The KIDS Act would require age checks to get online • Hacker News Board

Re: The KIDS Act would require age checks to get online

#511

Post by trashb » Mon, Jun 29, 2026, 3:27 PM UTC

michaelt wrote: post #197

jschveibinz wrote: post #182

I just listened to a radio program on my local NPR station about the topic of kids and social media. From what was presented, the research shows (longitudinal study) that there is very little evidence of social media impacting mental health--which is shocking because a majority of adults think there is a connection and the politicians are pushing that narrative. I have not personally vetted the research. Has anyone e…

There's quite a lot of statistics saying currently teens struggle with mental health even more than is historically normal for teenagers. [1, 2] Young people are also spending less time with friends, drinking less, and having less sex than ever before. Obviously it's difficult to pin a 20-year trend on a single cause. But most parents have the sense their teens spend too much time on their phones; and with social med…

Instead of social media we should focus on other things that happened in that same 20-year period, which probably have a bigger effect on mental health.

For example in the country I live in psychiatric help has been systematically de-funded during that period as well as support for sports, education and more.

Re: The KIDS Act would require age checks to get online

#512

Post by trashb » Mon, Jun 29, 2026, 3:33 PM UTC

fock wrote: post #422

jschveibinz wrote: post #182

I just listened to a radio program on my local NPR station about the topic of kids and social media. From what was presented, the research shows (longitudinal study) that there is very little evidence of social media impacting mental health--which is shocking because a majority of adults think there is a connection and the politicians are pushing that narrative. I have not personally vetted the research. Has anyone e…

I have not researched this, but I see some 4 to 10 year olds in the family being on the phone every time I see them. Usually they stream "brainrot" on youtube on the tablet while they play roblox on the phone. From time to time there are ads. In school they still perform ok for what is required there today, but from what happens when you say "oh, wifi doesn't work today in our place" I would argue they behave like ad…

there is a reason the gambling regulations are being eased up on and polymarket is so popular. Gambling addiction is notably harder to get rid of the earlier you acquire it.

Re: The KIDS Act would require age checks to get online

#513

Post by OkayPhysicist » Mon, Jun 29, 2026, 3:41 PM UTC

_AzMoo wrote: post #464

drob518 wrote: post #436

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s not for the kids. That’s just the excuse. In order to validate kids, they really need to identify everyone. That’s the real play.

In Australia, the government has certified OAuth2 Identity Providers which act as a broker between social media sites and a provider that can verify your age, such as a bank. This allows age to be verified by a provider, with the social media provider having no access to your identity. If the social media companies chose to support this, they would be complying with the legislation. It's not the government forcing yo…

This gives the identity brokers full insight into what sites you are visiting. Worse yet, it consolidates the information in one, easily leaned-on place: If I provide an ID to 3 non-Australian companies, sure, those companies know who I am, but the government or other companies would need to extract that information from each one. With an OAuth scheme, all that information is in one convenient place for the surveillance freaks.

Re: The KIDS Act would require age checks to get online

#514

Post by insane_dreamer » Mon, Jun 29, 2026, 3:45 PM UTC

jschveibinz wrote: post #182

I just listened to a radio program on my local NPR station about the topic of kids and social media. From what was presented, the research shows (longitudinal study) that there is very little evidence of social media impacting mental health--which is shocking because a majority of adults think there is a connection and the politicians are pushing that narrative. I have not personally vetted the research. Has anyone e…

I haven't vetted the research, but have heard plenty of personal accounts from people I know, and I see it in my own kids -- wrestling with social media addiction is a real thing. We have parental controls on but it's a source of contention.

But social media is already non-anonymous (twitter used to be anonymous but those days are long gone) so I don't have any problems with age checks there -- that's very different than requiring age verification to access the internet or the WWW generally.

Re: The KIDS Act would require age checks to get online

#515

Post by insane_dreamer » Mon, Jun 29, 2026, 3:46 PM UTC

jolmg wrote: post #259

zmgsabst wrote: post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your bank almost certainly uses your personal information to advertise or market to you — and so seems like it would be covered by that definition.

Wouldn't imply their needing any more information than they'd already have.

they have your SSN with that they can get the rest

Re: The KIDS Act would require age checks to get online

#516

Post by gib444 » Mon, Jun 29, 2026, 4:00 PM UTC

broost3r wrote: post #473

gib444 wrote: post #382

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Screen Time let's you turn off notifications. I have all notifications on my phone off, except for phone calls

yeah of course, it's all or nothing though. i have a 14 year old who is supposedly in a "no phones allowed" school, but they're on them all the time anyway (this is a separate issue) being able to setup a schedule with only approved apps being able to deliver pushes during a particular time period would be great

which ones do u want to keep

Re: The KIDS Act would require age checks to get online

#517

Post by OkayPhysicist » Mon, Jun 29, 2026, 4:01 PM UTC

BeetleB wrote: post #506

GeekyBear wrote: post #279

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can control which apps children can install, how much time they are allowed to use those apps a day, decide if they have access to the web, which web sites they can visit, and decide who they are allowed to communicate with. What features are missing that makes everyone giving up their privacy a better option?

I have an Android. I want to let my kid use the phone, but without a separate account. I basically want to say "Enable Kid Mode", and I specify what apps he sees. To get out of Kid mode I need a PIN. This is basic level protection. How do I do this?

The separate account is, in fact, the way to do exactly this. Settings->System->Multiple Users->Add User. Follow the on screen prompts to set it up the second user with Parental Controls. Selecting which user to access the phone as is available on the lock screen.

Re: The KIDS Act would require age checks to get online

#518

Post by trashb » Mon, Jun 29, 2026, 4:11 PM UTC

PinkSheep wrote: post #51

btw, what have schools done in the past 2 decades to educate children about content consumption?

De-fund education and encouraged so called "laptop classes", also mandated online classes in the covid-period.

btw, what have governments done in the past 2 decades to improve children's mental health?

Re: The KIDS Act would require age checks to get online

#519

Post by BeetleB » Mon, Jun 29, 2026, 4:12 PM UTC

OkayPhysicist wrote: post #517

BeetleB wrote: post #506

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have an Android. I want to let my kid use the phone, but without a separate account. I basically want to say "Enable Kid Mode", and I specify what apps he sees. To get out of Kid mode I need a PIN. This is basic level protection. How do I do this?

The separate account is, in fact, the way to do exactly this. Settings->System->Multiple Users->Add User. Follow the on screen prompts to set it up the second user with Parental Controls. Selecting which user to access the phone as is available on the lock screen.

Thanks - will try it.

Re: The KIDS Act would require age checks to get online

#520

Post by rolandog » Mon, Jun 29, 2026, 4:13 PM UTC

OkayPhysicist wrote: post #513

_AzMoo wrote: post #464

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Australia, the government has certified OAuth2 Identity Providers which act as a broker between social media sites and a provider that can verify your age, such as a bank. This allows age to be verified by a provider, with the social media provider having no access to your identity. If the social media companies chose to support this, they would be complying with the legislation. It's not the government forcing yo…

This gives the identity brokers full insight into what sites you are visiting. Worse yet, it consolidates the information in one, easily leaned-on place: If I provide an ID to 3 non-Australian companies, sure, those companies know who I am, but the government or other companies would need to extract that information from each one. With an OAuth scheme, all that information is in one convenient place for the surveilla…

It should be written into law that they (the intermediary identity brokers) cannot sell or share any information with data brokers. They should be an independent organization funded by the government, but without its funding tied to yearly renewals (otherwise they would need to curry favor on a yearly manner to whomever is in power).