lose millions of posts on these subjects.

Please, please, we don't have much time.

LINKS:

badinternetbills.com

https://x.com/lykoico_/status/1759459803691102549?s=46

https://x.com/lykoico_/status/1759459803691102549?s=46

stop KOSA

EFF

[timeclonemike]

Recent Developments Regarding KOSA (February Edition)

Some folks may have been following the recent congressional hearings on internet content and content handling, which involved big names in the industry. Given both the topic and the timing, it comes as no surprise that some of those involved in it have been trying to push the Kids Online Safety Act both in terms of congressional and public support. It's gone through some superficial changes but the heart of the legislation that makes it a threat to free speech on the internet is the same.

Quick reminder that if it does pass into law, it will allow various states to:

Block access to / sue the providers of any information on abortion resources

Block access to / sue the providers of any information on gender affirming care and transition resources

Censor any talk of what is happening in Palestine / Sudan / other regions threatened by genocide, as well as any protests against such treatment

Monitor and surveil internet use in general, both in terms of what people say and in what they search for

Allow state attorneys general the power to arbitrarily criminalize content with no appeals process

Allow conservative states to get a head start in pushing their Project 2025 agendas

The good news is that this legislation has been pushed back over and over again throughout the whole of 2023, and 2024 is an election year with a LOT of seats up in the air, meaning that the danger of losing voter support carries much more weight than it normally does. In other words, we pushed this back before and we can do it again. You can find the contact information for the senators from your state at the official Senate website, and given the timing of the hearings any such calls / messages / letters should have a somewhat greater impact than they otherwise might.

Remember to be polite and respectful, and to phrase your concerns in such a way that it aligns with the politics of the senator you are calling; conservatives WANT to restrict access to stuff like abortion services and HRT, so you have to scare them with something else, like gun control. Be sure to do your research on who and what has bought your senator and tailor your complaints accordingly for maximum impact. For most democratic senators, the abortion rights issue might be enough on its own, since they've been watching the GOP step on that rake every election since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade and they want that to work for them, not against them.

[daytimemin]

Hope everyone continues to call as we continue to hold KOSA off from being added to a spending bill this secession. Even though Johnson has reiterated several times that KOSA is not moving this secession, be aware that it will likely come back sometime after the next secession begins in January and we'll have to be ready for that too. Remember there are also other bills we can be calling about as well:

Pass the No Kings Act

Pass the Defiance Act

Pass the Press Act

Oppose KOSA

Opposa HR 9495

Oppose Trump's cabinet picks

Oppose funding wars and violence

If there's anything I missed let me know, but we've done well in holding off KOSA again and need to keep at it. So, keep calling, emailing, faxing Congress and post information about KOSA and other bills.

Update: I was informed about other bills to be aware of and to oppose:

S.5384 which would abolish the Department of Education

HR 9218 which would re-define what biological sex is, there is also a Senate version of this bill which aims to define what male and female are

[lordoftablecloths]

stopkosa.com

change.org petition

more helpful links

[august 2024 update]

KOSA or the Kids Online Safety Act is an Internet bill being pushed by the American government. It claims its purpose is to "protect" kids, but really its methods of enforcing this is mass censorship and control of the Internet. The passing of this bill would lead to LGBTQ+ related information, reproductive healthcare, and other topics that government officials may find "dangerous" to children be restricted or censored.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

In the website linked above, there is a petition you can sign as well as a pre-filled message you can send. You can also write to your representatives, and if you don't want to come up with an entire message, I've attached sample scripts. Also, go to badinternetbills.com for another petition that references similar bills. For more information about KOSA, you can see this article: eff.org/deeplinks/2024/02/don… .

Spread information about this, and do what you can. This bill being passed would mean an era of censorship for the Internet.

[f4y3w00d5]

People need to focus on making #stop kosa and tags like that trend. There isn't enough traction. If this bill passes, it will censor the LGBTQIA+ community. It will remove privacy. it will remove many peoples safe spaces and safety nets. Mine included. It wouldn't stop teenagers and children from committing suicide, it's more likely to cause them to, because they wouldnt have access to the places they need, the places that support them. KOSA cannot pass. It will not just affect America, it will affect the world. Not for the better, but for the worse.