Comment by bradley13

9 hours ago

It is likely not a coincidence that so many different countries simultaneously started pushing for age verification.

The decline of privacy, the increase in intrusive government surveillance, the increasing restrictions on free speech - this is all part of a very disturbing pattern. Our governments are becoming increasingly authoritarian, and these are the tools they use to keep the populace under control.

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bradley13

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barbazoo  7 hours ago

> It is likely not a coincidence that so many different countries simultaneously started pushing for age verification.

I thought in many places it was related to the upcoming minimum age for social media. To verify age you need an ID. That's how we make it so most kids can't buy cigarettes, alcohol, thc, etc. You could argue social media shouldn't have a minimum age but that'll be the reality it looks like. How do we do that without ID?

  • a456463  6 hours ago

    How about you parent better and prevent your kids by educating them against the dangers of said things?Limit their time online and what they can do? Why should democracy be at stake and people's freedoms, just so you can get away with not parenting.

    • pmontra  6 hours ago

      Yes, in theory that's correct but show me a kid that never did something against the will of their parents. If something is forbidden it's something worth investigating. Furthermore there will always be another kid with a phone to share watching anything online. The traditional solution has been forbidding with punishments when the kids get caught breaking the rules.

    • jatari  6 hours ago

      Ok, so what do you do when your child visits a friends house and they have unrestricted access to the internet?

  • bradley13  7 hours ago

    Sure, "think of the children", that's the classic excuse. Put on your tinfoil hat and ask yourself: why is that suddenly a topic in so many different countries?

    • jatari  6 hours ago

      Because the negative effects of unrestricted internet access on children (and adults) is becoming more evident.

    • butterbomb  7 hours ago

      > Put on your tinfoil hat and ask yourself: why is that suddenly a topic in so many different countries?

      Ooh I know, the elite classes across the globe have been exposed as degenerate pedophile subhumans. Knowing the information would release soon, they began to coordinate this campaign to provide lip service virtue signaling about child predation while also tightening their grip on the underclasses before it gets too heated.

    • jim33442  7 hours ago

      Well "think of the children" was the PR reason for the US clamping down on TikTok, while the lawmakers and lobbyists behind it said pretty openly that it's about silencing criticism of Israel. So I would think it's the same thing in the EU.