We will eventually not be able to talk about sexual abuse online
I sent out the newsletter this morning and led with some information about how laws aimed at protecting children from sexual material were already having a net adverse effect on sites other than those based on sexually explicit material.
When I started blogging about abuse and mental health in 2001, the goal was to make sure there was a place online where a teen or adult survivor could find someone who’s been where they are. Everything I’ve done in this space since then has been toward that goal.
In 2025, I’m not sure survivors can find that place any longer. Children trying to deal with abuse or mental health struggles are not helped when we block them from connecting with online resources. Yet that seems to be a by-product of these laws, because some people don’t believe kids need access to information and a community that could save their lives.
Just a few hours later, I saw this post from the Electronic Frontier Foundation:
Wyoming’s law is also particularly extreme: rather than provide enforcement by the Attorney General, HB0043 is a “bounty” law that deputizes any resident with a child to file civil lawsuits against websites they believe are in violation, effectively turning anyone into a potential content cop. There is no central agency, no regulatory oversight, and no clear standard. Instead, the law invites parents in Wyoming to take enforcement for the entire state—every resident, and everyone else’s children—into their own hands by suing websites that contain a single example of objectionable content.
What’s objectionable? Who decides that? Does an abusive parent get to decide that no one should provide any information about abuse to their kid? Do ultra-religious parents get to decide that no one should see information about LGBTQ issues or mental health medication? Do non-religious parents get to decide that no one is allowed to read the Bible online due to violent passages?
It appears the answer to that, at least until a court steps in to strike down this law, is yes to all of that. As the EFF points out, this isn’t just a risk to the big tech platforms. Anyone with a blog, website, social media account, etc., is subject to a civil lawsuit based on a parent not agreeing with what they post.
I know that there are people out there who consider content related to child abuse as unsafe for children. I fully expect to see a smaller community online of people talking about these issues. That seems to be our future, sadly.
