#stop earn it

[dimonds456]

ATTENTION MINORS

I know you guys have been seeing the posts going around about Earn-It and KOSA and things of the like, and talking about how bad those things are. And you're right, they're really, really bad. But, you're not old enough to help participate in helping out, right, since you're a minor? 

WRONG.

Minors out there who are concerned about these issues: YOU CAN HELP US. KOSA and CSAM specifically are acts to create widespread censorship and invasion of privacy to "protect kids," so if anything, your younger voices are stronger than ours! 

I've compiled some resources for you guys to help out. Note that if you sound old enough, you do not have to disclose your age if you don't want to. The point is that there is a public outcry, not that you're under 18.

If you don't know what the bills are or what they do, here's a Doc that explains all that with links to different reading material where you can learn all about it there (note: as of posting this, the Restrict Act is not currently updated. Check back in the future for updates to the doc). 

The two we really need to worry about right now are KOSA and CSAM. 

KOSA is a bill being passed that would effectively let the government censor anything they want online, which can and will include minority voices, LGBTQ content, and anything they deem "unsafe" for kids (such as the suicide hotline).  

CSAM is another law that preaches about protecting kids, but would actually be used to spy on everyone. It's a trojan horse. 

There are a couple more, which are all covered more in-depth here on this site (scroll down):

Here's a few more resources for you guys, and then I'll get into how you guys can help!

KOSA

CSAM

EARN-It

(Light flash warning for this one, just in case)

RESTRICT Act

Alright, with all the reading out of the way, let's get into what to do.

How YOU can help!

Minors: you are not helpless. You are not powerless. The point is that there is a public outcry, and the fact that you are so young could be an advantage to stopping bills like KOSA and CSAM. 

If your voice can pass as an adult's, YOU CAN CALL. If you don't think your voice can pass, YOU CAN EMAIL, TEXT, SIGN PETITIONS, and honestly, you MAY STILL be able to call. 

Here's how calling works. It's gonna be scary the first time around, I know, but you've got this.

First: find out who your representatives are. This website right here makes that very easy. Go to the dropdown for your state and find it, and your two reps should automatically pop up.

Next, see if they're a Republican or a Democrat. This should be in parenthesis next to their names. Here's Michigan's and Mississippi's reps as examples of what that looks like:

How you phrase your words will differ depending on the party they're in, this is important.

Next, you'll see under their names an address, phone number, and some bibliography. (I kept using the Michigan ones cuz I was already on their page, so if you're from Michigan, here's the numbers right here.)

Let's get ready to call now.

Now, when I say "call," I don't mean exclusively by phone. You can also fax them or email them. 

Here's a website you can use to fax them.

To find their email address, google it. [Name] email, and if they've got one, it should pop up there. 

Now, the hard part: actually calling.

Before we go any further, reminder that these people are just that: people. They're not idols, they're not gods, they're not worth any more than you are. Dehumanize them as much as you need to in your head. They're not scary, they're human. 

Now, for each bill, you can either make it all separate or keep all your words in one email, as it were. How you want to do this is up to you. But, if you're feeling lost for words, there are also scripts you can use as a base. 

Here's an email to a Democrat about KOSA, for example:

And this one has emails for both sides:

The long and short of it goes like this:

Your name and something about you (I'm a retail worker) (I'm a minor) (I go to [name] school)

Explain why you're calling (I urge you to stop [bill])

Explain why the issue matters to YOU. (I am a minor, and pushing this law would do irreparable damage, not help us. Here's a bit of why.)

Ask the representative you're calling to help 

Thank them for listening. 

Keep it courteous- they'll be more likely to listen to you if you're calm and collected. I know emotions are high right now, and it's okay to let desperation in, but don't yell or scream at them, you'll only drive them away from trying to stop anything. 

More than likely, you won't be speaking to that rep directly, but the message should still be clear and reach them. 

If you're faxing or emailing, there's more room to go off about issues in more depth, since there isn't someone on the other end of the line. You can say as much as you'd like, but still try to keep it polite. 

You guys are powerful, and your young voices can add to this fight. You do not have to be an adult to call something unjust. Stand with us. Together, your voices will make us stronger.

[thatrandomblogsays]

Annabeth: I, a child, had to earn Thalia’s love, that’s how the world works! I have to earn my moms love. Love is transactional, you gotta be worthy of it first silly :)

Percy, listening to this on the train

[seanflnnerty]

Adventuring Academy: Out of Context

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

oh hey! i was reading a fic the other day where Wangji was once misspelled as Wangu. which leads me to: MDZS Pingu-style??? noot noot!

Do you think love can bloom on the sea ice?

[cheshire-j]

PLEASE READ

So as of tomorrow, the Kids Online Safety Act, is set for markup as of July 27 at 10:00 am. And for those who aren't aware, this bill, if passed, does not protect kids. If merely eradicates privacy, freedom of speech, and unlawfully searches and seizes everything you say and do on the web.

It will censor everything the government does not like and if you want "unrestricted access" you will need to prove you are above the age of 18, which will most likely mean you will need to upload some kind of ID. Additionally, if you need to upload your ID, there is no guaranteed protection that your image or the ID itself will not be swiped or sold like how Instagram/Facebook/Twitter did when they sold data to the Russians.

This will also be harmful to kids, especially those to have a bad living situation. KOSA does nothing but police the Internet for everything you say and do on the Internet. It will censor medical information, history, information, and restrict and limit, if not outright ban what can be posted on social media.

Sites like Ao3 (Archive of Our Own), Wattpad, Tiktok, Tumblr, etc.... EVERYTHING will be affected, art especially. And what's more, is KOSA passes, it will be a gateway to pass all the other bad internet bills like the RESTRICT ACT, EARN IT ACT, COOPER DAVIS, etc.

The Internet will turn into a hellscape for everyone; kids, companies, and adults alike!

The picture above, from @dontdelete.art, is a call to action in protesting these bad internet bills. As of today, July 26, we need to protest against this bill for our privacy and our freedom. Call your representatives and senators, AND ALSO call the Commerce Committee as they are the ones overseeing this mark up meeting.

The Commerce Committe's numbers are:

Majority: 202-224-0411

Minority: 202-224-1251

Call them and tell them you oppose KOSA, tell them the dangers, tell them how it breaks our first and fourth ammendment rights and how it violates our privacy.

We only have one more day before it goes to mark up, so let's make it count. Spend today speaking out on KOSA, post on social media talking about the dangers of KOSA, call and email your representatives, senators, and the committee!

DON'T SIT IDELY BY, MAKE TODAY COUNT!

[fandomstoragebin]

Why is KOSA not trending? This bill aims to take down fandom related sites INCLUDING TUMBLR!!!?? Like we need to get this to #1 on trending and FAST! Please reblog posts on the tags with more resources and spread the word people, this is actually terrifying!!!

Also it doesn’t even end with KOSA, the Earn It Act and many more censorship bills are trying to slip through our legislature and I haven’t seen many people talk about it!

Remember everyone, this isn’t about “protecting children,” because if it was they’d go after actual R34 sites instead of queer people trying to live their damn lives!

[somegrumpynerd]

Sign that Dream gifts to Nightmare post-truce specifically to annoy him

[akelafang]

Au where Balinor lives, banishes Kilgharrah, but then Merlin has to smuggle him out of Camelot and he goes back on the run because despite him saving everyone he's still a dragonlord and Uther is going to Uther. Before he leaves Merlin tells him to at least stop by Ealdor and see his mum cause she still loves him and deserves to at least know he's still alive. Balinor does go to Ealdor but a mix of needing to hide due to being a wanted man and nerves over seeing Hunith again ends up with him hiding in her garden trying to work up the courage to knock on her door. Hunith, hearing a ruckus outside her house, goes to investigate, and when she sees a suspicious man hiding out in her garden she starts whacking him with a broom. Balinor calls out for her to stop, telling her it's him, and when she does the two actually see each other for the first time in so many years. For a while, they just stare at each other until Balinor speaks in a stunned breathless voice "Dear gods, you're as beautiful as the day I left." Hunith blinks and it registers that she's not imagining things, he's really there. She blushes slightly then whackes him over the head with her broom again. "You disappear for over 2 decades and that's what you have to say to me?!"

[fullhalalalchemist]

🚨🚨🚨URGENT PLEASE READ AND REBLOG

dec 13, 2022

we literally have just a few days to act. the senate is debating about putting KOSA, the Kids Online Safety Act, into the omnibus spending bill. if it is added, it WILL pass. despite the title and content of the bill seeming to be about protecting kids, we know everytime someone claims they are "saving the children" they have more sinister goals

which is why Senator Blumenthal is working with one of the biggest transphobes in the senate, Marsha Blackburn, to force this bill through, and claiming they are listening to LGBT voices when they are blatantly ignoring us.

essentially this bill gives every state attorney generals the power to remove anything they deem 'harmful' to kids online. you can see how a state like Texas or Florida would run with that, yes? it also forces you to upload your government ID online to access the internet. the bill will create a 'commission' led by handpicked members of the govt to oversee what is and isn't allowed online. it will lead to mass censorship of anything related to race or LGBT content. in a post-Roe world too? say goodbye to any abortion/sex-related info.

they are doing a shit ton of PR for this, including claiming they are listening to LGBT voices. i mean just look.

two weeks ago, 90+ human rights, LGBT, and tech orgs signed onto an open letter telling Senators NOT to pass this bill. in response, over 230 orgs led by the American Psychological Association signed a letter urging senators to. it's really fucking bad. like i can't sleep because of this. i didn't expect this to happen. we really really need people to speak up.

if this bill goes through it will literally kill off the internet as we know it

sign the open letter and petitions against KOSA here

the best way to fight against this bill is to call these specific senators (if you have dem senators, call them too)

nancy pelosi (202) 225-4965 roger wicker (202) 224-6253 chuck schumer (202) 224-6542 maria cantwell (202) 224-3441

call script below:

For Wicker only:

I'm calling because I'm asking the Senator to vote no on KOSA S.3663 from being added to the omnibus and being put through the Senate. The re-released text of the bill is still not adequate enough, and it's being rushed. This bill does not belong in an omnibus anyway. As a Gen Z, I also want to protect kids. I've been there. But this language is not ready yet. It should not move forward at all.

Hello Senator __:

My name is _, and I strongly urge you to oppose the dangerously misguided KOSA bill from being added to the omnibus spending bill. Bills like this should not be included in spending bills. Over 90 human rights and LGBT organizations have spoken out against this bill.

KOSA gives state attorney generals full power to sue any website if they see it has anything that is “inappropriate for children”'. For the past year, Republicans claimed everything LGBT is “grooming” children and we ended up with a shooting in Colorado and bomb threats sent to hospitals, NO senator should support a bill with vague phrasing like this. Before that, they successful removed books on race due to "CRT". This gives them a pass to do this to the entire internet. KOSA will only lead to more harm towards minorities and LGBT youth across the nation by censoring everything online.

The Heritage Foundation said they will use KOSA to target LGBT kids, specifically trans kids. In a post-Roe world, they will even use KOSA to censor resources on abortion. Anything they dislike will be targeted.

A bill this huge and this impactful should not be added to any spending bill. Even if it was a small bill, it has nothing to do with the omnibus spending bill and shouldn't be added at ALL. It needs more time being discussed. There should be hearings on it as well

We all care about kids mental health. We all want to hold Big Tech accountable, but this is NOT it. This will give Big Tech more power while taking away resources from the most vulnerable children. It is not the solution.

Please, do NOT support this bill. Do the right thing, and VOTE NO on KOSA.

[lukadjo]

Hey!

This is your reminder to go to badinternetbills.com and take the action! It's just filling out a form and helps signify to congress your opposition to the bad internet bills (which will restrict your freedoms on the internet, especially for minors (and not in any actually useful way))!

These bills are nothing more than a Trojan horse.

[mamawasatesttube]

it still boggles my mind a bit that people on the internet will just try to call you a bitch in a friendly way when they're like. complete strangers. are you aware that the only reason playful insults between friends work is that they are Between Friends. your basic manners... where are they...

[pinetreespants]

so im working on a "mini" comic (this bitch is 7 pgs) and i finally finished page3 after four days. im so happy i thought i'd share <3

[wistfulwatcher]

Criminal Minds: Evolution | 17.01 Gold Star

[catboybiologist]

WHATS UP gamers, today we're going to be playing the all new release, a physical journey into your skull to rewire your prefrontal cortex into a bowl of tapioca pudding. But before that, let's hear from today's sponsor, Raid Shadow Legends

[cheshire-j]

KOSA UPDATE

It passed the Commerce Committee markup with a unaminous vote. But this shit is far from over.

Keep calling your senators and representatives, email them, and POST about the KOSA bill and its dangers!

KOSA is dangerous as it now threatens end to end encryption, which means EVERYTHING we have internet is in threat of being compromised. We NEED to do something about it and even if you have anxiety, you can do something about. I did, and I felt like I was going to die as I was doing it, but I did it!

If you're not comfortable with calling, email them, sign petitions, post about it on social media. Blow KOSA up, it worked last time and that's why it didn't pass. So let's do it again!

We need action, our privacy and our safety is at stake! This goes beyond violating our 1st and 4th amendments!

STOP KOSA

STOP EARN IT ACT

STOP RESTRICT ACT

These bills are a threat to kids AND adults and they need to be stopped! Keep calling, keep emailing, keep being a pain in their ass!

Edit: No further moves are going to be made on KOSA until after August as Congress is on recess, but it WILL come back in September. So we need to keep pushing, we need to be loud! Keep calling and email your representatives and senators!

[cherryg]

The internet censorship is coming..(again)

There are two well known censorship bill known as KOSA and the EarnIt act.

These bills both promised that they will protect children but unfortunately these are misguided bills that says they’ll do something but then they will do the opposite or make things worse.

Both of these bills are serious threat to the LGBT community and will censor a lot of content especially there

the EarnItact will also get rid of NSFW content and deem it as illegal, and will also get rid of section 230

The KOSA act will let attorneys from Florida and Texas take control and decide what people could and could not watch and sue websites and anything they don’t like and will not protect children but mostly put many vulnerable teens and children at risk while going as far as to even censor important information like sex education, health issues, suicide prevention hotlines and many more

We have stopped these bills from passing before but the cofounder Richard Bluemenhal is clearly not giving up and trying hard and hard again to push these bills back on congress

Last year more than 90/100 human rights groups urged lawmakers and congress to not pass KOSA in the omnibus bill and it got shelved and the same then happened to Earn it last year on February/March

But now he is trying a third time,using and manipulating grieving parents and young people into supporting and lobbying his bills, whiles even accepting anti trans and LGBT groups into supporting his legislations. He’s trying to find any type of scandal a platform is currently facing and turn and twist it on behalf of his agendas.

He says he supports abortions and the LGBT community but his bills will censor those things he claims to support. He can’t have it both ways.

But he was stubborn enough to ignore every criticism and scrutiny he gets about the legislations, being childish and all.

Not to mention that they are also both privacy nightmares to everyone and globally too

That’s why it’s important that you call and email your representatives and lawmakers and urge them to drop Kosa and the earn it act

Let any human rights group you trust knows and tell anyone you trust about it weather it be a friend or family member.

For more information, click these links below ⬇️

You can also help us by joining our discord server on how to stop internet censorship

There also a petition made from Fightforfuture recently about the KOSA act

(Update # 2)

Hey guys I’m back to warn everyone about yet again another bad internet bill it’s called the safe tech act

This act is supported by 7 democratic senators including bluemenhal which is never a good sign with him when it comes to internet bills.

This is a misguided 230 reform and when reading it, all it shows is that these people have no understanding of 230 whatsoever.

It’s just another dangerous censorship bill that threatens everyone’s free speech. The creators claim that it’s won’t hurt free speech but it actually does and they do not understand how important 230 is in its current form right now!

Here is a good article explaining the safe tech act really well and why it’s dangerous :

Also talk to your representatives about this and why it’s bad and if you can, try to explain to them about why section 230 is important. Support digital advocacy, human rights and any other groups that supports free internet and expression and let them know about these legislators and their bad ideas!

Update 3

The EarnIt act is sadly coming back after failing two times, now they are trying a 3rd time.

This legislation is dangerous for privacy and free expression and speech. It will bring lots of surveillance and is just as bad as the restrict act.

https://act.eff.org/action/the-earn-it-act-is-back-seeking-to-scan-us-all

Now it’s being reintroduced by two senators and two representatives if you don’t know what this bill actually does there is more information about it here from these links : https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/04/earn-it-bill-back-again-seeking-scan-our-messages-and-photos

The second one is called KOSA (KidsOnlineSafteyAct),

now this bill has failed to pass last year because a lot of opposition from 90/100 human rights.

It claims it’s would protect kids but it’s actually has a lot of censorship and is very dangerous to lgbt/trans kids and many other kids that are in abusive households. It will actually hurt them instead of protecting them.

If that’s not bad enough it’s tragically gaining momentum and attraction by these child advocacy groups and being sponsored by Dove and Lizzo. And there has been petitions in supporting this unconstitutional bill, One of them having somewhere around 30k signs…

I really wish I could say I’m joking but this is sadly true.

If you want more info on KOSA here they are:

https://www.fightforthefuture.org/actions/censorship-wont-make-kids-safe/

Please everyone call your senators and representatives and tell them to oppose these bills. We really need help into fighting off these bill so we could keep a free opened internet!