[Jean-Papoulos]

> We, collectively, only have ourselves to blame, and now it's too late.

Can't believe I'm reading this. I don't want age verification at all, whether it's self-imposed or not. I should be free to use whatever tools I want however I want.

[charcircuit]

Democracy is not about what you want. If the majority want something you don't, the best you can do is find a compromise. There is no option of doing nothing and keep computers the same as they have been if the majority want change.

[wao0uuno]

But does the majority want that change? If they want it, are they entirely aware of its potential impact on their freedom of speech and access to information? Or were they conditioned to think it's good for them because well funded corporate entities and governments spend money on promoting that image? Democracy does not work when majority is stupid and uneducated because people like that are easily controlled. I wish we were putting as much resources into education as we're putting into cheap entertainment and ads/marketing.

[gzread]

The vast majority wants a parental control setting on the kid's device, and that's what is being imposed in California and Colorado right now.

The vast majority don't want to upload their passports. That's what we should be opposing. Standardized parental controls set by the device owner are a great alternative and not invasive at all.

[Hizonner]

There are parental control settings on most of the devices kids have right now. Most parents don't use them (https://fosi.org/parental-controls-for-online-safety-are-und...) . Where's your vast majority?

By the way, that does not imply that they're "underutilized". That part of the article is pure opinion.

[labcomputer]

Err... "Most" is doing some heavy lifting here. 51% of parents do use parental controls on their kid's tablets, and 47% on smartphones.

And there's no breakdown by age. Kids don't magically become able to handle the uncensored internet the day they turn 18.

Did it ever occur to you that parents who don't use restrictions maybe have kids that are almost 18? Or parents of kids who have shown themselves to be responsible? Or that the parents use other methods to restrict use (like only allowing supervised use with the parent for very young children)?

[gzread]

Do they work universally or are they easy to bypass by finding an app they don't cover?

[mlrtime]

>But does the majority want that change

This really depends on 1) How you frame the problem/solution and 2) what subset of people you ask.

But to answer your question, I could easily see that yes, people want a "change" based on how you frame the problem.

[iamnothere]

Well maybe democracy has had its day then, if that’s where all this leads.

The founders were right to try and enshrine some protections against unrestricted democracy in the Bill of Rights.

[muyuu]

that is why democracy ends at property

[ray_v]

Someone else posted this in the thread, by it pretty much sums it up - Vae victis.

We somehow lost the war of freedom of privacy ... or, maybe the battle still rages