Dear Representative [Name],

I am writing to express my strong opposition to H.R. 8250 (The "Parents Decide Act"). As your constituent and a concerned citizen, I believe this bill introduces unprecedented risks to digital privacy and security.

Specifically, I am alarmed by:

SEC. 2(a)(1)(B): Requiring age verification to even use an operating system creates a mandatory "hardware lockout" that ends anonymous computing and forces users to hand over sensitive identification data to major corporations just to power on their devices.

SEC. 2(a)(3): Mandating that OS providers create a system for all app developers to access verification data is a massive security vulnerability. This effectively creates a centralized API of user identities accessible to thousands of third-party developers, many of whom may lack adequate data protection.

This bill does not protect children; it creates a centralized surveillance infrastructure at the OS level. I urge you to protect the privacy of your constituents and vote NO on H.R. 8250.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

Given that, in the wake of this mandatory identification policy, my country seems to be moving to hand over its citizens biometric data, like fingerprints, Face ID files, and identification documents, over to the USA and to ICE to maintain the visa free travel (ESTA) we have, I strongly urge any US resident to send these emails, or make calls.

But if you can’t do that, the most powerful thing you can do is spread the word. Tell your friends, family, coworkers, anyone who can help.

My reach will likely be small, and so I don’t know if this will mean very much in the grand scheme of things, but I cannot stand to see this tracking happen to another population as it did to mine.

And if you think it won’t affect you, it will. All anonymity goes out the window when your accounts can be linked via your personal ID

And a chaser, for those interested:

Hegseth ends mandatory flu vaccine for US military, says shot is now optional

Hegseth announced the change in a video posted on social media.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Tuesday that the annual flu vaccine will now be optional for all U.S. military personnel, both active and reserve. 

I didn't pull any real data to compare these for because it wasn't easy, but Katya is the highest-tagged character at 59% of works, Goncharov the second-highest at 51%, and Sofia third at 40%. Sofia/Katya is the fandom juggernaut at 41% of all Goncharov works. In contrast, the highest three characters on the Archive as a whole that aren't OC or Reader are Harry Potter, Tony Stark, and Dean Winchester, the first girl being Hermione Granger at #6; and the first 9 or 11 ships (depending how you count Aziraphale/Crowley) are all M/M and we don't hit an F/F ship until #44 (Kara/Lena, Supergirl).

I thought it was interesting! When fujin are creating a fandom wholesale out of a shoe and a joke and a dream, we clearly love women characters and want to write about them. 💜

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