Live data from Hacker News

Minnesota Wants to Ban Under-18s from User-Generated Content Services

blog.ericgoldman.org

61–70 of 180 posts

Re: Minnesota Wants to Ban Under-18s from User-Generated Content Services

#61
post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Purely chronological feed? No "suggested" content? Sign me up! Can we mandate this for all ages?

Why would you want this exactly? Fixing the problems with social media so it becomes more appealing to use… so that you end up using it more? Why not just go outside?

Fixing the problem would just be removing the RT / Share button. That’s it. Then we would all use it less because it wouldn’t be that interesting at all.

Re: Minnesota Wants to Ban Under-18s from User-Generated Content Services

#62
post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Purely chronological feed? No "suggested" content? Sign me up! Can we mandate this for all ages?

Why would you want this exactly? Fixing the problems with social media so it becomes more appealing to use… so that you end up using it more? Why not just go outside?

Quite the opposite actually -- the goal is to make it less appealing. Social media is designed to be addictive and prey on base psychological impulses.

Re: Minnesota Wants to Ban Under-18s from User-Generated Content Services

#63

Anyone voting for this is clearly not fit to hold their position. Aside from the stupidity of thinking this is enforceable, it's hamfisted and misguided. When they propose such open-ended legislation there should be an ability for an outside party to make every single one of them fill out a survey of "Would this be allowed/disallowed under the new law?" with a bunch of examples. If the people who voted for it don't h…

This is true of basically all laws. You just noticed in this case because it's an area where you're familiar.

Re: Minnesota Wants to Ban Under-18s from User-Generated Content Services

#64
post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Purely chronological feed? No "suggested" content? Sign me up! Can we mandate this for all ages?

Why would you want this exactly? Fixing the problems with social media so it becomes more appealing to use… so that you end up using it more? Why not just go outside?

[deleted]

Re: Minnesota Wants to Ban Under-18s from User-Generated Content Services

#65

Have they already tried to ban phones in schools?

> Have they already tried to ban phones in schools?

My eldest is 12 and in his school they are not allowed to use their phones during school time, and I fully support this.

Due to some genius government policy here involving "digital classrooms", every child in his year has been handed an iPad to use during lessons. Guess what? Kids end up watching junk on YouTube during lessons, then get their devices confiscated.

I wonder if the policy wonks in government have met (m)any 12 year olds...

Re: Minnesota Wants to Ban Under-18s from User-Generated Content Services

#66
post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would you want this exactly? Fixing the problems with social media so it becomes more appealing to use… so that you end up using it more? Why not just go outside?

Quite the opposite actually -- the goal is to make it less appealing. Social media is designed to be addictive and prey on base psychological impulses.

So people find non-chronological feeds and suggested content appealing?

I thought people were always saying they hated these features.

Re: Minnesota Wants to Ban Under-18s from User-Generated Content Services

#68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why isn't it enforceable? State attorney general notices his kid's social media app is giving algorithmic instead of chronological results, subpoenas social networks for number of under-18s in Minnesota, files charges, court sets up enormous fine. Which part of this process is impossible?

Kids will lie about their age. They already do. You aren't supposed to sign up until you are 13. There are lots of pre-teens on Social Media. Stopping that would mean a KYC process for every social media signup. I don't think that works either.

I certainly lied about my age to get my Hotmail account (which dates me fairly well).

I'm sure there are plenty enough kids who accurately represented their age between 13-18 to make this quite enforceable. I probably said I was 13 when I was 12, or something close enough.

Do a PSA campaign telling parents to make sure their kids' social media apps correctly represent their age to keep them safe. Would work well enough.

Re: Minnesota Wants to Ban Under-18s from User-Generated Content Services

#69
post #13

>The bill would eliminate minors’ access to any algorithmically generated navigation aids, such as “top content” and “hot items” lists. It would also eliminate home pages that are algorithmically organized, whether personalized to individual users or not, which would be replaced by a list of items presented chronologically (presumably in reverse chronological order if allowed because chronological order prioritizes t…

Before they lock in the language, could we talk them into mandating static HTML... pretty please? :-)

I... would be OK with just plain text.

Re: Minnesota Wants to Ban Under-18s from User-Generated Content Services

#70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Before they lock in the language, could we talk them into mandating static HTML... pretty please? :-)

I... would be OK with just plain text.

Best I can do is a weekly email digest.
Post reply on HN