Bad Internet Bills - Tumblr Posts
URGENT: Congress about to pass a mass censorship and surveillance bill under the guise of "protecting children"
May 13 2023
The Senate has been in a "do something!" mode regarding children's online safety. They're using this as an excuse to push for widespread internet censorship and surveillance. The EARN IT Act, has a slimmer chance of passing with widespread opposition and some senators saying they won't vote for it. TLDR;The real threat is actually KOSA (s.1409), the Kid's Online Safety Act, which will mass censor and surveill the entire internet by giving all 50 state attorney generals the power to remove content that is "harmful" for kids, and force you to upload your govt ID online to access the internet. I'll explain how it works below the action items but it's absolutely urgent that anyone who likes having a free and open internet fights back. It's all hands on deck, because this has so much public support it's insane:
HOW TO FIGHT KOSA
CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES & THE COMMERCE COMMITTEE
This is a link to the Senate Commerce Committee phone numbers and a call script to read off of. (202) 224-3121 connects you to the congressional hotline
Opposition is getting drowned, and these upcoming weeks will be heavy for lobbying and they're using young people to do it. We NEED to show these senators that young people are actually opposed to this and don't want it.
2. Sign these petitions
Open Letter Against KOSA
Petition 1
Petition 2
Petition 3
Petition 4
Resistbot: Text PHJDYH to 50409
3. Spread the word.
The opposition is getting absolutely drowned online. Dove has nearly 100k signatures to push for KOSA. Influencers on tiktok are pushing for this without ever having read the bill. Fucking Lizzo is sponsoring it. If you have twitter, reddit, tiktok, are in any community, SPREAD THE WORD, PLEASE.
Here is a linktree with all the above petitions for easy shargin: Link to linktree
HOW KOSA WORKS
First, KOSA pressures platforms to install filters that would wipe the net of anything deemed “inappropriate” for minors. This means instructing platforms to censor. We saw how these filters impacted websites firsthand with tumblr in 2018, with not only blocking all adult content but also sfw queer content such as suicide hotlines, art archives, wiping out entire blogs because they had queer fandom related posts, etc. Places that already use content filters have restricted important information about suicide prevention and LGBTQ+ support groups. KOSA would spread this kind of censorship to every corner of the internet. And who gets to decide what is and isn't harmful for minors? Oh don't worry, just every single state attorney general and the FTC, which is appointed by the president. You know, the same attorney generals that just banned gender-affirming healthcare under the guise that it "ruins mental health" of minors. This is why the Heritage Foundation was one of the first to sponsor the bill because they can use it to censor trans content, and Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee is it's co-author.
Second, KOSA would ramp up the online surveillance of all internet users by forcing websites to use age verification and parental monitoring tools. Yup, that's right. Now every single person who wants to access the internet has to upload their govt ID online to third party apps that get hacked all the time. You queer in a red state? You undocumented? You an activist? Have fun getting all your online activity and metadata attached to your govt ID.
Over 90+ human and LGBT rights groups agree that KOSA is dangerous and updates to the 2023 version won’t and can’t address the big problems with the bill. This bill has MASSIVE bipartisan support, and the authors Blumenthal and Blackburn (yes, that Blumenthal that's pushing the EARN IT Act, and who also sponsored the RESTRICT Act and SOPA/PIPA if you remember) are using the tragedy of mothers who lost their kids to online harassment and young adults who've been traumatized online to lobby for it, and got Dove the company to use a bunch of influencers to push for this under the guise it prevents eating disorders...I wish I was lying. There are already 30 co-sponsors.
It is all hands on deck. I'm dead serious when I say if this bill is passed it is the beginning if not end of the open and free internet.
(BAD) UPDATE ON KOSA !
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/02/dont-fall-latest-changes-dangerous-kids-online-safety-act
This may seem grim but we Can still stop this bill if we focus on contacting senators /the House and keep spreading the word.
PLEASE REBLOG !
Join our Discord server to organize against it :
https://discord.gg/pwTSXZMxnH
TAKE ACTION HERE
https://www.badinternetbills.com/
MORE INFO HERE
https://www.tumblr.com/taikeero-lecoredier/709890130733826048/these-twos-bills-are-very-bad-for-the-future-of
SPREAD THE WORD !
KOSA BILL AND BAD INTERNET BILLS UPDATE:
Making my own because I'm tired of kids spreading misinformation.
What happened today?
Today Kosa was signed for markup, and to our pain it passed. But that isn't the end at all, especially since two senators voiced their concerns about this bill thanks to all the people emailing and calling.
The senate is currently in recess till September, and that gives us a month to keep the calls and emails coming, to make sure this bill never becomes a law. Our fighting doesn't end here, at all.
What can i do?
Any questions?
Petitions to sign, scripts and numbers:
RED ALERT FOR THE INTERNET: KOSA AND EARN IT ACT ARE RETURNING(2024)
These twos bills are very bad for the future of the Internet. Like..Very bad.
In a nutshell, KOSA would allow states to sue any websites that host content deemed “harmful” to minors. With such a vague wording, its expected that any nsfw or lgbt content will immediately be taken down.
Plus, it will be made mandatory to use IDs to confirm your age when going online, to so called “protect kids” but all that will cause is a huge potential data breach.
As for the Earn It Act bill, it would allow the governement to spy and filter out antyhing they dont like in private dms for any users,as well as blowing a hole into Section 230 : The thing that prevent websites from being directly liable in case a user post something illegal,instead of the user being punished directly.
I also made comics about these in the past, while the “contact your senators” bits may be outdated, I heavily encourage you to spread the word about this, as the linktrees are very interesting and useful still, especially call script wise.
KOSA Comic here
Earn It Act comic here
New post here
KOSA UPDATE !!! (16/02/2024)
PLEASE REBLOG !
ALSO IF YOU WANNA HELP DO JOIN OUR DISCORD SERVER AGAINST THESE BILLS
https://discord.gg/pwTSXZMxnH
lets talk about KOSA
i havent seen any posts about it on my dash, and i think this is really important because it puts Tumblr as well as queer/minority creators on this platform at risk. since i have a lot of queer mutuals, i want to make sure you all are informed.
KOSA (Kids Online Safety Act) is being presented to Congress this upcoming month. its being presented as a way to "protect teens/children and their mental health online by regulating content online". however, it puts queer/minority creators and their content at risk of being totally censored. sites like TikTok, Ao3/Wattpad, Tumblr, and essentially anything that gives queer people a significant platform online is at risk of being deleted/wiped or censored into oblivion. under the guise of "kids mental health" this act would heavily restrict queer people and their voices online.
what can you do?
this linktree provides resources to help you take action and protect queer voices online from KOSA. please take the time to do what you can. if you spend any amount of time on Tumblr and value any of the queer voices you have access to on this platform, take action.
YOU GUYS!!!!
The reason why KOSA was declined LAST TIME was because people called continuously to senators and told them NOT TO ACCEPT THE BILL!!!! KEEP ON CALLING!!! KEEP ON SIGNING PETITIONS AGAINST KOSA!!! THESE INTERNET BILLS ARE NOT AT ALL GOOD!!!!! The government should NOT be keeping you all on parental controls on the INTERNET!!! KEEP ON CALLING!!! THIS IS LITERALLY ONE OF THE WAYS!!!!
A Word About KOSA
I am encouraging you, please, PLEASE, tell (other) adults about this, tell your parents, especially if you're a minor, you're coworkers, familiar acquaintances, if they don't know already.
Important things to highlight (I may mess some up, please correct me if I'm wrong) are that this doesn't just effect America, that it's everyone who uses the Internet. That you have to give your ID to big tech companies, and exaggerate the stress of that. Mention the struggles it'd cause for them, how it'll greatly restrict access to so much info and if you can, try to get personal about it. Tell them how quick it is to stop this.
Please, please, please, get as many people you can to stop this! Hope is not lost yet!!
Unfriendly reminder that this God awful bill is still alive.
Slam all three of your representatives’ offices with calls telling them to vote ‘No’ to KOSA & it’s copycats, but how dangerous they are as well.
hey um! with KOSA looking more and more closer to passing, email and call your reps to prevent it from passing! bad internet bills is a helpful site with an easy to fill out forum that does not take long to complete stop KOSA is also another good site w/ a prefilled out message you can send (with resources for those not in the U.S. too!), and much like bad internet bills, it has an easy to fill out form that does NOT take long to complete this is very important! because this will effect ALL of us, not just usamericans! this is something that has the power to irreversibly ruin the internet as a whole
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. OR DOOMSDAY. WE NEED EVERYONE TO KNOW ABOUT THIS AND CONTRIBUTE. I'M NOT GIVING UP ON YOU ALL.
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.
ENDING KOSA!
The only reason it didn't pass the first two times is because we spoke out about it!
DON'T PANIC, TAKE ACTION.
LET'S GET KOSA TRENDING TO GET IT ENDING!
KOSA IS GETTING FORCED THROUGH ATTACHED ARE SCRIPTS FOR EITHER A DEM OR REP SENATOR CALL NOW PLEASE
hey don't forget to sign the stop kosa petition
it's almost at it's goal but even then sign the other ones too
if the bill passes can you imagine how limited everyone would be, mass censorship no privacy etc
🚨🚨I MUST ASK ONCE AGAIN FOR THE FUTURE OF A FREE AND EQUAL INTERNET I AM BEGGING YOU TO SIGN THESE PETITIONS, DONATE, SHARE TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW, THIS IS SERIOUSLY THE VERY LAST CHANCE!!!🚨🚨
I do not care how busy you are right now, I implore you to take 15 minutes and sign all of these petitions and spread awareness. Share these links absolutely everywhere, Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, Ao3. everywhere!!
Because if these bills pass:..
Say goodbye to fandoms...
Say goodbye to fanfiction/fanart...
Say goodbye to LGBTQIA+ safe spaces...
Say goodbye to private messaging...
Say goodbye to proper sexual health education (including info about safe and healthy abortions)...
I am not exaggerating...
DM me for more questions.
The end of online privacy
Now, this isn't something I usually post about from my silly goofy k1nk account (reminder to minors to not follow or scroll this acount).
But I have more followers on here than main, and this is extremely important. Like, scary shit.
This applies to everyone. If you're reading this? It's going to effect you.
I'm sure perhaps some of you have seen around about a this thing going around... KOSA, is one of the ways it's being referred to.
If this shit passes, lemme tell you...
LGBTQ+ adults and minors seeking help and community,
people looking for abortions,
people organizing protests,
anyone using their free speech to voice concerns about injustices,
even FAN ARTISTS...
Even people reading fan fiction...
And for the purposes of where I'm posting from... people sharing and enjoying their k1nks, wanting to post things with safety and privacy... smut artists and writers, people even LOOKING for smut...
It's all gone. No privacy.
They'll have your face, your name, your age, where you live.
You'll need an ID to use any US-based platform, even if you're NOT in the United States.
Instead of dooming, here's what you can do to stop this shit in it's tracks 👍
Here is a website where you can sign a letter just by filling out a form, (it takes less than 30 seconds) and where you can call reps.
I HIGHLY suggest leaving calls if you're able, and if you have phone shyness, do this after 6pm, since it will leave messages instead.
I'm shy, but I did it!
Here's another letter to sign, takes less than 20 seconds.
Here is a form you can fill out sharing how the social media has POSITIVELY effected you.
Share all of this with as many people as you can. Our safety, freedom, joy, and protection online is at risk more than ever.
(Here is the thread where I found all of this information.)
STAY SAFE!
it’s time to start emailing and calling!
find your
senate representative: https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member
house representative:
use this script if your representative is a republican
[description: text that reads “My name is (blank where you’d say your name)
and I'm one of your constituents.
I'm calling to urge you to vote NO on KOSA - the Kids Online Safety Act. The bill's sponsors claim it will protect kids by placing a duty of care on online platforms to prevent anything that could be harmful, but who decides what's harmful and what's free speech?
The power to decide has been ceded to the FTC. FTC leadership is made by presidential appointment. Current president Lina Khan, a Biden appointee, will have one agenda, but what happens when the someone even farther left than Joe Biden is in the Oval Office?
Imagine a President Gavin Newsom or Letitia James: Do you trust their appointee not to abuse this enforcement power tol› scrub information about your children's second amendment rights from the internet.
KOSA claims to protect kids, but it's poorly designed and will absolutely, without question, harm children, adults, and anyone who values free speech online. Vote NO on KOSA. end description]
use this if your representative is democrat
[description: text that reads “My name is (blank where you’d say your name)
and I'm one of your constituents.
I'm calling to urge you to vote NO on KOSA - the Kids Online Safety Act. The bill's sponsors claim it will protect kids by placing a duty of care on online platforms to prevent anything that could be harmful.
The power to decide what's harmful has been ceded to the FTC.
FTC leadership is made by presidential appointment. Current president Lina Khan may proceed fairly, but what happens when the next Donald Trump is in the Oval Office? What if it's Trump himself? Do you trust a Trump appointee not to abuse this enforcement power?
KOSA claims to protect kids, but it's poorly designed and, given time, it will absolutely and without question, harm LGBTQ children, adults, and anyone who needs information on reproductive health or abortion.
KOSA author, Senator Marsha Blackburn, said she introduced KOSA in part - and I quote - "to protect minor children from the transgender in our society." The Heritage Foundation proudly said they'll apply pressure through KOSA to block information about abortion, reproductive health, & LGBTQ issues.
Vote NO on KOSA.” end description]
only call/email once! be honest and accurate with your information!
So apparently KOSA (2024 edition) is getting either thrown out until next year or put into effect in six days.
Update that's going in the main post at the top: it has enough support to pass.
It failed the last two times because people were voting against it.
This time, KOSA has traction among the pro-LGBTQ parties. Because nobody is fucking calling their bullshit and screaming from the rooftops that calling it the "Kids Online Safety Act" is misleading.
What will it passing do?
Nothing much, only prevent any education on LGBTQIA+ (it's that stupid fucking argument about us grooming kids again), shut down nearly every fandom space on the internet, and make it required for most big tech companies to have your ID.
Want to have resources for kids to discover their identity readily available? Yes? Then fucking speak up against this stupid fucking bill.
Fandom spaces like Tumblr, Twitter (? I thought the MAGA assholes liked Musk?), Tiktok, Archive Of Our Own, and any other website that hosts fanfic or fanart? Either shut down permanently, forced to uproot to a different country and down for a while (best case scenario, and they likely won't be able to send any data, and therefore fanfics, to the US), or gutted so that you only get to put G rated cishet ships on there, if any shipping at all. How to avoid that? I've already said it: Call your fucking representatives.
Want to avoid the fucking dystopic task of being legally obligated to give big tech your government issue ID? Again, cause an uproar. Call your goddamned representatives.
If they can pass this, the ripple effects could be catastrophic.
So, for fuck's sake, any Americans that can impact this stupid fucking bill and see this? Do everything in your power to shut it down because you have until February twenty sixth (26th) to send this bill back to where it belongs.
And if you can't do that? Reblog, copy my tags, and boost the signal.
Sorry not sorry for ranting, making you scroll through that, and swearing a probably excessive amount, but KOSA is a bill with a GLOBAL IMPACT being passed by ONE COUNTRY because some old people are scared of two guys with who were told they were girls kissing within five hundred miles of a child. Fuck this shit, I shouldn't have to worry about bad bills in America but I fucking do because I use the internet and would like to avoid mass censorship. Fuck this, fuck conservatives, and fuck the fact that some boomers make your country's policies.
Now, if you won't mind me, I'm going to be up until three in the morning downloading fanfiction or copying and pasting them into a a text file if I can't so I can read them by the end of the week.
Kosa is the most horrifying thing to think about. Sometimes I want to forget about it but I know that won’t stop it from flying through congress and into law.
Teens will not have ways to learn about what’s happening in the world. Marginalized groups will not have the internet spaces that they do. Mental and sexual health will be censored. Activism will be censored. Everything important that you care about is going to be censored. They do this on purpose, especially to the youth, to keep us uninformed and unrepresented.
I don’t have the words to express how much this scares me. This will impact us all regardless of age, but for now I’m still a minor and it’s even scarier. I have friends younger than me who will have to endure it for longer than I do. I’m completely terrified because we are about to be trapped.
Please do not panic too much yet about KOSA, we will still have time to fight if it passes the Senate. If it does, then it will still need to pass the House, which is currently in disarray, and then be signed into law by the president.
We still have time, please keep fighting!
Thank you, I needed to hear this. I’m trying not to panic about it, i genuinely think that we got this!! Stay strong too anon, and thank you.
URGENT: KOSA GOING TO HOUSE TODAY!!
[ID: a screenshot of a discord message from user @Taikeero-Lecoredier which reads: "@everyone
‼️URGENT: KOSA has been officially introduced in the House as of today.
We need to spread the word on social media and urge people to send emails to Congress through stopkosa.com.
https://www.stopkosa.com/
• There will be a hearing on Wednesday (17th April) where KOSA, along with some other bad internet bills, like the Protecting Kids on Social Media Act could be pushed.
• We will be having a calling day on TUESDAY (16 th April) to make clear to Congress that there is still a ton of opposition to these bills.
https://energycommerce.house.gov/posts/chair-rodgers-and-ranking-member-pallone-announce-legislative-hearing-on-data-privacy-proposals-1
• House Energy and Commerce is holding the hearing so they are the best offices to call this week ‼️
https://energycommerce.house.gov/representatives
DONT FORGET: You can go to what-to-write-and-say and check pins to know what to say !!
• You can use http://badinternetbills.com/ to contact your congress people!
• And https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative to find all of the phone numbers of your House Representative, and faxzero.com to send up to 5 free faxes a day
SPREAD THE WORD !!" End ID]
^^ PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD AND CALL, EMAIL AND FAX YOUR REPS ASAP!!
here's another site where you can find your Reps if the one provided above gives you trouble.
here's a perma link to the Stop Internet Censorship Discord, where there are loads of resources and petitions to sign and actions you can take to keep the Internet censorship free.