Submitted 16 hours ago by schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.de to technology@lemmy.zip
https://blog.system76.com/post/system76-on-age-verification
Lovely article. All the context up top perfectly leads to the buried lede at the end:
We are accustomed to adding operating system features to comply with laws. Accessibility features for ADA, and power efficiency settings for Energy Star regulations are two examples. We are a part of this world and we believe in the rule of law. We still hope these laws will be recognized for the folly they are and removed from the books or found unconstitutional.
Just forbid any user from any place that has these laws from using your OS through your ToS but don’t implement a way to check who uses it.
Wow, that’s a refreshing take on this whole stupidity. AI can identify us anyway, leave us alone!
I and many others I know who grew up with unrestricted internet access (before and after the corporatization of the internet) were exposed to terrible shit. Like, I grew up with unusually tech savvy parents who were able to protect me from the worst of it, but even I have been somewhat traumatized by accessing graphic content I shouldn’t have. I personally know people who grew up with worse parents who grew up browsing shock/gore websites and who were repeatedly groomed and abused by pedophiles.
Honestly, I don’t really get the backlash to this legislation, beyond that its prehaps being applied to devices it shouldn’t be. While yes, freedom is important, we’re talking about providing the option to limit access to mature content, not preventing them from downloading python or using the internet. There is a justified reason for wanting this, and this seems like the ideal way to do it.
Its a local, safe option for reducing child access to things they shouldn’t access.
With the proposed measures in place, any app can know exactly which devices children are using, something noone can do now.
When you implement a feature, there’s no way in the world you can guarantee only “good people” can use it, and malicious individuals are way more interested in getting info about children than anyone else.
That doesn’t protect children, it puts them even in more danger than they are now.
I mean, from my understanding, this would be both hyper-illegal and extremely impractical. You’d need to have a large enough site to lure users in, and collect identitying information and republish it, but can’t draw enough attention to become a target for data poisoning (given that this flag is freely set by the user) or for law enforcement. It seems like this would be unlikely enough that the benifit gained from having this flag would far outweigh the risks, esspecially in the modern, hyper-corporate internet.
This won’t fix that.
we’re talking about providing the option to limit access to mature content, not preventing them from downloading python or using the internet.
We’re talking about stopping adults from using a computer without surrendering their privacy. Whatever excuses you make about that, will not last. This is a flying leap down a slippery slope, and it won’t even fucking work.
The California law is a local flag for age range. Its not a law that requires ID, or tracking, or anything else like that. Given that its set by the user optionally, and from my understanding illegal to use for anything but age verification, I don’t understand how this is that negative for privacy or freedom.
even I have been somewhat traumatized by accessing graphic content I shouldn’t have
Why did you access it if it made you feel bad? It is (and has been since I remember) very difficult to accidentally run across anything shocking on the Internet.
No one ever linked you to lemonparty, huh? No escalating chains of “hot singles in your area” ads? No, you know, human tendency to explore and pursue novel experiences?
Because I was a stupid kid and didn’t realize that watching combat footage might be a bad idea. I thought I was just learning about military history. Same way kids don’t realize they’re being groomed or don’t realize that watching graphic horror movies might be a bad idea. Kids are dumb - and to be clear, I know you can’t shield them from everything and parents are still the primary solution. Still, a local flag for age range seems like exactly the sort of tool that would help a parent to moderate access without limitting privacy or freedom.
pinball_wizard@lemmy.zip 3 hours ago
Fuck yeah. I was pirating software before I turned 18, and the world is a better place for it.
(And I contribute to open source now, in the hope that the next generation can learn without needing to resort to piracy.)