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#71

Off the Record / Re: Australia begins enforcing...

Last post by Valmy - December 10, 2025, 10:59:35 PM

How does it have a high cost and infringe on everyone's freedom?

How is it trivial to circumvent, so teens will use it all the time anyways? Is there an off the shelf VPN solution that allows you to use all you pre existing accounts etc?

There are an infinite number of potential social media options Teens who want to use social media can use. And most of it will barely be recognizable as social media to the Boomers trying to enact this policy. And attempts to enforce it will require tons of virtual ID checks and personal information being stored to monitor who is using what. And all this information will be easily stolen and used by nefarious actors all over the world.

I mean we have a minor porn ban and virtual ID requirement in Texas. All it has done is shut down Pornhub in Texas. But the internet is full of porn of every variety, not just from a few famous websites. My 15 year old son is constantly exposed to thirst traps that I doubt anybody would even consider porn but it is obviously inappropriate content for minors. It is a fools errand. But wow is our personal privacy and data going to suffer tremendously.

#72

Off the Record / Re: What does a TRUMP presiden...

Last post by Valmy - December 10, 2025, 10:54:52 PM

I thought Raz would be happy about dead Venezuelans. First of all, they're brown. Second, Venezuela = Iran = Hezbollah = Hamas.

Every single event in the universe is tied to Jew hatred from leftists.

 

I sympathize to some extent. What he is seeing isn't not there. It is just being blown up to insane paranoid proportions.

The Palestinians have no significant support from anybody. And the overwhelming support they do have is mostly virtue signalling hand wringing. Nothing that will practically help them.

Israel is highly nationalist and like most nationalists they think everybody thinks about them all the time and are out to get them. I used to listen to a lot of Israeli english language stuff back in the 2000s and it was kind of crazy. They were so sure BDS was this big thing that was going to threaten Israel and I couldn't help but laugh at the paranoid delusion. Bros. BDS is/was a joke, it isn't going to do shit.

In the old days when Arab Nationalism was riding high and they had armies willing to fight and support from the Soviets sure. Israel was in real danger. But they managed to win with only a few minor setbacks. And if they were able to win back then they can easily deal with whatever pitiful opposition they have now. Arab nationalism is dead. The neighboring countries are either total basketcases or firmly in control by rich authoritarian states who don't really give a shit about Palestine. But Israelis just cannot see it. They see every lame student demonstration as some kind of dangerous threat to panic about.

It is like Serbians on the old Paradox boards. Everybody is coming for Serbia! Panic!

#73

Off the Record / Re: [Canada] Canadian Politics...

Last post by viper37 - December 10, 2025, 10:43:01 PM

I wonder does the department name make sense in English?

I checked their website, and it's not translated.  They kept the French name.

UPAC doesn't mean anything in English for sure.

The FBI had a Public Corruption bureau.  Not sure about the RCMP or the UK police corps, if they have distinct units for that.

#74

Off the Record / Re: Facebook Follies of Friend...

Last post by viper37 - December 10, 2025, 10:38:43 PM

#75

Off the Record / Re: Australia begins enforcing...

Last post by Jacob - December 10, 2025, 10:35:22 PM

I'm not particularly up on the particulars of Australia's social media ban, so...

How does it have a high cost and infringe on everyone's freedom?

How is it trivial to circumvent, so teens will use it all the time anyways? Is there an off the shelf VPN solution that allows you to use all you pre existing accounts etc?

#76

Off the Record / Re: Australia begins enforcing...

Last post by Sheilbh - December 10, 2025, 10:33:57 PM

Yeah I agree. It's where I think the content approach in the UK is so problematic - especially stuff like content that is lawful but harmful. I get the motivation and very often it was well-intentioned and from a family who had suffered an awful event and campaigning to prevent it from ever happening again. For example stuff around eating disorder content or self-harm content - I get thatit's politically difficult to say no. But that is also the job of elected politicians because laws aren't powered by good intentions.

Although on the definition point I think that sort of problem doesn't worry me so much. To an extent that's exactly what courts are for - working out what a statute means and we've a very long body of judgements from courts working out what is and isn't obscene for examle.

#77

Off the Record / Re: Australia begins enforcing...

Last post by Valmy - December 10, 2025, 10:24:49 PM

It is possible to age gate certain websites Pornhub or whatever. But you cannot age gate certain types of content. It's impossible and the attempt to do so will have very bad consequences.

Sure I have no problem with kids not getting porn or not getting social media accounts. But even defining porn or social media is a little tricky.

#78

Off the Record / Re: Australia begins enforcing...

Last post by Sheilbh - December 10, 2025, 10:14:21 PM

I think it is a bad idea for kids to have social media accounts and be on social media.

However...this is unenforceable and to the extent it is enforceable it will have disastrous consequences. We are seeing something similar with the State of Texas' war on internet porn. They are implementing a bunch of catastrophically bad and privacy destroying measures and have yet to actually keep anybody from internet porn.

Yeah as I said when we were talking about the Online Safety Act and porn I do think this is coming more broadly in the world and larger and larger parts of the internet will be age-gated. In principle I don't have an issue with that. 15 year olds are not allowed to go into a sex shop and buy a porn DVD (if either of those things still exist) - I'm not totally clear why the internet should be different.

I prefer the Aussie approach which is cleaner and about services. While in the UK (and in parts of European law through the DSA/DMA) it's more about age-gating content. I think that puts power back in the hands of the platforms to make judgement calls of what is or isn't safe, who should or shouldn't see it. I think it raises genuine issues of free speech.

Having said that I take yours and DG's point. The age verification companies are a mixed bag and on the day the Online Safety Act went online there was an ID verification company in the US who announced they'd suffered a masive hack. I think those two are going to interact in quite difficult ways and I'm not fully sure I have an answer. I would say ID verification is an area where there are good private companies who have built good tools but there's a lot who seem shady as shit.

[you'll have to seriously intrude upon the privacy of adults]

#79

Off the Record / Re: Australia begins enforcing...

Last post by mongers - December 10, 2025, 10:07:46 PM

Yeah, my concern was that in order to enforce the ban against teens, you'll have to seriously intrude upon the privacy of adults (if nothing else so that they can prove that they're not teens).  That said, I do hope that it will be a success, because I think social media is a poison.

Google have been raping your privacy for decades now.

#80

Off the Record / Re: Australia begins enforcing...

Last post by Sheilbh - December 10, 2025, 10:02:49 PM

I'm very strongly supportive - and I'd go further and ban smartphones for under 16s.

I think Australia's really leading the way on tech stuff (see also the news bargaining code). The big tech companies have thrown tantrums - I think Facebook temporarily shut down in Australia - but have ultimately all had to go along with it. I think Australian politician seem admirably free of the learned helplessness we see elsewhere.

I would add that one aspect that is helpful is Murdoch. Obviously in no way have you got to hand it to Rupert Murdoch, but he's not a tech tycoon. He doesn't own a social media platform. His business is making content of various times. Australia has one of the most cosolidated news media landscapes in the world (basically Murdoch plus other media moguls and the odd mining billionaire) - but they all probably have an interest in making the American social media companies' pips squeak