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Meta Platforms: Lobbying, dark money, and the App Store Accountability Act

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Re: Meta Platforms: Lobbying, dark money, and the App Store Accountability Act

#801

Post by rickydroll »

hedora wrote: post #753
swiftcoder wrote: post #731

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm not sure what's a mess about a driver's license, social security card Neither of those are accepted by various states' voter id laws, nor can you reliably board an airplane with them since RealID. The only foolproof identity card in the US appears to be a passport (which, you know, global federal identity card... exactly what the folks against universal ids dislike)

The federal government is trying to create problems. For instance, a Real ID won't be good enough to vote this fall if SAVE passes: https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2025/apr/18/byron-dona... There are also a bunch of other gotchas: Original birth certificates and all currently-issued military IDs are not acceptable, for instance (even though the bill lists birth certificates and military IDs as acceptable, there…

> The federal government is trying to create problems.

All of the voter ID requirements in the SAVE Act are conservative wet dreams To deny undesirable populations the right to vote. see: https://fairelectionscenter.org/advocacy/save-act-2025/

Wikipedia has a great list of current and past methods of voter suppression. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_suppression_in_the_Unite...

Re: Meta Platforms: Lobbying, dark money, and the App Store Accountability Act

#803

Post by edoloughlin »

bix6 wrote: post #776
cycomanic wrote: post #721

These discussions remind me so much of the US discussions about federal ID documents as verification. There's a vocal portion of people which opposes any solution because "privacy, government overreach, surveillance ...". So instead of a solution like e.g. zero-proof age verification, that tries to minimize intrusions on privacy, the result is the worst of all worlds, maximum surveillance (but I guess it's ok if it i…

This seems like a very easy problem. The government has birth records, passports, ssn, phone records, etc. so they could provide an age bracket to anybody that needs it. But instead a private corporation will get to do this and create an absolute mess à la Palantir.

An absolute mess for you. A tidy profit for them.

Re: Meta Platforms: Lobbying, dark money, and the App Store Accountability Act

#804

Post by mothballed »

hattmall wrote: post #772
hedora wrote: post #753

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The federal government is trying to create problems. For instance, a Real ID won't be good enough to vote this fall if SAVE passes: https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2025/apr/18/byron-dona... There are also a bunch of other gotchas: Original birth certificates and all currently-issued military IDs are not acceptable, for instance (even though the bill lists birth certificates and military IDs as acceptable, there…

To be clear, it's not required to vote. It's required for a new registration to vote. Which is typically done when you get a new ID, which already requires having those documents, more even because you have to show proof of current residence.

In my state you can only get an ID mailed, and it has to be mailed to your primary residence. Except the mail doesn't go to many primary residences. The USPS straight up refuses to mine and gets real nasty if you ask them to, as they ask for made up paperwork requirements (certificate of occupancy) that isn't even issued for some houses in my county (this paper only needed if you want to follow certain increased scrutiny building options and plan on getting a mortgage, in my case there is no legal way for me to get one). Now if you're actually homeless you can use a shelter as a legal residence for your ID, but if you have a real legal residence USPS refuses to then you are shit out of luck.

A couple decades ago they used to print the ID then and there, IDs were far more accessible back then. For some god forsaken reason they stopped that most everywhere.

Re: Meta Platforms: Lobbying, dark money, and the App Store Accountability Act

#805

Post by mullingitover »

bix6 wrote: post #770
swiftcoder wrote: post #731

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm not sure what's a mess about a driver's license, social security card Neither of those are accepted by various states' voter id laws, nor can you reliably board an airplane with them since RealID. The only foolproof identity card in the US appears to be a passport (which, you know, global federal identity card... exactly what the folks against universal ids dislike)

My drivers license is a real id and has been for like 5 years? This is a non issue if you went to the DMV instead of waiting until now.

A Real ID isn’t reliable proof of citizenship.

Re: Meta Platforms: Lobbying, dark money, and the App Store Accountability Act

#806

Post by devmor »

furyofantares wrote: post #781
devmor wrote: post #779

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> at whatever point parents stop monitoring, they would like the kids to not be fully in the deep end Parents want to stop monitoring their kids, but still want their kids' experiences to be catered to their ideals, so the rest of society must now bend towards what you want for your kids specifically? What about parents who want a different set of guardrails for their kids - more limited or less limited than you? Wha…

You assume from my tone I'm in support of it when I literally said I'm not presenting any such argument? I agree with everything you said. I just think "we turned out fine" is always a garbage argument, and worse, fails to understand what drives people to want stuff like this. I think it's better to acknowledge the real issues parents have, and then explain why age verification is an extremely naive solution that won…

Apologies for the misunderstanding, your post read to me like you supported this type of gating, just not age verification in its current state.

I think the solution has to start and end before the internet is even involved in the equation, anything less is harm by shifting the burden.

Re: Meta Platforms: Lobbying, dark money, and the App Store Accountability Act

#807

Post by _heimdall »

bix6 wrote: post #776
cycomanic wrote: post #721

These discussions remind me so much of the US discussions about federal ID documents as verification. There's a vocal portion of people which opposes any solution because "privacy, government overreach, surveillance ...". So instead of a solution like e.g. zero-proof age verification, that tries to minimize intrusions on privacy, the result is the worst of all worlds, maximum surveillance (but I guess it's ok if it i…

This seems like a very easy problem. The government has birth records, passports, ssn, phone records, etc. so they could provide an age bracket to anybody that needs it. But instead a private corporation will get to do this and create an absolute mess à la Palantir.

That requires a high level of trust in your current government and whomever is in charge in the future.

Its worth remembering how the Nazis so efficiently found Jews in the Netherlands. The Dutch government kept meticulous records, including things like your name, address, and religious affiliation. That wasn't a big deal until the Nazis rolled in, throw in some level of Nazi sympathizers in the Dutch government and it wasn't hard for them to track down anyone they wanted to find.

Re: Meta Platforms: Lobbying, dark money, and the App Store Accountability Act

#808

Post by stingraycharles »

WarmWash wrote: post #751
redm wrote: post #654

The question I keep coming back to regarding the recent debate around age verification is "Why now?" I'm 47, and I started using the internet in my early teens through BBS gateways. I've seen every age of the Internet, and there's always been widely available pornographic materials. Why all of a sudden is this a crisis? Perhaps I'm missing something?

I don't think anyone who still holds up "the dangers of porn" can argue with any credibility anymore. We have a population scale study that lasted 30 years, and millennials turned out fine. Same with violent video games and harsh language music. What does seem to definitely be having a severe negative impact though is social media.

I wouldn’t mind having some kind of law that restricts any minor from using social media whatsoever. Because I wish the current generation of children to have a somewhat worry-free childhood like I had.

Re: Meta Platforms: Lobbying, dark money, and the App Store Accountability Act

#809

Post by ChiperSoft »

redm wrote: post #654

The question I keep coming back to regarding the recent debate around age verification is "Why now?" I'm 47, and I started using the internet in my early teens through BBS gateways. I've seen every age of the Internet, and there's always been widely available pornographic materials. Why all of a sudden is this a crisis? Perhaps I'm missing something?

It all makes a lot more sense when you find out they want to declare anything lgbtq related as pornographic.

The right has figured out that they can keep queer kids (especially trans kids) in the closet if they don't let them learn what their "difference" actually is. It's "don't say gay" applied to the internet.

Re: Meta Platforms: Lobbying, dark money, and the App Store Accountability Act

#810

Post by sneak »

cycomanic wrote: post #721

These discussions remind me so much of the US discussions about federal ID documents as verification. There's a vocal portion of people which opposes any solution because "privacy, government overreach, surveillance ...". So instead of a solution like e.g. zero-proof age verification, that tries to minimize intrusions on privacy, the result is the worst of all worlds, maximum surveillance (but I guess it's ok if it i…

Age verification is a non-problem.

These solutions don’t solve anything.

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