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“but they might have broken the law!!”
And?
Are you forgetting the “do crime” in “be gay, do crime” again today?
👉 “failed to fully comply with the law” does not mean “did something harmful or evil”.
👉 “fully complied with the law” does not mean “acted with compassion, justice, or mercy.”
Don’t fall back on legalism when you’re evaluating the goodness or badness of a person, idea, or organization.
honestly i’m lowkey hoping that op is a cop and this is a psyop, because the idea that anyone could hear a take along the lines of, “in addition to the inherent ethical issues at play, AO3′s handling of CSEM may have violated US law, which poses an existential threat to the site” and decide that the main takeaway is “this doesn’t matter because laws don’t dictate morality :)” is deeply concerning.
Please tell me that you’re joking.
You’re really ready to hang AO3– a dedicated group of fans who have banded together to give people a space in fandom away from corporate control– out to dry because their response to being attacked from outside with CSAM was less than perfect?
You’re ready to accuse the OTW and people defending them of being evil and causing harm by having a less than perfect defense while they’re under attack?
And you think I’M the cop?
??? Have you kept up with the news at all? The issue isn’t “AO3′s response to CSAM was less than perfect,” though yeah, it completely fucking was. The issue is that AO3 for years erred on the side of hosting potential CSEM. The issue is that AO3 failed to prepare an adequate response after the first CSAM attack in 2021. The issue is that AO3 has for years been relying on unpaid and unsupported labor to comb through images and try to figure out if they’re really CSEM – which I would think people on Tumblr who pretend to care about labor rights would give a shit about, but apparently not. I have never called anyone evil, but yes, AO3′s policies have caused harm, and they need to address that.
And I don’t think you’re a cop. I think you’re someone who’s so deeply blinded by years of AO3 positioning itself as an underdog that you’re unable to think critically about how deeply they’ve fucked up. I hope you’re a cop, because the fact that anyone could look at this situation and think “this doesn’t matter because laws are bad :)” is so completely bonkers that it being a psyop would be more comforting than it being an actual take. If this is the best that AO3 supporters can do, the site is truly fucked.
And miss me with the “dedicated group of fans” bullshit. I don’t give a single flying fuck if you’re dedicated. You’re not immune from criticism.
The issue is that AO3 has for years been relying on unpaid and unsupported labor to comb through images and try to figure out if they’re really CSEM
YES! Because AO3 relies on unpaid unsupported labor!!
Because it is a group of dedicated fans and not a corporate machine!
If you don’t want to participate in or support that, don’t!
Fucking hell on earth, AO3 is literally the definition an underdog.
It relies on a small group of volunteers that get paid nothing because the site is a nonprofit by necessity. It essentially operates like a charity.
All of your criticism would be perfectly valid if the OTW was a mega corporation, but it’s literally just a few randos trying to make fandom a better place to be, and any kind of attack is going to cripple them because they are literally not equipped to handle it. Like, did you not realize how victim-blamey that sounds??
Darkheart’s point is NOT, “this doesn’t matter because laws are bad” their point is, “These people are literally doing all they can, and your problem with it is that their best isn’t good enough.”
They’re pointing out that breaking the law by accident is not the same thing as being complicit in a serious crime. What more do you want them to do!? Actually tell me. I’m very curious.
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