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Guys, it got so much freaking worse. KOSA is bad, but SCREEN is even worse, somehow.

"Sen. Mike Lee has introduced the SCREEN ACT, a bill that applies the "harmful to minors" standard used to ban LGBTQ+ books and resources in schools and libraries and apply it nationally to the internet.

Any site that has any amount of material "harmful to minors" would be forced to employ surveillance tech (biometric scans, ID uploads, background checks) to prevent minors from accessing "pornography."

You will not be surprised to learn that this is backed by the Heritage Foundation.

Unlike some of the state age-verification laws, many of which are being challenged in court, SC will be enforced by the FTC, which has the ability to levy fines, raid business and freeze bank accounts. Yes, meaning that even non-for-profits like Ao3 will suffer.

This is something for all US users to keep on their radar. Call your reps, call your senators, and spread the word to protect our archive!"

- When talking with Republicans play up the fact that this would force Elon to implement age verification systems on X (yes do call it X during the call). Elon's been threatening to primary Republicans who stand in his way so there's fear of him. Also play up concerns about "Liberals" doxxing people or Chinese hackers.

- When talking with Democrats, play up the connections to Project 2025 and suggest voters will not be happy to see Democrats siding with it.

Republicans:

Ted Cruz, Texas (Chairman) - Phone: (202) 224-5922

John Thune, South Dakota - Phone: (202) 224-2321

Roger Wicker, Mississippi - Phone: (202) 224-6253

Deb Fischer, Nebraska - Phone: (202) 224-6551

Jerry Moran, Kansas - Phone: (202) 224-6521

Dan Sullivan, Alaska - Phone: (202) 224-3004

Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee - Phone: (202) 224-3344

Todd Young, Indiana - Phone: (202) 224-5623

Ted Budd, North Carolina - (202) 224-3154

Eric Schmitt, Missouri - (202) 224-5721

John Curtis, Utah - Phone: (202) 224-5251

Bernie Moreno, Ohio - Phone: 202-224-2315

Tim Sheehy, Montana - Phone: (202) 224-2644

Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia - Phone: (202) 224-6472

Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming - Phone: (202) 224-3424

Democrats:

Maria Cantwell, Washington (Ranking Member) - Phone: (202) 224-3441

Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota - Phone: (202) 224-3244

Brian Schatz, Hawaii - Phone: (202) 224-3934

Ed Markey, Massachusetts - Phone: (202) 224-2742

Gary Peters, Michigan - Phone: (202) 224-6221

Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin - Phone: (202) 224-5653

Tammy Duckworth, Illinois - Phone: (202) 224-2854

Jacky Rosen, Nevada - Phone: (202) 224-6244

Ben Ray Luján, New Mexico - Phone: (202) 224-6621

John Hickenlooper, Colorado - Phone: (202) 224-5941

John Fetterman, Pennsylvania - Phone: (202) 224-4254

Andy Kim, New Jersey - Phone: (202) 224-4744

Lisa Blunt Rochester, Delaware - Phone: (202) 224-2441

SCRIPT

Hi, my name is [], and I am one of Senator []’s constituents. I live in [city, zip code - leave your full address if leaving a voicemail].

I am calling in regards to a bill that was recently introduced in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transport: the SCREEN act.

I am asking Senator [] to either take no action or vote against this bill because of its implications for freedom of speech. [insert one of the other concerns listed above]. Thank you for your time and for listening to my concerns.

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Chris Smalls is finally released.

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If you're wondering how well the new UK internet ID law is going to be protecting the children: as it turns out it took people about 30 seconds to figure out you could trick the AI face recognition software with video game characters doing different poses (specifically this guy from Death Stranding 2).

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hey guys just here to say that the new online safety act in the uk has blocked the suicide hotline

this is extremely problematic for very obvious reasons and i have no idea what the fuck this country is fucking coming to

childline has also been restricted

if you're a uk citizen and still haven't signed the petition please do so

even if you're not a uk citizen please reblog to spread the word !!!!!

this isn't safety, it's censorship

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fyi be aware of “sami” running the accounts sami--onley, alkhleliy-family, hard-export, there are probably other accounts, claiming their fundraiser is verified on the gazavetters list #21. they were already marked as ‘removed’ on the list for awhile. “sami” (obviously not their real name) is sharing an edited/fake version of the spreadsheet where the campaign is marked as approved, however recently that name and campaign has been flagged as a scam “after confirming (Forgery and identity impersonation) misuse of verification and the threatening messages to others”, as posted on the gazavetters spreadsheet. if you donated request your refund. absolutely despicable to take advantage of a genocide like this… all that money, over €32k, donated to that scammer could’ve been sent to actual palestinians in gaza in dire need, like the family they’ve been impersonating or a grassroots initiative on the ground. also it appears 90-ghost reblogged their fundraiser obviously unintentionally and without knowledge that it’s a scam and now “sami” is using that as proof of validity. please be aware and don’t boost the scammer’s posts. this is the official gazavetters spreadsheet as posted on their account.

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If you can eat and drink, sleep in a bed, read these words, and have a bank account—you have the power to help. Don’t stay silent. Do something for Gaza today.

The Sameer Project

Dahnoun Mutual Aid

Mona's Initiative

Hussein Team

Water is Life Gaza

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Visa and Mastercard may be getting a lot of calls about their adult content policies, but I just called in to PayPal and not only was there no wait, the customer service rep I got had never had one of these calls before (they were very nice about it.)

Don't overlook the online processors - even more than Visa and Mastercard they are the ones pressuring online retailers. PayPal is the one that's been pressuring Patreon over the last year or so.

I've had no luck reaching Stripe, all of the numbers people have dug up ring through as disconnected.

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So the new itch.io guidelines are out and they are both predictably bad and also quite unpredictably bad. There's so much to go over here but here are some of the highlights:

First we have the broadly worded content restrictions. So much of this is just strictly bad for several reasons (for example, you cannot have a NSFW game that doesn't even fetishize rape but has rape be an important thematic element under these new rules) but my personal favorite is that these are so broad that huge swaths of content are just banned from itch.io. You like VNs of monster girls having sex? Sorry, but your favorite spider girl VN is animal-related, we cannot prove that you don't want to fuck spiders so its gone.

(a real problem anyone thinks about??????)

Game where you can transformed by magical artifacts and sometimes fucked? Sorry, that's non-consensual content. Banned. You cannot be transformed into a maid against your will. You also cannot have your protagonist call an older woman "mommy" because likeeeee that's incestual right?

"Minor-presenting" what the fuck does this mean. Genuinely. If a grown woman wears a fetish uniform is that minor presenting??? What the fuck are you talking about.

Also by the way if they feel your content is "too bad" for their platform, which includes a list of conditions incredibly broad to contain things like "a woman who likes being gagged during sex", they will just steal your revenue. No no no not just the revenue from the work in question. All of it. This makes any NSFW work a ticking timebomb, especially since itch.io doesn't have the fucking staff to deal with all of this! There's no second chances. You are not protected against fraudulent report or our dumb as fuck employees.

itch.io right now is just not a safe platform for NSFW content, and honestly, it really should be said, a fair swath of SFW content too. Don't use it, find alternative ways to survive in the market right now.

It's not going to be easy, but it's necessary. Here's a link to an article going over some solutions. I cannot personally vouch for any of these in particular but you need to do what you gotta.

Also, harass VISA and Mastercard. Phone calls over emails. Ruin their workflow. Do it for weeks, don't give up.

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well, this is it. It's official now.

The US is openly punishing Brazil for the crime of upholding our democracy. In front of the whole world to see.

Read this and never forget Brazil is not the first and it will not be the last. Remember the Monroe Doctrine and Operation Condor. This is just an overt display of imperialist interference in Latin America's internal politics. But they've been at it for over a century.

[screamgull]

By Mike Elk

Despite Smalls having been profiled by every major media outlet in the U.S. when he successfully led the union drive at Amazon, not a single major media outlet has covered his violent detention by the IDF.

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what YOU can do to fight KOSA

KOSA, or the Kids Online Safety Act, is back after failing to pass last year. If history has taught us anything, blanket censorship poses a very real danger to marginalized peoples including the LGBTQ+ community. Because it's never about the kids.

The best time to fight was yesterday; the second best time to fight is right fucking now. So I've scrounged like a stressed-out raccoon in an unattended garbage bin to dig up a few resources you'll hopefully consider to be helpful.

🪶 Contacting your representative is probably the most obvious step. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has made this easy as shit with a webpage that will message your rep for you. The page provides a template you can use as-is or edit freely, and a short form asking for your name, address, and contact information.

Not that you can't also reach out directly, which I do encourage because the whole process is pretty routine. To find out who to contact, you can look up your House Rep on the official govt site.

🪶 Consider also signing other petitions and supporting organizations dedicated to fighting for a free and open internet.

In addition to the ACLU, I highly recommend Fight for the Future...

... and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

I've also seen the Stop KOSA petition floating around, if you'd like to throw your name into that hat as well.

Stay vigilant and keep fighting, internet enjoyers.

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reposting from bsky, but heres a cheat sheet for how to properly send a message to payment processing companies over the recent highly conservative shift in where youre allowed to legally spend your money

more info here!

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some organizations working on the ground in gaza right now

gaza soup kitchen

the sameer project

salam charity

watermelon relief

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Uk media reporting on the OSA:

Reality: