Hope & Despair

I try to stay up-to-date as much as possible and inform about the world.

[miaqc1]

Michigan Republicans introduced HB 4938 to ban VPNs and restrict adult content.

The bill would:

- Prohibit VPNs with $500,000 fines for use or sale

- Mandate 24/7 internet traffic surveillance

- Restrict porn, erotic AI, ASMR, manga, and trans depictions

- Add porn distributors to the sex offender registry

- Impose up to 25 years in prison for violations

WTF?

[newfoundhope]

ChatControl again and still

Belgium now supports ChatControl in principle—although it promised differently to it’s citizens.

Latvia is undecided, however they are waiting for national support and assess the ChatControl text positively.

Italy is now undecided and expressed doubts about the new CSAM section now included in the scope.

Learn about the EU Chat Control proposal and contact your representatives to protect digital privacy and encryption.

Again,

If you’re an EU citizen, please please please email your MEPS.

If you’re an EU citizen and speak one of the languages of a country that is not your own, email those MEPs but state that their voice also impacts you.

If you’re not an EU citizen, spread the message.

This is NOT left vs right. It is ALL OF US against MASS SURVEILLANCE.

[newfoundhope]

For EU-residents that email MEPs other than their own: State clearly that you’re not a citizen of their country. But do let them know how their decisions affect people in other countries (yours).

[nothingtoseehereanymorefarewell]

Reminder to any and all Europeans listening...

Germany is not opposing! They are still undecided!

They have issues only with certain parts of the proposal. They will vote against only if the draft presented does not change, and we do not know how likely that is. Their opposition is shaky.

We also need to focus on getting the other still undecided countries to oppose Chat Control, not just Germany. So, Greece, Romania, and Slovenia as well.

We must turn this around. To all belonging in the countries that are undecided, we are counting on you to help us stop this with great urgence!

Let us make our voice heard! Send emails, call, pester them!

[newfoundhope]

ChatControl again and still

Belgium now supports ChatControl in principle—although it promised differently to it’s citizens.

Latvia is undecided, however they are waiting for national support and assess the ChatControl text positively.

Italy is now undecided and expressed doubts about the new CSAM section now included in the scope.

Learn about the EU Chat Control proposal and contact your representatives to protect digital privacy and encryption.

Again,

If you’re an EU citizen, please please please email your MEPS.

If you’re an EU citizen and speak one of the languages of a country that is not your own, email those MEPs but state that their voice also impacts you.

If you’re not an EU citizen, spread the message.

This is NOT left vs right. It is ALL OF US against MASS SURVEILLANCE.

[kirasecura]

CAT EARS AND FAIRIES ARE ILLEGAL IN USA claims payment cloud. FANTASY CANCELLED.

[newfoundhope]

Someone inform Disney that they made Tinkerbell illegal. And Zootopia. And Emperor’s Groove. And Treasure Planet. And all their other magical Dinsey classics, like Cinderella because that too includes fairies.

[postmortemlatte]

Yo, so Russia is now actively blocking access to Whatsapp and Telegram. And while one is slightly negligible. Telegram had become the only available safe place for LGBTQIA+ Russian people or just people that have friends from beyond the border, and now we'll lose that as well. And don't even think about a vpn because those are gonna be gone soon too.

"On August 13, Roskomnadzor announced the upcoming restrictions, linking them to the danger posed by calls through messaging apps. In particular, they have "become the main voice services used for deception and money extortion, as well as for involving Russian citizens in sabotage and terrorist activities," according to the official statement from the regulatory body"

Nevermind the fact that that kind of stuff has been happening on VK, the most popular Russian social media for decades now, but this is just a very loose justification to block a whole outlet for the "west ideology" as they call it. People are about to lose their only safe space. Their friends.

And the government is calling us to move to the government funded app called MAX. Which, by the way, has access to your GOVERNMENT ID and other info including the fact that it collects data from your camera and microphone at will! So if you start your little rebellious gay chat there, you're risking 15 years in prison. For propaganda. Something that is undefined and easy for them to invoke.

How about that? This is a direct result of you motherfuckers fence sitting when the first bans happened, this is a direct result of you going "Well I'd vote Putin out but all the other politicians don't have his experience", I FUCKIN WONDER WHY. Maybe because he was president for OVER TWO DECADES? All of this is your fault and you're about to suffer the consequences from lack of action.

[dayyash]

I know it's not the silly stuff I usually post, but please hear me out, as it's important to me.

It all started with the Russian government making it illigal to talk about queerness amongst children, which was greatly celebrated by the homophobic majority back in the day. Later, they made it punishable for queer adults to publicly share their stories amongst other adults too, which was also celebrated.

On 30th November of 2023, the "lgbtq+ organization" was titled as "extremist", along with all the pro-Ukranian and anti-war organizations, which led to radical, aggressive censorship of all media in Russia. Then, big western social media were banned, along with monetization on them, which made activism for queer/pro-Ukrainian Russians even more difficult than it used to be, as it's required to dox yourself to the government by putting your "content creator" number (obtained from the official public services app "Госуслуги" by giving your sensitive information) in your BIO to get monetized legally. That has affected the right to privacy of not only Russian activists, but also of every Russian content creator.

12 days ago, on September 1st, 2025, they published a new law that punishes those who GOOGLE SEARCH unfavorable information about the government, "extremist" media, or anything that might suggest opposition to the Russian government and its actions. It's not just illegal to "seem" anti-war, or pro-gay, or pro-trans anymore — It's the MINDSET that's being criminalized right now. It's illegal to QUESTION, it's illegal to RESEARCH, it's illegal to INFO CHECK, it's illegal to EDUCATE YOURSELF, it's illegal to even TRY to FIND OUT THE TRUTH, even if you're doing it ON YOUR OWN.

So when I tell you,

It's NEVER about your safety and it's NEVER about "the kids",

you better fucking believe me.

[quartzlantern]

WHO SHOULD I TELL ABOUT THE KIDS ONLINE SAFETY ACT???

First and foremost, contact any senators who you know opposes these laws. The more political officials oppose this, the more likely our governments will repeal it. Please do background checks on them. If people find that the leading senator(s) opposing these laws is a confirmed predator, the media will eat us alive!!!

Contact and tell everyone you know about these new laws. Not just your online friends, but your family, your local businesses, your teacher, your professor, your co-workers at work, your boss. Don't harass them, be polite and tell them exactly what these acts do and how it can affect them. And if they agree that it's bad, great! Tell them to spread the word further!

Offer different alternatives to these laws. Put a parental lock on your child's account, put a parental lock on your child's device, filter sites from your router

Print flyers opposing these laws along with summaries of what's happening, what these laws mean, and why people should oppose it (again, we are saying "no" to something called the Kids Online Safety Act. We are going to need to use every strong argument we have)

Don't have a printer? Create a public presentation!!!

If you're favorite content creator is streaming, ask them if they know about the Online Safety Act and AI age verification (remember, it's not just YouTube being regulated, but the entire internet) in their chat. Please don't harass them!!! You will be blocked. Even if they say, "Yeah, I heard about it." Someone in their audience probably didn't

[EDITED 8/30/25] On top of contacting your senators, you should also contact tech companies, large and small, to fight these new laws being introduced. Convince them to band together to protect their user's privacy and put forth better solutions to KOSA, the SCREEN act, and COPPA 2.0. Also, throw your support behind companies who are already fighting these laws. This not only negatively effects us, but them as well

How To Educate Yourself Against AI Age Verification (KOSA / OSA)

[tornedangels]

6 members are now opposing the EU Chat Control law, but 15 still supports. It is a sad world we live in.

The fact that 15 members support the law shows a new sad turning point for the EU. They're clearly trying to erase the fact that they're the most friendly union to consumers and civilians.

You are not protected, minors are not protected, I'm not protected. We won't have any privacy of any sort if we let this law pass.

If this passes, you will no longer have;

Private intimate moments with your partner

Documents sent by your doctor

Family photos at the beach

Vulnerable chats with someone you trust

Without the assurance that you aren't getting your communications scanned.

They're not doing anything, this isn't gonna help. None of this is "for children", this is for them and them only. Minors will feel less safe chatting on trusted, established platforms if they're aware that they can potentially be flagged when they're still a kid. It's gonna lead to more issues cause children will go to more annonymous chats or risky platforms, it's gonna be the opposite.

Contact your country's MEPs.

Fuck censorship, fuck surveillance.

[maswartz]

[daysleftofsecondterm]

1,227 days

[diamond-draws]

If you're going to Boycott Youtube, that is a great start, butdon't end it at that, you need to CALL THEM!

CALL YOUTUBE

CALL GOOGLE

CALL PAYPALL AND YOUTUBE'S OTHER SPONSERS

PESTER THEM, BOTHER THEM

SPAMCALL THEM AS MUCH AS YOU CAN

You don't even have to do that, specifically.

you can also spam tag them on twitter or spam email them 

Because every call, every email, everything that comes their way. 

they have to pay money to be able to host it, and they legally unable to ignore a single call! 

This is a comment from a different Youtube video:

"From another "censorship" video: "I work for a credit card company (not Visa nor Mastercard) and I can tell you that reducing the amount of call center calls is 80% of all the projects I work on. Anything that increases the amount of calls they get is a nightmare for them, because they need to pay the call centers per taken, and they're not allowed to ignore any calls. Keep calling and they'll eventually cave. Copy and paste this everywhere. Spread the word."

Everytime you call them that is money out of their pockets! 

That is what we need to do if we want things to change! 

We need to leave, and then we call them over and over and over again. 

Also, spread the word, make posts like this telling others what we need to do! 

[newfoundhope]

FIGHT CHAT CONTROL

Literally.

Write email to your representatives. Tell them why you‘re against it and why they should be against it. How to do it with good explanations are available in all EU-languages on this website:

Learn about the EU Chat Control proposal and contact your representatives to protect digital privacy and encryption.

If you value your privacy, safety, and the fact that you‘re not seen as guilty until proven innocent, then please help the us and yourself.

I‘m literally begging you.

If you‘re not from the EU, spread the message!

If you know someone from the EU, send it to them!

If you are from the EU, send your representatives a clear message!

[newfoundhope]

Update

We have achieved a blocking minority for now.

…and now?

Email or call them again!!

If your representatives voted against ChatControl, thank them!! Express your support in their decision to ensure that they keep that stance.

If they supported it, then show them your disappointment and wanting them to do better (potentially also mentioning why you were concerned and which of your rights the proposal threatened).

But stay vigilant. The fight is far from over, there are more (worse) regulations and proposals that are coming our way.

Not just in Europe and the EU. Worldwide.

Just because it doesn’t affect you today, doesn’t mean it won’t come for you tomorrow.

[cleveradjacent]

🐁Make Websites Think You're Somewhere Else (extensive tips from a russian)

in my country, Shit Simply Won't Work. even the people who don't mind our authorities are getting VPNs because without them, the internet is unusable. whatever the government hasn't yet banned is limited from the outside via blocking russian traffic, not signing up russian phone numbers, and not taking russian payment.

here's some tips on how to bypass next to any online restriction if your government also wants to get up your asshole with a lantern and swab every fold for biometrics. i've given the rundown privately to a UK friend of mine, but this could be relevant to anyone. expenses and complexity may vary, do whatever works for you. mind the laws of your country when considering the possibility of any of these methods.

if there's anything i have omitted or gotten wrong, feel free to add!

1. get a VPN

VPNs are middlemen between you and the website you want to access. they're the first (and for many, only) step to location masking. here, you have two options:

get a commercial VPN. pros: easy, you hit a button and it works; wide selection of countries. cons: more expensive (unless it's a free one, then be aware you're the product); it's easy for governments to block commercial VPNs, as VPN companies are required to make all their IPs public; some VPN companies may be worse at handling your data than others

rent a server in your country of choice and deploy a VPN on it (openvpn is a popular tool for this). pros: server rent is often cheaper than a VPN subscription; it's exceptionally easy using this openvpn script; you can share it with as many people as your traffic capacity will allow; it's more reliable and harder to block because the IP won't be associated with any known VPN service. cons: you have to be a bit more tech-savvy and know how to set up a linux server, or be willing to learn; if you want another country/address, you have to set up another server. going down this route, look up how to keep your personal server secure if you don't already have an idea

‼️caveat 1: VPN traffic looks different from normal traffic. often, websites can tell you're using a VPN. there are tools to mask this fact that may or may not come with your VPN, including DIY solutions like openvpn. look into those tools, try different VPNs as needed

‼️caveat 2: sometimes, websites get your location from the data stored in your browser. VPNs also come in the form of browser add-ons. they have solved this issue for me every time

‼️caveat 3 (99.9% chance you don't need to worry about this, feel free to skip): just having the one openvpn server could come with several issues. if all your devices are connected to it 24/7 and anything you do ever accidentally invites scrutiny (or if there's ever widespread measures to weed out VPN users), it'll be very obvious you're using one. only having a single address also makes it much easier to trace all your activity back to you. your government, if it has the power, could also compel the hosting company to tell them who's paying for the server. if you're the kind of person who'd be concerned about this, you're probably not reading this guide, or you already know how to mitigate.

2. TOR as a VPN alternative

some people i've known have used TOR in lieu of a VPN out of convenience (though personally, it wasn't convenient for me). if for some reason you can't/won't do VPNs, consider using the TOR browser. it also hides your location and encrypts your data, and it's free.

keep in mind that it's easy for a government to combat the use of TOR, as russia has (successfully?) banned it (fellow russians, do tell me if it somehow still works, i haven't been keeping up). can't elaborate any further since i haven't used TOR as a daily driver myself

3. use temporary phone numbers

a lot of platforms decide which country's laws your account needs to follow based on your phone number. signing up for a website, you can use a cheap online service that provides phone numbers from a wide choice of countries.

these are temporary, often single-use, meaning you sign up, you get the code in the SMS, and you can't access the number again. the one i've used has billed per text, with prices varying by target country. i recommend this method for low-stakes stuff that you just need to get working once, or for services where you can immediately switch all verification to email. absolutely do not use this for payment processors or other accounts you can't afford to get compromised or lose.

there's also completely free services like this where the numbers are permanently available to everyone, and anyone can read the text history. those are obviously very insecure so i'd never use them in most cases

4. travel to the nearest cheapest easiest country and get your own sim

...if you don't already have one from travelling or w/e. solves all the issues of the above method. costly but worth it to some. sign up for anything at any point foreva (obviously limited by the country you're buying your sim in) (and by whether you need a payment method, on that below)

5. travel to the nearest cheapest easiest country and get your own sim and a bank account registered to that sim

russians are completely cut off from international banking without credit card tourism, so we've been doing it a lot since the start of the invasion. this may become relevant to our UK friends, as websites can fix your location to that of your bank account, OR throw a hissy fit if the locations of your phone and your bank account don't match.

this is expensive. i've thankfully been able to afford the trip, while many many others can't. the costs are more justifiable to a russian, but if you're english and can travel somewhere they'll let you make a bank account quickly, consider this option. this, combined with a VPN to the country of your new card and phone, can free you from your new restrictions entirely*

research carefully how someone with your citizenship can open a bank account in the country you're planning to visit, how long it will take, how much it will cost, and how to declare your new account to your own tax authorities.

*i haven't been to every single website nor am i english, extrapolating from personal experience

‼️caveat 1: make your billing address an address in the new country if possible. some websites will throw up and die if your billing address is in a country they want to restrict

‼️caveat 2: some websites will throw up and die if you try to change the country of your profile without your traffic also coming from that country. you still need a VPN

‼️caveat 3: some websites will throw up and die if you change the location of your profile too frequently. try to minimise "suspicious" activity, as major region-dependent services like spotify can and will fight you tooth and nail

that's it from me for now. thank you for reading, reblog if you've found this helpful, add if you know more, and happy browsing!

[newfoundhope]

FIGHT CHAT CONTROL

Literally.

Write email to your representatives. Tell them why you‘re against it and why they should be against it. How to do it with good explanations are available in all EU-languages on this website:

Learn about the EU Chat Control proposal and contact your representatives to protect digital privacy and encryption.

If you value your privacy, safety, and the fact that you‘re not seen as guilty until proven innocent, then please help the us and yourself.

I‘m literally begging you.

If you‘re not from the EU, spread the message!

If you know someone from the EU, send it to them!

If you are from the EU, send your representatives a clear message!

[gentleman-velvet]

This is information from my boycott server and provided by someone else. Use this if you want help going through the boycott better than before

YouTube boycotting info

I've been seeing a lot of misunderstanding going around about how YouTube works, and what will work best in regards to the boycott, so l wanted to put it all together in one place for everyone to read. This is just my understanding of how this all works, so as always with anything, take it with a grain of salt!

YOUTUBE INFO

• Continuing to watch YouTube with an ad blocker still gives YouTube traffic. Many people have been using ad blockers for years, and it is something YouTube is already very familiar with. Even if it does cost them ad revenue, they will point to ad blockers as the issue rather than listening to concerns about their age verification system.

Watching YouTube with an ad blocker will not work for the purposes of this boycott.

• Using third-party apps such as FreeTube or NewPipe does still give YouTube traffic and counts towards views and watch time. There are extra privacy features with these apps, which is great, but on Youtube's end it is functionally the same as using ad blockers.

* Watch time is a huge factor (to my knowledge, one of if not the biggest factors) in how much profit YouTube makes. The longer you stay on their website

- namely, the longer you're actively watching videos - the more money they earn through ad revenue. So, for example, a single user watching a 30 minute video is much more valuable to them than a single user watching a 5 minute video.

Video watch time matters much more than video views, or the amount of traffic they get from users sitting on the YouTube homepage.

Something to remember is that it is okay not to be perfect. Having an all-or-nothing mindset will just lead to burnout, and giving up on the boycott too early. So, in the spirit of progress rather than perfection, here are some steps to take:

1 - Cancel YouTube Premium.

If you currently have a YouTube Premium subscription, cancel it, and tell them why.

When you cancel, leave them a message explaining that you are canceling because of the new age verification policy, and state firmly that you will not be paying for or using YouTube until this policy is revoked. Even if you plan to use YouTube again in the future, tell them that you won't.

2 - Download videos rather than streaming them.

Fully boycotting YouTube is the single best thing you can do right now, but if that isn't possible, here is what you can do instead to avoid giving YouTube more watch time.

But if you can’t download them, just watching with front ends still work. Just don’t do it too often. ( just like how you shouldn’t download too much, just when needed)

Search the specific channels that you want - or, if you must, browse your subscription tab and homepage - until you find the video you want to watch. Rather than opening it, right-click the video and hit 'copy link' or whatever similar option your browser has.

Then, paste the link into your YouTube Downloader of choice, and enjoy.

To my knowledge, watching videos this way will not give YouTube videos views or watch time. It will still give the website traffic overall, but is still a solid alternative to just streaming the videos.

3 - If you can, stop using YouTube altogether.

Refusing to give their website any traffic at all is the single best thing you can do to protest right now. If you cannot stop using it entirely due to work, or if there are a few specific things you want to keep up with, use downloaders as mentioned above, but keep YouTube usage to an absolute minimum as much as possible.

4- try to get YouTubers to contact youtube

YouTubers are our few ways to get direct contact with YouTube.

If we can get YouTubers to start contacting youtube about reversing this ID policy, than we can increase our chances to reverting the policy

5 - Spread the word.

Share info about the age verification system and the boycott to as many others as you can.

Many people might not be aware of what's going on, or how to meaningfully protest it.

Be prepared for pushback.

It's completely normal to feel nervous when speaking up about something like this. There will very likely be some people who get irritated or disagree, and that is okay.

Remember - don't attack anyone who disagrees with the protest. Don't try to guilt-trip anyone. Shame is a demotivator - making someone feel bad will not do anything to convince them. Just present your concerns about the age verification system, offer resources to learn more about it, and talk about the boycott.

TALKING POINTS

When spreading the word about the boycott, here are a few things to focus on:

* The A.l. age estimation system is incredibly inconsistent and will end up incorrectly locking many adult users out of the full features of their accounts.

* Any system that requires users to upload a picture of their government I.D. is extremely dangerous. This puts all users at massive risk of their personal data being exposed on a level that has never been seen before.

* The age verification system does not protect children. This system does nothing to address the mountains of harmful content already found on the YouTube Kids app, and it will not effectively prevent kids from accessing that harmful content.

* LGBT+ content will get incorrectly marked as 'adult' and will be censored as a result of this system. Teens and kids will be prevented from accessing LGBT content, even if it is 100% appropriate.

* • Youtube's age verification system is not about safety, it is about data collection and censorship. It is extremely likely that the real motive behind this change is to allow YouTube as a company to collect even more personal data from its users, allowing them to serve even more targeted ads and make more profit, while also effectively censoring content they do not like.

* Lastly - protesting the changes made to You Tube is going to be difficult.

* It is going to be frustrating, it is going to be exhausting, and it is also going to be boring.

* Going without a major source of

* entertainment that, for many of us, has been part of our daily routine for years, is a very hard thing to do.

* but we can make it through this!

I know it!

[eziojensenthe3rd]

More of this age verification bullshit going on in us states. Please call your reps and senators to oppose any age verification bills!

State Legislature Websites

A Congress.gov resource providing links to legislative information for the U.S. states and territories.

State governors | USAGov

Contact your state or territory governor to share your opinion or complaint, to request congratulatory letters, proclamations, or a meeting,

This is the garbage timeline

yes

yes

Voting ended onAug 23, 2025

[linkinwhark]

In the states you can go to Walmart and buy a shotgun using your Mastercard, but a game could be censored for being LGBTQ themed.