Reposted by Mike StabileAri Cohn @aricohn.com · 12hAfter Senator Blumenthal sought unanimous consent for KOSA, engaging in brutally transparent hand-waving of free speech issues, Senator Rand Paul stands up to object, and unanimous consent fails. 27721
Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 11hRand Paul blocked Blackburn and Blumenthal's attempt to push KOSA out of the Senate by unanimous consent.thehill.comPaul blocks push to unanimously pass Kids Online Safety ActSen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) blocked an effort from Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) on Wednesday to pass by unanimous consent the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), a long-s… 44517
Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 12hJust discovered that Utah has a tax on escort agencies. In other words, the state demands its cut of the profits for sex work. If only there was a word for that. 33912
Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 13hMarsha Blackburn pushing for a unanimous consent vote on KOSA this afternoon (via @benbrodydc.bsky.social). Blumenthal (who also supports the bills) says their could be objections to derail it.x.comBen Brody (@BenBrodyDC) on XNew: Sen. Blackburn is aiming to make a a unanimous consent request to pass the Kids Online Safety Act around 5p. Sen. Blumenthal, KOSA’s Democratic lead, said he did think an objection that’d stop it... 11710
Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 13hBanks, the biggest arbiter of what can be distributed online, are steadily restricting the types of speech — art, entertainment, resources — permitted. A payment provider dropped FlowFo for allowing sex-related content, pushing them out of business. Financial discrimination is censorship. 2174120
Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 14h"Toby hosts aviation panels at furry conventions, and he says that they are among the most popular events, with recent ones attracting upwards of 400 attendees. All fursonas, he says, are represented, though airline pilots 'do tend to favor birds.'" 12610
Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 16hThey tried this with adult content and it largely failed. While there have been some niche use cases, audiences want to feel a connection to the creator — whether that's an author, a porn performer or a musician. It's not because the technology isn't believable, it's because 111227
Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 29/09/2026"My concern about the bans is that people will go underground. When they go underground online, bad things happen — really terrible things happen."businessinsider.comTech is entering its prohibition era. We've been here before.Governments are seeking to set restrictions on popular tech. Though well-intentioned, the bans are easier said than done. 24624
Reposted by Mike StabileRiana @riana.bsky.social · 22/09/2026NEW RESEARCH PAPER! With Cyndie Demeocq at U of Edinburgh, today I’m releasing a paper analyzing 71 federal criminal cases, filed around the US from 2022-2025, that somehow involve AI-generated or -morphed CSAM or child obscenity. Here's the SSRN link: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....papers.ssrn.comYes, It's Already Illegal: Federal Criminal Prosecutions for AI-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Material, 2022-2025<div> Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is now capable of creating realistic-looking images and videos with just a text prompt. This capacity has been mi 48136
Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Utah wanted websites to verify the actual, physical location of visitors and force them to identify VPN users. The controversial addition to the state's age-verification law was suppose to go into effect next week, but a District Court judge struck it down at least temporarily.techradar.comFederal judge strikes down Utah's controversial VPN age verification rulesA major win for digital privacy as courts rule that state-level age verification laws cannot mandate the tracking of encrypted web traffic 26934
Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Zoom's new AI assistant comes with a prompt to "make me sound smart" on a call. Good luck! 3246
Reposted by Mike StabileKriss Lowrance @krisslowrance.bsky.social · 25/09/2026My job in 2019: "Make porn sites work better, so adults who pay money to view porn will want to pay money to view porn." My Job in 2026: "Draft a compliance plan for Eastwestern Tennabamaho's new 'porn sites confirm viewer's blood type every 10 seconds' law, so Visa doesn't drone-strike my house" 113335
Reposted by Mike StabileUrsula K. Le Guin Bot @leguinbot.bsky.social · 27/09/2026What sane person could live in this world and not be crazy? 111743
Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 27/09/2026“I don’t want the government spying on me” is the type of straightforward position to take, regardless of ideology. 37226
Reposted by Mike Stabile🌦️Wifeguy Auteur🌦️ @delugeduvall.effigyfilms.com · 25/09/2026if “we’re all cam girls in a surveillance state” ya’ll better be acting in solidarity with actual fucking cam girls 😒 4890296
Reposted by Mike StabileJW Mason @jwmason.bsky.social · 25/09/2026This is the master key to deciphering contemporary debates about free speech. www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/se... 3233871259
Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 25/09/2026VPN bans are a direct response to age-verification. Legislators are frustrated that people are getting around their surveillance, but rather than rethink their strategy, they're doubling down and banning VPNs. Fight the Flock-ing of the internet. 515241161
Reposted by Mike Stabilederek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 25/09/2026some pilots are part of the furry community 745266590
Reposted by Mike Stabileryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · 24/09/2026"No one on Bluesky thinks they’re interacting with a cross section of the population. But a lot of people on X do think that." talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/we-di...talkingpointsmemo.comWe Didn’t Know Until This Day … Twitter Was the Echo Chamber All AlongDaniel Drezner says we are now in the Wile E. Coyote phase... 15950130
Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 25/09/2026"Housing instability, criminalization, poverty, isolation, and institutional indifference create danger... We should not need a million files, a room full of chemicals, and the possibility of a serial killer before missing women become visible." 15017
Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 25/09/2026welp, there's a new SCREEN Act. Sort of. This one's "Strengthened Checks for Reliable Evaluation of Entrants Nationwide Act" and focused on cruise lines visas (?) Purely as an acronym, I think "Shielding Children's Retinas from Egregious Exposure on the Net Act" is better. Or at least campier.rickscott.senate.govSen. Rick Scott Introduces SCREEN Act to Help Protect American Kids from Foreign Predators 23425
Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Florida's educational commissioner singled out Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye" demanding its removal from school libraries, even if no complaint is filed: “The time is over for how we are addressing the smut, the porn, the inappropriateness that is still infiltrating our libraries in our schools."yahoo.comFlorida schools must do more to purge ‘inappropriate’ books, commissioner saysThe big story: Saying Florida parents continue to find too much age-inappropriate material in their children’s schools, state education commissioner Henry Mack instructed districts to do a better job ... 02210
Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Adult content creators are seen as real people by fans, rebutting years of anti-porn claims that sex work strips creators of humanity. In fact, OnlyFans creators were percieved as having more self-control, free will and capacity for independent thinking than other women.psypost.orgSexual objectification does not erase the perceived humanity of OnlyFans creators, study suggestsPeople who sell explicit digital content online are heavily sexually objectified by observers, yet they are still viewed as capable individuals with free will. These findings challenge traditional psy... 121561606
Reposted by Mike StabileCecilia Tan @ceciliatan.com · 23/09/2026So less than 5 years ago, korean company Kakao bought the serial fiction site Radish for $440 million, Tapas for $510 million. Both were moneymaking sites where a fair number of romance and erotica writers made bank. But they shut down Radish less than a year ago, and now Tapas will close, too. Why? 16538
Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Discord re-launches age-verification after its disastrous roll-out (and privacy leak) earlier this year. But this time, they say they're not asking for ID or biometrics (at least for most people), but relying on less sensitive information like account age.polygon.comDiscord's Controversial Age Verification Policy Starts TodayDiscord company says "90%" of users won't be asked to confirm their age 64622
Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 23/09/2026British regular Ofcom praised Apple for its age-check protocols. The same regulator is now investigating Pornhub for using those same protocols OSA's becoming less and less about protecting kids and more and more about creating a regime to punish speech and platforms the government doesn't likebbc.comPornhub age checks investigated by OfcomThe regulator says it has concerns over how the site is relying on third party checks provided by Apple for some users. 311047
Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 22/09/2026And it’s not even Locktoberplayboy.comOne in Three Gen Z Men Hasn't Masturbated in 90 DaysOne in three men and nearly half of women haven't masturbated in the last 90 days according to Playboy's Gen Z Sex Survey. 4294
Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 22/09/2026France's National Assembly is considering a bill that would criminalize adult content sales, equating online content creation with pimping. Consumers and platforms would face steep fines and prison. The bill is being championed by Céline Thiébault-Martinez, an MP on the supposed socialist left.avn.comAn Anti-Sexual Violence Bill Could Ban Adult Sites in France AVNA proposed national bill intended to combat gender-based and sexual violence in the French Republic could drastically expand pimping and procurement measures online to potentially cover direct-to-cons... 36525
Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 17/09/2026"HHS Launches Commission on Gooning, Calls for EO on Semen Retention" 3368
Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 17/09/2026"Hot2Vote is launching a $100K campaign in Atlanta to ensure people are registered to vote — with the help of adult film stars. The multimedia effort includes more than 100 performers telling people 'always check their status' after the state’s mass cancellation of inactive voter registrations."politico.comShapiro stakes a ’28 position on AI 38438
Reposted by Mike StabileHelen Rosner @hels.bsky.social · 17/09/2026Bluesky why did you declare a drawing I made for a three-year-old to be adult content 1415413
Reposted by Mike StabileLorelei Lee (they/them) @loreleilee.bsky.social · 16/09/2026And we can't have reproductive freedom or trans rights without sex workers' rights. The connection should be obvious. 07227
Reposted by Mike StabileFlorida Freedom to Read Project @flfreedomread.bsky.social · 15/09/2026“The options are fewer and farther away in rural communities, so removing a book from a school library can have a greater practical effect on whether a young person can obtain it,” William Johnson of @penamerica.bsky.social said. www.cfpublic.org/education/20...cfpublic.orgNearly 600 books were banned from Florida schools last yearThe removals were reported in just 10 of Florida’s 67 school districts. Three are in Central Florida: Orange, Polk and Sumter counties. 13729
Reposted by Mike StabileEvan Greer @evangreer.bsky.social · 14/09/2026I want to see a ban on facial recognition, ALPRs, and other AI surveillance weapons. I want strict privacy legislation cracking down on all companies including AI giants nonconsensual hoovering up of data. I want robust protections for open source and open weights. I want... What do you want? 213034
Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 14/09/2026"“I have always been unapologetically me... These attacks on my identity have just made me stronger in my values and convictions.”washingtonsun.comDemocratic Congressional Candidate Defends Resurfaced Explicit PhotosChris Gallant, 37, said the photos have no bearing on his ability to serve in Congress. 3439
Reposted by Mike StabileLorelei Lee (they/them) @loreleilee.bsky.social · 14/09/2026Happy Sex Worker Pride Day (September 14th). It’s a great day to support sex workers by donating to sex worker-led organizations. Help me make a list of org’s donation pages below! #sexworkerpride #sexworkiswork #decrimnow 29659
Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 14/09/2026Nazis mad about consensual sex again.nypost.comExclusive | NY Dem House candidate modeled for XXX-rated BDSM ads while serving in National GuardAspiring eastern Long Island congressman Chris Gallant, 37, appears to have had a prior career modeling sex toys for one of the self-described “forerunner” fetish stores in the country. 48815
Reposted by Mike StabileBy Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 12/09/2026The fact that OpenAI is making it much easier for unskilled people to break into and damage servers is indeed *very* bad news, but it's not *new* bad news. Irresponsible parties have been doing this for years, most notably the NSA. 124130
Reposted by Mike StabileJess Miers 🦝 @jmiers230.bsky.social · 13/09/2026I did a somewhat deep dive into the recent OpenAI and Anthropic "hacks" for an upcoming interview. IMO, the AI companies are better off running with the "rogue AI" story because the real story is actually pretty embarrassing. Like making your Wi-Fi password "wifi" embarrassing. 🧵 341835794
Reposted by Mike StabileAlejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 12/09/2026A trans man in the UK has been banned in the workplace restrooms after he was forced to use the women's restrooms to comply with the new EHRC guidance. The women complained because he is visibly male and so they told him he can't use any bathroom. 13850961543
Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 12/09/2026I'm going to suggest that Pedocon theory is not really "theory" anymore, expect maybe in so far as you can say gravity is a theory.abcnews.comConvicted sex offender offered opening prayer at rally for GOP Senate nominee in North CarolinaA North Carolina pastor who led the opening prayer at a recent campaign stop for Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley is a registered sex offender, twice sentenced to prison 19433
Reposted by Mike StabileKat Abughazaleh @katmabu.bsky.social · 11/09/2026Thinking about how a girl at Christian summer camp asked me if my dad was in Al Qaeda and I got in trouble for asking if her dad was a Klansman bc “her question was understandable” 621292614955
Mike Stabile @mikestabile.bsky.social · 11/09/2026"You’d be surprised how much content gets pumpkin-spiced. We’ve seen pumpkin-spice pits, pantyhose and pedicures. We’ve seen it incorporated into fetishes from wrestling and burping to breast expansion and paypigs."vice.comThe Pumpkin Spice Craze Has Somehow Reached Fetish Porn. Seriously.Fetish creators are folding PSLs into everything from burping and wrestling to breast expansion, turning fall’s favorite flavor fully NSFW. 35516
Reposted by Mike StabileLorelei Lee (they/them) @loreleilee.bsky.social · 11/09/2026A thing I don't see enough in convos abt LLMs is how they egregiously misunderstand what writing is FOR. LLMs assume writing is primarily meant to be consumed by other people. But the actual act of producing language on the page is a process of DISCOVERY. It's a process of finding out what you think 06422
Reposted by Mike StabileIan Boudreau @ianboudreau.com · 11/09/2026Pretending the days after Sept. 11, 2001 were some kind of gauzy Hallmark special when we came together as a country is nauseating and ahistorical. The country went completely insane and has not recovered 13877991481
Reposted by Mike StabileEvan Greer @evangreer.bsky.social · 10/09/2026it would have been great if y'all listened to us 20 years ago but may i suggest starting now?nytimes.comOpinion | Civil Libertarians Knew This Would Happen. We Should Have Listened.The civil libertarians’ warnings have come true. 511343
Reposted by Mike Stabileonion person @junlper.beer · 10/09/2026trying to get people to understand that the trans women in sports debate isn’t really about sports but a meta narrative pushed by the right all about slowly getting all trans people out of public life is truly impossible 9382482005
Reposted by Mike StabilePhoenix Calida @phoenixcalida.latinsky.app · 10/09/2026I cannot get past this There are flock cameras and LPRs everywhere and apparently these traffickers routinely park in these traffick laden streets to beat girls They literally can't track them? But cops STILL can't find the traffickers?? These cameras are utterly useless then 56816