The whole thing is wrongheaded in the first place; any child wanting to access adult-only content will use an adult’s account to do so; any adult attempting to access adult-only content is likewise going to use an adult’s account.
So unless they’re tying this to biometrics that are actually secure against an adverserial child, all the system really does is creates a registry of adults. And we already have those.
Experts say law not enough to stop children accessing harmful content online and more ‘convincing strategy is required’ . More than 80% of under-16s in Australia said they were still using social media three months after legislation banning them from it came into force, research shows.
It’s like any controlled substance ban — unless there’s a really invasive crack-down it just shifts the problem to a less safe black market.
Making things easy and safe to access with controls that are adjustable is always more effective than an outright ban that shifts the access fully into unregulated territory.
I think they expect the parent to secure their own account to make sure their child can’t use it. And anyways, it shifts accountability. If the parent lets the child use their account, then the parent takes the blame. If the child gets addicted to social media, that becomes the parent’s fault for giving the child unrestricted access.
The whole thing is wrongheaded in the first place; any child wanting to access adult-only content will use an adult’s account to do so; any adult attempting to access adult-only content is likewise going to use an adult’s account.
So unless they’re tying this to biometrics that are actually secure against an adverserial child, all the system really does is creates a registry of adults. And we already have those.
Wasn’t there something about the effectiveness of the Australian law to restrict minors on social media? Ah…
Four in five under-16s in Australia using social media despite ban, study shows
It’s like any controlled substance ban — unless there’s a really invasive crack-down it just shifts the problem to a less safe black market.
Making things easy and safe to access with controls that are adjustable is always more effective than an outright ban that shifts the access fully into unregulated territory.
I think they expect the parent to secure their own account to make sure their child can’t use it. And anyways, it shifts accountability. If the parent lets the child use their account, then the parent takes the blame. If the child gets addicted to social media, that becomes the parent’s fault for giving the child unrestricted access.