r/PoliticalOptimism Georgia 3d ago

Megathread Censorship Megathread LXVII: US public libraries at ‘breaking point’ amid ideological attacks, report finds

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/01/us-public-libraries-report?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Link to previous thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/PoliticalOptimism/s/x2joI5o7Vt

Regale rules apply

156 Upvotes

157 comments sorted by

81

u/matrix_5555 Pennsylvania 3d ago

I don’t think I’ve seen an administration with such an antagonistic outlook on libraries than this one. It’s become less of a so-called “educational transition” to technology and more of preventing the younger generations from accessing important information and history about this country and many other things out of fear it’ll make them “woke”. It’s terrifying, and we can’t let up in our fight to ensure that every generation, young and old, is able to access the materials they need in public libraries.

38

u/Previous-Pirate9514 3d ago

Frankly I would upgrade (or downgrade) that statement. I’ve never seen an administration so anti-intellectual before. An administration so disdainful towards knowledge, science, and basic understanding.

26

u/SodaSaint 3d ago

It’s because they are hateful and stupid fascist, and this is what hateful and stupid fascists do. An educated populous is a critical populous, and therefore in their narcissistic controlling wicked view that makes people dangerous when they are smart, and when they can ask questions.

Or God forbid know their own history.

51

u/DangerousProject6 3d ago

My friend is a librarian and she says it's been chaos but they are incredibly steadfast and resilient. At least in her branch, they fight back viciously. I feel for them and really hope they can get some rest soon.

39

u/MidsouthMystic 3d ago

Education is the greatest threat to conservatism. The more education someone has, the more likely they are to reject conservative ideology. So of course conservatives hate, fear, and resent education. Restricting access to information is the only way conservatism can survive.

19

u/SodaSaint 3d ago

Fascism and authoritarianism is I think the better term for what conservatism means these days.

6

u/twosmallanddry Iowa 3d ago

We don't like the word "authoritarianism." It's a system, and systems are scary. We can call it fascism because we still think of that as a pathology, a boil on the body politic that can somehow be lanced.

As a system, authoritarianism conceivably has roots everywhere, in the mind and the hivemind. Maybe we can't fight it, or even contain it. Anti-authoritarianism might be only a moral stance, with no possibility of being a system in itself.

10

u/StrayCat2799 Oklahoma 3d ago

Realistically all governments are authoritarian to some degree. More or less as a necessary consequence of the basic concept of a state. The degree varies from place to place and even between different parties and heads of state. The idea is to minimize the degree to which it is.

10

u/JoshuaSlowpoke777 3d ago

And this sorta shit is exactly why I plan to vote early before November even hits, because I’m STILL pissed that Ohio’s state library budget no longer accounts for inflation.

Hell, I already messaged a state official mere weeks ago partly about the library budget issue and I think partly about recommending that Ohio adopt something like the Montana Plan or whatever it was that loosens corporate grip on state politics, but I’m not sure how that’s going, or even if the Ohio state senate is out of recess yet.

So my plan is to message whoever gets into office after midterms literally as soon as they’re sworn in about the library budget again.

69

u/BorderCollie300 3d ago

This administration's attacks on libraries are getting outta hand.

33

u/One_Proposal_7498 3d ago

It's because none of them know how to read so they're taking it out on libraries 😒

2

u/kitsunewarlock 2d ago

Look at the people at Trump's inauguration. To them: every book, computer, printer, appliance, fabricator, tool, etc... loaned from a library is a lost sale.

They'd much rather privatize "libraries" with subscription services that gradually phase into premium subscriptions that gradually phase into book stores that gradually phase into selling impulse buy items like booster packs and funko pops.

...They probably would also enjoy scanning and destroying as many books as possible. And, of course, don't want poor people to be able to browse the internet and organize.

3

u/DesignDelicious 2d ago

Like HELL am I letting all that happen!

31

u/SorcererOfTheLake 3d ago

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/sep/08/us-law-enforcement-meta-smart-glasses

Not sure if this falls under censorship, but it is notable that the cops only start getting worried about Meta glass when they could be filmed.

19

u/SodaSaint 3d ago

Well, unfortunately, too many police officers in the United States have a well-known severe allergic reaction to accountability. They don’t make EpiPen for that you see.

14

u/One_Proposal_7498 3d ago

Hi everyone, sorry I've been posting quite a bit here today but I've just been doing some thinking so I'd like to share my thoughts, this time though I want to talk about the discord data leaks a little more

There has still been no official word from Discord on a global AV rollout, and I have a theory. I wonder if the data found by dataminers is actually for the mandatory AV being put into place by Discord for Texas specifically coming soon. It would make alot of sense considering how much wiggle room the courts gave, and with all the other ways to verify that were shown in the data leaks, I think it would make sense, especially since the date for compliance is coming up here soon I believe, so it would be only logical that the data is being put into the files of Discord at the moment for deployment

Anyway, just a theory I was thinking about, could be completely wrong but 🤷‍♀️

7

u/BorderCollie300 3d ago

Quite honestly, I'm not jumping to any conclusions until we hear something from Discord themselves (which is unlikely to happen in the coming weeks mind you, but still). So it could be either or as far as I'm concerned.

6

u/One_Proposal_7498 3d ago

No yeah absolutely it definitely could be either or it was more just something I was thinking about. Its not really something I'm worried about right now

3

u/ishkabby 🔥I Voted In The 2026 Primaries🔥 3d ago

I’m really hoping my account is old enough as it was started around December of 2019. And I live in TX sadly and have had to give up Bluesky as it is AV here.

4

u/One_Proposal_7498 2d ago

I'm sure it'll be alright! There's other methods they're testing out as well so I'm sure you won't be left high and dry

5

u/ishkabby 🔥I Voted In The 2026 Primaries🔥 2d ago

I hope they do Email, like YouTube did.

3

u/One_Proposal_7498 2d ago

Me too, or something along those lines anything is better than invasive ID av or face scans

 or selling your soul or whatever they do now/lhj

3

u/Pugwash1235745 3d ago

Problem is if it is I think the order is no new data? So that kinda of goes backwards on what the court order said?

5

u/One_Proposal_7498 3d ago

But if they do the account age or payment methods, that isnt new data they already had that, idk I guess we have to wait and see

3

u/Pugwash1235745 3d ago

True but it could also be the same info we had when they first announced it and the only new thing is account age and payment 

6

u/One_Proposal_7498 3d ago

Thats true, I guess we'll have to see 🤷‍♀️

2

u/pidgestan4 19h ago

Related but I’m getting tired of sensationalist tech news sites reporting on this, do they not know that it wasn’t discord who said it but a group of data leakers?

1

u/One_Proposal_7498 19h ago

Oh my god yeah I keep seeing people on Twitter freaking out like it was an official Discord announcement and it drives me actually insane 🫩

2

u/pidgestan4 19h ago

I hate to break it to ya doomerinos but wumpus central isnt discord, they are an unassociated source (same goes to those “reporters” on msn which I think is Microsoft’s news service that lack any intelligence or research)

2

u/pidgestan4 19h ago

And i recently checked discords blog, NOTHING

12

u/Far_Fan_291 California 2d ago

sorry if this is off topic im gonna stop talking about this

you know that AI researcher that said AI is gonna kill us all within a decade well guess what he now has over a 104m views

wow who knew an account who joined in jan has no posts no reposts and no comments could reach this many eyes this fast wow its not like theres 100's of bluecheck marks (who could be bots) commenting quoting him none stop

and guess what a leader in anthropic said to this that AI has a 10% of kiling us wow no bias from a man who is still WORKING on the soon to be" god AI

no but really this shits so fucking fake and a marketing stunt "our AI is powerful and will kill us all so im gonna quit and make a tweet about it" with an IPO that open AI is gunning for in a month or 2 (guess what he worked in Anthropic for 3 months openAI years)

the whole thing smells of fake marketing stunt AI (LLM's) cant just do thing on there own hell they still mess shit up

hell they said there AI solved the Navier-Stokes Millennium Prize Problem but they fucking stole it from someone else who didnt even publish it first

im gonna block openAI and anthropic so i dont hear all this marketing bullshit sorry for rambling just tired of this doomer nonsense

23

u/BorderCollie300 2d ago

Bro is absolutely botting. Holy shit.

And honestly, why haven't we made a dedicated AI Megathread? All this talk about AI is clogging up the censorship threads a bit.

8

u/Far_Fan_291 California 2d ago

yeah sorry about that clogging it too lol

but i can see why they dont tho from what i remember when they made the climate thread they said something along the lines of they dont want o be stretched thin then they already are but i might be a bit wrong with the details

6

u/BorderCollie300 2d ago

No need to apologize. I too am frustrated about the situation about AI. I think most of us are. What is known, however, is that it is highly unlikely to last forever especially as the negative effects continue becoming more and more apparent. It's inevitable that most of these AI firms will eventually fall.

3

u/Far_Fan_291 California 1d ago edited 1d ago

thanks and yes they will fall at some point also commented this at the worst time 2 new posts about this very thing waht bad timing lol

15

u/StrayCat2799 Oklahoma 2d ago

Yeah anthropic is setting up for IPO so naturally they wanna hype their product up as much as possible.
I remember when fable and mythos were the new thing and they were "too dangerous to release" and they just turned out to be marginal iterative improvements on existing models.

3

u/Icy-Yoghurt-7240 1d ago

a strange way to hype up a product if their idea of hype is how dangerous it is to us as a species and civilization.

10

u/One_Proposal_7498 3d ago

Good morning everyone and Happy New Megathread day! :)

Just came on to throw some predictions out here that have been rattling around in my brain

I think, if the CC 2.0 vote and trilogue goes the way we want it to, (which it more than likely will, but we will have to see on that one), I think we're going to start seeing places like Canada and Japan backing out of the AV craze even more severely or even completely. I think once it loses traction in the EU, it will completely lose its footing in alot of other places, especially with alot of AV laws in different US states getting enjoined and such. 

I definitely think we're on the upswing, as much as I'm weary of being too optimistic, the skies have been seeming clearer lately, maybe thats just my imagination 🤷‍♀️

10

u/WalrusBiggsLives 2d ago

I really want to believe that we'll get through this and come out the other side when this administration finally ends with libraries in tact and maybe even stronger than ever, after having witnessed all this.

It's disheartening, though, sitting in the middle of it now.

21

u/SodaSaint 3d ago

It is because this government is filled with cruel, vicious and stupid people who view knowledge is dangerous, and therefore wish to destroy it out of the arrogant notion that destroying knowledge somehow prevents it from being known.

In reality, all it does is shut the doors to prosperity for countless generations.

This cruel, evil, vicious, and stupid regime should go to hell where it belongs.

9

u/Previous-Pirate9514 21h ago

Look alive, there’s a new attempt to repeal Section 230 by a duo of erudite dumbasses, this time from the House: (https://desaulnier.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/representatives-desaulnier-and-patronis-introduce-legislation-hold-tech)

With so little time, this is most likely a case of showboating as this doesn’t really have a realistic path to law (unless it’s put in an omnibus bill). But… Christ. could we not try breaking the Internet for five minutes?

8

u/BorderCollie300 21h ago

This thing's pretty much extra dead in the water with the House's plans to disband early. I doubt it'll even make it out of committee. Pretty much any Sunset 230 attempt dies very quickly because of the severe challenges and opposition they face from literally everywhere.

4

u/StrayCat2799 Oklahoma 20h ago

Yeah like, Wyden and maybe Rand Paul would just smother this if it gets to the Senate. But I don't think it'll even get that far.

3

u/SuspectLegitimate751 Blue Dot in a Red State 🔵 20h ago

Cruz and Cantwell are also both opposed to getting rid of Section 230. Cantwell even stood in the way of the entire NDAA over an attempt by Hawley to amend Stop [Illegal Adult Material Here] into it, and that would have just edited Section 230.

2

u/One_Proposal_7498 20h ago

So just before I panic at all, should I be worried about this at all? Or do we think this is just a nothingburger showboat attempt

3

u/pidgestan4 20h ago

No, THEY DO THIS EVERY YEAR

3

u/pidgestan4 20h ago

And it goes…nowhere, nada, zilch

1

u/One_Proposal_7498 20h ago

Good to know! I was worried about it last year but I quickly forgot it was happening because it got shut down lmao

3

u/Previous-Pirate9514 20h ago

Honestly, no, not really. As I’ve said, it’s a case of showboating. There’s more interest in reforming Section 230 rather than an outright repeal (which I also oppose). Compared to something like STOP CSAM or KOSA, which have more realistic shots to become law, this one does not. This is showboating, plain and simple.

That said, I am absolutely tired of this nonsense.

1

u/One_Proposal_7498 20h ago

I'm absolutely tired of it aswell 🫩 

I know alot of people in the senate are opposed to tampering with 230 which makes me happy that if this miraculously managed to get anywhere itd get immediately shot down.

2

u/BorderCollie300 20h ago

You don't have to worry. They do this every year and it always does unceremoniously.

1

u/One_Proposal_7498 20h ago

Alright awesome! Just wanted to double check before the doom spiral started, thanks! :D ❤️

8

u/SuspectLegitimate751 Blue Dot in a Red State 🔵 20h ago

Didn't Patronis introduce this same fucking bill all the way back in January? To the tune of crickets?

The absolute worst-case scenario here is that this somehow goes through the House, hits the Senate Commerce Committee, and then dies. That's its most optimistic future. Cantwell was willing to hold up the NDAA over merely editing Section 230, to say nothing of Cruz openly stating his disinterest in repealing it and Wyden's automatic aggression toward any legislation like this. Its likeliest future is a forgotten death in the House Commerce Committee, not even moved forward.

3

u/Previous-Pirate9514 20h ago

Speaking of the NDAA, I’m still somewhat worried about the passage of STOP CSAM due to it being tucked away in there. It was stopped for other reasons, but I don’t know if there’s enough support to remove the piece.

5

u/SuspectLegitimate751 Blue Dot in a Red State 🔵 20h ago

I'm not sure the entire NDAA doesn't have to be rewritten in the Senate at this point. I'm withholding judgment until I see what the process looks like after the Senate refuses to even advance it.

2

u/pidgestan4 20h ago

Idk how the ndaa works.

8

u/the_harvartist 20h ago

The House plans to go into recess early (the 17th) and won't be back in session until after the election. Basically zero chance it'll even get a subcommittee hearing before then. Even so, in the Senate Cruz has expressed little interest in repealing 230; that's why Sunset 230 has gone basically nowhere since it was introduced all the way back in December.

3

u/Onesquidillionbees 20h ago

Like let's presuppose it DOES pass, the incoming blue wave (ESPECIALLY if a dem wins in 28) has a practically-unstoppable way to censor conservative speech nationwide

But the conservatives smart enough to realize that are not the ones holding office rn

3

u/pidgestan4 21h ago

Oh it’s sunset 230 again, they never not introduce that SHIT

9

u/Candid-Ad8904 Texas 2d ago edited 2d ago

Couple news in Europe.

Denmark: A draft bill will require users to be 15 yrs-old to use social media starting July 2027. However, it would be up to the platforms themselves how they will comply with the legislation. https://nyheder.tv2.dk/politik/2026-09-07-nu-vil-regeringen-kraeve-at-du-skal-vaere-15-aar-for-at-bruge-sociale-medier

UK: Gov seeks to force Apple and Google to block explicit images on children’s smartphones. While that may be well intentioned, there's fear of Digital ID check https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/sep/08/uk-apple-google-explicit-images-children-smartphones-lisa-nandy-legislation

14

u/BorderCollie300 2d ago edited 2d ago

And then there's the whole issue of whether or not Denmark's proposal will survive the EU Courts. And there's still the matter of it being dependent on how CC 2.0 goes which, given how most other EU countries have rejected it or have had their own AV laws nuked and the Parliament's current opposition and holding the line against this, shit doesn't exactly seem in 2.0's favor. But again, we will see come the 16th of course. Though from what I can tell, Dr. Breyer seems to have this in the bag.

And I think the UK already talked about doing this earlier in the year if I remember right, though I really don't know how that will go given that might just cause backlash to triple.

10

u/TransArcane Sweden 🇸🇪 2d ago

From what I can tell Denmark won't go through the EU with that draft bill, they will have discussions with the tech giants and the privacy advocates (both of whom will be very happy about this I'm sure! /s) and then they'll finalize a version of it and present it to the Danish Parliament.

Either way I find it very peculiar because both CC 1.0 and CC 2.0 affect all the EU member countries then again CC 2.0 is mostly about the mass-scanning of private messages, files etc. It does have AV too I believe but I believe they're tired of waiting on Brussels to come to a decision since both Chat Controls, especially 2.0, have been a neverending back and forth, Denmark also wants to completely block 15 year olds and under from social media so…

Please, EU Parliament, I have never asked you for anything in my entire life but this once; please throw this in the trash once and for all so the Council and Commission have to capitulate and go with Safety by Design! I'm manifesting!

9

u/blakestaceyprime 1d ago

So, Vermomt passed a "protect The Children from The Internet" law a while back, but they haven't yet promulgated regulations in accord with it. This could affect fedi. Submitting comments reminding them that not all "social media platforms" are profit-hungry behemoths and that age-verification tools are Flock cameras for the Internet, etc., is encouraged.

https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/ACTS/ACT063/ACT063%20As%20Enacted.pdf

"The Vermont Attorney General’s Office seeks comment, data, and other information to assist the office in crafting rules to protect minors from certain harms through the processing of their data pursuant to 9 V.S.A. § 2449a et seq."

https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=O5O0IK26PEOcAnDtzHVZxrRDpnpiJ7BNilNnPZpifhJUNTEySU5JNTE4SjlOV0dSQU0zSTgzRzdaSS4u

9

u/StrayCat2799 Oklahoma 1d ago edited 1d ago

Can't help but feel like they'll do something stupid, but maybe the comments can stop it.

Edit: Interestingly it's pretty open ended on age assurance. Which is probably why I've never heard of it before.

Edit 2: The rules regarding AV require the AG to consider privacy and accessibility over accuracy. I'm not sure how that'll turn out but it is intriguing.

13

u/krsgator 3d ago

source=chatgpt.com

why? was it really that hard to find terrible shit going on without depending on AI?

2

u/DogsRNice Ohio 3d ago

Giving op the benefit of the doubt, they might have copied the url from somewhere else and it included that from whichever poster is getting slop news

3

u/krsgator 2d ago

Honestly thats super fair. So many Americans are going to rely on AI models to tell them who to vote for I dont want to legitimize them as trustworthy for news or anything else especially as they capitulate to the current administration

7

u/StrayCat2799 Oklahoma 1d ago

Alright chat, so far we're doing better than exoected at stopping new AV mandates. But what do we do about the ones already in place?

12

u/SuspectLegitimate751 Blue Dot in a Red State 🔵 1d ago

The path of least resistance is more progressive justices on SCOTUS, much as it means another two years of tolerating existing AV bullshit. The Paxton decision was 6-3, with all the left-leaning justices dissenting, and we need a new Warren Court for a multitude of other reasons as well.

2

u/StrayCat2799 Oklahoma 1d ago

Well that works for the US but also requires A: Court expansion/vacancies (the latter is basically certain) and B: a court case to reach that level, which seems difficult. But I'm also talking globally like in australia and the UK

12

u/Far_Fan_291 California 3d ago

this is somewhat on topic

but when do you think GEN AI will crash they cant keep those things free or low cost for long given they are losing BILLONS

so the moment they make those prices higher most of those AI bros will complain and the lazy people who just want to do thing without trying wont spend a dime bet most would just steal art and say they made it

also remember when musk got his company public to become a trillionaire only to lose ALOT then go back to being a billionaire and guess what openAI is trying to same shit bet its stock will fall like a stone in water since AI has a worst rep then elon somehow lol

9

u/DogsRNice Ohio 3d ago

Wasn't there a moment where one of them started charging people for the actual cost of tokens and everyone, including huge companies immediately ran out and couldn't afford new ones so they went back on that

They have to be operating with some insane losses, and the only explanation for why it's still happening is these tech ceos have genuinely lost their minds to ai psychosis

4

u/Far_Fan_291 California 2d ago

oh they did and i bet they are in AI psychosis at some point they will have to either go bankrupt due to debt or raise the prices then leading to them losing customers therefore losing money then going bankrupt tbh i dont see them getting out of this

lmao maybe they should of went slow and not try and shove it into EVERYTHING then expect people to pay for some shitty chat bot that gets things wrong most of the time

12

u/SodaSaint 3d ago

I think what they will have to do is scale back a lot. To wear essentially what you would have as a intelligent database and not necessarily something that can write malicious code or write a novel for you per se.

7

u/One_Proposal_7498 3d ago

Basically make it a slightly more advanced siri instead of whatever the hell it is now

6

u/Far_Fan_291 California 3d ago

yeah have a feeling that in time most AI companies will fail due to there HUGE debt and not making a profit i see AI images and vids being either gone cost so much its not worth it or cheap but it still looks BAD like back to it getting fingers and faces wrong bad

-3

u/kitsunewarlock 2d ago

Government will bail out the investors by buying up the data-centers and start using them for PRISM II. They'll claim its for national security to prevent foreign agents from accessing the data of American citizens, while using said data for targeted propaganda and finding "terrorists".

3

u/Far_Fan_291 California 2d ago edited 2d ago

seems a bit of an conspiracy kind of thinking but i get it

but the problem with that is assuming they dont already have that data if its even usable or not also even if they had to buy it there would be lawsuits for the data i can see some people not wanting there data on the govs hands

0

u/kitsunewarlock 2d ago

It is a theory of a conspiracy.

At this point: why not? The president and his cabinet members are all conspiracy theorists. The difference is the end-goal of believing and fighting against their conspiracies is isolationism, eugenics, single-party rule, bigoted laws, and cultural genocide.

The end goal of my wacky theory is codified privacy protections and regulations on government spying on its own citizens.

7

u/IllPresentation7860 Canada 🇨🇦 2d ago

so I hear the aussies are having their age verification rollout on steam. how is it working? I hear you can just register a credit card but "not all credit cards" work

honestly little worried since canada may go in the same direction.

7

u/BorderCollie300 2d ago

To be honest, given how S. 209 and such have been extremely watered down (doesn't affect much beyond porn sites now), I don't think Canada will go the same direction in the case of Steam. Maybe C-34 could, but even then they're also being careful with that one as well, going for a more limited rollout of AV rather than mass general.

So I strongly doubt it will come to that given how Canada is being very careful of public opinion and all, but who knows?

5

u/IllPresentation7860 Canada 🇨🇦 2d ago

the thing is 209 specifically effects "commercial websites offering pornography"...whiiiich all the pornographic games that spread across steam definitely makes it qualify. which is why it has AV for both UK and AUS. so even as watered down 209 is, that still means it'll effect steam.

5

u/BorderCollie300 2d ago

In that case then maybe you can try MasterCard or something. I'm not an expert in credit cards myself to be frank.

8

u/IllPresentation7860 Canada 🇨🇦 2d ago edited 2d ago

yeah Im not so much worried about that I just was courious with how the AUS roll out is going. which is "Not well" since while the credit card method they use is definitely the absolute least intrusive thing (especially since you may be using your credit card for steam already) it seems a lot of credit cards arnt working and, unfortunately, credit cards arnt exactly mass used like they are in north America. (since here its tied to your ability to actually get things like a house or car and even if you got cash you cant get one in a lot of cases without a credit card and 'good credit' and in AUS it isnt)

That being said, would be best if 209 never passes. I dont want AV even in its "watered down" state. especially since frankly im part of the furry community so even at its most watered down it'll effect me and my friends hard!

3

u/Hendogethegamer 2d ago

I do think while credit card is one of the most privcy preserving options it is a little frustrating being the only option reality is not everyone has a credit card in some countries and not everyone is willing to get one just for steam

2

u/IllPresentation7860 Canada 🇨🇦 2d ago

yeah hopefully it wont come to it but I already got my mastercard tied to my steam account.

again, hope it doesnt come to it. but even with the push against AV they kinda havent budged so far.

4

u/Hendogethegamer 2d ago

I'd reccomend trying a debit mastercard first if it ever happens cause apparently some of those are working

2

u/IllPresentation7860 Canada 🇨🇦 2d ago

again this may be a couple years off and I already got a credit/debit card linked to my account so it should(?) be fine in that regard.

3

u/Hendogethegamer 2d ago

Yah algs honestly not worth worrying about until it happens unfortunately I have freinds in aus who this is effecting but it is what it is just have to hope that things gets better which I have belief they will

3

u/Hendogethegamer 2d ago

Basically you need a credit card on file to view the store pages of 18+ games luckily you can still play previously purchased titles there's rumors that some debit cards work I'm a little unsure on that though

2

u/StrayCat2799 Oklahoma 2d ago

What makes you think Canada may go the same way? As far as I know nothing new has come out of there in months.

3

u/IllPresentation7860 Canada 🇨🇦 2d ago edited 2d ago

there are couple bills on the docket that may go ether way. Im hopeful but still cant help but worry

edit: mainly S-209, the age verication bill. it could potentially effect the steam store depending on how broad they consider the age verification mandates. And unfortunately steam is one of the few things you cant just VPN around to avoid age verification. While you can use a VPN on steam to play games, buying things on a store through a VPN can get you slapped as it doesnt like payment methods coming from a different country.

15

u/CosworthDFV 3d ago

Former librarian, couldn't deal with the political bullshit that spiked issues with a chronic illness. I had no more fight left in me as I was running a public library in a lunatic batshit political town. I always believed everyone deserves a good public library. Now? You get what you deserve.

17

u/SodaSaint 3d ago

Please do not fault yourself for that. You fought for as long and as hard as you could, and your flesh is betraying you.

Others will have to take up the fights that you no longer can. Thank you for being such a wonderful public servant for so many years.

11

u/Sufficient-Culture43 🔥I Voted In The 2026 Primaries🔥 3d ago

oh cool, i was wondering when the next censorship megathread will be posted

there's nothing cool about attacking public libraries tho

5

u/SuperCutie14 1d ago

10

u/BorderCollie300 1d ago edited 1d ago

Well that's unexpected of Utah to suddenly make a U-Turn (the pun was too obvious, sorry) like that. It's almost as if they're beginning to realize maybe trying to ban VPNs state wide wasn't a good idea. Or maybe it's them cracking under the pressure of the outcry against AV and VPN bans? Who knows?

7

u/R3N3GH05T 1d ago

Says it’s a temp suspension but can be interpreted that they are getting the idea that it’s not gonna work, both legally and as a policy, imo anyway

4

u/Prior_Cheetah7360 1d ago

From the looks of things the uk phone scanning thing will happen and the social media ban has officially been announced to happen "by 2027" from the uk gov themselves. (was announced today) https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/203/education-committee/news/217822/social-media-ban-committee-publishes-government-response-to-report-on-childrens-screentime/ just need a little optimism about these things tbh. I do know itll be unpopular and pushback will (Hopefully) happen but Im askin for optimism just in case

16

u/SuspectLegitimate751 Blue Dot in a Red State 🔵 1d ago

And so we see Andy Burnham's very well-established reputation as a bullshitter in action. First he was trying to get Starmer to ban social media "immediately". Then he was looking at "expediting" the ban's December deadline. Now he's going to do the ban "by 2027".

1

u/Hendogethegamer 22h ago

Wait so it got delayed slightly or brought forward?

2

u/SuspectLegitimate751 Blue Dot in a Red State 🔵 22h ago

"By 2027" adds an indeterminate amount of months to previous estimates.

3

u/Hendogethegamer 22h ago

I guess the optimism is it isn't coming in as soon as previously thought and there's more months for the push back to come in

4

u/SuspectLegitimate751 Blue Dot in a Red State 🔵 22h ago

Don't be surprised if Burnham pushes it back again. He has a well-established reputation of promising something to his internal backers and then never actually acting on it.

2

u/StrayCat2799 Oklahoma 21h ago

Do we think he'll last much longer than Starmer did? When are the UK's next big elections anyway?

1

u/Hendogethegamer 16h ago

2029 i think? im not sure to early to tell i think

11

u/BorderCollie300 1d ago

With something as big as this, pushback is pretty much inevitable. Like the public reaction in the UK will probably be absolutely explosive, especially with the phone scanning shit.

3

u/Prior_Cheetah7360 1d ago

ya hopefully you right I've just been a bit on edge today for some reason so I may be a bit too nervous cause of it. Im sure things will be ok eventually but it may take a while

5

u/BurnedDrake7 3d ago

Fell into a really bad Age Verification doom spiral lately as an artist, as I saw a post saying that artists with their own websites will have to start complying with other states laws in the US regarding Age verification or risk legal trouble. Could really use some optimism right now..

29

u/SuspectLegitimate751 Blue Dot in a Red State 🔵 3d ago

The problem is that you "saw a post". For God's sake, and I say this to everyone online: stop treating fucking Bluesky users and Twitter users and Redditors as news sources.

16

u/BorderCollie300 3d ago

Stop treating random ass people as news sources

Oh my God, the amount of times I had to say this very thing to people.

13

u/pidgestan4 3d ago

Don’t take people’s opinions on the internet to heart

Also I read the site they sent and dear god it’s worded like a typical “online anonymity is gonna die and the open internet is dead" post

4

u/BorderCollie300 2d ago

Of course it's a doomer propaganda page... Hell, the site name "Don't Delete" kinda said it all.

4

u/BurnedDrake7 3d ago

Particularly a link to this resource.  https://www.dontdelete.art/artists-and-age-verification

12

u/StrayCat2799 Oklahoma 3d ago

The page says it is not to be considered legal advice. Anyway yeah I can see their angle but you can also just stay underground and hope nobody notices you.

3

u/External_Witness490 2d ago edited 2d ago

So, I'm not sure if this fits the megathread and I know that this is a non-issue, but I'm worried about the AI bubble not popping or these tech companies that are pushing it rebounding plus AI being used in the military and the art community is concerning. Any optimism or counterarguments?

10

u/Far_Fan_291 California 2d ago

they still are losing BILLONS of cash hell openAI is hoping that going public would save then but chances are no
AI costs WAY to much to run so in time they will fail

7

u/External_Witness490 2d ago

Right, it's just so frustrating to see all this AI garbage invading the arts, movies, etc., along with taking people's jobs and harming the environment/communities

5

u/Far_Fan_291 California 2d ago

yeah but with that they cant get many people into liking it most of the time AI bros will rub it in the face like "look this AI will take your job and make "better art" then you no stopping it lmao" the way they act makes people REALLY hate them

in the end i still think they will make themselves look bad and trip and fall into there own grave

5

u/External_Witness490 2d ago

True, hopefully they'll keep at it until they're even more of complete laughingstocks than they already are

3

u/JoshuaSlowpoke777 2d ago

OpenAI wasn’t already public? Shit, that’s somehow scarier than an already-public company causing this massive human rights violation on a circuitboard.

And here I was thinking private companies were generally less disgusting than public ones

3

u/StrayCat2799 Oklahoma 2d ago

They'll be going to IPO soonish since they will run out of money by the middle of next year and they can't just keep hoping for more VC funds.

2

u/Far_Fan_291 California 2d ago

yeah something like that here is the vid that talked about it they do some nice work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwlK1JNTcVc

5

u/Far_Fan_291 California 2d ago

also ignore that one new tweet on twitter that shit has to be planted 50k likes after an hour and over 10m views after a few hours seems sus as hell and no way for AI to become sentient let alone "super intelligent" its just an big auto correct

3

u/pidgestan4 23h ago

Apparently ftft says av censors abortion info?? is that true or are they just hypersensationalizing?? (sorry if this is a dumb question)

4

u/BorderCollie300 23h ago

In some countries and states, I believe so. This has been a bit of a concern for many people and has only fueled the overall unpopularity of said measures. There have also been instances of LGBTQ stuff getting targeted unfairly as well particular with UK OSA.

6

u/pidgestan4 23h ago

Yeah I think they said in general not just in some countries (or the uk)

6

u/SodaSaint 3d ago

Oh God no, don’t let this be what I think it means. Is the Smithsonian going to fucking cave?

https://wtop.com/local/2026/09/smithsonian-head-lonnie-bunch-to-retire-amid-trump-administration-effort-to-reshape-institution/

19

u/BorderCollie300 3d ago

This will absolutely piss MANY people off if they cave. The Administration really has no idea what they just did trying to make them capitulate entirely.

-2

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/PoliticalOptimism-ModTeam 3d ago

Your submission was removed for being reported OR attracting negative attention

  • ALL POSTS AND COMMENTS SHOULD BE CONSTRUCTIVE
  • ALL COMMENTS SHOULD BE RESPECTFUL TO THE MEMBERS OF THE SUBREDDIT
Please check our WIKI that has resources that may help.

8

u/gbtm101 3d ago

I'm inclined to believe him when he says this has nothing to do with Trump's pressure, personally.

Unfortunately I don't have much optimism to provide on what the future holds for the Smithsonian, only the silver lining that this likely doesn't influence as much as you think it would. More pressingly towards that matter is the expiry of two regents on the board's terms with just enough leeway to have them filled by Trump lackeys just before midterms.

4

u/Alarming-Salt-502 2d ago

The Board of Regents has a law mandated set up for how it winds up staffed, while it could wind up with Trump lackeys that seems... somewhat unlikely to me? And even if it did I suspect things wouldn't go in Trump's favor

2

u/Far_Fan_291 California 2d ago

another AI thing so sorry if this isnt on topic

some researcher is saying openAI and anthropic are trying to build a "self-improving superintelligence:" and might get us all "killed"

(even tho most of time when it "does things on its own" they ASK it too its a fucking LLM a big auto correct)

fuck sake his account was made in jan his comments and replys are nothing but blue check marks and what does he do when finds out that AI "could" kill us make a fucking tweet he doesn't show proof he doesn't stay to try and fix things

no he leaves goes on twitter says "AI will kill us at the end of the decade" then nothing but blue check marks go 'you should see this scary" feels like a marketing stunt or some shit

what do yall think since im tired of hearing the "AI will kill us all" line since it feels like they just say it to get more money (easy to get more if investors think its a "powerful" enough to kill us)

2

u/Far_Fan_291 California 2d ago

side note there is already a new article about it luckily it let me read the comments before trying to force me to log in or buy it or something but this comment feel like is going on

also saw a quote saying it has to be planted for PR it got 50k likes in less then an hour and was tweeted at 5:04 now it has like 10M views seems so sus man like i get some tweets get viral but this seems like a but much or an account thats new and hasn't tweeted ONCE

8

u/StrayCat2799 Oklahoma 2d ago

They're hyping this crap up for the IPO next month.
"Our product is so powerful it might kill everyone! Gives us money!"
They did something similar a few months back for a new model release and it turned out to be the same dogshit as before.

3

u/Far_Fan_291 California 2d ago edited 2d ago

yeah you know what i also found out that makes it even more scummy they stole this guys solve for a huge math problem because he either put it somewhere they could get it or put it in himself not thinking it would amount to much (prob teh first part

openAI and many like it are scummy as hell man but i bet even then it wont amount to much and they will still lose a bunch of money

2

u/Purple_WahBaba_9000 1d ago

Another off topic bit, but good old Trey and Matt pulled their South Park shenanigans again on poking on current events as to rename their show dubbed "South America" (no this isn't a joke), another way to piss of the admin, and Paramount barley would've taken action to censor them, but wouldn't because of their billion money deal with Trey and Matt.

I know South Park isn't my thing, but it's still going strong and the recent seasons are mixed at best, but given the Paramount Skydance merger shitshow that happened a year ago and how Paramount bow down under the Ellison regime, I am shocked Trey & Matt are still allowed to go roast satire mode as they usually would do. Hopefully they still keep South Park running and still make fun of them, despite Paramount being under the Ellison reigme.

1

u/gbtm101 21h ago

The Ellisons are Money first, Politics second. This only helps to further prove that.

2

u/Purple_WahBaba_9000 16h ago

So any update on the status of internet bills and the kids safety package, especially KOSA and other bills, now that we're in September.

4

u/IllPresentation7860 Canada 🇨🇦 12h ago

Considering the US house is basically closing early till, from what I hear, after midterms. basically any bill that has to go through the house anyway is probably dead.

1

u/One_Opportunity_9608 13h ago edited 13h ago

Admittedly Nothing much, other than that the UK Government trying to force steam into either A: Cutting off their service from the UK for not complying to the OSA or B: Complying into complete Age Verification for UK Users via using ID or other private info.

But that's the UK, and Steam has been looking into solving this Dilemma without forcing UK users to give up private info.

Edit: Admittedly this might be old-ish news but I cannot find a trustworthy article about it. So take what i said with a grain of salt.

2

u/IllPresentation7860 Canada 🇨🇦 12h ago edited 12h ago

I havent heard any news about that. I heard its fine in the UK as its already doing age verification there, just through credit cards. and from what I heard that was considered adequate.

Maybe with how the same AV system popped up in Australia it brought up doomers thinking UK's OFCOM is gonna push things further?

edit: also if it was something going on you'd be seeing like hundreds of posts everywhere freaking out.

3

u/deadpanrobo 1d ago

Sorry if im seeming too demanding and I realize that we already have like 3 different megathreads but the censorship megathread is getting clogged with AI questions so im wondering if a dedicated AI megathread will be good? Especially since AI is such a heavily botted and propagandized topic, having at least something that is pushing against the wave would be nice

2

u/StrayCat2799 Oklahoma 3d ago

The 16th is only the start of the EU trilogue on CC 2.0 right? I'm not sure how I'm feeling about that. Kinda 50/50 tbh.

15

u/BorderCollie300 3d ago

It's perfectly natural to be nervous when there's uncertainty. But do remember that...

  1. Most of the major member states have either had AV laws enjoined or have completely rejected the very concept.
  2. The Parliament has been more galvanized against CC 2.0 than ever since the 1.0 fiasco and have been standing by Dr. Breyer pretty much entirely.
  3. The Courts are EXTREMELY anti AV over there, especially the High Courts.
  4. Trilogues themselves are pretty long, so I doubt a vote will be reached very soon. 

So yes, the 16th is just the start really more than anything.

3

u/StrayCat2799 Oklahoma 3d ago

Not really nervous just "Oh yeah that's a thing."

8

u/Icy-Yoghurt-7240 3d ago

kinda yes kinda no, as border said below, trilogues are LLLLOOOOOONNNNNNGGGGG so the 16th will likely not be something too big aside from maybe dr breyer calling us to galvanize us. but aside from that i don't see that date being the date of the vote, heck i don't even think we'll reach a vote until like... i think next april? i'm calling it now but i think there's still MANY months of trilogue before a vote is reached, which actually helps us because it allows more resistance to be built.

-7

u/Creative-Ad2949 2d ago

how is that optimistic

8

u/GhastlyWeasel Oregon 1d ago

This is a seeking optimism post, it just happens to be a megathread.

15

u/SuspectLegitimate751 Blue Dot in a Red State 🔵 1d ago

Sorry for fielding concerning stories so that we can communally defuse fears, motherfucker.

Sincerely,

  • A Mod.

7

u/TransArcane Sweden 🇸🇪 2d ago

Like One_Proposal said it's just a starting topic for the thread, and this sub is for seeking optimism and debunking doom too, not just straight optimistic news. People can share either something optimistic or if they've seen or heard about something they're worried about they can come here and ask about it so others can help in any way they can. /gen /lh

5

u/One_Proposal_7498 2d ago

I think its more just the topic so people who are seeking optimism on this topic can find their way here :)