#stop csam

Stop these bad bills before we lose the internet as we know it!

(Plus, I heard we may lose Ao3, Wattpad, and Tumblr if these bills pass and I can't lose any of this or any of you guys!)

as per usual, extremely stress-inducing important things happen while i should've been trying to relax.

to make a long story short, the stop csam act will be voted on tomorrow. reminder that this is a markup, but i can't be sure anymore. either way, if you haven't called them yet, please do so. thank you.

take action @ badinternetbills.com

send postcards and emails like this:

If you've been here for long enough, you've heard about KOSA. The Kids Online Safety Act is a harmful and horrific bill that would censor content for ALL, all under the name of "protecting kids". This is the same ideology of queer people and people of colour being inappropriate or sexual divants from the 1980s, 1970s going all the way back to the 1920s. Progressive bill my ass.

So we need all hands on deck to help fight!

If you're in the US:

CALL. YOUR. SENATORS.

You can use this resource to help

TELL THEM PEOPLE DON'T WANT THIS BILL AND THAT IT'S CONTROVERSIAL.

If you're not in the US,

Here's a linktree

Get sending those emails!

I know you guys have been seeing the posts going around about Earn-It and KOSA and things of the like, and talking about how bad those things are. And you're right, they're really, really bad. But, you're not old enough to help participate in helping out, right, since you're a minor? 

WRONG.

Minors out there who are concerned about these issues: YOU CAN HELP US. KOSA and CSAM specifically are acts to create widespread censorship and invasion of privacy to "protect kids," so if anything, your younger voices are stronger than ours! 

I've compiled some resources for you guys to help out. Note that if you sound old enough, you do not have to disclose your age if you don't want to. The point is that there is a public outcry, not that you're under 18.

If you don't know what the bills are or what they do, here's a Doc that explains all that with links to different reading material where you can learn all about it there (note: as of posting this, the Restrict Act is not currently updated. Check back in the future for updates to the doc). 

The two we really need to worry about right now are KOSA and CSAM. 

KOSA is a bill being passed that would effectively let the government censor anything they want online, which can and will include minority voices, LGBTQ content, and anything they deem "unsafe" for kids (such as the suicide hotline).  

CSAM is another law that preaches about protecting kids, but would actually be used to spy on everyone. It's a trojan horse. 

There are a couple more, which are all covered more in-depth here on this site (scroll down):

Here's a few more resources for you guys, and then I'll get into how you guys can help!

KOSA

CSAM

EARN-It

(Light flash warning for this one, just in case)

RESTRICT Act

Alright, with all the reading out of the way, let's get into what to do.

How YOU can help!

Minors: you are not helpless. You are not powerless. The point is that there is a public outcry, and the fact that you are so young could be an advantage to stopping bills like KOSA and CSAM. 

If your voice can pass as an adult's, YOU CAN CALL. If you don't think your voice can pass, YOU CAN EMAIL, TEXT, SIGN PETITIONS, and honestly, you MAY STILL be able to call. 

Here's how calling works. It's gonna be scary the first time around, I know, but you've got this.

First: find out who your representatives are. This website right here makes that very easy. Go to the dropdown for your state and find it, and your two reps should automatically pop up.

Next, see if they're a Republican or a Democrat. This should be in parenthesis next to their names. Here's Michigan's and Mississippi's reps as examples of what that looks like:

How you phrase your words will differ depending on the party they're in, this is important.

Next, you'll see under their names an address, phone number, and some bibliography. (I kept using the Michigan ones cuz I was already on their page, so if you're from Michigan, here's the numbers right here.)

Let's get ready to call now.

Now, when I say "call," I don't mean exclusively by phone. You can also fax them or email them. 

Here's a website you can use to fax them.

To find their email address, google it. [Name] email, and if they've got one, it should pop up there. 

Now, the hard part: actually calling.

Before we go any further, reminder that these people are just that: people. They're not idols, they're not gods, they're not worth any more than you are. Dehumanize them as much as you need to in your head. They're not scary, they're human. 

Now, for each bill, you can either make it all separate or keep all your words in one email, as it were. How you want to do this is up to you. But, if you're feeling lost for words, there are also scripts you can use as a base. 

Here's an email to a Democrat about KOSA, for example:

And this one has emails for both sides:

The long and short of it goes like this:

Your name and something about you (I'm a retail worker) (I'm a minor) (I go to [name] school)

Explain why you're calling (I urge you to stop [bill])

Explain why the issue matters to YOU. (I am a minor, and pushing this law would do irreparable damage, not help us. Here's a bit of why.)

Ask the representative you're calling to help 

Thank them for listening. 

Keep it courteous- they'll be more likely to listen to you if you're calm and collected. I know emotions are high right now, and it's okay to let desperation in, but don't yell or scream at them, you'll only drive them away from trying to stop anything. 

More than likely, you won't be speaking to that rep directly, but the message should still be clear and reach them. 

If you're faxing or emailing, there's more room to go off about issues in more depth, since there isn't someone on the other end of the line. You can say as much as you'd like, but still try to keep it polite. 

this link right here gives majority of the information needed about the situation regarding the governments plans to censor sites that host LGBTQ content (for example tiktok, twitter, wattpad)

sites such as tumblr & ao3 could be at huge risk due to their smaller size and more acceptability to taboo subject matters

these bills are supported by the right AND left and will cause more harm than good

it's not artists job to monitor what children do on the internet it's their parents/guardians

i just had to put on my big boy drawers & call a bunch a old folks i do not fuck with

The us government is currently trying to destroy privacy and encryption online under the guise of protecting children. These four bills, along with age-gating internet usage will lead to abortion arrests, widespread grooming of children, and loss of all privacy with age verification.

Here are some links to learn more. I don’t expect you to take me at my word. I want you to understand what’s happening.

https://www.badinternetbills.com/ has a summary of each bill and a section for contacting your lawmakers, signing petitions, and even more links with useful information about what exactly these would do to the internet

https://linktr.ee/stopkosa this linktree has a lizzo contact link to let her know, an open letter against KOSA, a call script, petitions, and a link to a discord that is completely focused on fighting all bills and acts listed above