this might be the end

[xrossmediabar]

australia under 16 ban

im not 16

ive changed my google accounts to 16 and have a vpn but if this is the end goodbay

[lakes]

you will be missed xross
but if it helps, the "state id" age verification is easy to fool
i've heard of people fooling it with pictures of bobbleheads & spongebob screencaps
plus i doubt the state id laws are gonna affect the indie web. since they're mostly forcing social media and app stores to comply with the laws

[coolepicname]

I think if yourusing a vpn you shopuld be fine
but the government defenatly shouldnt be taking care of minors thats the parents job,,,,,

[solinus]

As far as I know (as lakes said), if you use forums and don't use social media much, you should be OK. If you have close friends on social media such as Discord DMs, have them join a different, non-restricted platform such as IRC or Signal. Use https://xcancel.com/ if you want to keep up with Twitter accounts. If you have Youtube playlists you wish to keep, look into ways to export them into some sort of downloadable list. That's all the advice I have

[xrossmediabar]

you will be missed xross
but if it helps, the "state id" age verification is easy to fool
i've heard of people fooling it with pictures of bobbleheads & spongebob screencaps
plus i doubt the state id laws are gonna affect the indie web. since they're mostly forcing social media and app stores to comply with the laws

you're right but i just wanted to post this just in case
also 'spongebob screencaps' LOL

[xrossmediabar]

I think if yourusing a vpn you shopuld be fine
but the government defenatly shouldnt be taking care of minors thats the parents job,,,,,

bro thats what im saying why does the entire country have to suffer because of one kids bad parenting

[xrossmediabar]

As far as I know (as lakes said), if you use forums and don't use social media much, you should be OK. If you have close friends on social media such as Discord DMs, have them join a different, non-restricted platform such as IRC or Signal. Use https://xcancel.com/ if you want to keep up with Twitter accounts. If you have Youtube playlists you wish to keep, look into ways to export them into some sort of downloadable list. That's all the advice I have

my watch later's got like 600 videos agh. all my friends use whatsapp so that should be good.
the only 'media' i use is youtube and ive uploaded since '21.. so if my account gets banned i will be furious

[lakes]

As far as I know (as lakes said), if you use forums and don't use social media much, you should be OK. If you have close friends on social media such as Discord DMs, have them join a different, non-restricted platform such as IRC or Signal. Use https://xcancel.com/ if you want to keep up with Twitter accounts. If you have Youtube playlists you wish to keep, look into ways to export them into some sort of downloadable list. That's all the advice I have

my watch later's got like 600 videos agh. all my friends use whatsapp so that should be good.
the only 'media' i use is youtube and ive uploaded since '21.. so if my account gets banned i will be furious

you can just import all your playlists & subscriptions to the freetube app if you need to watch it without an account
it's available on macos, so you should be able to use it. but heads up: sometimes when youtube updates, it causes freetube to be buggy for a while before updating itself
also be sure to try switching vpn locations 1st if the video's not working

[BingoBopple04]

I think if yourusing a vpn you shopuld be fine
but the government defenatly shouldnt be taking care of minors thats the parents job,,,,,

bro thats what im saying why does the entire country have to suffer because of one kids bad parenting

Don't quote me on this literally as this is just a personal opinion and view of how I see things, just looking for normal conversation
I think the reason it has come to this has not just been a decision made over night, but over countless years. There have been countless times where people under the age of 16 have been misusing the internet and simply because the parents can't get a hold on their kids searches and uses after countless reminders from the government, that the government would need to step in. Even witnessing my cousin getting into dating apps and already developing toxic ideas about women at such a young age of 15 while being secretive from his parents, I suppose it goes the same for political posts and world issues, negative mental health enforcement* etc. (*What I mean by this is how I see plenty of kids and young teenagers already suffering bad mental health feeling insecure, depressed, antisocial etc)

I suppose how I remembered it going through school as well as when I was really young and the concept of social media was new was that anyone who was under the age of 17 or quite even 18 were not using social media and parents had a strong grip on their children's online uses because most people used computers and didn't have mobile phones like we do today (Excluding the flip phones and keypad phones). It was generally drilled into kids brains back then that the internet is not a playground and that you are very much interacting with adults and still having a developing brain which shouldn't be rushed into thinking like an adult and be desensitized by the time they get to 18. Once social media took place in the later years of my school life, schools only just began implementing a phone ban policy ensuring that no phones are to be seen on school grounds.
I guess over time, parents of the newer generation who managed to grow up with technology have begun releasing their grip on children's uses online based on their own experiences and them not personally having plenty of issues themselves to consider it an unsafe on the digital world. I am not to say all underage kids are bad and misuse the internet, but the vast majority unfortunately do, as much as it sounds bad for under 16 to be banned from social media, I feel it is probably the most necessary action due to the overall parent mentality of being slack on their kids online uses and not deeming it to be a serious matter to look into.

The one thing I am very against is the potential method of verification. I am not aware as of yet how they will fact check information on age, but if it requires getting an ID photo done on social media apps I am far against, but if it is to verify ID to the government and the government going to social media and giving you a green tick, I am somewhat ok with it.

(This isn't directed to you or possibly others on here, but from what I have heard countless times over the web, I don't understand why people say that it is totalitarian and control of people if people need to show ID to the government... They are the government... They will have your information the moment you are born thus why you got a birth certificate, drivers license, other licenses etc... They are all issued by the government.)

[lakes]

(This isn't directed to you or possibly others on here, but from what I have heard countless times over the web, I don't understand why people say that it is totalitarian and control of people if people need to show ID to the government... They are the government... They will have your information the moment you are born thus why you got a birth certificate, drivers license, other licenses etc... They are all issued by the government.)

you realize whistleblowers, activists and journalists all use the internet to communicate & that protecting their identities is important right
they're also making it so that kids have to verify their id to download WEATHER apps from the app store without parental permission right?
like if it was just to keep kids safe, they won't do that for every app in the app store just some of them
i understand your concern but i'm afraid it's a problem with no perfect solution
i'm saying this as a former kid who was failed by the internet