Comment by uyzstvqs
9 hours ago
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: The standard should be that devices ask whether the user is a minor during setup, and make that available as an is_minor boolean to all apps and websites. Children's devices are almost always set up by parents, and the setting can be protected by a parental PIN code. This method is effective while being completely private and local.
Though I can't take credit for the idea. It was proposed by the European Democratic Party.[0]
[0] https://democrats.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Protecting-C...
It's only effective if "Children's devices are almost always set up by parents", which is a big assumption. My parents were about as tech savvy as you could reasonably expect but I still got away with buying R-rated video games and such. Kids are persistent and the dangers aren't always obvious.
If kids are being persistent and the parent is indifferent to it, then online age verification won't be effective either. Children will just ask mom and dad to verify their Roblox and Discord accounts.
The question is whether parents should bear this responsibility or the state.