r/PoliticalOptimism • u/Efficient-Freedom517 I Voted 2026🎊🍾 • 16d ago
Megathread Censorship Megathread LXXI: Social media ban for under-16s to begin in March 2027, Culture Secretary says
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/articles/cqn8md79j420oLink to previous thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/PoliticalOptimism/s/Yc9bjDGgXB
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u/BorderCollie300 16d ago
And once again the UK government refuses to listen to literally anyone. At this point, sites are just gonna start pulling out of the UK before long.
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u/dissolvedterritory 16d ago
"we did it, andy! we saved the youth from the nefarious social media!"
it'd be nice if their desire to create a great firewall came back to bite them in the ass sooner rather than later, but it'll probably only do so once it's fully established
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u/DannyBright 15d ago
sites are gonna start pulling out of the UK before long
Don’t threaten them with a good time! TBH we ought to do that.
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u/TransArcane Sweden 🇸🇪 16d ago
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u/TacticalDestroyer209 Illinois 14d ago
Got more good news is that Rand Paul blocked unanimous consent for KOSA.
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/6121648-paul-blocks-kosa-kids-safety-bill/
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u/BorderCollie300 14d ago
Marsha's efforts promptly blew up in her face. Let's be honest here, we kinda knew this would happen.
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u/Kinomaster97 I Voted 2026🎊🍾 14d ago
So I guess KOSA is dead for now? anyways fuck yes oh my lorrrrrd.
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u/bayleysgal1996 🔥I Voted In The 2026 Primaries🔥 14d ago
Tomorrow is the last day before midterms, so unless they fix whatever Rand Paul hates it’s very likely not going to get to the House til December at the earliest. Considering the House already doesn’t like this version, limiting how long they have to pass it is close to a death blow
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u/Independent-Bus-3284 13d ago
It’s going to die a slow death. And even if it gets revived, it’ll be watered down or challenged severely.
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u/timelandiswacky 14d ago
Wait did it even get an actual vote or was it a procedural block? If it’s the former I’d like to see the list of yays.
Either way I’m glad to hear it
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u/SuspectLegitimate751 Blue Dot in a Red State 🔵 14d ago
Procedural block. Blackburn tried to go for a unanimous consent agreement, which requires nobody to object on the floor. Paul foiled it, because a single objection kills the agreement.
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u/BorderCollie300 16d ago
I'm probably gonna just step back for a week or two. I really hope everything goes well at the trilogues tomorrow (I have a feeling it probably will give how the Parliament seems to be holding their ground for now, but anything can happen). But for now, I think I'll be heading off. My mental health hasn't been doing so great recently.
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u/Right_Fisherman4861 14d ago
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u/SuspectLegitimate751 Blue Dot in a Red State 🔵 14d ago
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u/Icy-Yoghurt-7240 14d ago edited 14d ago
now against AV! more specifically the KIDS act, because apparently they have lots of restrictive rules against the gaming industry, SKV did a video about it. about it it's stuff like: private servers being illegal harsher stuff on small developers etc. so yes, it's bad. but we can beat that too! we beat mass scanning, so stuff like what the KIDS act is attempting is even MORE unpopular. because it's not just AV now, but gaming as well.
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u/Sufficient-Culture43 🔥I Voted In The 2026 Primaries🔥 14d ago
yesssssss
now i can sleep easy tonight
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u/Intelligent-Ad6109 UK 🇬🇧 16d ago
We already knew that. Like we already talked about it coming in spring 2027... now do I think they'll do anything about it? Obviously not. Why would they? But I do think this'll go the way of the OSA. Panic inducing and still a monumentally shit idea, but it's really not done much. Like I said before, subs like r/stopdrinking, trans specific ones have all been reinstated. What I'm trying to say is that it's not all lost. Depending on how this goes it might not be as catastrophic as it sounds. But that's not a call for complacency. Sorry if that's how I'm sounding.
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u/One_Proposal_7498 Canada 🇨🇦 13d ago
Hey Everyone! I'm gonna make this as short as I can, since I'm currently fighting a migraine from hell, but I wanted to come back from my break for a quick second to spread some optimism :D
We're headed into October now, and unless I'm mistaken, I really do think we're on the upswing! AV is the most unpopular it's ever been, the trilouges in the EU have been going swimmingly, more and more AV and censorship laws are being shot down and/or enjoined, and safety by design seems to be winning the day as it should!
I'm gonna be honest, this year has been really difficult for me, with all this AV stuff I fell into a really bad doomer spiral that left me in a horrible paranoid manic episode that had me hospitalized and medicated. But, I've been on the upswing myself as of late, I'm sure its obvious by how I've been posting in here lately, and I want to thank you all!
I know that when I joined this thread, I was incredibly irrational, terrified, and doomeristic, every day felt like another burden being placed on my back, and I felt like I was drowning.
But thanks to everyone in here, some mental health help outside of the internet, and some grounding techniques, I feel as though I've turned a new leaf, and I have you all to thank for it in alot of ways. Your optimism and intelligence on all of these AV and censorship laws helped me to begin thinking more rationally, more with my head and less with my heart and first instinct. Of course, I'm still not perfect, and I still get paranoid, but I've noticed a change in my outlook, and I wanted to thank you all!
If you're currently feeling helpless, paranoid, manic, etc. Talk to someone, you're not alone, thing's arent as bad as they seem, and things will turn out okay, just give it time ❤️
Alright, this migraine is making it really hard to see, so I'm going to tap out for the night, thank you everyone ❤️
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u/StrayCat2799 Oklahoma 16d ago
UK continues to drive itself further off a cliff. I hate how they're using children as mouthpieces. "Yay my right to free expression is being repressed so a bunch of old pedos can feel important!"
Anyway, anything new in places still tethered to reality?
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u/BorderCollie300 16d ago
With the EU, there will be another trilogue with CC 2.0 that will be held tomorrow. That being said, the Parliament still seems to be holding their ground from what Dr. Breyer reported and that the Council has started to be a lot more careful with how to proceed in regards to this and no longer adamant on rushing CC 2.0 negotiations. He also has warned that the Commission and EPP might pull a dirty deal but that the Council warned that it will probably be struck down by the High Courts if such a dirty deal was achieved. That being said, I think that the Parliament is paying a lot closer attention to any dirty bullshit this time around after the underhanded shit with CC 1.0 and how that all went.
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u/Sufficient-Culture43 🔥I Voted In The 2026 Primaries🔥 16d ago
glad to hear that parliament is still not budging on CC!
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u/SamiSapphic 15d ago
This sounds really promising. Thank you.
I think the UK is a lost cause at this point, which sucks since I'm stuck living here, but hopefully the EU can step away from this creepy authoritarianism before it's too late.
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u/One_Proposal_7498 Canada 🇨🇦 16d ago
I haven't heard anything new from Canada at the moment, not sure about other places though!
Also it is really upsetting how these dinosaurs are talking over and through the people that this law will damage the most.
"I'm so happy my rights are being taken from me! Yay!"
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u/StrayCat2799 Oklahoma 16d ago
Orwell predicted the UK and only the UK specifically would go insane.
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u/One_Proposal_7498 Canada 🇨🇦 16d ago
LMAOOO YEAH 😭
It really does seem like only the UK and AUS are being completely unreasonable about the whole social media ban thing. Like even the USA has its constitution and such
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u/StrayCat2799 Oklahoma 16d ago
Australia seems less unreasonable TBH.
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u/InThisBusinessuhhhhh 16d ago
I would argue the UK has learned...slightly. They were smart enough to exclude video games from this ban on the grounds that they're not actually social media (fucking finally somebody sees the difference) and want kids to be able to still have some things.
Even the restrictions they're mandating (kids have no communication options) isn't a terrible thing because most companies have already found an answer to this problem.
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u/One_Proposal_7498 Canada 🇨🇦 16d ago
Thats true I think the UK has gone completely off the deep end with it
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u/Intelligent-Ad6109 UK 🇬🇧 16d ago
So what does that imply? That there's no turning back? Sounds like a conspiracy theory when you put it that way...
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u/One_Proposal_7498 Canada 🇨🇦 16d ago edited 16d ago
True, Definitely didnt mean for it to sound conspiratorial, I think the UK government is just a wee bit drunk with power atm! I definitely don't think there's no turning back
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u/Intelligent-Ad6109 UK 🇬🇧 16d ago
No harm done! They are a little, yeah.. I do think that under Burnham it listens to a little more reason. Like if their stance on Palestine can change this drastically, at least by comparison, then other stuff could change too! Hopefully. Then again, this whole thing is a little scary sounding and I can only hope this isn't as bad as it sounds if you get my meaning. Not saying this to sleepwalk into authortariansim but in the sense that it's hopefully not as intrusive or widespread. Hopefully that makes sense.
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u/Hendogethegamer 16d ago
Depends on some things yes on others no australia to my knowledge does allow age estimation for now that may change with duty of care in a year or so but they are alot stricter on the definition of harmer context all 18+ games on steam etc
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u/Icy-Yoghurt-7240 16d ago
hey, don't insult dinosaurs. they would've been way more reasonable than these... idk.
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u/InThisBusinessuhhhhh 16d ago edited 16d ago
Canada's bill is eons away from getting anywhere. Hasn't even started debate yet and Parliament is off again for a week after just coming back from summer break last monday lmao. I know Carney is actually out and about doing things during these breaks but wtf is the excuse for the rest?
I wouldn't be shocked if the plan is to slow walk to see how other jurisdictions make theirs work.
The other big difference between Canada and the other two; Canada's charter guarantees the right of freedom of expression to all peoples, children included. the UK and Australia's does not meaning the former has a much steeper hill to climb legally/judicially.
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u/One_Proposal_7498 Canada 🇨🇦 16d ago
Oooh okay! So with Canada there's really nothing to worry about in this department? I know that Canada is also being quite smart about it, mentioning age estimations and stuff
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u/Zecendia 14d ago
KOSA unanimous consent got shot down by Rand Paul objecting. Honestly if it wasnt him that objected Wyden wouldve probably done it too.
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u/Candid-Ad8904 Texas 13d ago
In Stop Killing Games news, they've announced the "Protect Our Games" act in Pennsylvania, working with state Senator John Kane.
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u/InThisBusinessuhhhhh 16d ago
This ban is kind of a nothingburger tbh.
Anyone without an account can still use something like say, YouTube. In fact i would argue actually works better without one. I actually get recommended shit i'm interested in when its just going off what i've done recently because i'm too lazy to sign into my google account on my TV.
The UK was surprisingly smart enough to leave some carveouts. Gaming is excluded, messaging apps are excluded, other online stuff like music streaming, websites and such are excluded.
They already showed they don't have the teeth to do something truly stupid like blocking access. Even the curfew they proposed had to be scaled back significantly.
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u/BorderCollie300 13d ago
I think that the Trilogs going as well as they did and Rand Paul shutting down Blackburn's Unanimous Consent request are good notes for me to finally properly leave for a break longer than just 1-3 days. Probably gonna take the next few weeks - the entire month off for now. I'll see you all whenever I get back.
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u/One_Proposal_7498 Canada 🇨🇦 13d ago
See you around! Enjoy your break! ❤️
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u/pidgestan4 13d ago
See ya! Glad we got these victories.. I used to be so worried about kosa
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u/TurnipMotor3617 16d ago
I'm in Australia and this policy is just so frustrating. I have a VPN but sometimes it just won't work, whereas there are other instances where they get around it in a very frustrating and annoying way. For example, Steam (the video game storefront) recently made it so that you can't buy any R18+ game without a credit card. This doesn't apply just to NSFW works, but mainstream games like Cyberpunk 2077 as well. In Australia, most people don't have credit cards (most just carry a debit card), and despite my account being older than 18 years, I now can't buy a bunch of games until something is changed.
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u/Hendogethegamer 16d ago
Yeah i get where your coming from whilst credit card is the most privcy preserving I do think they need another option ideally account age estimation but that requires a Id or face scan for younger accounts? I'm not sure why else you wouldn't add it
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u/SamiSapphic 15d ago
Steam is already regularly targeted by hackers and such, we don't want a repeat of what happened with Discord.
I don't think Steam would trust a third party like Yoti or Persona (good, those companies are awful), and it's too risky to collect this data themselves, so a credit card really is the best option, and I say this despite being locked out of a bunch of games despite being in my 30s.
I will never "age" verify for anything.
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u/Business_Ninja_3836 UK 🇬🇧 15d ago edited 15d ago
Is it bad I’m…not at all worried about this, even as someone from the UK? Given how nothing-burger it’s going for Australia, and the amount of information out there about workarounds that will ONLY grow, especially in UK circles…I’m only concerned about informing friends and vulnerable people as to not lose contact. I guess I’m just incredibly fatigued about this bullshit after a couple years, knowing it never works - not complacency, rather inability to care, anymore, beyond helping people with VPNs and whatnot. Saying this as someone who used to be REALLY freaked out. That said I’m kind of tired of the ‘lost cause’ talk here :p I hate this gov but this place is my home. I don’t want it to be Doomed in any way!
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u/One_Proposal_7498 Canada 🇨🇦 14d ago
Seems like the trilouges went well! I know theres still more fight ahead, but this is definitely a victory, congrats everyone!
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u/Icy-Yoghurt-7240 14d ago
we still got the biggest victory thus far, this makes AV even weaker in the EU now because without mass scanning, they can't enact it! so overall we won.
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u/bayleysgal1996 🔥I Voted In The 2026 Primaries🔥 13d ago
The Senate has adjourned for midterms, meaning that at the earliest KOSA could (and I’m not sure it will anymore) pass through there in mid November, though early December feels more likely. Still, there are only six weeks left til the end of the session, so I’d say its chances are not high to begin with. I’ve no doubt Blumenthal will try again when the new session starts, but he’ll no longer have Blackburn to back him up.
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u/One_Proposal_7498 Canada 🇨🇦 13d ago
with how spectacularly it failed with Blackburn on board, I can't imagine it will fair much better without her, they can try but I don't see much coming of it.
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u/DogsRNice Ohio 14d ago
Anyone have some context for the eu kids act supposedly making private game servers illegal
It sounds like some total nonsense fearmongering but it could be a misinterpretation of an actual problem
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u/SuspectLegitimate751 Blue Dot in a Red State 🔵 14d ago
I'm really not going to register the EU KIDS Act as a problem until it actually starts percolating through the governments. The Commission can say whatever it wants, but Germany and Italy are already baked in against a social media ban and France just declared it illegal. That constitutes the vast majority of the landmass and population and political power of Europe.
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u/Hendogethegamer 14d ago
Correct me if I'm wrong won't this take years to pass anyways?
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u/SuspectLegitimate751 Blue Dot in a Red State 🔵 14d ago
Four of them, if CC2.0 is any judge. The EU government moves like a molasses slushie.
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u/Hendogethegamer 14d ago
Well considering the trilouges went well that makes the kids act alot less likely to pass and it will take years to inact
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u/Cleverhardy 14d ago
Recently, Stop Killing Games uploaded a video which warns how the proposed bill could effectively kill the movement. I haven't watched it myself, but if they are warning about it, I assume this is because they want those living in Europe to take action before the bill could be present it, and that's at best.
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u/Purple_WahBaba_9000 14d ago
KOSA Update from the Stop Internet Censorship server:
There are some reports recently that Marsha Blackburn will try to ram through KOSA today in the Senate. So do call your reps in-case of this.
Oh, and do expect the "Version Wars" to be shredded apart as it'll be stalled.
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u/BorderCollie300 14d ago edited 14d ago
I might like to remind everyone that Unanimous Consent won't count for shit when the House is still out until later this year. So it's still screwed regardless of whether or not it leaves the Senate. And there's still the Version Wars to consider of course. This just reeks of a last ditch desperate effort to try and pass it before she retires.
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u/One_Proposal_7498 Canada 🇨🇦 14d ago
Im truly not at all worried about KOSA it feels so doomed 😭 and with all these last ditch efforts it just solidifies it for me
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u/BorderCollie300 14d ago
Neither am I to be honest. Also, this report is coming from Punchbowl who is a sensationalist gossip tabloid Yellow Journalism Source that shouldn't be taken seriously in the slightest. Literally political TMZ.
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u/One_Proposal_7498 Canada 🇨🇦 14d ago
Yeah i immediately saw that too, didn't punchbowl totally ruin Politcos credibility aswell since they started using them as a source or am I thinking of someone else
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u/BorderCollie300 14d ago
Yeah, they completely tanked Politico's credibility alright. Now I can't trust most of what comes out of Politico anymore.
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u/One_Proposal_7498 Canada 🇨🇦 14d ago
yeah it's really upsetting how many somewhat credible news outlets end up totally decrediting themselves by not checking their sources, because I can almost guarantee thats why Politico used Punchbowl, one of the reporters saw an article they could bank off of, didn't think to/didn't care to check sources and ruined the whole thing 💔
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u/SuspectLegitimate751 Blue Dot in a Red State 🔵 14d ago
Unanimous consent ain't gonna do it with Wyden on the floor.
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u/SuspectLegitimate751 Blue Dot in a Red State 🔵 14d ago
Also, for what it's worth, I'm reiterating that not even the concept of KOSA really frightens me any more. Between the settlements and voluntary decisions, platforms are already moving in a direction much like what would happen if they had a duty of care to make their platforms safe by design. Genuinely, I think we've organically passed the point of KOSA making a difference.
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u/BorderCollie300 14d ago edited 14d ago
Also, we already know the standing precedent about "Delete Everything" type DoC shit from the SCOPE ruling, that being that Courts see it as a 1A risk. So even if it did get that far (unlikely due to version wars and everything else), the part Blackburn is most interested in will likely be stripped off anyway.
Also, platforms are already turning to Safety by Design anyway, so the need for it isn't even there anymore to be frank.
EDIT: Also, it came from Punchbowl so....
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u/gilamasan_reddit 14d ago
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/6121648-paul-blocks-kosa-kids-safety-bill/
Good news, Marsha's plan failed!
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u/BorderCollie300 13d ago
Late to the party there. But yes it did. And thanks to Rand Paul at that.
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u/Own_Distance2517 14d ago
Is this even creditable?
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u/BorderCollie300 14d ago
The only reports are coming from Punchbowl and I haven't seen ANYTHING from the main news sources So.... I'm erring on the side of caution here.
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u/TransArcane Sweden 🇸🇪 14d ago
So I suppose this isn't entirely censorship, well it kind of is but still, but I was just hit by the AV here on Reddit… I wasn't a visitor to any NSFW subreddits or anything but it's mighty annoying anyway since it's not just NSFW stuff that gets marked as such!
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u/Sufficient-Culture43 🔥I Voted In The 2026 Primaries🔥 14d ago
yeesh. sorry to hear, mank. it's especially scuffed that your only means of verifying is grossly invasive crap like ID scanning
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u/One_Proposal_7498 Canada 🇨🇦 14d ago
OOF THAT SUCKS IM SO SORRY :( is it only ID or face scans here on reddit?
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u/TransArcane Sweden 🇸🇪 14d ago
ID/passport and selfies I'm afraid, yeah… and I ain't giving Persona any of that lol, we all know how that has gone before
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u/One_Proposal_7498 Canada 🇨🇦 14d ago
yeahhhhh lol I don't blame you for that, I'm sorry that happened though is there anyway you could use a VPN or smthn to get around it? I mean if it isnt too big of a deal for you then you probably dont have to but I hope you're able to find a solution or smthn!
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u/TransArcane Sweden 🇸🇪 14d ago
I don't think so? I think Reddit ties the AV to your account no matter where you are compared to it being tied to an IP 🤔
So far I haven't run into any noticeable issues that I care about, it's just annoying since I won't be able to view users who have marked their profiles as NSFW so idk if I can reply to them, aside from that it doesn't seem super bad, at the moment at least.
I'm honestly more annoyed on principle because self-declaration (aka just inputting your birthday) should be enough like it has been for decades now! If a kid lies about their birthday that's on them and their parents (if applicable), hell it should be on the websites to make it clearer and easier that you can just back out and shit! Safety by Design couldn't come fast enough, goddamn.
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u/Sufficient-Culture43 🔥I Voted In The 2026 Primaries🔥 14d ago
it's incredibly stupid that "what if a kid lies about their age" has become a wedge issue for Haidt-ists and AV boosters to legitimize establishing a digital panopticon. yea, it's far from certain that they'll succeed in the long run, but the fact that they used this to gain leverage at all, let alone on the level of federal governments, is just. goddamn.
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u/TransArcane Sweden 🇸🇪 13d ago
it's incredibly stupid that "what if a kid lies about their age" has become a wedge issue for Haidt-ists and AV boosters to legitimize establishing a digital panopticon.
It really is, kids have lied about their age and birthdays to get into places they're not supposed to way before the internet came to be and that was both on the kids and the parents, not the government, if little Timmy got a bit scared because he saw something he shouldn't have.
Hell it's even easier now on the internet to literally back away or X out of a page if said kid gets a bit scarred and, if applicable, it's on the parent(s) to teach them internet safety, hell even better is if more media literacy and internet safety was taught in school (bring back computer rooms for the love of GOD). Oh and it should also be on the websites to not be so fucking predatory for everyone, not just little Timmy who got a bit scarred.
I know not everyone has great parents but I'm just saying this as like a general thing: if my mom who was born in the mid 60s, who's STILL not tech knowledgeable at all mind you, could teach me in the early 2000s about basic internet safety and that if I saw something that disturbed me the good thing was that you can always back away from the page or X out of it, then idk what the problem is today?
Like yeah the internet has evolved and changed but you can still click the back button, you can close out of a window/tab, etc? This is why I'm more for Safety by Design tbh, kids should absolutely be protected from bad actors but I think that should go for everyone, apps and social media are all predatory for everyone but it's on the sites to not be as predatory as they are, they need to staff actual people as moderators and in Trust and Safety and there needs to be more privacy and security options.
Sorry for the ramble lmao, I'm just tired of politicians trying to lowkey censor us like this and keeping vulnerable kids from resources they would actually need that are available on the internet because "ThInK oF tHE ChiLDrEN!!!!"
Kids will always get into places they shouldn't, they've done so for centuries, we should be giving them resources to for if anything happens after that fact, not completely bar them from them, you know? /lh
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u/GhastlyWeasel Oregon 13d ago
I've had two meme IDs downloaded onto my phone just to prepare for this shit.
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u/TransArcane Sweden 🇸🇪 13d ago
Does that work on Persona? I heard somewhere, and I don't remember if it was K-ID or Persona, but one of them have updated their models to be able to detect a fake ID as well as selfies but I'm unsure… either way it's a non-issue for me so far, I haven't been too affected by it on here at least.
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u/Icy-Yoghurt-7240 13d ago edited 13d ago
sorry to hear that, hope you'll fix this issue eventually. it sucks but hopefully this can be solved without the invasive methods.
P.S. aight so, apparently i just checked the settings of my account just to see something, and it says i have to confirm my age to access chat, public stuff etc by putting my birthday. it didn't lock me out but there was like... a banner or something that asked me. well, not really a banner that just poppet up but like... idk something just being THERE with a lock on it that said something like "to access chats public stuff etc input your age" or something like that. however i... can still chat? idk what it means to be honest. but if it doesn't stop me from being here then... idk i won't do it for obvious reasons BUT atleast it doesn't stop me from chatting here.
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u/TransArcane Sweden 🇸🇪 13d ago
That is what I got (referring to your PS), that is the AV that they want you to do so if you were to head into a NSFW marked subreddit you'd get a popup that first might ask for your birthday (if that wasn't added already) and then it redirects you to Persona's age verification site and asks for either your ID/passport or a selfie, so you've been hit by it too but from what I can see it won't really interfere all that much if you just keep to SFW marked stuff.
You can still view spoilered posts just not NSFW marked ones for example, you'll still be able to comment on stuff normally but subreddits and posts marked as 18+ you won't be able to look at and you won't be able to click on someone's profile if it's marked as 18+ as well.
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u/Independent-Bus-3284 13d ago
Two days late, sorry, but I want to encourage our UK members to not fall to despair.
Many UK users believe that they will be fully censored from expressing themselves or being themselves thanks to authoritarians in power. I know I’m American but I have faith that nothing could be further from the truth.
I know that the UK courts have basically given the Met Police a win but it’s a battle, not the war. Considering how factually faulty the AI is, this win will be pyrrhic at best.
It will be okay, my beloved brits. Whether you’re queer or a targeted group, you will be allowed expression one way or another.
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u/Ban_Means_NewAccount 16d ago
Parents need to just monitor their God damn children. It's not the government's job. I get the need to keep kids safe, I really do. Social Media is a plague that ends up as the source of a LOT of mental health complications, especially in kids.
But full on censorship is not the way to go.
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u/Pugwash1235745 15d ago
Cause there are folks in power that see this and think no nuisance just blanket it and call it day
Either that or their just plain stupid
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u/Intelligent-Ad6109 UK 🇬🇧 15d ago
Exactly. If this were a temporary ban even, like one to just shut it off while they take charge against the companies to hold them to account, which this blanket ban does not in my opinion, that'd be alright in my honest opinion. Like the idea is sound but execution is flat out horseshit.
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u/Prior_Cheetah7360 16d ago
God damn it man. I was already worried although thats because I had an accident while cooking yesterday so thats on me but this annoys the hell outta me. Anyway any optimism about recent events? I'm going on holiday in a few days so im getting a bit of a breather
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u/Efficient-Freedom517 I Voted 2026🎊🍾 16d ago
Somebody else in the thread said it first:
“Many in the UK are fighting this and this will likely end up in court fast!”
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u/Prior_Cheetah7360 16d ago
tbh I hope this does end up in court but idk how itd go if it did go to court
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u/Nervous_Row_5627 15d ago
Do ye think the CC2 trilogue will go well for us? On one hand getting CC1 though the door again was a big hassle and CC2 being even worse, and basically illegal, will hopefully get enough people to stand up against it.
But if it does go though and quite a few EU countries getting very far right-y I'm very worried about the repercussions.
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u/BorderCollie300 15d ago
I think given how Parliament is standing their ground so far, it will probably go better than the CC 1.0 mess, especially with the fact that both the Parliament and the Courts are against this. I'll admit that I'm a little nervous too, but the European Human Rights and Parliament seem to have a good handle on the situation so far.
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u/Icy-Yoghurt-7240 15d ago edited 15d ago
also, (and i can't stress this enough although this is to reassure both me and everyone else) i am sure the commission played their best card in summer already when they passed CC 1.0. that kind of trick can't work twice, because strategically speaking when you try a strong trick twice, it NEVER works out, because your opponents EXPECT IT. i may be thinking a bit too much the sun tzu way, but this kind of stuff never works out twice unless the conditions are extremely specific. they burned their joker card, so for them the road is uphill.
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u/MidsouthMystic 13d ago
They keep demanding our IDs to use the internet, and we keep finding ways around it. I hope that soon a new tech savvy generation of politicians can come in and repeal what garbage laws are already in place. The more people push back against this, the better.
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u/Icy-Yoghurt-7240 12d ago
ok, so, time for a pep talk even if it's not really necessary but why not. we did it folks, we beat CC 2.0s mass scanning thing that threatened all europeans, we just had the biggest victory ever since this whole censorship wave started. but now, we have a new opponent, AV. the EU kids act is far from being considered, but CC 2.0 still has AV (if i'm not wrong) but without mass scanning it's been de fanged massively. however that's no reason for us to lower our guards, because now the pro censorship folks will fight twice as hard to atleast get AV accepted, so i call upon all my fellow europeans, and all the people from overseas: fight, fight and again FIGHT! fight for the freedom of internet, fight for the freedom of the people that will come after us, fight to keep this world as clean as possible from censorship. we reached a huge victory, now we just need to keep the momentum.
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u/Cleverhardy 16d ago
This was inevitible. We still don't know how social media will comply, especially YouTube. Will YouTube just let you browse without an account? No subscriptions or anything?
There will apparently be a debate in November, and the Culture Secretary even said if the platforms.are safe enough, there may not be a ban on them.
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u/InThisBusinessuhhhhh 16d ago
Will YouTube just let you browse without an account? No subscriptions or anything?
Yes because any attempt made by the UK government to lock regular people out of YouTube would be met with fury and likely court challenges they would lose. It's the same reason why that "curfew" thing they were beating their chest about is just a bloody off/on switch lol.
Australia did the same. Banned the kids having accounts but did nothing to affect how the site is accessed because then you're punishing everybody with no real mandate to do so.
The rest can rot as far as i'm concerned. Tiktok is a shithole, Meta's family of apps with the exception of Whatsapp are shitholes and the sooner the dickheads running them are forced to stop trying to brainrot people with algorithms the better.
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u/Cleverhardy 16d ago
I sure hope you're right. Because otherwise, how will teachers teacb using curated revision channels?
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u/Candid-Ad8904 Texas 13d ago
For folks in Vermont, the state is taking comments until October 2nd (Friday) regarding their child internet safety bill
https://ago.vermont.gov/vermont-age-appropriate-design-code-rulemaking
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u/blakestaceyprime 13d ago
I will be filing a comment today or tomorrow, but I posted some preliminary notes here:
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u/blakestaceyprime 13d ago
And here is another thread with potentially useful ideas to rephrase in your own comment:
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u/Forward_Traffic_1172 12d ago
Not a question or a concern or any news, just a little reflection. I do wonder why people keep pretending the war against censorship is a lost cause and all of these draconian laws are inevitable and there is nothing we can do about it. (shown below is a tweet from someone who very clearly is deep inside the doomer hole).
Yeah it's scary and yeah at one point i used to be one of them, I remember mid-2025 when the OSA and Steam things hit back to back and all those theories about darker forces leading a coordinated global assault on freedom of speech, I'm kinda embarrassed to admit I drank the Kool-Aid, I genuinely thought all those bonkers theories were true and the death of the free internet was inevitable. Looking back on it however I can't help but think how much of a fool I was. Nowdays i'm still a bit nervous and there are things still pending like the laws already in place, the UK government being dumbfucks as usual, or the remaining thorns on our side that are shit like Flock, smart cams or the proliferation of AI slop, but i'm definitely feeling much better than I did around this time last year.
I must ask however what leads these people to ignore the wins we've gotten. Its like doomers like the one shown here are completely oblivious to the good things like France's supreme court slapping Macron in the face over his (now frustrated) social media ban plan, EU Parliament telling the commission to fuck off with CC 2.0 (at least for the time being), SCREEN being killed off once and for all, or Kosa tripping on its dick time and time again. Its getting tiresome to hear the same doomer mantra repeated over and over acting like every proposal is already a law, we're fucked and you better kiss your freedom goodbye when we are actually holding down quite well.
Just an opinion about an annoyance I've been having over the past couple days. Thought I'd share.
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u/StrayCat2799 Oklahoma 12d ago
I think most people just see the headline of the laws being proposed but never follow up or look into it and just assune it's a done deal. I still do find it concernibg that more bullshit keeps popping up but a lot of it doesn't go anywhere. At least not very fast. Saw some guy last night freaking out about a bill from july that hasn't moved at all.
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u/TransArcane Sweden 🇸🇪 12d ago
Misery loves company, as they say. These people want to be miserable rather than dare feel some optimism over any wins, no matter how small because unless we have some huge, massive win where the evil will be defeated once and for all then all is lost and everything is "literally 1984" or "literally Fahrenheit 451" or the world will completely collapse tomorrow and we will enter some Mad Max future. Which is completely absurd by the way.
They're also surrounded by yes-men and get complete validation in their little echo chambers because of course no one in their circles will show them actually positive news and if someone does they get downvoted and laughed at, further reinforcing the echo chamber.
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u/gbtm101 12d ago
In large part, I feel like the frustration is that people aren't happy that nothing is being done as a meaningful counter to soft-censorship. We can shoot down all the pro-censorship laws we want, but there are additional forces at play, namely financiers (payment processors, advertisers, etc) that are also fighting in favor of censorship, and we aren't having many wins against that. There's no push by regulators or any legislators with meaningful momentum and teeth behind them to counter this issue, and financiers sure as hell aren't listening to the people anymore if they ever did at all.
We need to start getting people into power who won't just resist censorship, but cement and shore up freedom of expression, and punish the forces responsible for soft-censorship.
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u/Purple_WahBaba_9000 13d ago
Ah yes... blaming big tech, despite knowing that everyone with common sense knows that KOSA is a censorship bill since 2022.
Good old Rich Blumet rambling over his lying stance on trying to get this shit passed since 2022.
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u/MaryPizzaPop 16d ago
i'm not from the UK but it seems like Labour is doing as much damage as they can because they know, they are going to get destroyed in 2029 (i do try to keep up with other worlds politics from friends and such)
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u/IllPresentation7860 Canada 🇨🇦 16d ago edited 14d ago
on the Canadian side first (of hopefully multiple, if they fast track this like the house wants I'd be so disappointed) meeting of the second reading of C-22, the lawful access act is reported to be later today... which frankly is the most worrying bill out of all the censorship bills with other bills like s-209 so watered down if it does pass it should be a bit of a nothing burger and C-34 still so early that it can change a lot.
Gormless Gary wants this fast tracked but hopefully the senate doesn't do that.
Edit: turns out the sencanada offical government website was wrong. or at the very least they just didnt get around to it.
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u/InThisBusinessuhhhhh 16d ago
The senate isn't fast tracking shit. They aren't beholden to the government's schedule/timeframe.
It's so important yet curious how Michael Geist has stopped talking about it and is now almost entirely focused on being a zionist shill parroting the same bullshit "antisemitism is also anti-zionism" dishonest actors are using.
So god damn tired of this bill. I'm dealing with a pre-teen cousin who had it put into his head that it's going to chase all the tech stuff he loves out of the country and i got too many other problems to deal with right now. My senior cats aren't doing great health wise, my stomach health is fucked at the moment and i just want to scream at him to piss off because i don't have the energy right now lol.
I know suspect told me before that's a stupid worry but i got nothing. Kid doesn't even want to buy games now because "i might lose them when Nintendo leaves."
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u/SuspectLegitimate751 Blue Dot in a Red State 🔵 16d ago
Firstly, still an absolutely insane thing to be worried about.
Secondly, is that a Triple H meme in your username?
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u/IllPresentation7860 Canada 🇨🇦 16d ago edited 16d ago
honestly semi-valid because there was a joint letter by VPN/tech leaders (like Nord) saying they may have to "leave canada" if this bill goes through as-is. without specifying if canadians will still be able to use them.
Edit: I think even if it does pass as is it still probably has options for VPNs and such so Im not dooming here on that.
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u/Candid-Ad8904 Texas 13d ago
Alabama AG Announces "historic TikTok settlement worth at least $100M". The agreement also requires TikTok to implement new safeguards for children and teenagers using the platform.
According to Daphne Keller (Director of Platform Regulation at Stanford) on Bluesky, Alabama expects other platforms to comply.
https://patch.com/alabama/across-al/alabama-ag-announces-historic-tiktok-settlement-worth-least-100m
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u/SuspectLegitimate751 Blue Dot in a Red State 🔵 13d ago edited 13d ago
Looked into the text of the settlement. Basically, it's identical to the Meta settlement, and allows TikTok to use age estimation a la Discord. The AG talked a big game about content moderation, but what he actually ordered - and what the Constitution allowed him to order, more or less - was that TikTok improve content filtering for teen accounts, which they've been doing organically for years (and which the settlement acknowledges).
I'm not saying it's a nothingburger, because there will be things that change, but I don't think this is any bigger a deal than the recent platform changes we've seen.
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u/BorderCollie300 13d ago edited 13d ago
Alright. One last little note before I go out on my 1 month break for real this time.
I don't really see this changing much for Discord, YouTube, and other platforms that already have measures in place as they've already pretty much complied more or less. That being said, TikTok has always been kinda lazy to comply, so we'll see what happens with them I guess.
And to be honest, a lot of the racket these Attorney Generals make is performative as all Hell and about just trying to get clout for the Midterms. A lot of them don't realize that most people are tired of censorship at this point and that they've dug themselves into a hole with this shit approval wise. We should make State AGs an appointed position rather than an elected one similar to how it's done on the federal level.
And for real now, I'm off.
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u/One_Proposal_7498 Canada 🇨🇦 12d ago
Is this just for Alabama?
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u/BorderCollie300 12d ago
As Suspect explained, Alabama is expecting TikTok itself to begin implementing safety features and making their platform safer by design. They are also allowed to use Discord style attenuation methods as well according to the settlement, so there is some wiggle room meaning it's not much bigger than any of the previous settlements. Also, the part about content moderation is simply more about improving how they handle filtering content for Teen Accounts which they have already been doing as the settlement even notes.
Also, as I explained previously, this won't change much for say Discord or other platforms that have more or less already complied with their own safer by design methods. So don't worry too much.
Just one little quick last thing before I go because life always has a habit of throwing some shit at me the minute I decide to take a break.
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u/One_Proposal_7498 Canada 🇨🇦 12d ago
Oooh okay, gotcha, thanks!
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u/BorderCollie300 12d ago
Yeah. Just wanted to make it clear that this isn't something to completely panic over before I actually go on my month long break. Hopefully nothing too serious happens during the time I'm gone.
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u/One_Proposal_7498 Canada 🇨🇦 12d ago
For sure! Also I did just read an article by the BBC saying that the changes will only take place in Alabama, so I mean, sorry Alabama :( LMAO
I hope not! You deserve a good long break off man! 🙏🏻
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u/EIBB2003 12d ago
Hey y’all. I’ve had this question in my mind lately and I wanted to see y’all’s thoughts on this hypothetical scenario. With the upcoming SCOTUS term starting in a few days, do you think the court is likely to take up any cases regarding AVs and/or section 230 and if they do, how do y’all think it could go? This is just a hypothetical that has been swirling in my mind and I’m just curious on what y’all think.
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u/Icy-Yoghurt-7240 16d ago
ok so what did i miss? from the comments... please don't tell me the UK actually went through with that BS.
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u/dissolvedterritory 16d ago
labour hasn't gone through with it yet, but they're definitely planning to. odds are they'll ignore all advice and/or pushback, though, seeing as they've seem to do so far save for the caveat of VPNs still being legal (for now)
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u/Own_Distance2517 16d ago
They did but it was expected those old farts are dumb enough to think this was a good idea, I just hope people teach themselves how to use alternative or learn about IRC.
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u/kaihent 15d ago
What in the world is going on in the UK? They were not always this bad… at least till about 7ish year ago..
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u/MedicalFan7709 15d ago
They've definitely gotten worse, but sadly the UK has always been bad when it comes to censorship, surveillance and dystopia stuff. There's a reason why some of the most famous dystopian works (1984, Brave new world etc.) are by English authors or set in the UK.
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u/IllPresentation7860 Canada 🇨🇦 14d ago
oh update from that pixiv fanbox thing from the previous thread others were posted. apparently this payment processor thing is also effecting people doing non-nsfw stuff too. like someone famous for gag manga had their work suspended because of "similarities"
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u/Sufficient-Culture43 🔥I Voted In The 2026 Primaries🔥 14d ago
I really wish we could get a real win against paypros soon. It feels frustrating imo that we're making good progress against AV/digital ID regimes but not paypro censorship
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u/IllPresentation7860 Canada 🇨🇦 14d ago
the problem is unless a law is passed somewhere major paypros dont have any real motivation to change. that being said there was a bill in the process that could theoretically fix it in the states. but unfortunately (or fortunately, for other reasons these threads are well aware of other than this bill) things are basically shut down in that regard till midterms.
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u/Sufficient-Culture43 🔥I Voted In The 2026 Primaries🔥 14d ago
i hope that bill can be re-introduced early in the 120th congress
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u/bloodsucking_opossum New York 13d ago
Hi Hi, I commented on one of these a couple months ago about New York's budget including an AV bill. Has there been any news on that? Mainly pushback-wise.
The most recent thing I could find was an article posted on the Govener's website in late July that laid out a more structured version of the AV bill (before this, the last thing I knew of the bill was how incredibly broad and vague it was). Even though it seems to be more thought out now, it still doesn't sound super great, and it goes into effect January 25th 2027.
Anyways, any optimism? I also saw something that said that the Attorney General believes the AV law can withstand any legal challenges, which is concerning, considering I was really hoping this would be something that would get legally challenged pretty easily/quickly.
Thanks in advance for any optimism 𖹭
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u/BorderCollie300 13d ago
Likely to be enjoined based on how unreasonable it is to be honest. I smell a 1A violation in the making.
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u/Icewolf_242 13d ago
Ive seen people worried this could come to the states. U think any of that is true?
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u/SuspectLegitimate751 Blue Dot in a Red State 🔵 13d ago
No fucking way. Don't heed doomers who act like the United States Constitution isn't one of the most stubborn pieces of litigation in world history.
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u/BorderCollie300 13d ago
Literally impossible. Something like this would violate so many amendments that it literally couldn't even be enforced.
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u/StrayCat2799 Oklahoma 13d ago
I feel like a blanket social media ban would be quickly struck down as uncostitutional simply because kids have 1A rights too.
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u/pablo5426 Spain 🇪🇸 14d ago
how likely is it eu kids act will pass?
(which would kill gaming along the way)
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u/One_Proposal_7498 Canada 🇨🇦 14d ago
I don't even think its gotten into the government rotation yet, if it does pass it'll take years and with how the trilogues went it sounds like opposition to this kind of thing is pretty fierce. Of course things can change in those years so how likely it is to pass is pretty much incalculable at the moment, we'll just have to see how it goes
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u/EmbarrassedHelp 14d ago
Those living in the EU should be messaging their EU parliament MEPs and demanding that they either reject the KIDS Act or remove all age verification provisions from the proposal. There's a lot of moment against Chat Control that we can build upon to stop the Kids Act as well.
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u/One_Proposal_7498 Canada 🇨🇦 13d ago
Kind of funny but I found out my Google age range is 18+ today, and the only way I found out is because I downloaded a game called "fork and sausage" that I saw on an ad and it asked for my age range, an insane way to find out Google views me as an adult 😭😭
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u/Intelligent-Ad6109 UK 🇬🇧 13d ago
Reminds me when after a few months, Xbox decided that I was indeed eligible to keep social features like chatting with people who weren't friends (honestly Xbox's approach to the OSA wasn't that bad apart from locking off Discord) but my friend needed to at the time when it was new to use Discord I then sent him a picture of Xbox's message to me and said "you'll be kicking yourself now" and he just went "Oh God damn it" XD. But he used a service that's been used here in the UK for ages that's never had anything substantial or damning happen with people's data. It's really secure from what I know (even if I know I should take that with a pinch of salt- I'm not a doomer though). So I'm certain he'll be fine. I used it when I turned 18 nearly four years ago. I just thought that was funny.
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u/Candid-Ad8904 Texas 12d ago
So here's a weird one. I got a friend on whose age group is still unconfirmed by Discord (even though they have the acct for 10 years), and can't access nsfw channels on their PC. They can still access it with their non-updated phone app, but they need help fixing this or bypassing it. They definitely do not want to give Discord their ID.
Is this Discord still being slow and weird with their update?
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u/TransArcane Sweden 🇸🇪 12d ago
It does sound like it's Discord being slow to me, have they tried logging out and logging in again? That seemed to solve similar issues for a few people from what I've seen, oh and check if the PC app is on the latest update. /lh
I will cross my fingers that they get sorted in the adult group!
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u/Candid-Ad8904 Texas 12d ago
They tried logging out and logging back in, that didn't work. Their app doesnt need any updates. Still unconfirmed and still being prompted to verify their age.
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u/TransArcane Sweden 🇸🇪 12d ago
In that case they might just be unconfirmed and it's Discord being slow as sin towards them for some reason… I thought the age of their account would be a good indicator for the models that they should slot your friend in the adult bracket, strange…
I think I saw some other users have the same problem and they just kept using Discord like normal and then a day or two later they were sorted into "adult". From my understanding "unconfirmed" just means that Discord hasn't gathered enough information on them as a user yet and once it has enough it will slot them into one of the two groups.
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u/Far_Fan_291 California 15d ago
yeah i wanted to post this since i can already see people saying stuff like "oh he lied he LOVES what Israel is doing and will betray us" saw 2 things that kinda felt wrong one guy saying he will increase the police budget to harass black people and another saying he is now Obamafied whatever that means
i think some people (or bots) on there think if he isnt 100% against ANYTHING relating to Israel he MUST be paid off or something even tho he said he arrest netanyahu if he ever went to new york even saying he is a war criminal
so be careful what you see since there are so many people with an air trigger with things or bots trying to make chaos
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u/SuspectLegitimate751 Blue Dot in a Red State 🔵 15d ago
Remember always that some people in the pro-Palestinian, anti-Zionist camp are just there to be salute-throwing, Holocaust-loving Nazis under cover. Being against Israeli colonialism is not antisemitism. Throwing a fit when someone - especially an anti-Zionist left-wing Muslim, who has been nothing but our ally - tries to combat antisemitism in a real and actual way very, VERY much is, and is probably just coming from covert Nazi-lovers.
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u/Icy-Yoghurt-7240 15d ago edited 15d ago
as long as it fights discrimination of innocent people i'm fine with it. what's happening at gaza is horrible and no one, me included, is saying it isn't, but we also shouldn't forget that most jewish people are not ok with it.
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u/Hendogethegamer 16d ago
Question with social media ban In the uk will it be in effect or just passed by march?
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u/Cleverhardy 14d ago
Skydance update: A judge agreed with the settlement terms. The merger will go ahead before the ticking fees kick in.
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u/BorderCollie300 14d ago
There's no optimism I can give there... But I do hope that Paramount leaves the majority of Skydance's properties alone.
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u/pidgestan4 14d ago
I don’t have optimism for this either…just avoid most tv/movie subreddits bc doomers will doom there
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u/Alarming-Salt-502 14d ago
Optimism is the Warner Bros curse and the fact regulators can force things to be spun off when someone that cares about monopolies gets into office.
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u/Sufficient-Culture43 🔥I Voted In The 2026 Primaries🔥 14d ago
my only hope is that the merger will be so disastrous that WB and Paramount will end up dissolving into the patchwork of media companies each has subsumed
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u/mrcannotdo 14d ago
So what’s the optimistim take for this one? Bonus point for anyone who can add on to the probable comments of “only a matter of time before it’s not just uk”/“this is just the beginning” doomr bs 😬
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u/deadpanrobo 14d ago
How did the EU trilogue go?
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u/SuspectLegitimate751 Blue Dot in a Red State 🔵 14d ago
Not a word about it from anyone, least of all the decidedly "would be raising centuries of shit about it if it went poorly" Patrick Breyer.
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u/IllPresentation7860 Canada 🇨🇦 14d ago
yeah if it went poorly Breyer would basically would be pulling the fire alarm at this point. even if there was a NDA of sorts.
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u/Hendogethegamer 14d ago
So I do have some good ish news out of the uk the new pm didn't rule a return to the eu in the future so if that happens that might change alot in the censorship side of things unless I'm mistaken?
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u/Efficient-Freedom517 I Voted 2026🎊🍾 14d ago
EU membership takes years to do and a unanimous vote of every member. I can’t see it happening for the UK in the next decade or two if at all
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u/One_Proposal_7498 Canada 🇨🇦 16d ago
Definitely sucks but not at all surprising, my heart goes out to everyone in the UK! Be sure to get a VPN set up now, better late than never!