Time for a Quick Rant - Censorship and Flooding the Zone
I didn't create this blog for stuff like this. I wanted this to be just a fun blog where I posted and shared stuff about my favorite fandoms and occasionally boosted certain topics I cared about. The same was true for my YouTube channels, which I rarely use because I rarely have the focus and energy to edit videos, let alone record them.
But my mind is filled with all the things that are constantly going on in the world. I cannot resist the need to try to stay informed about important things that are happening out there. And even if I could, they so regularly intrude into daily life, that it's dangerous, if even possible, to ignore them. And I think I scream for a lot of us when I cry the following:
THERE IS FAR TOO MUCH SHIT GOING ON RIGHT NOW!!!
But anti-censorship is one of those topics that I've always tried to boost as much as possible. It is the keystone issue which supports engagement with any other issue you can think of. Whether you're horrified and appalled at the current situation in Gaza, or you're terrified by immigration crackdowns in the U.S., or you're suffering from that ever growing dread around what's happening to our environment, or you're furious at the pace and dismissal of investigations into trafficking rings and the people that supported them, or you're fearful for the state of elections around the world, or you're just concerned about old and tired economic issues, it doesn't matter if you don't have access to information and communication.
If people on the ground, civilian or journalist, can't report what's happening, you can't know about it. If those reports can't be distributed, you'll never hear them. If you can't talk about them with others concerned people, you can't organize. If organizations are broken up, collective action is impossible. This is the environment in which tyranny thrives.
And recently it seems like there's been a blitz to create that environment. I don't like to invoke conspiracy theory, though I'm sure there are coordinated groups working together for some of this. Most of the time though, these are the actions of individual people or organizations taking advantage of the situation. When big media corporations suddenly cave to Trump and cancel his critics, then Visa, Mastercard, and Paypal suddenly put pressure on video game distributors to censor "adult content", then the U.K. implements their Online Safety Act restricting parts of the internet for the entire world, then two new versions of KOSA suddenly pop back up in the U.S. Congress, it can be tempting to see coordination. But this is just the new modern era of news in our world. A bad actor can get away with anything today, if they know you're going to be talking about the next bad thing tomorrow.
But if you realize these are just individual entities taking advantage of the chaos and confusion, you can work to apply pressure against them. If you don't forget and keep up the fight, this strategy fails.
So what can you do? Let's break some of them down. Feel free to post comments of your own.
Media Corporations Caving
I personally hate this term, but support "New Media" when you can. You can, of course, write into these media companies and make your opinion know. You can also support the individual journalists, writers, and artists that get canceled or fired in future endeavors. But the big one is going after the bottom line. If you can stop engaging in media published by a company that isn't acting with integrity, that's great. But many of these companies are making subscription services a part of their business model. Cancel these if you've got 'em, and convince others to cancel them too. Make sure you let them know why you're doing it in exit surveys or direct communication.
You can also use the very weapon that's being used to censor media against them. You can always tell them you'll make your opinion known to the Trump administration and their cronies in the FCC. Maybe suggest that the FCC could better control these companies if they were broken up and prevented more mergers from going through. I don't like the taste of this one, but many of these companies should be broken up to begin with. It would be nice if something good came out of all this bullshit.
Payment Processor Censorship
First of all, don't buy into idea that these massive corporations are caving into political pressure or legal responsibilities. The people who run these corporations have a long established disdain for adult entertainment and sex work. They don't cave to pressure from bigger and more vocal groups for products that cause active harm to people and the environment, even when those products run afoul of the law. This is on them, and make sure they know it in your communications.
One phrase I think might carry some weight in these communications is "common carrier." These corporations have almost certainly reached the point where legal arguments can be made that they should be regulated as common carriers. The last thing they want is for that to get litigated. Don't make this as an empty threat though. Pull the trigger and actually contact your government and their regulatory bodies about this.
This is a tough one as I know many are already demoralized by the result of the incredibly successful petition that went through Parliament. It's my understanding though, that this is a common theme in these U.K. petitions, and is not the final word. If you live in the U.K., keep the pressure up and make sure Parliament and your elected officials know you aren't happy and this needs to be relitigated. Put as much pressure on Ofcom as you legally can to change their regulatory policies. Amplify awareness of any ongoing acts of censorship or harassment that take place using this law.
One thing we can all do is support internet media organizations that are fighting against the U.K. on this, such as Wikipedia. Encourage the companies that run the sites you use not to cave, but understand they'll need financial backing to fight the U.K. government.
With how much the U.S. government has been in the news, you should know the drill on this already. Contact your Senator and Representative, spread awareness, encourage any businesses or lobbying groups to fight against this, and discourage any groups that are supporting it. If you can stomach it, write the administration and make sure Trump knows that these laws could affect his media empire.
I know we're probably all discouraged by how this shit just keeps going through in the U.S., but we can't give up. Make sure you're registered to vote in the primary your elected officials will be running in, especially if they're sponsoring this bill. Find any challengers that are planning to run in 2026, and make your concerns known to them. Back and amplify them if you're not happy with how your current Senator or Representative is positioned. As I've said before, if you're able to, take part in local politics and local elections. Today's Councilman or Mayor might be tomorrows Representative or Presidential candidate.
I'm already seeing some people describe this as Liberal or Conservative politics, and attributing these policies to one side or the other.
Don't fall for this trap.
Censorship affects everyone! Regardless of your political position, if you can't educate yourself on issues and talk about them, you have almost no political power. Don't fall into the trap of, "Well I believe in free speech, but . . ."
Is that speech directly going to harm someone? Does it contain sensitive information that could actually endanger someone, such as a person's real life address or private information? Is it the plans for an actual weapon, the genetic code for a deadly virus, or the instructions for easy production of an extremely dangerous chemical? If someone says the thing, are you certain that someone will get hurt after people hear it?
Or do you just think the idea is dangerous, or worse, maybe the reality is you just don't like what that person is saying.
Once people who already have wealth and power are given more power, you almost never get it back. Today they'll go after the people protesting against violence in Gaza. Tomorrow they'll go after people talking about Epstein. The same tools that let them track and harass a gun club that just wants to blow up some junked cars in the desert, can be used to track and censor college students doing foreign aid.
So don't fall for this trap. Do the Dutch/Dillon meme and save the debates for after we make sure we can still have them.
Because at the rate things are going, that's no longer a guarantee.
