The Republicans are trying to corrupt the Comstock Act to have it include abortion pills and contraceptives, and possible LGBTQ+ magazines again. But they are also trying to corrupt the propose Kids Online Safety Act that is designed to prevent children from TikTok, Facedbook, etc. but…
Major national groups withdrew their opposition after the bill was revised — but some groups, especially in states with restrictive laws, say it could still be a threat.19th NewsBy Jasmine MithaniMarch 27, 2024When the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) was introduced in Congress two years ago, it set off alarm bells for many LGBTQ+ groups. The broad and vague bill that aimed to “protect children online” seemed like a censorship nightmare, empowering state attorneys general to determine what kind of content harms kids.The fears that KOSA would be used to shut down LGBTQ+ content were not unfounded. In September 2022, conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation appeared to endorse the bill in an editorial claiming big tech turns children trans. (It doesn’t.) A few months later they openly stated their intentions to use bills like KOSA to restrict transgender content online.One of KOSA’s authors, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, told an interviewer that the top things conservatives should be taking action on are “protecting minor children from the transgender in this culture” and social media, warning that the internet is where children are “indoctrinated.” She promoted KOSA in her answer too, leading many to think she would try to use the bill to censor transgender content online. Her office later clarified that the two statements were separate.
Look how they are twisting the Comstock Act to use it to ban Mifepristone the “Abortion Pill” and I wouldn’t put it past them to do something like that.
The legislation has been extensively revised since then. Many changes came after over 100 organizations, including at least 31 LGBTQ+ groups, signed an open letter to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation opposing the bill because of privacy and censorship concerns.Each iteration has picked up new co-sponsors, but the newest version of the bill shared by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, and Blackburn last month now has the support of over 60 senators, the level needed to pass.That version of the bill was accompanied by a letter from major national LGBTQ+ groups — including the Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD, The Trevor Project and PFLAG — withdrawing their opposition. But over 20 LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, many in states whose legislatures are working to restrict queer people from public life and education, maintain their opposition to the bill. The American Civil Liberties Union also still opposes KOSA.
According the article they made many changes to the bill to protect us, some of the changes they made were,
The most significant changes since its introduction have clarified and narrowed the scope of regulation to apply to “design features” such as notifications and in-game purchases. Previous versions used language broad enough that it could be interpreted to apply to any content hosted on platforms, meaning tech companies would have an additional legal obligation to moderate material like posts or comments that could be linked to mental health conditions like depression and eating disorders.[…]NCTE joined an open letter opposing the bill in 2022, but withdrew its opposition in 2023. The organization is one of several major national LGBTQ+ groups that publicly stated they no longer oppose the February 2024 version of the bill.The original 2022 version of KOSA also restricted the promotion and marketing of “illegal drugs,” which LGBTQ+ groups pointed out could have applied to medical treatments like hormone replacement therapy or puberty blockers that are now encompassed in bans on gender-affirming care for minors in 24 states. The current version uses the word “narcotics” instead.
But still some don’t trust the bill…
“We don’t really know the full threats that could come out of this because the bill is worded so vaguely that it could be interpreted in very different ways by different presidential administrations, different political majorities in either house of the federal government,” Grunstra said. “It also is just going to set into effect a chilling effect for any type of free speech in state level government.”
You know that these right-wing legal groups will be picking it apart looking for something that they can use to corrupt the law.
Here we go again: "possible LGBTQ+ magazines again" Even before Hitler landed the job of major butcher one of the first things that were done was to ban LGBT magazines and other publications. They had a good time at it in the good old USA too. I will stick with the opposition on this one.
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