That doesn’t seem to strike me as a particularly practical solution - unless you enforce it by identifying specific platforms (which is dangerous in itself), it also could have significant (and unintended) consequences to other sites (like us!)
We lived without them for many many years up until recently with TikTok and all the other shit.
We don’t need it. So much damage has been done by these platforms.
Internet and mobile phones have changed everything. It’s next to impossible to live without them these days even for simple things like ordering food or paying a fare.
People who want to target someone will just find another way to harass them, via SMS or physically etc.
And of course, we’ve had our own troubles here on MS too sadly.
It won’t work, people can just get around it with a VPN. Besides, most of these platforms are based in the US. So for that to work, laws would had to be passed in the United States Congress about these age restrictions.
They generate to much money now to not have them…
If the Federal Government eventually steps in and makes this a nation thing, they will need to Fix the VPN work around and that can be done.
I don’t think that’s a good enough reason to keep them when they’re responsible for bullying, underage activities, deaths, addiction, body dissatisfaction, depression, isolation and more.
Forget money. Lives matter.
Hense the reason why I made the other comment…
This whole shit with censorship reeks of what the Rudd Government tried to do in 2008 with Internet censorship. Social media can be a useful and valuable tool when used correctly. It should not be up to governments to start mandating what content should be see seen and what not been, not should any ban on social media.
This is where parents have become so lazy in their parenting, they give these kids these expensive phones or purchase them computers to put in their bedrooms (or laptops) and are unaware of the consequences of what stuff they do online. Obviously David makes a great point, that lives do matter, and the bullying and misinformation that is on all social media, is a big problem. Social media giants need to take much of the responsibility of the shit they have put on . (Yes I Am looking at you twitter, sorry I refuse to call it x, it gives me vivid image of something dark and sinister)
I am also starting to think schools are becoming a big problem in using technology, making it ten times easier for students to be on social media on their educated supported on laptops without any lock downs made by the IT department. (But then kids can easily get around it).
Must admit I am so glad that I had no social media when I was at school. I graduated in 2002, and honestly with the situation of the bullying I had to deal with , social media would have made it 100% worse, and I honestly can say I wouldn’t be here if the social media disaster we have now , was there back then.
Not saying that social media is all rose colored glasses, but when you start controlling what everyone should have access too because of a tiny percentage of shitheads do online, you are going down a rabbit hole, even a cat wouldn’t even be able to come out of.
Do this current government even know how to even do that? The Liberal government really fudged the NBN, so I don’t have much hope for a Labor for doing the exact right thing heret hough.
Good point. lol.
How? It’s not as simple as saying accessing a VPN is a prohibited activity and trying some kind of ISP based enforcement raises real concerns around net neutrality.
No one (or group) who is advocating for this has been able to offer any practical and workable solution to enforce it.
Can’t the apps just be deleted from the App Store and google play?
Even with a VPN you can’t download apps onto your device from other country’s as far as I know.
Depends on how you set it up but it does make it more difficult.
You can . I have a US Apple account. Not really hard to get an address with google maps/street view.
finally justification for the letter X!