Like enforcing mandatory bicycle helmets in Australia, this law is either massively misguided or serves another purpose. While politicians are often stupid, they can’t think we’re that stupid?
If you don’t want your kids accessing certain websites then the onus is on parents to control access. I do. If you want to do this structurally do it with ISPs and mobile carriers with router and SIM level filtering.
Put age limits on the ability to buy a device, SIM or internet package like we do for so many other things. It would be trivial to restrict access (and just as easy for smart kids to bypass as the current system).
Don’t use an iPad to babysit your child. Let them discover technology in an environment you’re confident and comfortable with. But it’s your job as a parent.
Or is all this really just about more mass surveillance under the guise of protecting the children?
Dude, what? You’re upset about mandatory helmet laws?
What next? Are you going to complain about seatbelts?
Being a libertarian is one thing, but acting like there is no good justification from those whom you oppose, is just… dishonest.
Bike helmet laws enjoy very widespread support nationwide and nobody is under any illusion as to their posed vs actual societal benefit. You’ve made up some boogeyman.
King County (where Seattle is located) repealed its mandatory helmet law in 2022, not because anybody has changed their mind about bike helmets being a good idea, but because the law primarily served as a discretionary-enforcement tool for harassment of homeless people and racial minorities. The law had no measurable impact on helmet-wearing rates or rates of brain injury, because people who can afford helmets generally choose to wear them. The city of Tacoma had repealed its mandatory helmet law two years prior, for similar reasons.
Homeless people don't buy many things. If they have something, it's probably one of the few things they owned and were able to keep when they became homeless.
I’m not a libertarian. I’m not opposed to helmets and I and my family wear helmets while cycling. I fully support vaccines.
Mandatory helmet laws have the consequence of reducing the amount of people cycling. There’s no justification for them when compared to international practices.
Many of those who support mandatory helmet laws do not understand what the purpose of a helmet is and that it will not protect you from a collision with a vehicle.
On the contrary I fully support vaccines and I wear a helmet while cycling. The mandatory helmet law in Australia backfired pretty badly by reducing the numbers of people cycling. Those who promise mandatory laws for bicycle helmets tend to be anti-cycling and also tend to support notions that cyclists pay “road tax”.
Seen that you take a dig at anti-vaxxers... To be fair there's also a high correlation between the pro-vaxxers and those who believed the virus couldn't have possibly escaped from a lab.
Which was the official tune of the media, all synched, hammered for years. Now that tune has changed but that's another story.
As a non-Australian, I came here and even opened the article (only to see "error: Please allow ads on our site") out of curiosity how the teenagers bypass the age check. No details!
The standard answers* are using a (free, exploitative) VPN or tricking image-based age verification. You know, rocket surgery according to Australian politicians.
* Source: am Australian and annoyed enough to follow reporting and discussions.
The fine - 99 million Australian dollars (€63mn) - should be directed toward parents. Repeat after me: if we want parental behavior to change, then we have to change the incentives.
Like enforcing mandatory bicycle helmets in Australia, this law is either massively misguided or serves another purpose. While politicians are often stupid, they can’t think we’re that stupid?
If you don’t want your kids accessing certain websites then the onus is on parents to control access. I do. If you want to do this structurally do it with ISPs and mobile carriers with router and SIM level filtering.
Put age limits on the ability to buy a device, SIM or internet package like we do for so many other things. It would be trivial to restrict access (and just as easy for smart kids to bypass as the current system).
Don’t use an iPad to babysit your child. Let them discover technology in an environment you’re confident and comfortable with. But it’s your job as a parent.
Or is all this really just about more mass surveillance under the guise of protecting the children?
Dude, what? You’re upset about mandatory helmet laws? What next? Are you going to complain about seatbelts?
Being a libertarian is one thing, but acting like there is no good justification from those whom you oppose, is just… dishonest.
Bike helmet laws enjoy very widespread support nationwide and nobody is under any illusion as to their posed vs actual societal benefit. You’ve made up some boogeyman.
King County (where Seattle is located) repealed its mandatory helmet law in 2022, not because anybody has changed their mind about bike helmets being a good idea, but because the law primarily served as a discretionary-enforcement tool for harassment of homeless people and racial minorities. The law had no measurable impact on helmet-wearing rates or rates of brain injury, because people who can afford helmets generally choose to wear them. The city of Tacoma had repealed its mandatory helmet law two years prior, for similar reasons.
> because people who can afford helmets generally choose to wear
A helmet is much cheaper than the bicycle is it not? If you can afford the bike you can probably get the helmet.
Homeless people don't buy many things. If they have something, it's probably one of the few things they owned and were able to keep when they became homeless.
The costs are additive, unless you think there are people buying the helmet without a bike.
I’m not a libertarian. I’m not opposed to helmets and I and my family wear helmets while cycling. I fully support vaccines.
Mandatory helmet laws have the consequence of reducing the amount of people cycling. There’s no justification for them when compared to international practices.
Many of those who support mandatory helmet laws do not understand what the purpose of a helmet is and that it will not protect you from a collision with a vehicle.
I suspect there is a high correlation between those who oppose mandatory bike helmet laws and antivaxxers.
On the contrary I fully support vaccines and I wear a helmet while cycling. The mandatory helmet law in Australia backfired pretty badly by reducing the numbers of people cycling. Those who promise mandatory laws for bicycle helmets tend to be anti-cycling and also tend to support notions that cyclists pay “road tax”.
The entire countries of the Netherlands, Denmark and China, to name a few, disprove your thesis.
Seen that you take a dig at anti-vaxxers... To be fair there's also a high correlation between the pro-vaxxers and those who believed the virus couldn't have possibly escaped from a lab.
Which was the official tune of the media, all synched, hammered for years. Now that tune has changed but that's another story.
How?
As a non-Australian, I came here and even opened the article (only to see "error: Please allow ads on our site") out of curiosity how the teenagers bypass the age check. No details!
How do they bypass it?
The standard answers* are using a (free, exploitative) VPN or tricking image-based age verification. You know, rocket surgery according to Australian politicians.
* Source: am Australian and annoyed enough to follow reporting and discussions.
Considering elementary school kids have no trouble bypassing school firewalls, I’d be genuinely disappointed if teens couldn’t do better…
The fine - 99 million Australian dollars (€63mn) - should be directed toward parents. Repeat after me: if we want parental behavior to change, then we have to change the incentives.