KOSA 101

KOSA 101

Let’s talk about this. This is something I haven’t seen a lot of in my end, and this new bill may be troubling to not just us as a whole, but content creators. So, this isn’t just exclusive to AO3 anymore. This can go as far as places like Wattpad, Quotev, DeviantArt, and here.

So, to put it bluntly, if you give a fuck, listen.

What is KOSA?

KOSA (Kids Online Safety Act,) is a bill within the United States that was initially created last year with the aim of protecting youth (considerably age 16 and under,) from viewing harmful content online. It has since been updated and reintroduced by Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN.) Now, on surface level, it may seem like this has a good outlook, right? Not in the slightest. This bill, while it may not be passed yet rather introduced, may take an extreme to protect youth and monitor all. Yes, I said monitor.

Not only is NSFW content bound to be flagged, which may totally censor a lot of creators not just on this platform but others, a wider band that is under this new bill is LGBT+ content. According to Senator Blackburn of Tennessee, who is KOSA’s co-author, even education on race discrimination was viewed as “dangerous to kids,” and this soon branches out to race, gender, and sexuality discrimination. This also extends out to anxiety, depression, eating disorders, etc. The bill puts itself in the hands of State Attorney Generals in order for them to use tools of censorship against our rights and safety— not just for the youth, but for adults too, as we may face (giving an example,) hurdles trying to obtain things like legal documents.

How does KOSA work?

KOSA works by acting as a censor and self filter for the internet. By the hands of Attorney State Generals, they ultimately decide what is harmful to kids online. Though, this is a dual edged sword. This would also present the loss of access to information that a large sum of people may not deem dangerous. This again extends outward towards things like depression, substance abuse, etc— complex topics without a clear agreement on causes or solutions. This means that it could also filter, and possibly censor medical information, extending outward to trans medical care as well, which may lead on to silence the transgender community further. This is a very bad thing.

There would still be features like Age Verification, but it also filters legal speech. What I mean by “there will still be features,” to give an example, Tumblr has a tab in settings where you can add your birthday, which in turn verifies how old you are. Tiktok has this feature as well. About filtering legal speech, any kind of media or information that has to do with societal ills that is held on a platform, for example, Tumblr, will enable that platform to be held liable for holding that information. But… it may seem like I’m getting off topic, aren’t I?

So let’s swing back around…

KOSA has the ability to hurt creators on several different platforms. This gives the United States Government unlimited range of control over the internet.

This linktree has at least four different petitions open for you to take action against the bill, and to contact your congressmen and women. There’s also a discord server that’s dedicated to stopping KOSA from passing.

By doing this, you are spreading your voice. You are helping millions of people nationally— creators, artists, writers, everyone.

And finally, don’t just like this post. Reblog it— it helps it spread and gain exposure.

Let’s put an end to KOSA.

Raph in the background-

and the fact that Leo basically committed suicide to stay with Mikey fucking hurts.

Part 9!

I had an interesting time coming up with this dialog. Because originally, Leo was like, "I'll be with you." And Mikey was like, "no, you idiot, the whole point is for you to leave."

But the more I thought about it, the more unnatural it seemed to me. Such blind simultaneous self-sacrifice? Without any hesitation?

Just think about it. You're on a sinking ship and you've successfully put the people most important to you into lifeboats. But what if one of them doesn't want to leave? What if one of them takes your hand and says they are willing to go down with you because they don't want you to go through this alone? Would you be able to say no?

Part 1

Ah, discord.

The place where I can make the horniest, most down bad jokes and people are barely phased.

Look out, kraang! This saber toothed teleporting canine can bite one of your hounds in half!

"You'll pay for what you've done to me."

You’re fine lmfao I’m also very “normal” about him.

(I’m going to strangle x-gaster with my bare hands and beat him to death with a steel chair)

W-why do people want to Marry the skeleton men-

Sweetie you’re only kissing teeth.

Bros be out here like: oh my gosh look at (insert sans here) he’s so fucking handsom I’m gunna marry him

Meanwhile I’m over here holding cross like: this is my son. He is very babygirl and he gets hugs every half hour.

Twitter is rebranding to X.com, huh?

*glancing at Xtale*

*at cross and xgaster specifically*

Bruhhh Xtale got a whole social media now nawh 💀