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Google will expand age checks on Android worldwide till the end of the year

android-developers.googleblog.com

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Re: Google will expand age checks on Android worldwide till the end of the year

#161

Post by Okawari »

iamflimflam1 wrote: post #16

I find myself stuck on the fence with age checks. Companies have show that they are incapable or unwilling to address the problems they cause. And market forces are not working to correct things. It’s also pretty obvious that saying “parent should take responsibility” is also not working. Just observe the world around you to know it’s a non starter. This is where regulation is supposed to come in. At the same time, c…

We have cars, and kids are not allowed to drive them. Yet we do not have mechanisms in place to ensure kids aren't driving cars because the responsibility falls on the parents, and it works. By and large, parents understand the threats and navigate this requirement perfectly fine; outliers are few enough that we can deal with them on an individual basis.

The reason the current system doesn't work when it comes to unfettered internet access is either that parents by and large don't actually agree with the threat assessment of said internet access for kids, or they ignore it because the consequences of doing so are disproportionately small. Personally, my vote is that they just don't think it's that big of a problem.

To me, the ideal solution would be more granular and better parental control configurations, especially on the web. Pair that with preconfigured devices that have "unremovable" parental controls, branded as "kids/youth phones." If parents care about this, they'll buy those phones for their kids and the problem is solved. If they don't, then this isn't something parents want, and we shouldn't really pursue it further.

Re: Google will expand age checks on Android worldwide till the end of the year

#163

Post by account42 »

inigyou wrote: post #92
danparsonson wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because raising children is unequivocally the parents' responsibility. It's, like, their main job.

But we don't put barbed wire on random sidewalks and then blame parents if a kid walks over it and gets hurt. There is the attractive nuisance doctrine, among other things.

We don't leave the barbed wire on the side walk but require everyone that wants to walk on it to age verify first either. And the attractive nuisance doctrine some states have is absolutely bonkers.

Re: Google will expand age checks on Android worldwide till the end of the year

#164

Post by [deleted] »

RandomGerm4n wrote: post #154

I'm fundamentally opposed to age verification because it usually leads to mandatory account creation no matter how privacy friendly the age verification process itself may be. It's already extremely annoying that, for example, on YouTube, you can no longer watch many videos without an account. Furthermore, the whole thing also reinforces monopolies. Once you've verified your age on one platform, the barrier to switch…

[deleted]

Re: Google will expand age checks on Android worldwide till the end of the year

#165

Post by cowboylowrez »

inigyou wrote: post #116
owbt wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who? The lawmakers? I believe banning children up to a certain age from having Internet-enabled mobile devices is a good starting point, and both child protection services and law enforcement services should fully cooperate with parents in enforcing that ban. If you see a kid smoking a cigarette or taking drugs, you know parents have failed somewhere along the road and it would be preferable if the government could s…

This is a reasonable perspective, but don't you think the internet has the potential to do good as well as evil? I remember seeing some interactive lever applet as a kid where you could move the fulcrum. (Slightly) educational stuff. Shouldn't that be allowed?

There are any number of alternatives, I favor a walled off whitelisted subset of the internet that requires age verification and then we can let kids on that and otherwise ban them from the general internet and also ban internet enabled devices in general. However, this costs and undoubtably wouldn't be perfect as there are people out there who want to chat up your kids, look at how much work a roblox style site needs to do against internet users who probably shouldn't be chatting up kids.

For those precocious kids who parents decide should be the exception because they are "good with computers" well I'm thinking some sort of waiver would be required that held the parents responsible then maybe let the kid hack on the internet but this is an unpopular view, the unpopular part being the "parents being responsible for their kids" bit.

But in general I think its a tough time to be legislating this stuff because "reasonable perspectives" are not what we are voting into office right now lol

Re: Google will expand age checks on Android worldwide till the end of the year

#166

Post by ranger_danger »

owbt wrote: post #60
inigyou wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What should they do about it?

Who? The lawmakers? I believe banning children up to a certain age from having Internet-enabled mobile devices is a good starting point, and both child protection services and law enforcement services should fully cooperate with parents in enforcing that ban. If you see a kid smoking a cigarette or taking drugs, you know parents have failed somewhere along the road and it would be preferable if the government could s…

In many schools in the US now, kids are issued mandatory iPads from age 5 and are required to use them to complete school assignments.

Re: Google will expand age checks on Android worldwide till the end of the year

#167

Post by krapp »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #145
danparsonson wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because raising children is unequivocally the parents' responsibility. It's, like, their main job.

Viewing the continuance of our race as only the responsibility of parents is pathological. Moreover, children are all of our [mid-term] futures too. If education fails, there are no doctors for anyone not ultra-wealthy. You have to look from the other direction too - children have natural rights and deserve to be extending dignity as humans too.

>Viewing the continuance of our race as only the responsibility of parents is pathological.

That seems to be a uniquely American pathology.

Everywhere where else in the world, and in non-white American subcultures, the community taking a hand in raising children is expected. But many Americans seem to consider it socialist and an attack on Christian values.

See Hillary Clinton getting mocked for saying "it takes a village"[0] or BLM being accused of wanting to "destroy the nuclear family" by encouraging community based parenting[1].

[0]https://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/news/9608/27/hillary.sp...

[1]https://medium.com/@emailnatesmith/the-blm-statement-on-fami...

Re: Google will expand age checks on Android worldwide till the end of the year

#168

Post by account42 »

amazingamazing wrote: post #113
neuroticnews25 wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you don't even try to use simple available measures to prevent your own child from vaping then it's unfair to say you have zero tolerance for children vaping.

Strange comment, plenty of parents try and fail to stop their kids to do certain things.

Then maybe we need to teach parenting in schools instead of trying to outsource it to the government.

Re: Google will expand age checks on Android worldwide till the end of the year

#170

Post by account42 »

RandomGerm4n wrote: post #154

I'm fundamentally opposed to age verification because it usually leads to mandatory account creation no matter how privacy friendly the age verification process itself may be. It's already extremely annoying that, for example, on YouTube, you can no longer watch many videos without an account. Furthermore, the whole thing also reinforces monopolies. Once you've verified your age on one platform, the barrier to switch…

And instead of an age you could even make the indication about what is potentially objectionable so that parents can choose when to allow their kids to see what - and adults can also choose to avoid certain things.
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