Whenever this comes up, it feels like a play to harvest people’s data and / or to slip additional laws into place under the guise of “protect the children”.
On one hand I don’t think it’s terrible to try to guide kids more. I think parents should be doing more parenting tbh.
On the other I think it runs the risk of preventing kids from accessing information online, finding safe spaces online, and isolating kids more than they already can be. It also limits things like teaching kids about technology and how to use it safely.
Rikj000@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
*France seeks to implement mass surveillance online by requesting age verification, but politicians wrap it in “we do it to protect the children” which is bullshit.
Protect your rights to privacy, stand up against such erosion of your rights.
fluffykittycat@slrpnk.net 2 weeks ago
“Protect children” bills never protect children
vga@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
Banning alcohol and cigarettes from children seems to have worked, if not perfect, rather fine.
prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
Sex offender registry?
sunbeam60@feddit.uk 2 weeks ago
Both could be true at the same time.
I’ve got four kids. I’d love nothing more than ban social media for them until 16. It really is poison for developing minds.
fantasyocean@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
There are these crazy things called “parental controls”. You’ve probably never heard of them, but they’re on nearly every single personal computing device. OR, and hear me out. You could just buy a dumb phone for your kids until they’re sixteen, and if they want to take pictures, buy them an inexpensive digital camera. It would be cheaper overall than buying them an iPhone. But no, that’s probably too difficult for you, so everyone else has to give even more of their personal information if they want to use Facebook Marketplace or whatever.
t3rmit3@beehaw.org 2 weeks ago
You can.
You just don’t want to either a) put in the legwork to do so, or b) be the ‘bad guy’ to your kids for doing it, so instead you just want the government to do it for you.
What’s stopping you from setting up pihole and blocking social media sites at home, or turning on parental controls on their phones and blocking the sites and apps?
Rikj000@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
I agree that big tech’s social media is like digital heroin, not only bad for kids.
But it should be up to the parent to protect their kids, you also don’t let them walk the park alone, why should you let them browse the web un-supervised.
There are parental tools to restrict your child’s internet access, those should be applied by the parent.
Not every citizen should be under surveillance by the government under the rouse that they’ll protect your kids, which they won’t.
The real goal here is to detect people who go against the government and block them. While kids & criminals slip through the cracks by finding sketchy un-surveilled sites and messaging channels.
And if you really think your government gives a damn about your kids safety, then I urge you to look in the epstein ph/f-iles
krooklochurm@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
I don’t give a flying fuck about your kids or your inability to parent your fucking children.
LadyAutumn@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
Why would you not just want social media to be better regulated by the law? You can’t seriously believe that your children are going to have no access to social media, even with an age ban, unless you intend to lock them in a room and home school them till they’re 18.
fluffykittycat@slrpnk.net 2 weeks ago
That’s propaganda
FarceOfWill@infosec.pub 2 weeks ago
Dont worry theyll get plenty of poison after the ban too from roblox chat
Mannimarco@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
Sound like a you problem
Greg@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Governments already have access to your data and can easily link you to your social media accounts
SineSwiper@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
This is a rather defeatist take. It’s also wrong.