Australia's under-16 ban on social media isn't just absurd. It's dangerous in almost every way.

It denies a parental role in child-raising.

It's a gift to the media barons, especially the Murdochs, who control legacy media and will profit hugely.

And it is huge step toward government control of speech of all kinds, because age requirements require age verification.

Age verification blows away all privacy. it amounts to a license to read and speak.

And licenses can be taken away.

@dangillmor depending on how it is implemented.

If this is implemented only to prevent children from using social media, that will create a world similar to the world before social media.

When you and I grew up, we had freedom of speech even though we did not have social media.

@randahl @dangillmor "How it's implemented" is the real problem. On the face of it, it's profoundly flawed, completely unenforceable.

@negative12dollarbill @randahl @dangillmor What I was thinking. How can they possibly enforce that? Kids these days are smart when it comes to technology. They know how to "work around" virtually anything.

@albert65 @randahl @dangillmor
They might simply move to #Mastodon which isn't a company, doesn't have any single domain or IP address, can't be sued, and doesn't have any money even if you did.

The Australian government singled out a few large companies which could be fined headline-friendly sums of money and which, not for nothing, are competitors with the Murdoch empire.

@negative12dollarbill @albert65 @randahl @dangillmor well...it technically IS a company and CAN be sued. The Australian government will probably tell them to implement some sort of age verification and they could fine them if they don't. Mastodon is a registered Gmbh in Germany which are considered legal persons under German, Swiss, and Austrian law.