mh-
I fear I will soon watch the whole web go dark, state by state, country by country, as though nuclear bombs had been dropped on them, until there's nothing left except big tech companies.
It's already begun. Independent chat sites are illegal in New York now. There's a ban in their latest state budget.
Do these politicians even realize how apocalyptic their proposals are?
The age-verification/ID-check/isolation-by-design push is really getting to me. I've been waking up shaking in fright.
@argv_minus_one
>It's already begun. Independent chat sites are illegal in New York now. There's a ban in their latest state budget.
Have you got a source for that?
Concerning your main worry, that's --- in the long term --- what overlay networks are for.
Here's the bill that passed: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A10008/amendment/C
The relevant part is Article 45-B, “Safe By Design Act”, which begins on page 62 of the bill text PDF.
Starting on page 64, it spells out that age verification is required, self-declaration is not good enough, and minors must have separate verified parental consent for each individual person they wish to talk to.
None of this is even remotely feasible for independent sites, so independent sites are illegal in New York.
This also means that minors no longer have freedom of speech in New York. At all. Beginning January 1, 2027, all minors are no longer people, merely property of their parents.
Ghastly. Terrifying.
As for overlay networks, how will they exist, when the entry points will no doubt be made illegal next?
And how will the general public find them? A clandestine club is not the same thing as a public forum.
@argv_minus_one
Yes, it sucks, but there's not much point ruining your mental health over it.
I don't know. I just find that campaigning isn't that effective, so I prefer technical bypassing and civil disobedience. I.e. censorship-resistent tech such as Tor (if it lasts), I2P, Yggdrasil, etc.
If the internet is completely shut down (which there's no indication will happen!), we might be able to set up clandestine meshnets such as Reticulum.
We won't be able to save everyone, but we'll be able to give people an alternative if they want it.
And it's not like the internet is the only form of communication.
