this post was submitted on 06 Mar 2026
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These days a computer is pretty much another lobe of your brain. What happens when we actually have computers embedded inside of us? Are they going to restrict access to our own cognition?
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There's an episode of Black Mirror about exactly that and it was hella depressing. I think it starred Chris O'Dowd and Mya Rudolph, who are both usually really funny actors, but it was the opposite of funny.
S7 E1 "Common People". I had to stop watching towards the end because I nearly threw up.
There's an earlier one: Episode 7 overall, "White Christmas": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Christmas_(Black_Mirror)
Rashida Jones*
words? Where we're going to we don't need words
imagine government regulating what kinds of feelings are allowed in mind ads
we're screwed
That made me think of this very old Tom Scott video.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=IFe9wiDfb0E
That's bad, you know that's bad right?
I know where you're coming from. I'd say it's algorithm driven and platform centric consumption that's bad. If things were more open, it'd be easier to use things like RSS readers to control your influences. The laws should be enforcing open standards, not closing things down.
The CA law does push for open standards.
Specifically a standard way for app stores to get the age range of users, the alternatives are:
Realistically I think talking about RSS readers as a way to stop kids getting hooked on loot boxes is burying your head in the sand though.
It's an open standard that could lead to tighter controls on devices in the future. That's an extremely slippery slope. Wouldn't it make more sense to require age verification for social media platforms and outlaw online gambling? Why deanonymize the devices themselves? I suspect it has nothing to do with protecting children.
If I had to speculate, I think the people in power are scared of how much on-device AI could empower the masses and they're laying the groundwork to curtail it right now.
You could say that about anything? Are you opposed to oauth/openid because it could lead to tighter controls in the future?
Have you read the law? It doesn't deanonymize anything.
You say that like requiring Reddit to do actual age verification is better than your OS asking you to enter your age on your account.
I think we should ban online gambling, but that's also an actual ban instead of the open standards that YOU were asking for.
If the social media platforms are the problem, then why control the devices and not the social media platforms? Makes no sense unless there's an ulterior motive.
What control do you think this law puts on devices?
It's not this law, it's the precedent and how it'll be used sd leverage later to push super invasive and manipulative shit.
So a law that is deliberately done in the least invasive way, sets a president to push invasive and manipulative shit?
Can you explain how? Like in any way? When it's clearly going to reduce the manipulation of kids.
Know what? I'll bite. Let's have a civil discussion how this is either actually beneficial to 'save the kids' or, on the other hand, this is just the first step of a process designed to force full surveillance at the OS level, now that people are finally starting to care a bit about their privacy.
If it is to do something to keep the kids away from harm (you mentioned to reduce manipulation of kids) how does spinning 3 wheels with numbers, attached to no verification whatsoever, help? This is that useless 'Are you over 18?' pop-up all over again, where you just click 'yes' and move on with whatever it is you wanted to get away with. So, on that front, unless this is designed to put undue extra responsibility and work on the OS developers, this makes no sense (of course, I'm more than willing to hear you counter this theory).
Now, if it's just that first step, the politicians trying to see what else they can get away with pushing on the population, one step at a time, next they will add 'the OS will require a picture of the user holding an ID to confirm the entered date of birth, but it will remain local, the OS will just reply yes or no to the apps requesting the info'. Then it'll be 'will be sent to a government database for safeguarding', and so on until you no longer can get away from not showing your face and ID to everyone out there.
Anyway, which one makes more sense to you, honestly?
Slippery nipples for everyone!
It's crazy that the reddit/Lemmy hivemind opposes the most mild regulations on predatory app stores and the argument is well this law is fine but it COULD slippery nipples our way to a much worse law that is completely different in its form and intent than this law.
I guess you can take the corporate surveillance out of reddit, but you can't take the libertarian instincts out of the redditors.
It can be bad, but it doesn't have to be. It's not bad if you're just using it as a tool and understand that it's not your only tool. Heavy equipment operators use their machines like extensions of their body. It doesn't mean it's bad or that they forget how to use their arms and legs or that they don't still exercise their arms and legs sometimes. Use tools when it's appropriate to and don't when it isn't, and always make sure you can use a variety of different tools including the ones you were born with and you'll be fine.
I have tens of thousands of notes in my notes app. Please explain where I'm supposed to store that without a computer. Or am I supposed to just forget all that?