California wants to help Trump (by age-gating the internet)

A.B. 1709 is a social media ban for everyone under the age of 16 and could be an online ID check mandate for everyone else. This bill would take autonomy away from minors and parents alike, while handing even more of everyone’s private data to Big Tech. Banning LGBTQ youth from accessing affirming online communities will have dire consequences, especially for those without supportive family.

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Introduce yourself, be polite, and say:

“Hi - my name is (NAME) and I am a constituent. I’m calling to ask you to oppose A. B. 1709, an online ID check mandate that would hurt vulnerable communities. I don’t want to hand more of my private data over to Big Tech and I don’t want Donald Trump to have more tools to surveil and silence critics. Thank you.”

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Online ID check mandates like A.B. 1709 would give the fascists another weapon against us.

Companies could choose to comply with the bill by imposing online ID checks. Everyone else will be forced to weigh having every page view associated with their government ID or biometric data against leaving platforms which have become the public square for political speech and organized protest. Last week, the White House announced it would treat as terrorists people whose ideology is “anti-American, radically pro-transgender, and anarchist.” DHS officials are increasingly using subpoenas to unmask critical social media accounts: online ID checks would make it easier for them to retaliate against critics. The danger of government censorship and surveillance is not hypothetical, it is a main goal of the current US administration.

If you’re not worried about government persecution, you should still be concerned about your data privacy. Online ID checks already have an egregious record of data breaches, which can put something as sensitive as a photo of your driver’s license in the hands of the highest bidder. Forcing platforms to collect this data exposes you to abuses like identity theft and stalking.

If California politicians were serious about protecting vulnerable communities from the abuses of the Trump administration, they would take steps to protect online privacy and our ability to protest.