Recapping the Senate Commerce Committee hearing: KOSA advanced unanimously, as expected. Youth AI Privacy Act, CHATBOT Act, AI Toy Safety Act all advanced SCREEN Act passed 15-13 on party lines, but there weren't enough people present so it doesn't advance. Not sure of the implications.

We sent a letter outlining the harms to free speech and privacy posed by the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Shielding Children's Retinas from Egregious Exposure on the Net Act (SCREEN) to Committee Members yesterday. ➡️https://woodhullfreedom.org/4yZUkLa

Good morning! Coming up at the top of the hour (10:00 am Eastern, 7:00 am Pacific), it's the Senate Commerce Committee markup on several bad internet bills, including KOSA, the SCREEN Act, and the CHATBOT Act. You can watch the livestream at www.commerce.senate.gov/meetings/exe...

Any AES supporter would have been thrilled with a win of any margin as recently as a month ago. A few late polls showing a bigger lead shouldn’t change that reality. He won against the Dem establishment and $62M of PAC money. He was barely on the radar when he entered the race.

@toni.bsky.team the Senate Commerce committee vote on KOSA and the SCREEN Act is tomorrow morning. @fightforthefuture.org highlights how this would impact Bluesky users. bsky.app/profile/figh... Now would be a great time for Bluesky PBC to get involved CC: @masnick.com

Fight for the Future@fightforthefuture.org · 23h ago

‼️ACTION ALERT: The Senate Commerce Committee is holding “kids safety” circus again, this time considering both KOSA (the Kids Online Safety Act) & SCREEN Act, two of the most dangerous censorship & age verification bills on the table! CALL YOUR LAWMAKERS & TELL THEM TO OPPOSE 📲 248-331-8665

Tell @murray.senate.gov and @cantwell.senate.gov: No KOSA! www.acteff.org/campaign/167...

Tell the Senate: Don't Turn the Internet Into an ID Checkpoint

Tell the Senate to Reject Bills That Expand Age Verification

acteff.org

Celebrating #KOSA Markup Eve by resharing my most overtly erotic stories: "Reconfigured" archiveofourown.org/series/6373856 "Special Collections" archiveofourown.org/series/6245201 "The Hellbound Brain" archiveofourown.org/works/60977959 "Dyes Wide Shut" archiveofourown.org/works/88194056

😱 Terrifying indeed!!!!!!

Heather Burns@heatherburnstech.bsky.social · yesterday

The most terrifying enshittification I've discovered has been learning that Microsoft Word documents no longer auto-save if you are not saving them to one of their own proprietary cloud services. I'm slapping control-S like it's 1999.

Some areas of Washington state are seeing worse smoke conditions this morning. You should download the EPA AIR NOW App to check conditions near you. Find the latest state smoke forecasts: wasmoke.blogspot.com #wawildfire

Either we get privacy for everyone or there's privacy for no one. Companies like airlines should not be able to sell your data. Full stop.

Joseph Cox@josephcox.bsky.social · yesterday

The SEC bought airline ticketing data to monitor worldwide flights. New documents we got show the data wasn't just for U.S. domestic flights, or even international arrivals. It included flights between foreign countries too. All queried without a warrant www.404media.co/the-sec-boug...

New: Police are being told to hide the fact that they're using Flock to pull people over and arrest them in both encounters with citizens but ALSO in their official police reports: www.404media.co/do-not-menti...

‘DO NOT MENTION ALPR USAGE’: How Cops Are Trying to Hide Their Use of Flock

“DO NOT MENTION ALPR USAGE TO THE OCCUPANTS OF THE VEHICLE. DO NOT MENTION ALPR USAGE IN YOUR REPORT OR COMPLAINT."

404media.co

BlueSky still hasn't accepted that its easiest path to runaway success is rejecting anti-Blackness and embracing the groundswell support of ~70% of young people.🤷🏿‍♂️ Just like Dems, anti-Black DSA folks, and Bernie Bros, still haven't accepted that they could've had Mamdani level support years ago.🤷🏿‍♂️

The Senate Commerce Committee is voting Wednesday morning on KOSA and the SCREEN Act. Washington's own Sen. Cantwell is the Ranking Member ... so now's a great time to tell her to vote NO! @eff.org's action at www.acteff.org/campaign/167... makes it easy. (1/2)

Tell the Senate: Don't Turn the Internet Into an ID Checkpoint

Tell the Senate to Reject Bills That Expand Age Verification

acteff.org

Washington Privacy Organizers@wa-privacy.net · 3d ago

@cantwell.senate.gov Wishing us "Happy #PrideMonth" isn't enough. Please stand with the community and drop your support for KOSA, legislation that targets LGBTQ+ Americans. Please also oppose the SCREEN Act and other bad internet bills, at the August 5 hearing and (if necessary) on the Senate floor

In this misremembered past of the public square. Who was allowed there?

Dr. Johnathan Flowers, Bisexual of the Blade (Alt-text or DIE)@shengokai.blacksky.app · 2d ago

Basically, the only way to get to the digital nightmare of the "public square" is by reconfiguring the very tools that set BlueSky apart or putting one's thumb on the scale to force engagement which simply adds more authority to bigots who already command outsized social authority.

@emilymbender.bsky.social @alexhanna.bsky.social great Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 today. I mentioned in the chat that a lot of the posturing here is about influencing Congress and the White House on upcoming AI regulation ... speaking of which: www.politico.com/news/2026/08...

White House finalizes artificial intelligence oversight framework

The administration is preparing to brief leading AI companies on its blueprint for reviewing advanced AI models.

politico.com

Should you have to prove your age before you can read or speak online? KOSA would pressure online services to build age verification systems that put everyone's privacy at risk. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

The Senate Should Reject KOSA's Privacy Risks

The Senate Commerce Committee is once again considering legislation that would dramatically expand age verification, and undermine privacy for everyone. Alongside the SCREEN Act, the CHATBOT Act, and

eff.org

friend got suspended from here, i jokingly asked if it's because they said something mean about a billionaire, and i was right 🫩

Anybody at @moderation.bsky.app want to try to explain why they suspended @matthewcort.land, ANOTHER of the most prominent people out here fighting for disabled and marginalized people? Like… are y'all planning to suspend/ban literally every disabled legal scholar/policy worker out here, orrrr…?

ali alkhatib@ali-alkhatib.com · 2d ago

anyway, if you're looking for Matthew Cortland, you should sub to their patreon since they're a disabled lawyer evidently getting deplatformed from places.

it is genuinely embarrassing to see this article written by a trans woman. my sister in gender no matter how many boots you lick They Will Not Pick You. have a fucking spine please.

Them@them.us · 2d ago

The ‘Jeopardy!’ host made it absolutely clear where he stands once again.

Scott Wiener is so fucking creepy!!! making an AI chatbot of your woman opponent so she says all the things your campaign wants her to say is deeply misogynistic!!! holy shit!!!

i'm a subscriber to the verge but i think the written excerpt posted here is a little unfair here. "we have an open protocol we want anyone to be able to build on" isn't really the same as saying "we want nazis on here". most of his response is actually about their work on live events like sports

WA state people, we need to stomp this anti-trans ballot initiative into the ground.

Gillian Branstetter@gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 2d ago

An initiative on the ballot in Washington state in November would require all athletes seeking to play girl's sports from kindergarten to high school to undergo "genetic screening, a testosterone-levels test, or an examination of their reproductive anatomy" before they can play

Exclusive: We obtained a leaked playbook that Flock gives to cops to coach them on "how to speak to city council" to avoid getting their contracts canceled. Includes strategies like "own the narrative" by talking to mayor "before public comment periods" www.404media.co/own-the-narr...

‘Own the Narrative’: Leaked Flock Guide Shows How It Teaches Cops to Promote Its Tech

"This document shows a coordinated effort from Flock Safety to compel law enforcement agencies to convince our elected leaders to represent their interests as a company rather than the interests of co...

404media.co

Blacksky features that set us apart from Bluesky; - Community only posts: Blacksky.app users can share posts only for each other to see - Human, community-centered moderation: The 1st social media app to moderate for anti-Black harassment, misogynoir, ableism & fatphobia

Spearheaded by local billionaire Brian Heywood and his band rich pervs, who can't stop thinking about what's in our children's underpants (and how to get into them.)

Gillian Branstetter@gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 2d ago

An initiative on the ballot in Washington state in November would require all athletes seeking to play girl's sports from kindergarten to high school to undergo "genetic screening, a testosterone-levels test, or an examination of their reproductive anatomy" before they can play

"The S is for surveillance": fighting KOSA and bad internet bills in the ATmosphere and the fediverses The first post in this series was at a fairly high level. Now, let's shift from theory to practice. Thanks to @anthonymoser.com for the framing help! thenexusofprivacy.net/the-s-in-kos...

"The S is for surveillance": fighting KOSA and bad internet bills in the ATmosphere and the fediverses

Part 2 of The Time Is Right: shifting from theory to practice.

thenexusofprivacy.net

being trans means mildly criticising a public figure, having news orgs talk about your mental state without your input and then having the public figure make a grand statement about how they are such a great trans ally and not even acknowledge that you were also being dragged through the mud.

> Rudy deserves a lot of credit for taking those early risks when it was much harder to build and being the first to prove that it can be done, but it’s getting easier and easier. We are seeing more and more BlueSky and BlackSky-style networks pop up pretty often Shoutout the Original Risk Takers™️

The Verge@theverge.com · 2d ago

CEO Toni Schneider on protocols, community, and control. www.theverge.com/podcast/9743...

The Senate Commerce Committee has a markup on KOSA this Wednesday, August 5. After you've phoned your Senators (https://www.badinternetbills.com/ makes it easy), contact them on Bluesky!

Tell Senators with Bluesky accounts what you think about KOSA and other bad internet bills

Contacting to legislators social networks is a useful complement to contacting them through official channels.

fighting-bad-interenet-bills.leaflet.pub

@cantwell.senate.gov Wishing us "Happy #PrideMonth" isn't enough. Please stand with the community and drop your support for KOSA, legislation that targets LGBTQ+ Americans. Please also oppose the SCREEN Act and other bad internet bills, at the August 5 hearing and (if necessary) on the Senate floor