#political censorship

[toss-a-coin-to-your-stan-account]

hey since it's coming up again: no it's not a good thing that the government wants to ban tiktok. no you should not be glad that the government might ban tiktok. no you should not respond to this with "good riddance" or "hurry up I hate that app". I should not have to explain this to you but the government banning a social media app is still a bad thing even if you don't like the UI or booktok or having to say "unalive" or how you think it's killing the very notion of attention spans. It's still bad. It's bad.

#the amount of times ive seen people be happy they're trying to ban it as if its not blatant censorship is like... #hey did you know that we have these things called brain cells? might be fun for you to try using them #mine #tiktok #tiktok ban #us politics

[houseofpurplestars]

Senate trying to pass a bill that would force you to use your government id just to use the internet. That means no anonymity at all, ever, and that every pro-Palestinian organizer is immediately a target that the government can track. And they will use it explicitly to come after protestors and organizers.

#KOSA #us politics #censorship #free palestine #free gaza #i stand with palestine #palestine #gaza #solidarity #disability

[mswyrr]

#us politics tag #censorship #purity culture

[fullhalalalchemist]

URGENT: 🚨🚨EARN IT ACT IS BACK IN THE SENATE 🚨🚨 TUMBLR’S NSFW BAN HITTING THE ENTIRE INTERNET THIS SUMMER 2023

April 28, 2023

I’m so sorry for the long post but please please please pay attention and spread this

What is the EARN IT Act?

The EARN IT Act (s. 1207) has been roundly condemned by nearly every major LGBTQ+ advocacy and human rights organization in the country.

This is the third time the Senate has been trying to force this through, and I talked about it last year. It is a bill that claims "protects children and victims against CSAM" by creating an unelected and politically appointed national commission of law enforcement specialists to dictate "best practices" that websites all across the nation will be forced to follow. (Keep in mind, most websites in the world are created in the US, so this has global ramifications). These "best practices" would include killing encryption so that any law enforcement can scan and see every single message, dm, photo, cloud storage, data, and any website you have every so much as glanced at. Contrary to popular belief, no they actually can't already do that. These "best practices" also create new laws for "removing CSAM" online, leading to mass censorship of non-CSAM content like what happened to tumblr. Keep in mind that groups like NCOSE, an anti-LGBT hate group, will be allowed on this commission. If websites don't follow these best practices, they lose their Section 230 protections, leading to mass censorship either way.

Section 230 is foundational to modern online communications. It's the entire reason social media exists. It grants legal protection to users and websites, and says that websites aren't responsible for what users upload online unless it's criminal. Without Section 230, websites are at the mercy of whatever bullshit regulatory laws any and every US state passes. Imagine if Texas and Florida were allowed to say what you can and can't publish and access online. That is what will happen if EARN IT passes. (For context, Trump wanted to get rid of Section 230 because he knew it would lead to mass govt surveillance and censorship of minorities online.)

This is really not a drill. Anyone who makes or consume anything “adult” and LGBT online has to be prepared to fight Sen. Blumenthal’s EARN IT Act, brought back from the grave by a bipartisan consensus to destroy Section 230. If this bill passes, we’re going to see most, if not all, adult content and accounts removed from mainstream platforms. This will include anything related to LGBT content, including SFW fanfiction, for example. Youtube, Twitter, Reddit, Tiktok, Tumblr, all of them will be completely gutted of anything related to LGBT content, abortion healthcare, resources for victims of any type of abuse, etc. It is a right-wing fascists wet dream, which is why NCOSE is behind this bill and why another name for this bill is named in reference to NCOSE.

NCOSE used to be named Morality in Media, and has rebranded into an "anti-trafficking" organization. They are a hate group that has made millions off of being "against trafficking" while helping almost no victims and pushing for homophobic laws globally. They have successfully pushing the idea that any form of sexual expression, including talking about HEALTH, leads to sex trafficking. That's how SESTA passed. Their goal is to eliminate all sex, anything gay, and everything that goes against their idea of ‘God’ from the internet and hyper disney-fy and sanitize it. This is a highly coordinated attack on multiple fronts.

The EARN IT Act will lead to mass online censorship and surveillance. Platforms will be forced to scan their users’ communications and censor all sex-related content, including sex education, literally anything lgbt, transgender or non-binary education and support systems, aything related to abortion, and sex worker communication according to the ACLU. All this in the name of “protecting kids” and “fighting CSAM”, both of which the bill does nothing of the sort. In fact it makes fighting CSEM even harder.

EARN IT will open the way for politicians to define the category of “pornography" as they — or the lobbies that fund them — please. The same way that right-wing groups have successfully banned books about race and LGBT, are banning trans people from existing, all under the guise of protecting children from "grooming and exploitation", is how they will successfully censor the internet.

As long as state legislatures can tie in "fighting CSAM" to their bullshit laws, they can use EARN IT to censor and surveill whatever they want.

This is already a nightmare enough. But the bill also DESTROYS ENCRYPTION, you know, the thing protecting literally anyone or any govt entity from going into your private messages and emails and anything on your devices and spying on you.

This bill is going to finish what FOSTA/SESTA started. And that should terrify you.

Senator Blumenthal (Same guy who said ‘Facebook should ban finsta’) pushed this bill all of 2020, literally every activist (There were more than half a million signatures on this site opposing this act!) pushed hard to stop this bill. Now he brings it back, doesn’t show the text of the bill until hours later, and it’s WORSE. Instead of fixing literally anything in the bill that might actually protect kids online, Bluemnthal is hoping to fast track this and shove it through, hoping to get little media attention other than propaganda of “protecting kids” to support this shitty legislation that will harm kids. Blumental doesn't care about protecting anyone, and only wants his name in headlines.

It will make CSAM much much worse.

One of the many reasons this bill is so dangerous: It totally misunderstands how Section 230 works, and in doing so (as with FOSTA) it is likely to make the very real problem of CSAM worse, not better. Section 230 gives companies the flexibility to try different approaches to dealing with various content moderation challenges. It allows for greater and greater experimentation and adjustments as they learn what works – without fear of liability for any “failure.” Removing Section 230 protections does the opposite. It says if you do anything, you may face crippling legal liability. This actually makes companies less willing to do anything that involves trying to seek out, take down, and report CSAM because of the greatly increased liability that comes with admitting that there is CSAM on your platform to search for and deal with. This liability would allow anyone for any reason to sue any platform they want, suing smaller ones out of existence. Look at what is happening right now with book bans across the nation with far right groups. This is going to happen to the internet if this bill passes.

(Remember, the state department released a report in December 2021 recommending that the government crack down on “obscenity” as hard the Reagan Administration did. If this bill passes, it could easily go way beyond shit red states are currently trying. It is a goldmine for the fascist right that is currently in the middle of banning every book that talks about race and sexuality across the US.)

The reason these bills keep showing up is because there is this false lie spread by organizations like NCOSE that platforms do nothing about CSEM online. However, platforms are already liable for child sexual exploitation under federal law. Tech companies sent more than 45 million+ instances of CSAM to the DOJ in 2019 alone, most of which they declined to investigate. This shows that platforms are actually doing everything in their power already to stop CSEM by following already existing laws. The Earn It Act includes zero resources for proven investigation or prevention programs. If Senator Bluementhal actually cared about protecting youth, why wouldn’t he include anything to actually protect them in his shitty horrible bill? EARN IT is actually likely to make prosecuting child molesters more difficult since evidence collected this way likely violates the Fourth Amendment and would be inadmissible in court.

I don’t know why so many Senators are eager to cosponsor the “make child pornography worse” bill, but here we are.

HOW TO FIGHT BACK

EARN IT Act was introduced just two weeks ago and is already being fast-tracked. It will be marked up the week of May 1st and head to the Senate floor immediately after. If there is no loud and consistent opposition, it will be law by JUNE! Most bills never go to markup, so this means they are putting pressure to move this through. There are already 20 co-sponsors, a fifth of the entire Senate. This is an uphill battle and it is very much all hands on deck.

CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES.

This website takes you to your Senator / House members contact info. EMAIL, MESSAGE, SEND LETTERS, CALL CALL CALL CALL CALL. Calling is the BEST way to get a message through. Get your family and friends to send calls too. This is literally the end of free speech online.

[phone] connects you to the congressional hotline. Here is a call script if you don't know what to say. Call them every day. Even on the weekends, leaving voicemails are fine.

2. Sign these petitions!

Link to Petition 1

Link to Petition 2

3. SPREAD THE WORD ONLINE

If you have any social media, spread this online. One of the best ways we fought back against this last year was MASSIVE spread online. Tiktok, reddit, twitter, discord, whatever means you have at least mention it. We could see most social media die out by this fall if we don't fight back.

Here is a linktree with more information on this bill including a masterpost of articles, the links to petitions, and the call script.

DISCORD LINK IF YOU WANT TO HELP FIGHT IT

TLDR: The EARN IT Act will lead to online censorship of any and all adult & lgbt content across the entire internet, open the floodgates to mass surveillance the likes which we haven’t seen before, lead to much more CSEM being distributed online, and destroy encryption. Call 202-224-3121 to connect to your house and senate representative and tell them to VOTE NO on this bill that does not protect anyone and harms everyone.

#earn it act #internet censorship #restrict act #us politics #net neutrality

[allthecanadianpolitics]

A resident physician at the University of Ottawa's faculty of medicine who was suspended over pro-Palestinian social media posts says he's been reinstated but has no plans to return to the institution. Dr. Yipeng Ge, 29, was sanctioned by the university last November after it got several complaints about a series of pro-Palestinian posts he'd made, ones that included references to "apartheid" and "settler colonialism." At the time of his suspension, Ge had been a fourth-year public health and preventive medicine resident and was completing a residency at the Public Health Agency of Canada. His research has focused on Indigenous health, anti-racism and decolonization.

Continue Reading

Tagging @politicsofcanada

#cdnpoli #canada #canadian politics #canadian news #ontario #university of ottawa #censorship #palestine #solidarity with palestine #racism

[bunnyhugs22]

#tiktok #tik tok ban #usa politics #censorship #nina turner

[intersectionalpraxis]

The US government recently tried to pass a bill that would make it illegal to boycott. Consumers saying that we refuse to buy from companies that fund or support genocide DOES have power and impact. The BDS movement also isn't an overnight trend. It can last years or even decades. That's the commitment. So what do you mean we aren't doing much? Many stores have had to be closed, and lots of money has been lost for Starbucks and McDonald's, as just 2 examples.

I also already wrote about the dangerous slippery slope of censorship. It doesn't make a difference if you don't like tiktok (even though, just to clarify -tiktok has a plethora of content, which includes plenty of amazing educational content creators too) -it's also where A LOT of people get accessible, up-to-date information about world events -including what has been happening in Gaza. You know -the genocide the US and many fellow countries are vehemently denying. A genocide that is being funded by US tax dollars.

"Emotional thinking" is also a very interesting concept to me because where do you think this passion comes from Congressional Representatives? Who so desperately want to shut down an app more than they want to end gun violence, to push for rent control, free tuition, universal Healthcare...

This defeatist mentality -this apathetic mentality is killing people. Shame on you.

#feminist #social justice #free palestine #palestine #free gaza #freepalastine🇵🇸 #current events #keep boycotting #boycotting #boycott #bds movement #united states #us imperialism #us congress #us politics #gaza strip #gaza genocide #tiktok ban #censorship

[shortbreads]

#censorship #earn it act #us politics #fuck america

[amereid1960]

إجراءات الدفع بعدم الدستورية بين الرقابة السياسية والرقابة القضائية - دراسة مقارنة

إجراءات الدفع بعدم الدستورية بين الرقابة السياسية والرقابة القضائية – دراسة مقارنة إجراءات الدفع بعدم الدستورية بين الرقابة السياسية والرقابة القضائية – دراسة مقارنة الكاتب : مهداوي عبد القادر الملخص: تختلف إجراءات الدفع بعدم دستورية القوانين في الدول التي أوكلت مهمة الرقابة على دستورية القوانين إلى هيئة سياسية عن الدول التي أوكلت هذه المهمة إلى هيئة قضائية، فالدول التي أخذت بالرقابة السياسية مثل…

View On WordPress

#judicial supervision. #political censorship #unconstitutionality of laws #الدفع بعدم دستورية القوانين ; رقابة سياسية ; رقابة قضائية

[alewaanewspaper1960]

إجراءات الدفع بعدم الدستورية بين الرقابة السياسية والرقابة القضائية - دراسة مقارنة

إجراءات الدفع بعدم الدستورية بين الرقابة السياسية والرقابة القضائية – دراسة مقارنة إجراءات الدفع بعدم الدستورية بين الرقابة السياسية والرقابة القضائية – دراسة مقارنة الكاتب : مهداوي عبد القادر الملخص: تختلف إجراءات الدفع بعدم دستورية القوانين في الدول التي أوكلت مهمة الرقابة على دستورية القوانين إلى هيئة سياسية عن الدول التي أوكلت هذه المهمة إلى هيئة قضائية، فالدول التي أخذت بالرقابة السياسية مثل…

View On WordPress

#judicial supervision. #political censorship #unconstitutionality of laws #الدفع بعدم دستورية القوانين ; رقابة سياسية ; رقابة قضائية

[flurriethefox]

Hey, so, uh…

KOSA literally violates the First Amendment freedoms. If this is passed, then that means the Constitution and Bill of Rights are basically void, because Congress are ignoring them. THATS A PROBLEM

As a teen myself, it pisses me off. I wish for anarchy, with everything the US government has been doing, from supporting Israhell to this bullshit.

Please, do what you can to prevent this from getting passed. It violates everyone’s rights in the US, and if it gets passed, then we’re back to where we started; a monarchy. Just with far too many people.

#kosa bill #stop kosa #internet censorship #internet freedom #bill of rights #usa #congress #us politics

[charliejaneanders]

Today I managed to reach a real live human being at Senator Butler's office to register my concerns about KOSA. I went through my concerns that this bill would be used by red state AGs to silence queer people online. But then I did something that seemed to make an impression.

I got a bit more personal, and said that as a transgender person I am actually scared that this will drive me off the internet and cut me off from my community.

I also said that my friends have trans kids, who depend on the internet for support. And I'm legit worried what'll happen to them.

I think that talking about my personal worries for this bill really helped drive my message home. I got a somewhat warmer response than in the past when I've called.

I've said this before, but my guess is that if this bill passes, it will be similar to what happened with sesta-fosta.

Platforms will either ban content that might be challenged, or merely shadowban it.

There is a lot of fear-mongering right now about algorithms recommending harmful content to kids. In response, platforms may do the opposite: set up algorithms to ensure that nobody sees content that Republicans don't like.

#kosa #stop kosa #kids online safety act #kids online safety bill #politics #censorship #lgbtqia #queer #queer community #trans #transgender #non binary #please call your senator now

[blogjeepster]

The Left's Microaggression Obsession -- Universities Are Silencing Debate | [site:name] | National Review

The Gospel Message of Transformation vs The Godless Message of Tolerance and Transitioning – Gab News

#censorship examples #censorship meaning in history #censorship synonym #censorship in media #importance of censorship #types of censorship #political censorship #censorship in schools

[unityrain24]

if you are a USAmerican and care about any of the following:

fandom spaces and activities, such as shipping, fanart, fanfiction, and more

the LGBTQ+ community

sexism, feminism

racisism, racial equality

the genocide in palestine

the things happening in sudan, congo, lebanon, yemen, etc...

equality and equity

being able to voice your opinions on the government

government transparency

your right to freedom of speech, expression, and press under the constitution

THEN PLEASE HELP STOP KOSA

#unityrain.txt #kosa #stop kosa #fuck kosa #kids online safety act #censorship #politics #us politics

[yugiohz]

damn i'd be suffering from "activism fatigue" as well if this was the first time i'd be keeping up with news and politics

#just an educated guess but it does look like a lot of nerds are overwhelmed because they are never confronted with politics and world event #if its not about fanfic censorship or wga strikes they just dont care #it doesnt affect them

[prokopetz]

A recurring theme I see in discussion of the present wave of Internet content regulation bills is the presumption that politicians are just so old and out of touch that they don't realise that these bills will have a deleterious effect on everyday communication. Y'all, they know. By and large, modern governments just don't want people talking to each other – they'd cheerfully impose licensing, monitoring, and identity disclosure requirements on talking to the person sitting next to you on the bus if there was any practicable means of doing so. Don't give these ghouls the benefit of the doubt.

#computers #technology #internet #censorship #politics