ANTI-TWITTER / X AI BOYCOTT SURVIVAL KIT
Attention everyone!!! While we are all rightfully upset that YouTube is implementing an AI age verification system, it is not the only site doing this. Other sites like Reddit, Twitter / X, Spotify, etc. are doing the same. And as more days pass, more sites that we love using will follow. One day, Tumblr will be forced to use an AI age verification system. That will be a dark day, indeed. But for the sake of this post, I'll be focusing on how you can boycott Twitter / X (if you weren't already after Elon Musk bought it) until this is over. I am warning you, if you're planning to boycott Twitter or are intrigued by the idea, you'll need to be prepared to be in it for the long haul. We are talking potentially weeks, months, years, and maybe forever. Boycotting does not last one day; it needs to be big enough and last long enough for the companies to realize that they made a mistake. The Civil Rights Bus Boycott didn't last one day; it took a little over a year (381 days) before there was change. If you are ready to boycott AI age-using platforms, and potentially the government, then I put together a list of alternatives you can use while you boycott Twitter / X.
Twitter / X Alternatives
1. Tumblr
Clipper revolution rise!!!
2. Mastodon
Mastodon is a free and open-source software platform for decentralized social networking with microblogging features similar to Twitter. And recently prohibited AI model training.
3. Diaspora
Diaspora is a privacy-aware, open-sourced, non-profit browser. A few years ago, there was a huge controversy surrounding the site when a basic hacker was able to breach its security. Again, this was a few years ago, and I don't know if it still has the security flaw, but I'd stay away from it for now.
4. Behance
Behance is a social media platform owned by Adobe, catering to artists. There is NSFW on the site, so beware. Adobe itself has AI generation tools, but restricted to adult users.
5. WordPress
While WordPress doesn't have a built-in AI age verification system, I will warn you that WordPress does offer a plugin version. I don't know if this is meant to be a beta test of some sort, but I'd avoid using it and the site if you can.
6. Artstation
Since this site requires users over eighteen to register and use, I think it will take a little longer for the government to justify forcing Artstation to use an AI age verification system. It's not meant for kids, so kids shouldn't be using it. Instead, Artstation relies on moderators to flag content as mature. Two years ago, I heard the site banned AI from its contest, but I don't know about their policy on AI art as a whole, and if they're still allowing it on the platform.
7. Twitch
I know I already have this listed in my YouTube Survival Kit, but quite a few Twitter users are also Twitch users and stream there. I suggest you turn on your notifications if you don't want to miss a stream.
Why aren't other sites on this list?
Social media sites like BlueSky, LinkedIn, Threads, as well as its parent company, Instagram, are exploring AI-powered age verification systems.
The biggest thing in this list and on this post, however, is to get the attention of big creators, politicians, and courts. If you want this boycott to end faster, we need to spread the word around. A one-day protest and a petition against YouTube specifically won't change anything. If you want change, you'll need to message the senators (don't harass or spam them!!!). If you want change, you'll need to share this in non-English speaking spaces; people outside America probably don't know this is happening. If you want change, you'll need to let your friends and family know about this, your local businesses, your teacher, your college professor, your boss, your mayor (don't harass or spam them!!!). If you want change, you'll need to protest and demonstrate publicly and openly. Don't do anything dangerous!!! Educate yourselves and the general public on KOSA, the Screen Act, COPPA 2.0, and similar acts like it, why we oppose it, and why they should oppose it too. Tell them who wants these laws passed, who this benefits from them, and tell them why. Offer easier and safer solutions to KOSA.
"If you oppose the Kids Online Safety Act, you don't want children to be safe!" "No. It's up to the parents to monitor what their children are looking at, not trillion-dollar companies and governments."
"You're just upset you won't be able to look at NSFW content." "No. We all have varied search habits. I should not have to constantly watch an adult-content Twitter user to avoid Twitter flagging me as a child, or worry while I'm watching a family-friendly Twitter user, that Twitter will flag me as a child."
"What's so bad about giving Twitter or other platforms your ID or selfie?" "If Twitter gets hacked, my ID might get stolen. Have you ever heard of the Tea Incident? It happened this year involving an app called Tea. It was supposed to be a women-only safe space dating app where women helped give dating advice to other women, including tips on whether a guy was giving red flags, and you needed to give your personal information if you wanted to register. Unfortunately, on July 25th, the app suffered a security breach, which exposed 13,000 selfies and photo identification documents used for account verification. It also exposed over 1.1 million private direct messages between users, with a lot of them being leaked all over 4Chan and Twitter, funnily enough."
“But that was Tea. Twitter's security is much better!” "In 2018, a bug in Twitter's code exposed user passwords. In 2020, a cache issue potentially exposed email addresses, phone numbers, and credit card details. In January 2023, a database of over 200 million Twitter users was leaked to the public. One of those users happened to be Trump Jr. While many of us might not care about him, this ultimately proves my point. If Twitter is unable to protect the president's son, how do you expect me to believe it'll protect me? Plus, AI is far from perfect. How am I supposed to trust that it's AI won't register me as a child or incorrectly register a child as an adult?” Here's a history of Twitter's data breaches if you were wondering: https://firewalltimes.com/twitter-data-breach-timeline/
"If it's not for the children, who does it benefit?" "AI corporations, Online verification companies, and politicians who want the government to monitor internet users.”
"Are there other sites doing this, or just Twitter?" "So far, YouTube, Spotify, Reddit, Twitter / X, and Discord are implementing AI age verification systems on their platforms. Dailymotion, TikTok, BlueSky, LinkedIn, Threads, and Instagram are planning to use AI age verification systems in the near future. If nothing is done about this, more social media companies will be forced to do the same."
I implore all who read this:
Please boycott Twitter for more than a day. Be prepared to boycott for years
Please cancel whatever subscriptions you have
Please boycott other sites that are using AI age verification (be vigilant, do research)
Review-bomb any app that uses or plans to use AI Age verification, as well as their parent companies (for example, Twitter is owned by xAI, Reddit is owned by Advance Publications, etc.)
Research which parent companies own which platforms, so you know what to avoid. Google Classroom, for example, is also owned by Google (shocker) and is planning to introduce AI age verification as well
Please convince more people to boycott Twitter and other sites
Please spread the word beyond Tumblr and Reddit. Translate your anti-Twitter AI and anti-KOSA posts and post them on non-English speaking sites or forums
Please educate yourself and the people around you. This is not just a violation of our online freedom. This is a violation of our right to privacy and our right to free speech. This is a violation of our First and Ninth Amendment rights. Again, research and tell people about KOSA, the Screen Act, and COPPA 2.0. Elon owns the xAI parent company and has a vested interest in seeing more AI on Twitter. Please look up and spread awareness about xAI. If you ever wondered where Twitter's AI assistant Grok came from, now you know.
Please look up and spread awareness about Twitter and other platforms’ data breaches, not just online, but with the general public as well. Show that these platforms are not ready to house your government information.
And please contact senators you know who oppose these laws and might help repeal them. Don't harass them, please, and do background checks on them. I don't want this movement to go up in flames because a senator who opposes these laws is a confirmed predator.
THE FASTER WE END THESE LAWS, THE FASTER WE'LL GET TO USE TWITTER AGAIN (although, I'm not sure why you'd want to)
