Junk Heap. Population: Me

Haven't been able to keep abreast of online bills lately due to irl things, but now caught up and have an update for those following the legislation.

AB 1709, California's law which intends to create a ban on social media account creation and usage for people under the age of 16, is now set to enter the California Senate Committee on Privacy, Digital Technologies, and Consumer Protection this coming Monday, June 22 (06/22/2026).

Linked here is a list of Senate members on the committee. Even if you're not in this member's district, I'd still encourage you to call as many of them as you can up to the day before the committee meeting in order to share your opposition to this bill. If you are in any of these Senate member's districts, I'd doubly encourage you to call, and follow it up with a written message to solidify your opposition to this and give full reasons why. You can find which CA senator is yours here.

This Committee's purpose is focused on digital and information technologies and systems and the consumer protection and security of personal information. So make sure your talking points focus on these in your messages. Your talking points can include any of the following:

Risks to free speech due to the required linking of personal ID or biometric data to social media usage. As well as censoring of speech due to people being unable to share information anonymously + danger to whistleblowers.

Risks of data breach which have been repeatedly occurred in systems made for identity and age verification.

Examples: The IDMerit data breach of the information of over 1 billion users in February 2026, the ID breach of French National Agency for Secure Titles which leaked over 14 million identities in March 2026, the Discord government ID leaks of 2 million users in October 2025 for age verification)

The lack of transparency in many verification systems on what information they retain and how long, as well as their security when it comes to protecting it.

The links that even OS level age verification can have to user activity, which essentially turns into a long paper trail of a person's online history which can be ripe data ready for purchase by larger tech companies.

I know this isn't a lot of time to work with and it's a stressful thing to consider a bill like this even has a chance of passing, but I hope that if you read this, even making one phone call and planting doubt into the minds of the politicians trying to push this through could be what it takes to help us put a stop to this horrific legislation.

As before, please check the list of members . Call most especially if your representative is a part of this, but if you can leave a message with other members of the Committee even if your CA senator isn't a part of them, please do take the time to send a message to let them know your opposition for this and why.

Fortunately, the next Appropriations meeting is not until August 3. Which means there will be plenty of time to get messages to the people in charge.

Find the members here.

Remember, you can always call any of them after hours to leave Opinions even if you aren't in their district, but it will be even better if you are in their district.

And you can always go to the committee main page and leave position letters as private individuals for the whole committee to take into consideration.

Haven't been able to keep abreast of online bills lately due to irl things, but now caught up and have an update for those following the legislation.

AB 1709, California's law which intends to create a ban on social media account creation and usage for people under the age of 16, is now set to enter the California Senate Committee on Privacy, Digital Technologies, and Consumer Protection this coming Monday, June 22 (06/22/2026).

Linked here is a list of Senate members on the committee. Even if you're not in this member's district, I'd still encourage you to call as many of them as you can up to the day before the committee meeting in order to share your opposition to this bill. If you are in any of these Senate member's districts, I'd doubly encourage you to call, and follow it up with a written message to solidify your opposition to this and give full reasons why. You can find which CA senator is yours here.

This Committee's purpose is focused on digital and information technologies and systems and the consumer protection and security of personal information. So make sure your talking points focus on these in your messages. Your talking points can include any of the following:

Risks to free speech due to the required linking of personal ID or biometric data to social media usage. As well as censoring of speech due to people being unable to share information anonymously + danger to whistleblowers.

Risks of data breach which have been repeatedly occurred in systems made for identity and age verification.

Examples: The IDMerit data breach of the information of over 1 billion users in February 2026, the ID breach of French National Agency for Secure Titles which leaked over 14 million identities in March 2026, the Discord government ID leaks of 2 million users in October 2025 for age verification)

The lack of transparency in many verification systems on what information they retain and how long, as well as their security when it comes to protecting it.

The links that even OS level age verification can have to user activity, which essentially turns into a long paper trail of a person's online history which can be ripe data ready for purchase by larger tech companies.

I know this isn't a lot of time to work with and it's a stressful thing to consider a bill like this even has a chance of passing, but I hope that if you read this, even making one phone call and planting doubt into the minds of the politicians trying to push this through could be what it takes to help us put a stop to this horrific legislation.

As before, please check the list of members . Call most especially if your representative is a part of this, but if you can leave a message with other members of the Committee even if your CA senator isn't a part of them, please do take the time to send a message to let them know your opposition for this and why.

The court left in place the jury's finding that Trump sexually abused Carroll in the 1990s and later defamed her after she went public with her claims.

June 29, 2026, 6:39 AM MST / Updated June 29, 2026, 6:47 AM MST

By Lawrence Hurley

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday handed a loss to President Donald Trump by refusing to hear his attempt to overturn a jury's finding that he sexually abused and later defamed writer E. Jean Carroll.

The justices turned away Trump's appeal in the case, meaning that the 2023 jury verdict and a $5 million civil judgment remain in place.

The case arose from a federal lawsuit filed by Carroll in Manhattan alleging that Trump assaulted her in the dressing room of a department store in 1996. The defamation claims relate to statements he made about her after his first term in office, in which he described her claims as a "con job" and "hoax."

Carroll first made her allegations in 2019 and filed the lawsuit three years later, in part under a New York state law aimed at assisting survivors of sexual assault from years ago.

Trump has denied the allegations, with his lawyers noting that Carroll never reported the incident to the police and that there were no witnesses. Trump's legal team said in a court filing that Carroll waited until he was president to bring her claims so she could "maximize political injury to him and profit for herself."

Congress Just Voted to Track Your Web History

The Kids Act Could End Internet Freedom As We Know It.

A massive new package of legislation, dubbed the "Kids Act," is moving through Congress with unprecedented speed. The package is a broad-based censorship and surveillance scheme that will affect every single American.

In this episode of Free Speech Friday, I sit down with Adam Thierer, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), to break down the terrifying reality of what’s happening in Washington D.C. right now. Adam, who has been fighting for internet freedom since the 1990s, explains how these laws demand mass age verification (which applies to adults too), regulate design features like infinite scroll, and even target messaging apps and VPNs.

We also dive into the 1,800 AI bills popping up across states, Bernie Sanders' misguided plans for AI, and why the government is moving to create an identity layer for the entire internet. We also discuss the toxic brew of "moral panic," fake anti-big tech sentiment, and censorship that is driving this legislation forward.

TL;DR:

A bunch of safety groups are urging Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie and ranking member Frank Pallone to reject the KIDS act

Led by Design It For Us, ParentsTogether, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation and the Young People’s Alliance are the main organizations, but there was 90 other ones

The main thing that they seemly want is the duty of care part of KOSA, believing that without it, big tech doesn’t get punished without it

The senates version of Kosa has the duty of care

Some house members are worried about duty of care because they “have raised concerns that it could incentivize social media platforms to overzealously censor content to avoid litigation.”

full thing

“A coalition of children’s safety advocates is urging House leaders to reject a bipartisan compromise on online safety, arguing it weakens protections for minors and lets tech companies avoid accountability.”

“the groups urged Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) and ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) to oppose the bipartisan package — known as the KIDS Act — ahead of a potential House vote as soon as next week.”

“Led by Design It For Us, ParentsTogether, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation and the Young People’s Alliance and signed by 90 other organizations,

the coalition said the deal struck by Energy and Commerce lawmakers fails to address its chief concern: the omission of a “duty of care” provision that would require tech companies to mitigate harms they know their products cause to young users.”

they wrote, “The Committee rejected our concerns and opted to negotiate a version that let Big Tech off the hook and rush this legislation to the House floor,”

They basically want the duty of care part, but “Some House members have raised concerns that it could incentivize social media platforms to overzealously censor content to avoid litigation.”

The senates version does have the duty of care

“Parents RISE, a coalition of parents who have experienced child loss or mental health difficulties due to tech platforms, sent a second letter to the same parties laying out similar qualms

“We did not create Social Media Victims Remembrance Day so that our children’s names could be used as cover for a bill that protects the very companies that harmed them,” they wrote.”

Felt like drawing some art in relation to the worrying news about the KOSA/KIDS Act package tomorrow.

Please take action NOW. Call/email your representatives and senators wherever you live in the states.

Some resources:

TL;DR:

Democrat Maria Cantwell and Sen. Richard Blumenthal has warned against the KIDS act package because of the lack of duty of care and believing that it would push for a less effective KOSA

Richard Blumenthal is a big pusher for Kosa with duty of care and thinks it’s needed for Kosa to work

He believes that the one the house is pushing is a sham

Both are also worried about the version Ted Cruz is gonna put in his own package that he has yet to release, but promises to this August

They want him to do their version and not the house version

“Cruz’s package is expected to include KOSA as well legislation barring companies from using minors’ personal data for targeted advertising, banning kids under age 13 from social media and providing greater oversight for how children interact with AI chatbots”

Full on text

“The Commerce Committee’s top Democrat Maria Cantwell and Sen. Richard Blumenthal warned House lawmakers against advancing their chamber’s version of the Kids Online Safety Act,

Richard Blumenthal is for the senate version of KOSA, which has the duty of care part that the kids act package doesn’t

“The Connecticut Democrat said he is concerned senators will be influenced by the tech industry’s “armies of lawyers and lobbyists” who may “confuse and exploit” misunderstandings about a House bill with the same name as a Senate version”

“We’re not going to let bad legislation with a good title just get across and think somebody’s done something,” Cantwell said.

arguing it would face intense lobbying from tech companies in the Senate and risk unraveling years of bipartisan work.”

Blumenthal, who characterized the version of KOSA that House leadership is pushing as a “sham.” has said that “We need to stop this bill in the House, and we need to prevent the White House from forming an alliance with Big Tech on this issue,”

Cruz bill package

“Both Democratic lawmakers also expressed concern that Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) could adopt the House version of KOSA in a kids’ safety package he has yet to publicly release but has pledged to markup by August recess.

Cruz said “negotiations are ongoing” earlier this week when asked by POLITICO whether he would be open to incorporating such changes put forward in the House.”

“Cruz’s package is expected to include KOSA as well legislation barring companies from using minors’ personal data for targeted advertising, banning kids under age 13 from social media and providing greater oversight for how children interact with AI chatbots.

Although Blumenthal remains hopeful that Cruz will “stay true to his first vote in favor of KOSA,

If the act passes, it will push for more censorship and anti privacy ideas that will allow for more surveillance. Because of the laws that are within the package, like KOSA

For these groups going against the kids act package

To put it simply, these groups DO want Kosa, but they don’t want that version, they want the version with a “duty of care” aspect. Which means more intense censorship because companies would over censor their sites to avoid being sued

(Kosa would mean massive amounts of censorship either way)but they believe this would would punish big tech

All of this is important to us because that means less people are gonna agree on which version of KOSA/kids act to pass and it’ll have a harder time going through.

We don’t want any of these laws passing and we want as much disagreement on these laws as possible within the committees

SB 976, California's social media addiction act that passed in 2024, has been a looming threat over the heads of California citizens for their digital privacy. The government as finally opened a public comment period where the average Californian can give a piece of their minds about potential regulations for this act. Though the bill is passed, this is another opportunity we have to let those in charge know why it's a terrible idea to think that these kinds of laws would do anything but hand over more data to big tech companies and put a leash on the ability to speak freely over the internet

There's instructions on this web page about how to send in public comments either via email or physical mail, which will have a deadline of 45 days from now on 6/30/2026. This is not going to be the deadline of when these regulations will be enacted, but they'll be a big step in how these things can move forward, and a time when people can protest on what these regulations represent in a world increasingly moving towards a nanny state and government surveillance of our online activity.

Haven't been able to keep abreast of online bills lately due to irl things, but now caught up and have an update for those following the legislation.

AB 1709, California's law which intends to create a ban on social media account creation and usage for people under the age of 16, is now set to enter the California Senate Committee on Privacy, Digital Technologies, and Consumer Protection this coming Monday, June 22 (06/22/2026).

Linked here is a list of Senate members on the committee. Even if you're not in this member's district, I'd still encourage you to call as many of them as you can up to the day before the committee meeting in order to share your opposition to this bill. If you are in any of these Senate member's districts, I'd doubly encourage you to call, and follow it up with a written message to solidify your opposition to this and give full reasons why. You can find which CA senator is yours here.

This Committee's purpose is focused on digital and information technologies and systems and the consumer protection and security of personal information. So make sure your talking points focus on these in your messages. Your talking points can include any of the following:

Risks to free speech due to the required linking of personal ID or biometric data to social media usage. As well as censoring of speech due to people being unable to share information anonymously + danger to whistleblowers.

Risks of data breach which have been repeatedly occurred in systems made for identity and age verification.

Examples: The IDMerit data breach of the information of over 1 billion users in February 2026, the ID breach of French National Agency for Secure Titles which leaked over 14 million identities in March 2026, the Discord government ID leaks of 2 million users in October 2025 for age verification)

The lack of transparency in many verification systems on what information they retain and how long, as well as their security when it comes to protecting it.

The links that even OS level age verification can have to user activity, which essentially turns into a long paper trail of a person's online history which can be ripe data ready for purchase by larger tech companies.

I know this isn't a lot of time to work with and it's a stressful thing to consider a bill like this even has a chance of passing, but I hope that if you read this, even making one phone call and planting doubt into the minds of the politicians trying to push this through could be what it takes to help us put a stop to this horrific legislation.

As before, please check the list of members . Call most especially if your representative is a part of this, but if you can leave a message with other members of the Committee even if your CA senator isn't a part of them, please do take the time to send a message to let them know your opposition for this and why.

-ancient roman posca: water, red or white wine vinegar, honey, salt, herbs (coriander, mint, thyme)

-switchel: water, ginger, vinegar, sweetener, lemon, salt

-ayran: yogurt, water, salt, mint

-sees the reports of the heatwave in Europe-