Young people should be able to access information, speak to each other and to the world, play games, and express themselves online without the government making decisions about what speech is permissible. But in one of the latest misguided attempts to protect children online, internet users of all...
Do you honestly believe that imposing actual age verification checks instead of just asking how old you are won’t reduce at least some children from accessing porn? Of course some can get around it but not all kids are gonna do that.
Just a strict reduction in the number of kids looking at porn is an extremely bad metric. Just one child out if the several million or so in the U.K. would technically be a reduction. And the kids going around it is precisely why this sort of regulation doesn’t work.
You have to ask what your goal is. Do you actually just want a strict reduction in the number of kids looking at pornography as if all pornography is created equal. Kids will just go to less moderated sites which will contain higher rates of child pornography, other rape depictions, etc.
These laws are generally supported by two types of people: ones who know how it will be abused to stifle free speech (see: ID required to see protestors arrested by police) and dinosaurs that think the internet works identically to the video rental store.
Edit: I think the reason your comment was downvoted was because of the first sentence. It doesn’t protect children. Not even the most ideal “just gives up immediately after the popup” child.
It doesn’t matter. All I’m saying is that is some cases it is restricting kids from porn who may have accessed it otherwise. Doesn’t have to take away from your opposition to the laws. Just means that you can’t live in black and white.
They’ll trade around magazines, go buy hentai from a shop that doesn’t care, or one of the ones with access will print and distribute it. My area had questionable internet circa 2014 and all of what I listed we did, I was the one directing the others to the shop with hentai.
Also who gives a damned if kids have porn, if they’re old enough to find it then the solution is to teach them responsibility. Better than pretending sex doesn’t exist and getting a bunch of pregnant teens because they’re instincts are still functional.
Who cares that kids have porn is a wild opinion
Like if they hit puberty their gonna find something, kinda irrelevant if you try to stop them since it’s a losing battle. Better to teach them how to not be a complete gremlin than to waste everyone’s time being an ineffective pissant. Especially when it’s these “think of the children” types who frankly speaking need to rendered paraplegic with a ratchet vice, if you can’t control your kids that’s a you problem. General with vices it’s better to teach than to control prohibition of vices doesn’t work.
Also when I say kids I’m assuming they already have one foot in puberty and will find or at least something suggestive. I jacked off to WW2 pinups in a history book about bombers when I was 9 puberty hit me at 8, I know at least one of my friend jacked it to an anatomy book because boobs. Frankly speaking I see this pointless puritan crusade as little more than delusional.