So, the people in government are once again attacking the internet.
Please call your representatives to PROTECT SECTION 230
If we lose it, it'll mean more censorship and probably a lot of websites and creators will go bye bye. So, kiss Ao3, Fanfiction.net, (maybe Discord), and TUMBLR, bye bye!
I don't want to lose this place or AO3! I like writing! I love Tumblr! I don't wanna lose it!
Call your congressmen!
Google your representatives' numbers, emails, twitters, heck even their fax!
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âThis Isnât About AI. Itâs About Ending Fandom.â
Youâve heard the talking points:
âAI is theft!â
âStronger copyright laws will protect us!â
âWe need to stop AI with tighter restrictions!â
And it sounds good. Like justice. Like creators finally taking back control.
But ask yourself â who benefits when copyright gets stricter?
Because itâs not you. And itâs not fandom.
This Isnât About AI. This Is About Control.
The people pushing for harsher copyright laws arenât your fellow fan creators.
Theyâre mega-corporations and IP holders who have always hated:
Fanfiction
Fanart
Parody
Cosplay
Remix culture
Educational use
Commentary
Open tools
Archive communities
Now theyâve found the perfect bogeyman: AI.
And theyâre weaponizing it to scare you into giving them exactly what theyâve wanted for years â full lockdown of everything they âown.â
What Happens If They Win?
Letâs be blunt. If these copyright maximalists succeed, hereâs what the future looks like:
Artist alleys at cons? Gutted.
Selling unlicensed prints becomes legally risky.
Organisers too afraid to allow it. You draw Spider-Man? You better lawyer up.
Professional cosplay? Treated as infringement.
Want to wear a detailed character costume and accept donations or sell photos?
Theyâll hit you for using their IP for monetary gain.
That includes Etsy shops, OnlyFans cosplayers, even Ko-fi tips.
Crafts? Fan merch? Etsy? Deleted.
That handmade PokĂŠmon amigurumi? That Sailor Moon plush?
Gone. Takedowns are already happening under current rules â and they want stricter laws to make it even easier.
YouTube? Tumbleweeds.
No more analysis channels.
No more video essays.
No more gameplay footage.
No more AMVs.
No more transformative commentary or reviews.
Only âofficial contentâ â curated by the rights-holders, monetized by them, scrubbed of critique.
Fanfic? Memes? Gone quiet.
AO3 is protected by U.S. safe harbour rules â for now.
But if new laws force platforms to vet or license all content...
Fanworks become a legal liability.
You think Big Mouse is going to license your Reylo fic?
âBut Iâm not making money!â
They donât care.
They want total control. Whether you profit or not doesnât matter to them â what matters is that youâre using their property without permission.
Thatâs the world stricter copyright laws will build â a creative wasteland.
AI Is the Excuse â Not the Problem.
Do ethical concerns around AI exist? Of course.
Do we need transparency and better standards? Absolutely.
But thatâs not what these proposed laws are about.
This is about corporations using fear to expand their power.
To make it harder for anyone to remix, critique, transform, or build on culture â AI or human.
They want your support to stop AI.
But theyâll use that support to destroy fandom.
Weâve Been Here Before â SOPA, PIPA, and the War on Fandom
Back in 2012, the U.S. government almost passed SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act).
They claimed it would stop piracy and protect artists.
What it actually wouldâve done was:
Let corporations and the government get court orders that could effectively cut off or block entire websites over alleged copyright violations.
Treat linking to accused sites as something that could get platforms punished or blocked.
Threaten user-generated platforms like AO3, Tumblr, YouTube, Reddit, fan wikisâŚ
Put the burden of enforcement on users and sites â not the actual infringers
Fandoms, creators, and the entire internet rose up in protest.
Sites blacked out. Petitions exploded. Politicians backtracked.
And we stopped it.
But now theyâre back â using AI as the Trojan horse.
If they couldnât pass SOPA to fight piracy, theyâll repackage it as âprotecting art from AI.â
And if you cheer them on without reading the fine print, youâre handing them the weapon they failed to get ten years ago.
Donât Let Them Do It.
âIt starts with AI.
It ends with fandom.â
Fight for transparency.
Fight for creator rights.
But donât hand the hammer to the same companies whoâve been trying to smash your communities for decades.
They donât want to save you.
They want to own you.
Sources / Further Reading
Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) â overview
Explains what SOPA was, how it worked, and why critics warned it could endanger user-generated platforms.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Online_Piracy_Act
How SOPA/PIPA Threatened Free Speech & Safe Harbour â EFF
Breakdown of how SOPA/PIPA would have enabled site blocking and harmed platforms that host user content.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/01/how-pipa-and-sopa-violate-white-house-principles-supporting-free-speech
Fandom and Copyright Norms â Casey Fiesler
Research on how fan creators operate in a legally grey area, relying on norms and tolerance rather than clear legal protection.
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3635549
Cosplay and Copyright in Japan â Klemchuk LLP
Explores how professional cosplay is being pulled into copyright/licensing, including proposals for fees to rights-holders.
https://www.klemchuk.com/ideate/cosplay-in-japan-faces-new-copyright-law
Fan Merch & DMCA Takedowns â Etsy Story
First-hand account of a fan crafter hit with a DMCA notice over handmade anime dolls, showing how fan merch is already targeted.
https://blerdyotome.com/2020/05/13/now-this-is-a-story-all-about-how-i-got-hit-with-a-dmca-notice-from-funimation/
Copyright and Artificial Intelligence â U.S. Copyright Office
Official hub for the USCOâs work on AI and copyright, showing how governments are actively rethinking the rules right now.
https://www.copyright.gov/ai/
A law has been enacted in the UK which requires everyone using websites to access whatever the UK Government defines as "porn" to verify their age by some intrusive means. Pretty sure that's going to include AO3, so - if you're a UK citizen anywhere in the world, please sign this: if not, please share.
We want the Government to repeal the Online Safety act.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
â Live Streamingâ Interactive Chatâ Private Showsâ HD Qualityâ Free Actions
Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming
Hey I heard that AO3 was attacked because some Russians didnât like queerness and smuttiness and ya know what? Iâm gonna put all the queer smuttiness on the internet I want. Have a canonically gay character in lingerie.
