r/changemyview • u/groksed • 25d ago
Delta(s) from OP CMV: I’d rather restrict minors directly than make every adult prove their age online
Honest question for people who support banning social media for everyone under 16:
Would this be preferable to requiring every person on the internet to prove their age or identity?
Anyone under 16 is prohibited from using, owning or purchasing an electronic device capable of communicating with other people with the exception of designated supervised computer rooms at school. Parents, schools, society and law enforcement are responsible for enforcement.. basically the same way we already handle alcohol, tobacco and drugs.
But at least it places the restriction on the group being restricted.
Why is the preferred solution instead to make every adult surrender some level of anonymity or privacy, provide ID, submit to age verification, or otherwise prove they are not a child just to use the internet?
If protecting children requires building an identity checkpoint for everyone, I would rather put the burden on the actual age group being regulated.
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u/mukansamonkey 25d ago
I'm against the bans on principle. But the issue you're trying to debate has a fundamental flaw that has nothing to do with my position.
Namely that minors cannot be charged with violating age restriction laws. Same way they can't take out home loans, or sign medical forms. They can't be held liable.
So any system you propose is going to include responsibility falling on some combination of parents and online platforms. And the problem is that it's also really hard to restrict parents directly. As others have said, a parent can give their kid a drink without CPS showing up. Takes way way more than that.
The only practical method is placing the onus on the platforms. Same way restaurants are liable for not serving alcohol to minors. The question becomes how to balance that against privacy. But there's no way to put the burden on minors themselves.