Sen. Mike Lee has introduced the SCREEN ACT, a bill that applies the "harmful to minors" standard used to ban LGBTQ+ books and resources in schools and libraries... and apply it nationally—to the internet.
Under the guise of protecting kids from "pornography"
https://www.lee.senate.gov/2025/2/senator-lee-introduces-screen-act-for-119th-congress-to-protect-children-from-pornography-online
Under the guise of protecting kids from "pornography"
https://www.lee.senate.gov/2025/2/senator-lee-introduces-screen-act-for-119th-congress-to-protect-children-from-pornography-online
Comments
Lgbt books should be fine as long as it's sfw and not nsfw.
I feel like they're generalizing all lgbtq books off the bad ones. Examples:
https://youtu.be/CkgU0ZtKUxg?si=E4fyWdp9DnumNFnF
https://youtu.be/9l5MAyRdnlY?si=cGibbPwZ7UKib3KF
(Learned this while I was in trauma therapy.)
If you think that the recourse should be "arresting librarians" instead, you're solidly aligning yourself with fascist censorship, and you need to log off, and take a long hard look at yourself.
https://bsky.app/profile/spicebug.bsky.social/post/3ljf3gq2lic2z
(Btw, I apologize if this was misinformation. These are videos I ran into a while back. They seemed pretty genuine to me and I never looked further into it. From your tone it's a pretty bad source, correct?)
I apologize for my mistake. Thank you for telling. I did not know that.
These stories from people are nearly always twisted or out of context. You shouldn't blindly trust far-right news sources, nor should you judge any book by a few lines contained within it.
If you're pro-censorship, you're anti-freedom.
But what I do know is that nothing could turn me into a libertarian or even an anarchist faster than this. There is no liberty I’m willing to give up because Helen Lovejoy doesn’t wanna be responsible for her child’s internet safety.
Requiring age verification on sites in the US is impossible. ISPs cannot reliably block non-compliant sites, and even asking them to is a 1A issue.
We’ve seen bills like this before. They die quickly.
They’re losing left and right in court.
[... I also suspect you're right (have said similar things in the past, and have friends savvier than I that have said similar things), but I'm still going to hold onto this post to calm my nerves as needed over the course of these next few days ;-p.]
He doth protest too much
Think about it, if you want access to queer sites, you'll need to provide evidence of who you are, which they can then slap onto a list of people suspected to be "harmful to minors"
This has nothing to do with protecting kids.
There must be in-groups whom the law protectes but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect
-Frank Wilhoit
never expect them to be ideologically consistent BC they never want to admit their true ideologies
ever since trump came into power, all i have been seeing is a huge pushback against everything he does and i am glad for it
All I see it says is it shall use technology measures to verify age, but doesn't specify that it will require biometric verification or ID uploads - but it can also be a bear to read through these silly bills.
Mine have always auto-verified on vaping sites (cause I'm not a minor).
I used https://elementvape.com a lot though so I'm sure they had it, but again, it might not do the full prompt til checkout.
Also, I don't want Prohibition and pre-Stone Wall shenanigans to have a baby...
• Gay Valimont - https://gayforcongress.com
• Josh Weil - https://joshweil.us
Spread the word. Donate you if you can
2 seats up for grabs, & we’re currently 2 seats away from a majority
MAKE THIS CHANCE COUNT
mike lee can burn in hell lol
I mean, I could be wrong, but it would be a Twister game like you've never seen for Thomas to find it constitutional.
The Bible
The Republican platform
All Trump speeches.
Lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.
It's like they slipped this in amongst the other more general definitions of porn. That's seriously fucked, lol.
I'd say I'm joking but...
Wish somebody would ask that Senator how old he was when he first snuck a look at a Playboy in a store or at a friend's house.
We need to stop letting these ghouls use children as a shield and a cudgel against LGBTQ+ rights.
Fucking backwards, troglodyte filled party.
but thats dumb. THIS is why the woke left managed to mass power, and they dindt learn shit.
So much for free speech.
Lets hope enough of us let them know this is, literally, a grave mistake.
Of course not. I'm so sick of these people. Time to make more angry phone calls Monday...
This is not to say that I like it, I don't, but the primary target here is SWs posting lewds, in which they will likely try to include drag performers.
Victimizing children is condoned by their scripture. It’s projection to keep eyes off them and punish us gays all at once.
Tell him how ashamed you are of him
Threaten him
Bully him
Tell him you will volunteer for his political opponents
And the next time you see him in-person, Punch. That. Nazi.
https://www.lee.senate.gov/contact
Now I need to call him about 2 things every day
https://www.biometricupdate.com/202502/avpa-tells-us-congress-group-screen-act-gets-age-assurance-right
And candy is much more harmful to kids. Ban that for them.
SCREEN ACT has failed twice from I’ve looked up so far but Heritage is likely going to be very aggressive with this so expect a bunch of bullshit from them.
They have always been a threat to freedom of expression, not the bastardized version of it preached by twitter.
We tried to warn you.
He's definitely repressing some sick shit in that pea brain.
all to "protect" teens from, what, looking at a playboy rag hidden under the couch??????
so fucking stupid
Names in bold are Senators up for re-election next year.
This legislation died in committee twice before. We need to make sure it happens again.
This depicts specially hitlers reich. It all is about how the US treated everyone in their way of the formation of the US. Since ww2 anyone in the world in our way. Empire in decline. Late stage capitalism. Now we are finding out who we really are as a nation.AND IT SUCKS
Or in American terms the republican democratic party collaboration. He learned everything by studying America. 249 years&47 presidents have done far worse than he ever did. Gaza genocide by the original nazi party every war since ww2. Settler colonialism genocide.
Or in American terms the republican democratic party collaboration. He learned everything by studying America. 249 years&47 presidents have done far worse than he ever did. Gaza genocide by the original nazi party every war since ww2. Settler colonialism genocide.
But yeah as always, fuck these guys.
"in a patiently offensive way" - vague, subjective, malleable
"lacks serious, literary, artistic, political, or scientific value" - vague, subjective, malleable
"is obscene" - see above
anything involving the topic of sex which they deem "obscene" (which, for right wingers, is anything other than heterosexual, missionary sex between gender conforming people) can be banned
weaponised vagueness
it CAN be used that way
who is "the average person?"
how do you quantity "contemporary social values?"
could it not be argued that, because trump won the election with anti-trans ads, the "average person" thinks transness is a sexual fetish?
and literally anything can do that
again, these are poorly defined terms which have, are and will continue to be weaponised against communities who are othered
They don’t want kids to learn about puberty, the LGBTQIA+ community, or what a healthy relationship looks like, or DOESN’T look like.
More kids are going to be ab*sed than ever.
So yeah, it's harmful by design.
It's never about protecting kids.
er, I mean, uh, call. call his office. definitely nothing else.
A conservative could broadly argue this, kiss goodbye La Cage ex Folles or Elton John.
They could argue based on their perception of what is ''gay.''
they can't kill or criminalise LGBT (yet) so they're trying to cram us back into the closet so they can set fire to it without anyone noticing
Do responsible parents just not exist anymore? It is NOT the internet’s job to parent your kids.
The asshat.
And their "What about the children???" bullshit would maybe be a little more believable if they showed they actually gave a shit about children in any way, shape or form.
ebooks and online reviews for middle grade/YA that have LGBTQ+ themes will be banned from kids reading 2) watchlists for authors/reviewers. A reminder this isn't kids safety it's eradication of queer ppl online
Browse carefully!
It’s plain and simple a communist style censorship bill
they want us to make war not love
the never was a fire that was successfully fought by adding more fire
They want division. They want a fractured, inifficient, sectarian, and divisive Democrat party. They want more small, easily quashed riots and protests. Divide et impera—divide and conquer.
even if we win the war we start that doesn't mean much to everyone who they gleefully kill in the process
war can't be the answer to everything
You will not be surprised to learn that this is backed by the Heritage Foundation.
When are we going to spot psychopaths and stop listening to them???
Drag queen story hours, for instance.
https://www.sunclipse.org/?p=3223
https://www.lee.senate.gov/services/files/294B8AEB-E851-47A4-8789-873E347AD61F
Page 6, Bluesky hosts pornography as part of regular course of business, and this applied regardless of the business interest?
Bruh
Would be super cool if someone sued them for libel.
https://www.damemagazine.com/2023/08/14/the-gop-has-a-master-plan-to-criminalize-being-trans/
Which makes it very hard to fight back.
Forty days into this administration, I beg you to take them at their word: they want to and will.
Banning pornography is always meant as an attack on the decadent class(prostitutes and queers). It is not subtle.
"I know this rule lets them do awful things but *surely* they don't mean to actually do those things"
(Reminder to call your congresspeople about this—especially if you know they're gonna vote yes anyway)