#Educating Your Teen on Online Safety

[kidsinnowadays]

How to Unplug Your Teen from Social Media: The Revolutionary Guide to Reconnecting Offline

Explore groundbreaking strategies to help your teenager strike a healthy balance between online and offline life, fostering meaningful connections beyond screens. #TeenSocialMedia #OfflineReconnection #ParentingTips #TechBalance

Navigating the Social Media Landscape In the era of smartphones and constant connectivity, social media has become an integral part of our lives, especially for teenagers. While these platforms offer opportunities for self-expression and social interaction, they also come with challenges, including excessive screen time and potential negative impacts on mental health. As parents, it’s crucial to…

[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!

[prettycottonmouthlamia]

The only real solution to protecting kids, teens, and adolescents from predators online is to have realistic, grounded internet safety education from both our schools and parents. It is to reject the culture that has been established of using the internet as a way to keep your teenager occupied. For parents to be more positively involved in the lives of their kid.

Purging the internet of anything you deem "impure" has not and is not doing anything.

[myalgias]

Excerpts from the article:

Because it’s clear that being “the last public space” isn’t a privilege. It’s a sign that something has gone terribly wrong.

At the time, countless articles asked if new technology meant “the death of the public library.” Instead, the institution completely transformed itself. Libraries carved out a new role providing online access to those who needed it. They abandoned the big central desk, stopped shushing patrons, and pushed employees out onto the floor to do programming. Today, you’ll find a semester’s load of classes, events, and seminars at your local library: on digital photography, estate planning, quilting, audio recording, taxes for seniors, gaming for teens, and countless “circle times” in which introverts who probably chose the profession because of their passion for Victorian literature are forced to perform “The Bear Went over the Mountain” to rooms full of rioting toddlers.

In the midst of this transformation, new demands began to emerge. Libraries have always been a welcoming space for the entire community. Alexander Calhoun, Calgary’s first librarian, used the space for adult education programs and welcomed “transients” and the unemployed into the building during the Depression. But the past forty years of urban life have seen those demands grow exponentially. In the late 1970s, “homelessness” as we know it today didn’t really exist; the issue only emerged as a serious social problem in the 1980s. Since then, as governments have abandoned building social housing and rents have skyrocketed, homelessness in Canada has transformed into a snowballing human rights issue. Meanwhile, the opioid crisis has devastated communities, killing more than 34,000 Canadians between 2016 and 2022, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. And the country’s mental health care system, always an underfunded patchwork of services, is today completely unequipped to deal with demand. According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, from 2020 to 2021, Canadians waited a median of twenty-two days for their first counselling session. As other communal support networks have suffered cutbacks and disintegrated, the library has found itself as one of the only places left with an open door.

When people tell the story of this transformation, from book repository to social services hub, it’s usually as an uncomplicated triumph. A recent “love letter” to libraries in the New York Times has a typical capsule history: “As local safety nets shriveled, the library roof magically expanded from umbrella to tarp to circus tent to airplane hangar. The modern library keeps its citizens warm, safe, healthy, entertained, educated, hydrated and, above all, connected.” That story, while heartwarming, obscures the reality of what has happened. No institution “magically” takes on the role of the entire welfare state, especially none as underfunded as the public library. If the library has managed to expand its protective umbrella, it has done so after a series of difficult decisions. And that expansion has come with costs.

[xiliaace]

I have zero idea how old you are, so I'm going to try to make this as easy to understand as possible.

Keep in mind, I'm 30, been involved heavily in the BDSM community since 2012, and am a health educator, kink educator, and fetish educator. WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY (and having worked in healthcare for damn near 10 years), let's get into it.

There are SAFE ways to explore potentially rough or 'dangerous' quirks, kinks, fetishes, and/or BDSM related curiosities that DO NOT involve fantasizing and/or romantcizing serious harm to people.

Case in point, the porn community has RUINED and destroyed the fact that there's an actual difference between "CNC" (consensual non consent"), "free use", and "rough sex". Let's educate EVERYONE here so there's no "but what about"-isms.

Free use: Consensually telling your partner "you can have sex with me any time outside of barrier/parameters pre-established (like can only occur inside the home), but the scene can stop at any time if I drop a safe word (like "pineapple" for lack of better phrasing, thanks Tiktok).

Rough sex: Roughly engaging in sexual acts with partner, often involving teeth, scratches, some kind of impact play device (like a paddle or whip), possible electrical play (like a tens unit or violet wand), possible fire play (with proper safety involved to not leave serious burns), possible ice play (again, proper safety to not leave permanent damage), etc. THERE IS A STRONG EMPHASIS ON SAFETY AND CONSENT to keep everyone as safe as possible. Some communities refer to this as "edge play" as in "you're walking the knife's edge with safety". But some people interpret "edge play" as "orgasm denial and control", so read the context when you come across this type of play. Safe words can still be dropped to end a scene.

CNC (consensual non consent): Formally known as biastophilia, it is the fetish or kink (strong orgasm desire) to sexually harm a cause serious injury to a partner. It can be as 'light' as SEVERE verbal degradation (not going to put explicit examples here, think of a verbal abuser from a partner that involves dehumanizing) or as severe as rape/sexual assault (forcing your organ in them), broken bones, etc. When it come to the porn scene, a lot of CNC scenes are DIFFICULT to shoot (attempt rape, gang rape, rough shoving between sexual partners, severe sensory overload OR deprivation, attempt kidnapping, blow jobs to the point of vomiting, potential no lube anal sex, organs prolaping on the penis due to trauma, etc.). There is a reason why even PROFESSIONAL ACTORS in the adult industry (XXX) have serious trouble shooting a lot of these scenes and require SIGNIFICANT aftercare. MANY tap out, again due to the psychological natural consequences that happen during these scenes.

Once you are legally of age (again, I'm making this post for a safety perspective for ALL blog viewers here), you can SAFELY and LEGALLY navigate BDSM circles to learn HOW to manage all three above (Fet...e, local workshops, local munches, reading books about how to do these things safely, watching interviews online with real performers and sex workers of all kinds, safely navigate XXX spaces online, etc.).

If you are legally a minor (17 and younger for most areas, it's when a court no longer deems you a dependent on your parent/guardian figure, NOT age of consent), STAY THE FUCK OUT OF THESE SPACES UNTIL YOU ARE OF LEGAL AGE! It is fine to have curiosities, fantasies, kinks, fetishes, etc. develop during your pre-teen and teen years because your hormones are going crazy. IT IS NOT OKAY to force yourself into these adult spaces.

Child predators(creeps) exist, point blank. Adults who want to do horrible things to pre-teens and teens exist, point blank. We want to keep minors out of these spaces TO KEEP Y'ALL SAFE. Stop pretending that "you're the exception" to grooming or anything like this. YOU ARE NOT. Child predation is an EPIDEMIC online for a reason.

DO NOT FORCE YOURSELF into BDSM spaces, kink spaces, and/or fetish spaces online. IT IS FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY!

For the love of fuck, drop the radqueer bullshit that's just straight up albeist nonsense and a slap in the face to those who suffer from these real life horrific things that often lead to severe cptsd, ptsd, potential victims of child trafficking, victims of child creeps/predators, etc.

People have sadism thoughts. People have masochistic thoughts. It's about HOW YOU LEARN to SAFELY navigate these waters with a CONSENTING partner when BOTH of you are legal adults. This is why BDSM safety workshops and spaces online exist.

[the-rad1o-demon]

Article title: "Let's Talk About The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA)"

Article text:

"Back in July, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation approved the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) and the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). COPPA is good legislation focused on the collection of data by web operators from users under the age of 13.

KOSA, on the other hand, is not great. The bill aims to prevent harassment, exploitation, and mental health trauma to minors on the Internet. Doing so will require broad content filtering to limit minors’ access to specific types of online content.

'This bill sets out requirements for covered platforms (i.e., social networks, video streaming services, or other applications that connect to the internet and are likely to be used by minors) to protect minors from online harm, including requirements relating to (1) safeguards to restrict access to the personal data of minors, (2) tools to help parents supervise a minor’s use of a platform, and (3) reporting of harm to minors from using the platform.'

The summary of the bill sounds innocuous enough. There’s a lot hiding below the surface. It was originally introduced in 2022, and its authors, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), had to take it back to the drawing board after a coalition of organizations publicly opposed it.

Those critics worry that it will greatly limit access to sex education information and resources for LGBTQ+ youth. It will put significant pressure on online services to over-moderate users and content. It also forces State Attorney Generals to make decisions on what information is 'appropriate.' We’re already witnessing what happens when the 'appropriateness' of content and culture is left to individual states. Book bans, sports bans on transgender students, bans on gender-affirming care, and groups like Moms For Liberty taking over school boards.

Marsha Blackburn has already admitted that her goal for this bill is 'protecting minor children from the transgender in this culture.' That statement alone puts this entire bill in the same category as all of those other state regulations Republicans are trying to push through. It makes any democratic support of the bill unacceptable. Someone needs to call Elizabeth Warren and tell her to rescind her recent co-sponsorship of KOSA.

Even President Biden has voiced misguided support for this bill. Saying, 'We’ve got to hold these platforms accountable for the national experiment they’re conducting on our children for profit.' In the same way we don’t need or want politicians making policies or laws about our bodies, we shouldn’t need or want politicians or web providers making decisions about what is or isn’t appropriate for our children. That’s our job as their parents. Establishing a nanny state isn’t in anyone’s best interests.

KOSA also requires that web platforms enable stricter parental controls. Parental controls are good in theory, and when actual parents enable them. But this bill puts the onus on web providers to make decisions for everyone’s kids. Including older minors who, at the age of 15 or 16, should have some right to privacy and access to information. If you’re a kid who doesn’t feel safe at home for whatever reason, being able to find online mental health resources may mean the difference between life and death.

The other bad part of this bill is that it will require websites and online platforms to collect MORE data from users. If you think The Internet knows too much about you now, just wait. Age verification may require all users to provide much more personally identifiable information (PII). Your IT Guy can tell you this will put your information at significant risk of data breaches and threaten users’ overall privacy.

To some degree, I understand and even support a desire to get Big Tech under control and held accountable for bad actions and platform mismanagement. But The Kids Online Safety Act doesn’t stop there. It’s going to make at-risk communities even more at-risk. It’s going to adversely affect user privacy. And most importantly, at least one of the writers of the bill is prepared to use it to hammer away at trans rights and social acceptance.

Reach out to your Congressional Reps and ask them to vote no on KOSA Resisbot has you covered. Or you can look up contact information for your Congressperson(s) here. If you do make a call, IndivisibleSF has a good script you can use when you leave a message."

-- End Article

[pbscore]

Y’all know that like…the conservatives in Texas didn’t just suddenly start ‘attacking’ queer people because of terminally online ‘kink at pride’ discourse, right?

Like, y’all are aware of the fact that this reactionary conservatism was already on the rise for the past 10 years or so, right? And that whatever squabbling on the internet that this community has been doing with one another literally is not the reason or basis as to why emboldened conservatives feel comfortable toying with our basic human rights…right?

This is literally why I have been such a proponent for active and inclusive spaces for queer people of ALL ages… which absolutely includes minors. Which is something that (depending on your region) has been a common thing in many queer spaces and even during pride where you will find various events such as inter-generational lunches and youth camps.

Now, we are seeing these super conservatives use one of the most vulnerable and easily impressionable groups of people in society to project their horrific ideologies onto in the name of their ‘safety’ while y’all…are too busy complaining about how kids don’t ‘deserve’ to be at pride. Do y’all not see how this was a missed opportunity to create better community opportunities for kids and teens, especially if they’re queer/trans? Do y’all not realize how important the youth in any community, but especially in minority communities, and their education and (physical/mental) safety are to making sure the future of that community can continue?

This is the nuance that has been consistently missing in these conversations about pride and community, overall, and it’s genuinely baffling to me how y’all only give a shit about your personal adult endeavors being affected by this wave of conservatism. As if everything else, especially the autonomy of minors, is some kind of pit stop in the grand scheme of activism when it’s literally the bedrock of so many current social issues that we are seeing and experiencing today.

Everything is connected. Everything. So, if your ‘queer activism’ doesn’t even include the health, safety, and education of minors…then it’s genuinely worthless. I don’t care if you want kids or not because that’s not what the point of this post is about!

Your personal hang ups with your parents regarding children has nothing to do with the bigger picture of needing to create a better society for the future generations of human beings who did not ask to be here, like the rest of us. Y’all have spent far too long seeing the forest for the trees and that’s what’s been putting so many ‘leftists’ on ice when it comes to actually organizing and making real structural change.

Some of y’all may not like hearing this but we do have a responsibility to be just as supportive and compassionate towards children and teens as we are towards anyone else in this world. Think about your own foundations as kids and teens. Wouldn’t it have made your life easier knowing there are communities of adults and peers you could trust? Wouldn’t it have saved you some anxiety to just know that you could have more than one or two people to reach out to when you were in pain?

NOTE: yes this can be reblogged, but if you respond with some annoying ass ‘uwu but I don’t like kids’, you’re getting blocked.

Also: THIS POST IS NOT FOR ‘PRO PARAPHILIA’ CREEPS! STAY OFF MY POSTS!

[jessie-lou]

If you haven't heard, the authors of KOSA (Kids Online Safety Act) revealed an amended version this week. However, according to the EFF, these amendments do not make any meaningful changes to the bill. It is still at its core a censorship bill that would further empower state officials to target a huge array of online content they don't like.

As one might expect, the people most vulnerable to the harm this bill would do include:

"LGBTQ+ Youth will be at risk of having content, educational material, and their own online identities erased.  

Young people searching for sexual health and reproductive rights information will find their search results stymied. 

Teens and children in historically oppressed and marginalized groups will be unable to locate information about their history and shared experiences. 

Activist youth on either side of the aisle, such as those fighting for changes to climate laws, gun laws, or religious rights, will be siloed, and unable to advocate and connect on platforms.  

Young people seeking mental health help and information will be blocked from finding it, because even discussions of suicide, depression, anxiety, and eating disorders will be hidden from them. 

Teens hoping to combat the problem of addiction—either their own, or that of their friends, families, and neighbors, will not have the resources they need to do so.  

Any young person seeking truthful news or information that could be considered depressing will find it harder to educate themselves and engage in current events and honest discussion. 

Adults in any of these groups who are unwilling to share their identities will find themselves shunted onto a second-class internet alongside the young people who have been denied access to this information."

Here is a link from the EFF that will help you tell your local reps to oppose KOSA.  

[trashbirdthoughts]

For everyone: I need a lot of eyes on this.

If you haven’t signed the END BAD INTERNET BILLS petition I urge you to do so. These bill will deeply affect our internet and makes it worse for everyone. There are many in the website feel free to sign all of them but know these are so incredibly important to keeping the future of the internet safe and secure.

Sign the petition here :

If you’re wondering why you should sign it here is a much longer and exactly what these bills are doing:

We need to make a lot of noise and it’s important to complain to senators. Here are all the bills that are lined up. A lot of these are seemingly to protect kids - they are not. They are meant to make the internet easier to patrol and take privacy rights away and deeply affect LGBTQ youth.

EARN IT - undermines end-to-end encryption, making everyone less safe. Privacy can be invaded and less security in communication.

KOSA - harms kids and teens’ access to lifesaving LGBTQ resources and sex education. It will censor these and make it where sites that are pro-lgbtq cannot exist without it being 18+.

RESTRICT ACT- gives the president unprecedented power to police the internet RESTRICT gives Biden (and all future presidents!) extraordinary new powers to ban Americans from using entire apps simply by claiming they pose a “threat to national security,” outside of any democratic process. Politicians are pushing this bill to show they’re “tough on China”—but instead of protecting us, this law would lead to an internet censored by the president.

AGE-GATING BILLS- limit teenagers’ online access and force everyone to give ID to use social media. If you watch NSFW content it means you will have to give an ID to view it. Deeply affects SWer. Also huge privacy violation with having to give your id to watch 18+ content.

STOP CSAM - weakens end-to-end encryption and gives new surveillance powers to law enforcement. Instead, it would make CSAM cases harder to prosecute—like SESTA/FOSTA before it—while reducing privacy protections in ways that would harm vulnerable people. Like EARN IT, STOP CSAM undermines end-to-end encryption, a technology that’s vital for LGBTQ+ youth, survivors of interpersonal violence and stalking, abortion seekers and providers, and activists. Weakening E2EE as a means to funnel more information to law enforcement also sets an alarming precedent for government surveillance. All of us, including children, need to be able to communicate in the digital age without our conversations being spied on.

COOPER DAVIS

The Cooper Davis Act is a misguided attempt to address the public health crisis caused by fentanyl in many communities in the US. The bill does more harm than good: opening the door for increased surveillance of messaging and damaging encryption that ensures digital security online, another EARN IT Act copycat bill. More surveillance will not solve a public health crisis. End-to-end encryption is not a public safety threat. Secure, private messaging protects people’s privacy and should be protected.

[behindthewox]

The smut debate - a progressive view

[Obligatory content warning: this post is a about sex]

Most of what I've posted in the Smut Debate so far has been other people's opinions and arguements against smut. I'm aiming for a variety of views and opinions and I often post anon submissions that I don't agree with.

My personal opinion on smut might differ from most, because of how I was raised and the fact that I've been fortunate not to have any negative sexual experiences unless you count badly written smut.

I was raised in a progressive culture and environment where sexual education is valued and promoted openly, and my parents never treated sex as a taboo subject or made any fuss over protecting me from it. It was, and is, a neutral subject that's neither encouraged nor discouraged.

If progressive and sex-positive attitudes disturb you, save yourself the unnecessary stress on your heart and soul and consider this sentence the end of this post. Unless you're really into deliberately reading stuff that upset you so you can be upset about it, then go ahead.

There's a lot of sexual content that shouldn't be available to minors, but there's also sexual content that should be available to teens who are exploring their sexuality through online media. Vanilla content, keeping it traditional and non-problematic, is pretty harmless and allows for exploration within safe boundaries. Most teens will explore their sexuality in one way or another and I'd much rather see a teenager find what they're looking for at WoX, moderated and strictly within reasonable boundaries, than see them continue their search elsewhere and ending up on the wrong end of the spectrum.

Yes, there is danger to minors being exposed to sexual content online. A lot of sexual content is problematic in one way or another. Porn videos will normalise all sorts of things that are neither normal nor safe, and if you get your sex ed from pornhub you'll likely miss out on the basic safety and biology aspects. Not to mention, your expectations and understanding of sex will be based on staged porn videos with actors rather than human beings finding and providing pleasure in each other. There's also a high risk of misinformation which can cause all sorts of problems, but I'd argue that's a problem in society in general and not unique to the internet.

But exposure to positive and realistic depictions of sex isn't a bad thing. It's overall a good thing if you ask me. Teens will go looking for sexual content in their exploration, and the best way to stop them from ending up on pornhub (or wherever the problematic stuff is) is to provide an alternative that satisfies the curiosity and interest in a safe way. WoX is moderated and has rules in place to keep the unwanted content out, allowing us to be one of those places where teens can explore their sexuality within acceptable boundaries, without being exposed to the darker and dangerous stuff*. We could even take it one step further and provide older users with some guidelines and encourage safe sex content to educate the younger users in what's right and what's wrong, what to expect and how to pleasure a partner (all in the shape of RP smut). Maybe I'm being too progressive here, but I'd argue that the internet needs more content like that.

A kid who is well informed about sex is usually better off than a kid who isn't; you need to know what the risks are in order to avoid them, you need to know what's fair game and not in order to identify bad play, and the more you know the less you need to figure out through trial and error on your own.

*footnote: for this we need good and experienced teams of moderators though, something that many sites struggle with. If there aren't resources to do it well and safely, it shouldn't be done at all.

[morgandoesstuffsig]

this post will be a lot different than my usual. This is about the KOSA bill +similar and what they will do to sites and apps if it passes. This is just the gist of it, there will be resources and more at the end. Please please please, share this, reblog it, even just liking it, do whatever you wanna do with it, just try and help it get out there. I've said this message on discord, and I plan on posting it on my Wattpad in a little, so if you see it again, you know why.

YOU CAN DM ME TO ASK FOR MORE INFORMATION!!!

There is a new bill going around called KOSA, or the "Kids Online Safety Act." Despite the name, it does nothing but harm teens. This bill plans to restricts kids and teens’ access to lifesaving LGBTQ resources and sexual education. It would give the government complete control over the internet, and allow them to either sue or completely shut down sites like Wattpad, A03, etc. anything that allows LGBTQ+ or anything the government doesn't like without an ID or Driver's License. Think you can't do anything because you're a minor? Wrong! Minors in the USA can sign this petition to stop the bill, and you can call state or email lawmakers! SIGN THE KOSA PETITION : https://www.stopkosa.com/ CALL YOUR LAWMAKERS : https://www.badinternetbills.com/#kosa-call-modal LEARN MORE ABOUT KOSA AND SIMILAR BILLS ⬇️

https://www.badinternetbills.com

https://linktr.ee/omarsbigsister

https://tr.ee/aKsEo3xUQQ

https://discord.gg/ZxydfheFBy

[thedepressedweasel]

I had to send a message to my senator and congressperson about the KOSA bill and why that bill is a bad idea.

Then Senator Alex Padilla sent me this:

"Thank you for writing to share your thoughts regarding online safety for children and teens. I appreciate hearing from you.

Our children are among the most vulnerable members of our society, and I strongly believe that we have an obligation to care for their mental and physical well-being. Digital platforms have become key spaces for education, socialization, and entertainment for young people, and it is important that they are able to utilize these services safely.

The “Kids Online Safety Act” (S.1409), introduced by Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), seeks to provide young people and their parents with tools, safeguards, and information that would be helpful to safely navigate online services. This bill would require internet companies to act in the best interests of the minors that use their platforms and would require platforms to be independently audited by experts to assess their risk to minors. This bill passed the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on July 27, 2023, and it is currently awaiting consideration by the full Senate.

I understand you have concerns that this bill may negatively impact individual privacy and freedom of expression online, especially for diverse communities. Please know that I appreciate hearing your perspective on this issue, and I will keep your thoughts in mind should this bill or similar legislation come before the full Senate for a vote.

Once again, thank you for writing. Should you have any other questions or comments, please call my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-3553 or visit my website at padilla.senate.gov. You can also follow me on Facebook and Twitter, and you can sign up for my email newsletter at padilla.senate.gov/newsletter."

WHAT?!? THE?!? ACTUAL?!? FUCK?!?!?!?!?!

They want you to think that it's just about protecting children from online predators and stuff, but make no mistake! Alex Padilla and Richard Blumenthal don't really care about protecting kids; they just want to make it easier for abusive parents to control their children! You know, by getting rid of websites like DeiviantArt, Facebook, AO3, FurAffinity and even this one! KOSA is actually dangerous for kids (and even adults alike), as it only seeks to strip us of our much-needed internet privacy and they just don't care!

Please, I beg of you, please keep speaking up against KOSA!

[a-dauntless-daffodil]

What's "Hunter's ed"? Is it literally just school classes dedicated to hunting?

Kinda yeah? Class instead of classes though. I took it through public school as a kid when i was uhh 8 or 9 i think, but most of it can be done online these days, except for the final field day bit.

Hunters Education (as i remember it) teaches stuff like:

firearms safety (never point it at a person, keep the chamber empty, triple check it's empty, make sure to carry it so it doesn't point at anything you don't want to shoot, TEST TO MAKE SURE ITS EMPTY by pointing it somewhere safe like a soft earth ground or thick wood and pulling the trigger before you leave the gun alone or store it or clean it, ect)

shooting safety (remember if you miss the bullet keeps going, check what's behind or around the thing you're aiming at, try to find a natural backstop like a hill or thick deep tree coverage or make sure you have a long clear line of sight, remember the bullet drops over long distance shots, remember to sight in your scopes before hunting if you use them)

navigation in the wilderness using map and compass (bane of my fucking existence)

how to gut and harvest the animal if you get one (blegh to be honest) (for the love of heck make SURE your knife is sharp and hopefully has a drop point and also a small finger guard things get slippery quick) (make a gut pile some ways away so other creatures can have it and not bother you) (mom also told me to put a sprig of a branch in the animal's mouth as a thanks and be nice to the body but that's not in hunter's ed i don't think)

awareness of land, conservation, and hunting laws (basically just hey remember you can't shoot whatever you want whenever you want and even if you could you shouldn't bc your hunting impacts the population numbers and heath so if you wanna get something next year to eat don't shoot the females with babies this year, also check your hunting area and get your hunting tags) (they don't talk about how most of the hunters we get out here aren't locals but drive in with huge trucks and multiple four-wheelers and camp out here looking for fun and a big rack, while my sister goes out on foot with her teen son hoping to get ANYTHING so we have meat in the winter) (they don't talk about how people want nice healthy animals and take those out of the population while wolves go for the sick, the unprotected young, the old, the injured, and take THOSE out of the population instead) (they don't talk about how many moose die from getting hit by fucking cars on the highways)

Aaaaaaand here is how to actually fire a gun (field day) (hateful and loud) (not actually a whole day) (spent mine with my hands over my ears bc i was used to just using a little .22 rifle for grouse and it's sooooo different when you know when the shot will come VS having it come cracking out of nowhere)

You need the hunters ed certificate before you can hunt in some units (areas) of Alaska (if your were born after a certain time) or if you're under 18 and hunting without adult supervision (reason why i took it) but i think the main point was to stop people accidentally shooting themselves or friends ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Oh hey they have a website for it actually. here is Hunter Education

[fite-club]

Shaming teens is not how you protect them. Teens are vulnerable and impressionable and can double down if you make them feel shitty and defensive. They need to actually be protected from things like radqueer and anti-antis, not be talked down to.

Like dude, do you even know kids like at all? Especially teens who may be traumatized and don't know what good and healthy relationships and online spaces look like? Teens who feel super self conscious already and insecure? Teens who are just now figuring out who they are and starting to understand what it means to be an adult?

Teens who always get a bad rap for being teens?

Don't turn on the very people you're supposedly trying to defend.

do you think EVERY interaction i have with a teen involves me shaming and talking down to them? i have this specific sideblog as a place to put the “meaner” things away from my main blog, so this isn’t the most accurate sample.

all i’m really trying to do is educate teens on queer history they aren’t aware of or explain concepts to them that they have an unrealistic/warped understanding of. the conflict that usually happens is “teen refuses to consider that they might not know everything” and it’s hard not to get rude about that when i have the actual lived experience.

what exactly do you mean when you say “protected by things like radqueers and anti-antis”? protected how? you realize that most radqueers and anti-antis ARE teens? i’ve had several conversations with “proship” teens about internet safety, but they’re in my private conversations. i *was* the exact teen being described in your ask, and because of that i *do* have a deeper understanding of how these youngsters think and feel. but, these are teens, not children, and i don’t have to handle everything with kid gloves. they’re going to insult me and send me anon hate telling me to kill myself because i told them to question their worldview. it’s not, like, abusive for me to be snarky towards annoying people with bad opinions just because i’m older.

[esmeislewd]

Hi so follow up to my ask from yesterday. First off I totally agree with you, communication is super key in any kink and assuming that someone would like something just bc you’re in the same kink is honestly a dangerous game no one should play. But in your tag you mentioned there were other issues too. Would you mind sharing them as well?

this is absolutely not a definitive list and not specific to any particular fetish or in any particular order:

-'barely legal' and 'teen' stuff is absolutely rancid for reasons i shouldn't have to explain.

-the unfortunate link between sex work (including online modelling) and human trafficking and sex slavery. a lot of people do sex work because they enjoy it but it's not always the case and we need to be careful with who and where we get content from and make sure everyone is being treated well.

-people appearing in content they didn't consent to be it deep fakes or revenge porn or whatever. this is obviously wrong and people absolutely shouldn't do this.

-the fetishisation of minority groups. the old joke about are you a straight cis white man or a porn category is unfortunately not really a joke tbh and a lot of the category names are pretty problematic. also this kind of content often propagates harmful tropes about the minorites in question.it's not acceptable to reduce an entire subset of people down into a kink!

-most porn is made for men, including a frustrating amount of 'lesbian' porn. this is both really frustrating as a viewer and also a woman that hangs out in online fetish spaces as a huge proportion of men that i encounter online see me as a product to get them off rather than another person. also as someone that wants to get more into content creation, i feel almost pressured to make stuff more broadly targeted in order to capture the male audience.

-the difficulty minorities have in building brands and monetising them in online spaces. i'm not a poc so can't say anything definitive on their behalf but what i have seen from especially black creators is they find monetising their content and brand harder than their peers. (very happy to be corrected on this tho)

-the near total lack of any form of safety/consent talk or disclaimers in any kind of edgeplay-related content. i'd like it in all content tbh but especially with things like cnc and more violent content. safety and consent is an important component of sex and given how absolutely dire sex ed is in most countries people learn a lot from porn and do not get a good education on the actual best practices they need to use.

i'm absolutely not an expert and would welcome actual experts to correct me and lend their opinions on this, but this is a non definitive list of major issues i've seen from my time online.

[reikiajakoiranruohoja]

So I have see adults really start to censor their personal content or worry if content is too much for kids. And I don’t mean little kids, but teenagers. This is very bad, in my opinion. Not only are there teens who think like this (and that fact SCARES me), but it is censoring oneself for no other reason than the fear of kids seeing your work. As someone who grew up online, let’s be frank; The best way to warn kids of heavy content is no more complicated than tagging your work properly. Teens hate when they are talked down to and the edgelords that 12 boys are willing to be clever about getting the content. I will not censor my work even if teens might follow me, I have given them a warning and if my work was too much they should have listened. I am not your mother, I am not responsible for your education or safety. If you are online enough to run into my work? Then you are old enough to make choices to protect your arse.