SCREEN Act, which would have required mandatory age-verification for sites (like this) that allow "material harmful to minors" failed to pass out of committee after thousands and thousands of people called their Senators. More work ahead!

Alison Boden@alisonboden.bsky.social · 32m ago

The SCREEN Act just failed to pass in the Senate Commerce Committee! 🎉 Enormous thanks to the thousands (!!) of you who told your Senators to vote no! Your voice matters and you should feel good that you made a difference. Obviously, the fight isn't over, but this was an important victory.

The SCREEN Act just failed to pass in the Senate Commerce Committee! 🎉 Enormous thanks to the thousands (!!) of you who told your Senators to vote no! Your voice matters and you should feel good that you made a difference. Obviously, the fight isn't over, but this was an important victory.

SCREEN failed to pass out of committee, despite a 15-13 vote (in favor). Not enough members voting, but looks like a party line vote. Good work everyone! Keep up the pressure for after recess and beyond!

Mike Stabile@mikestabile.bsky.social · 18h ago

If SCREEN were to pass, you'd be required to scan your face and upload an ID to access this site because it allows "harmful" material. This affects you even if you don't care about sex work or porn.

"Together, these bills would allow Trump’s FTC to wipe abortion, sex ed, & LGBTQ resources off the Internet while instating nationwide age verification requirements."

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

Critics of SCREEN warn its reach is potentially much broader than even some state age verification laws: “It doesn’t differentiate between search engines, social media, bookstore websites, or porn... it could be up to a handful of individuals to decide whether a website has harmful content or not.”

Adult Entertainment Group Opposes Age-Verification Bill in Senate

A trade group representing the adult entertainment industry is mounting a last-minute blitz to defeat legislation that would require websites hosting sexually explicit content to verify users’ ages.

news.bloomberglaw.com

Sen. Kim (D) has introduced age-verification bill that's far more privacy preserving. No facial scans or IDs, everything happens on-device. Interesting to note that Sen. Lummis (R), a co-sponsor, suggests that she's looking for AV alternatives that don't require giving up privacy.

Lawmakers Introduce Digital Age Assurance Act in U.S. Senate AVN

A new proposal before the U.S. Senate, now sporting bipartisan support, could invite a national digital assurance standard for age-gating minors under 18 years old.

avn.com

If SCREEN were to pass, you'd be required to scan your face and upload an ID to access this site because it allows "harmful" material. This affects you even if you don't care about sex work or porn.

404 Media@404media.co · 21h ago

Mike Lee's SCREEN Act, which heads to Senate Commerce Committee for markup on Wednesday, would expand age verification requirements to a nearly limitless scope of websites, and is supported by the architects of Project 2025.

“Unlike KOSA and many of the other age verification laws that have spread across the country, the SCREEN Act does not have bipartisan support. It’s the latest in Lee’s repeated attempts to criminalize content he and his co-sponsors personally consider immoral.”

The SCREEN Act is a Christian Nationalist Nightmare

Mike Lee's SCREEN Act, which heads to Senate Commerce Committee for markup on Wednesday, would expand age verification requirements to a nearly limitless scope of websites, and is supported by the arc...

404media.co

Australia’s eSafety commissioner buried a report (released Friday afternoon) that shows the under 16 social media ban didn’t tangibly reduce teen social media use, and also resulted in parents tuning out of kids usage. We traded our privacy for no reason. theconversation.com/more-than-80...

More than 80% of kids still using social media despite ban, new eSafety report finds

The report provides more evidence Australia’s world-leading social media ban isn’t going to plan.

theconversation.com

Louisiana's Gov says she will retaliate against Pornhub after the site showed the state's famous AV law isn't working. Pornhub has been complying with Louisiana's age-verification law since 2023. But 8 in 10 sites on Google are not. These people can not accept this is the wrong solution.

Murrill: No retreat on age verification for Pornhub

(The Center Square) – Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill is rejecting Pornhub’s call to reconsider the state’s age-verification law, saying her office intends to increase scrutiny of the company i...

thecentersquare.com

It's me. He's trying to stop me. The religious studies major who paid off his loans working in the porn mines.

The New Republic@newrepublic.com · 2d ago

President Trump is banning students majoring in degrees that don’t make enough money from taking out college loans. Degrees for social work, art, religious studies, teaching aides, and music will be hit the hardest. trib.al/aaAEu6v

The SCREEN Act is not just another age-verification bill — it goes much further than anything passed at the state-level or in other countries. 1. The bill doesn't just target porn sites. It goes after *any* site that allows material "harmful" to minors. You'd have to scan your face to use Google.

"VPNs are a privacy and security tool used by millions of internet users every day, and their use should not be treated as suspect. It is particularly galling that the SCREEN Act forces users who intentionally take steps to protect their privacy to identify themselves."

The SCREEN Act Threatens Privacy Far Beyond Adult Websites

The Senate Commerce Committee is set to consider S. 737, the SCREEN Act, a sweeping age-verification bill that would require online services to verify users’ ages before they can access any sexually e...

eff.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

🚨Senate Commerce will hear Mike Lee's invasive SCREEN ACT — age-verification scans for all adults, for ANY site with "harmful content" AND required VPN monitoring. They're attempting to push through before recess and it's absolutely essential you call your Senators now. Call early and often.

Defend Online Privacy: Stop the SCREEN Act!

The Senate Commerce Committee will vote on the SCREEN Act on August 5. ACT NOW to stop it!

defendonlineprivacy.com

Free Speech Coalition@fsc.bsky.social · 6d ago

The Senate Commerce Committee will vote on the SCREEN Act on August 5, 2026. Take action now to oppose nationwide age verification in the US This bill would force every adult in the country to hand over identifying information just to use the internet. www.defendonlineprivacy.com/screen/

YT spox told me they want to be clear on why creators were banned. it's the links out to other site that contain "sexually gratifying" content, not their content ON YOUTUBE. I had some follow up questions:

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

The Worst Person You Know Just Filed A Good First Amendment Lawsuit Against A Very Badly Drafted Nudify App Ban There's been a bunch of news this... https://www.techdirt.com/2026/07/30/the-worst-person-you-know-just-filed-a-good-first-amendment-lawsuit-against-a-very-badly-drafted-nudify-app-ban/

Senate Commerce is hearing a massive online surveillance package — including KOSA and a national age-verification mandate — and it’s not being reported by any mainstream outlets. The sole mention is in the Washington Times , the house paper of the Unification Church.

Senate panel punting on broader AI legislation as it takes up kids online safety bills

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee is postponing plans to take up a series of AI bills until after the summer recess but is proceeding with a markup of kids online safety bills ...

washingtontimes.com

Kids: 1 KIDS Act: 0

Over the past few years I’ve spoken with a lot of politicians. I don’t think I’ve met any as good on online censorship issues as Francesca Hong.

Dan Shafer@danshafer.bsky.social · 7d ago

Francesca Hong has just a preposterously ridiculous lead in the 18-29 and 30-44 age groups, per the Marquette poll. No other candidate is even in double-digits among voters under 45.

"Pornhub sent a letter to 300 state officials on Tuesday, lambasting the 'performative, ineffective, and unenforceable age verification laws' that they helped to pass. The platform argues that age-gating should target device developers, rather than websites, to safeguard privacy and user safety."

Pornhub’s online age-check offensive

politico.com

UK's admit the that Online Safety Act has in large part failed, and announce an inquiry into why the age-verification bill has not worked as (age-verification providers) promised.

Lords Open Online Safety Act Inquiry as Breach-Prone Age Checks Strip Adult Privacy

Online Safety Act review: the Lords inquiry launched July 27 demands answers on why the law allowed age-verification vendors to suffer breaches exposing government IDs, failed to block a pro-suicide f...

techtimes.com

The Missouri Attorney General is threatening librarians with arrest over an LGBTQ+ story hour for kids, suggesting that a picture book about gay dinosaur dads is "pornography." The Secretary of State says he'll pull funding if the event happens, citing the state's new age verification law.

When asked why British police screwed up the Andrew Tate case so badly, a "detective blamed the malfeasance on 'overworked, overstretched' officers who failed to take the women’s allegations seriously, partly because two of them were sex workers."

Andrew Tate’s Empire of Abuse

How the defining figure of the manosphere built a fortune—and became a political force—by systematically exploiting women.

newyorker.com

My educational YouTube channel about kink, safety, consent and the law was deleted without appeal. That’s what happens when platforms decide talking about sex is inherently suspect: we lose vocabulary, resources and places to find each other.

Apple's iMessage scanning flagged a video of my friend's dog laying on her back as nudity; blurred it www.404media.co/apples-imess...

Apple’s iMessage Scanning Flagged a Video of My Friend's Dog as Nudity

Apple’s Sensitive Content Warning is supposed to protect users from unwanted nude images. It accidentally blurred my friend’s dog video.

404media.co

Sex workers can’t get deposit a check but Loli’s Deepfake Factory gets its own currency

shauna@goldengateblond.bsky.social · last wk.

oh good the full self-driving of money has finally arrived

MASSACHUSETTS: Here's an important update on where things stand with social media / age verification legislation here in the state. We made A TON of noise, and the legislature felt the backlash. The Senate bill is much less bad than the House bill. But we have to keep pushing. Here's why:

UPDATED LETTER: Massachusetts lawmakers must assure constituents and human rights organizations that new social media bill does not require invasive online ID checks

UPDATE, July 2026: Our growing coalition of LGBTQ+, civil liberties, racial justice and human rights groups continues to oppose any legislation that requires online age checks or undermines the abilit...

fightforthefuture.org

“There must be in-groups whom the law protectes but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.”

Evan Greer@evangreer.bsky.social · last wk.

“This “privacy for me, surveillance for thee” attitude feels like a perfect encapsulation of the future we’re already living in: one where wealthy elites can afford privacy, while the rest of us are forced to live in a corporate surveillance panopticon.” www.ms.now/opinion/tayl...