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The Australian Government is tracking all your browsing habits, including your porn preferences

Hey, it’s been a long time. But I wish I was writing with better news.

The Australian government is introducing age verification laws in order to view internet pornography. It seems like it would work in practice, but this process involves giving your ID to the government, as well as biometric data or needing age verification from a parent to use the internet in the privacy of your own home. This is likely related to the under 16 Social Media ban, which is one of those laws meant to protect children by violating the rights of everyone else.

Here is a link to the Guardian talking about the situation.

Here is a reddit post discussing the situation

And most importantly, here is an e-petition that Australian Citizens can sign to say “no mate, fuck off, do something else.”

I am writing this post because I am a scientist. I have a strong passion for ethics, both in and out of the research world, and one of the biggest ethical concerns we deal with is Autonomy. Now I could ramble on about human ethics in the world of clinical trials, but I want to talk about your digital identity.

Tying your government ID to your browsing habits is a recipe for disaster. We can agree that maybe people under 18 shouldn’t be looking at pornography, but some people consider being part of the LGBT+ community to be obscene. Does existing as an adult bisexual count as pornography? No. Are the dinosaurs in charge of the government going to make that distinction? Also No.

But what has me really worried is that we are living in an extraordinary age of scientific censorship. Australia is currently facing a toxic algal bloom crisis, in no small part due to climate change and fertiliser runoff. It is impacting multiple communities, from fishing industries and farmers to local Aboriginal groups. And politicians, especially like that horrible man in charge of the USA, are defunding scientific research that doesn’t fit their pre-approved narrative. And god help you if you have a disability that ol’ brainworm thinks can be cured by putting you in a labor camp. He has already violated the rights of many Americans by looking at their medical records to make this list.

How are these things linked? Simple. By tracking everyone under the guise of protecting children, you can silence critics, get rid of ‘undesirable (read: queer, brown or disabled) people’ punish political opponents, and censor the publication of life-saving scientific research. And it’s hard to stop this massive government overreach, because defending the rights to look at porn or play violent video games makes you look like a freak.

And honestly? I’m a schmuck. I am a loser on the internet. I barely understand how to do my taxes. But I want everyone to have the right to use the internet unimpeded- that includes looking up icky things like porn, resources for identifying abuse, and violent video games. Because once these things fall, you won’t be able to form community groups or access information that can save your life.

Filed as: #auspol #free speech #censorship #please sign the petition if you can

chamiryokuroi:

yandere-angela:
yandere-angela:
princess-snorlaxx:
yandere-angela:
i think it’s important to acknowledge that the reason why mastercard/visa has such a stranglehold on american society is because cash is not the main form of payment in the usa. the predominance of card has effectively privatized currency
in japan, one of the reasons why dlsite and other similar websites are able to just remove visa as a payment option instead of changing any of their merchandise (aside from the fact that visa doesn’t have a monopoly here) is because cash payments for online transactions remain an option. even if you don’t have a jcb credit card or paypay or whatever, you can still pay for your online purchases using cash by taking your barcode to a convenience store, and you can do this for essentially every online vendor, meaning credit card companies can’t just impose their moral judgments on your purchases with much repercussion
How does that barcode system work? I’ve never heard of something like that.
1. you add whatever porn games or movies or books you want to your cart and go to checkout
2. you select cash payment at conbini as your payment method
3. youre emailed a barcode that you take to the conbini
4. you show it to the cashier, they scan it, and you pay what you owe. note that the cashier does not see what youre buying
and the transaction is complete
from the notes im learning that brazil also something similar. based tbh
Mexico too, there are multiple convenience stores you can pay at, sometimes you can also pay directly at the bank if it is offered even if you’re not a client of said bank.

polyamorousmood:

New to tumblr?
Add a profile picture and any words to your “about” section (or old users will think you’re a bot and block you)
Reblog stuff liberally. (Liking means less here, there is no algorithm. Also an empty blog makes you look like a bot too)
It’s NORMAL to spam like/reblog or like/comment/reblog on post that are decades old here. Seriously. No one cares. Artists would actually be thrilled
You are anonymous. People talk to people they don’t know here. It means nothing.

tonysaintborgi:

tonysaintborgi:
Quiznos Coyote is a mood that you can feel. next time you feel it say “I feel Quiznos Coyote about this.”
ALT

hokkotarumae:

starting a collection

artoatsblog:

prokopetz:
Sometimes you send something you found online to a friend because you want to brighten their day, and sometimes you send something you found online to a friend with the precise attitude and bearing of a cat very carefully lining up their paw with the back of another cat’s head.
ALT

ang-c-art: