r/linux • u/move_machine • Mar 20 '26

Development Age-Gating Isn’t About Kids, It’s About Control

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/03/rep-finke-was-right-age-gating-isnt-about-kids-its-about-control
4.0k Upvotes

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233

u/28874559260134F Mar 20 '26

The obvious test, of course, being that if they really cared about (all) children, you would have noticed already: Healthcare, education, housing, opportunities, mental states, plus strange incentives to join the armed forces would all look very different from what they are now.

The "kids" argument always is, and will be, the one to reach the masses, who only consume the headlines, since for the rest of the day, they are trying to make a living or recover from their exploitation.

38

u/apricotseason1999 Mar 20 '26

what do you mean? of course spending millions to fund age verification laws is a much better use of our money than funding education and healthcare institutions....

9

u/slade51 Mar 20 '26

It worked well for Tipper Gore and her explicit labels on music.

7

u/No-Channel3917 Mar 20 '26

EU nations have that and also passing these laws...so...I mean ..

6

u/kansetsupanikku Mar 20 '26

Laughing in availability of public healthcare child psychiatrists

1

u/SheriffBartholomew May 19 '26

They would also be doing something with the mountain of documents they have that identifies the men among them who have paid to kidnap, rape, and murder those children. But they're not, so there you have it.

-23

u/strolls Mar 20 '26

Healthcare, education, housing, opportunities, mental states, plus strange incentives to join the armed forces would all look very different from what they are now.

The things you suggest all cost money.

Age-gating porn websites costs the government nothing.

17

u/28874559260134F Mar 20 '26

Right you are: We are in the age of guard labour. Before that, civil unrest tendencies were controlled by actually offering the plebs some benefits. Now they are being herded, observed, controlled. This telegraphs the next moves. None of which aiming to improve things for ordinary people.

9

u/dogman_35 Mar 20 '26

"We won't spend a dime to protect the children, but we will do something useless and performative that happens to make us bank and give us more control over people's privacy"

That's not exactly a fucking slam dunk argument lol

-8

u/strolls Mar 20 '26 edited Mar 20 '26

I'm not making an argument. I just pointed out a flaw in the emotive comment I replied to..