Australia's under-16 social media ban hasn't produced the dramatic reduction in teen usage many expected. That raises uncomfortable questions about whether age verification can deliver what lawmakers promise. https://c4osl.org/what-i-learned-building-age-verification/

What I Learned Building Age Verification for a Platform With a Billion Users - Center for Online Safety and Liberty

An insider account of how age verification works inside major platforms—and why current laws may create more privacy risks than protection.

c4osl.org

‼️ALERT: KOSA is moving next week to the Senate Commerce Committee for markup! Call your reps today, again tomorrow, and all weekend leaving messages opposing this dangerous censorship bill. www.badinternetbills.com

Bad Internet Bills

All of the bad internet bills. One website.

badinternetbills.com

If you can say "everything with X is pornography" then change the definition of X? Congrats, we're in something close to North Korea mediawise. Censoring everything that makes America great because it makes you feel "icky" is Conservative canel culture at work.

Sam Cole@samleecole.bsky.social · yesterday

the organizations in support of the SCREEN Act say everything you need to know about Mike Lee's latest gambit: www.404media.co/what-is-the-...

Can we protect children online without building an internet where everyone has to prove who they are? I think we need to ask that question before writing more age-verification laws. https://c4osl.org/what-i-learned-building-age-verification/

What I Learned Building Age Verification for a Platform With a Billion Users - Center for Online Safety and Liberty

An insider account of how age verification works inside major platforms—and why current laws may create more privacy risks than protection.

c4osl.org

I worked on age verification. I'm not convinced the current wave of age-verification laws is the answer. The privacy costs are real, and the evidence they're effective is surprisingly thin. https://c4osl.org/what-i-learned-building-age-verification/

What I Learned Building Age Verification for a Platform With a Billion Users - Center for Online Safety and Liberty

An insider account of how age verification works inside major platforms—and why current laws may create more privacy risks than protection.

c4osl.org

a bunch of popular ASMR artists lost their channels forever this week, after YouTube cited them for violating terms against "sexually gratifying" content: www.404media.co/youtube-asmr...

YouTube Bans Popular ASMR Artists, Accusing Them of Making 'Sexually Gratifying' Content

YouTube told ASMR artists including Bunnii, Slight Sounds, Rose, and others that their content broke the platform's sex and nudity policy. Creators say these bans are unfair and potentially life-alter...

404media.co

Before governments require age verification, they should have to answer one simple question: does it actually work? The evidence is far weaker than many assume. https://c4osl.org/what-i-learned-building-age-verification/

What I Learned Building Age Verification for a Platform With a Billion Users - Center for Online Safety and Liberty

An insider account of how age verification works inside major platforms—and why current laws may create more privacy risks than protection.

c4osl.org

Every age-verification law assumes the burden falls on minors. In practice, it falls on hundreds of millions of adults asked to hand over government IDs just to access ordinary online services. https://c4osl.org/what-i-learned-building-age-verification/

What I Learned Building Age Verification for a Platform With a Billion Users - Center for Online Safety and Liberty

An insider account of how age verification works inside major platforms—and why current laws may create more privacy risks than protection.

c4osl.org

“Andrew Crawford, senior counsel at the Center for Democracy and Technology, raised a concern that OpenAI has not publicly resolved: what happens when law enforcement requests health data?”

ChatGPT Health Goes Nationwide: Your Medical Records Lose HIPAA Protection

ChatGPT Health is now available to all U.S. users, letting anyone connect Apple Health and electronic medical records to the AI assistant — but privacy experts warn that doing so permanently removes those records from HIPAA protection, leaving them governed only by OpenAI’s terms of service, which

techtimes.com

Age verification laws are being passed faster than anyone is proving they work. I helped build these systems. Here's what they actually look like from the inside. https://c4osl.org/what-i-learned-building-age-verification/

What I Learned Building Age Verification for a Platform With a Billion Users - Center for Online Safety and Liberty

An insider account of how age verification works inside major platforms—and why current laws may create more privacy risks than protection.

c4osl.org

New, by me: The Justice Department is prosecuting an American for allegedly providing U.S. border agents with a "duress" passcode that wiped the contents of his phone when they entered it. We've confirmed the phone was running GrapheneOS. Bypass for ad-blockers: web.archive.org/web/20260724...

US accuses American of allegedly wiping his phone using a 'duress' password during border search | TechCrunch

A U.S. citizen has asked a court to throw out the government's claim that he gave over a passcode to border authorities that wiped his phone's data, opening up fresh questions about a person's constit...

techcrunch.com

I helped build age verification for a platform with over a billion users. What I learned changed how I think about age-gating laws, privacy, and whether these systems actually work. https://c4osl.org/what-i-learned-building-age-verification/

What I Learned Building Age Verification for a Platform With a Billion Users - Center for Online Safety and Liberty

An insider account of how age verification works inside major platforms—and why current laws may create more privacy risks than protection.

c4osl.org

📅 Save the date! Join an international panel exploring the legal, psychological, and sociocultural dimensions of NSFW fictional stories involving underage characters. Online • 28 Sept 2026 https://tinyurl.com/4mzjv4et

New from 404 Media: a leaked document shows the surveillance tech at ICE's fingerprints. We obtained the document, called "ICE Wide Analytical Tools" and are publishing it in full here. It includes everything from phone location data, to facial rec, to tracking cars www.404media.co/leaked-docum...

Leaked Document Shows the Surveillance Tech at ICE’s Fingertips

From phone location data, to social media monitoring, to online undercover tools, a document obtained by 404 Media lays out the surveillance tech available across ICE agency wide.

404media.co

You opened a credit card. ICE now knows where you live. Here's how when you open a credit card your address leaves your bank, goes through middlemen companies, and ends up with ICE. ICE plans to use this data for immigration and 'voter fraud'. No warrant More: www.404media.co/you-opened-a...

#savespeech #NoToDigitalID Reminder: Missouri just passed HB 1839 which demands ID verification to view "harmful content," which includes sites like AO3 or Trevor Project legiscan.com/MO/bill/HB18... Do. Not. Comply. Demand your reps REPEAL this bill: www.congress.gov/state-legisl...

Device-level nudity scans won't keep kids safer; they normalize surveillance. Support COSL's work against ID mandates and help advance privacy-respecting, rights-based approaches to online safety. Support: https://c4osl.org/support-us/ #Privacy #DigitalRights

Support Us - Center for Online Safety and Liberty

Other donation options If you would like to support our work with a more substantial gift, endowment, or bequest, please contact us […]

c4osl.org

We’re opening nominations for a new Leadership Committee to help guide operations, support projects, and strengthen our community work. https://c4osl.org/mailpoet-email/d8430de35ae0-help-shape-the-future-of-cosl-newsletter-15/ #DigitalRights #Leadership #Community

Help Shape the Future of COSL: Newsletter #15

Nominations open for our new leadership committee

c4osl.org

The Los Angeles Police Department let its Flock contract expire after an audit revealed that 161 cars were falsely flagged as stolen in a two month span. Mass surveillance doesn't keep us safe. LAPD must permanently cut ties with this tech and other cities must follow suit.

LAPD was one of Flock Safety's biggest government customers. Now it’s renegotiating its partnership over ‘serious concerns around civil liberties’ | Fortune

The department recently announced it would not renew its contract due to how Flock collects and shares data.

fortune.com

A safer internet should be a private, secure and open internet. We've signed an open letter to urge the UK government to protect children online without restricting VPNs. 😡 Read the letter here 👉 vpntrust.net/2026/07/08/o... #SafeAndSecure

COSL depends on community support to continue research, advocacy, and education on #DigitalRights and #OnlineSafety. Monthly contributions help us stay independent and keep building. Support COSL: https://c4osl.org/mailpoet-email/d8430de35ae0-help-shape-the-future-of-cosl-newsletter-15/

Help Shape the Future of COSL: Newsletter #15

Nominations open for our new leadership committee

c4osl.org

We’re exploring urgent questions around censorship, free expression, and how adults are treated in digital policy debates. Read the latest essays and join the discussion. COSL Commentary: https://c4osl.org/mailpoet-email/d8430de35ae0-help-shape-the-future-of-cosl-newsletter-15/ #FreeExpression

Help Shape the Future of COSL: Newsletter #15

Nominations open for our new leadership committee

c4osl.org

Wow, this seems way easier to set up than Screen Time www.wired.com/story/this-b...

This Buried Apple Feature Turns an iPhone Into the Perfect Kids’ Dumb Phone

Apple built a tool for people with cognitive disabilities, but I accidentally discovered it’s also the best kids’ phone setup no one is talking about—not even Apple.

wired.com

Want more transparency projects like Harmful to Minors and creator safe spaces like Fan Refuge? Support COSL to help defend digital rights and build community owned safety tech. https://c4osl.org/support-us/ #DigitalRights #OnlineSafety #TrustAndSafety #FanRefuge

Support Us - Center for Online Safety and Liberty

Other donation options If you would like to support our work with a more substantial gift, endowment, or bequest, please contact us […]

c4osl.org

🚨 #ChatControl 1.0 HAS PASSED - despite a majority voting against it (314:276) 🚨 After the EU parliament has rejected #ChatControl TWICE in the past, it has been pushed as an urgent procedure for a new plenary vote. TODAY the EU parliament has voted YES for #ChatControl 1.0😡

Device-level nudity filters and AI scanning aren’t sci-fi anymore. Jeremy’s latest explainer looks at what we lose when our phones become censors, and where pushback is still possible. https://c4osl.org/did-we-just-lose-the-open-internet/ #DigitalRights #Privacy

Did we just lose the open Internet? - Center for Online Safety and Liberty

This week UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced plans to mandate the capacity for tech devices to block nude photos. It won't stop there.

c4osl.org

Beyond the Filter provides practical guidance for people facing online harassment - from preserving evidence to finding legal resources. Help us create the next round of survivor-informed safety guides: https://c4osl.org/support-us/ #DigitalSafety #OnlineHarassment #DigitalRights #SupportCOSL

Support Us - Center for Online Safety and Liberty

Other donation options If you would like to support our work with a more substantial gift, endowment, or bequest, please contact us […]

c4osl.org

Lawmakers are pushing device scans and broad social media bans. COSL is working to protect private digital spaces. Help us respond faster to the next crackdown: https://c4osl.org/support-us/ #DigitalRights #Privacy #InternetFreedom #SupportCOSL

Support Us - Center for Online Safety and Liberty

Other donation options If you would like to support our work with a more substantial gift, endowment, or bequest, please contact us […]

c4osl.org

Help COSL keep Beyond the Filter digging into frontline cyber harassment support and advancing our legal efforts. Every donation helps fund survivor centered research and build better trust & safety tools. https://c4osl.org/support-us/ #BeyondTheFilter #TrustAndSafety #OnlineSafety #DigitalRights

Support Us - Center for Online Safety and Liberty

Other donation options If you would like to support our work with a more substantial gift, endowment, or bequest, please contact us […]

c4osl.org

What kills me about this story is that Meta’s public CSAM scanning clearly does not work, if they’re delivering ads for CSAM content. But this failure will be used as evidence that we need to add scanning for private and encrypted messages. www.bbc.com/news/article...

India: Instagram running ads promoting child sexual abuse material, BBC finds

The ads use terms including “rape” and “child video” and link to content on the messaging app Telegram.

bbc.com