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Comment by slowhadoken | Hacker News Reader

It is creepy how much social media wants to monitor kids.

It's like the nicotine business. It turns out all businesses that dabble in addiction end up wanting to monitor and control kids from a young age.

I wonder if ads shown to kids "make more revenue" over the lifecycle of the kid than ads aimed at adults. Like the Youtube videos for kids that are nonsense but rake millions of views

I get asked weekly for an ad-bait app that my kids find though an ad-bait app that they previously had approved. Fun fact: once you’ve approved an App on Apple’s App Store, you can’t unapproved it. Hit the wrong button, too bad. Game switched from purchase to free-to-play and full of ads. Too bad.

The only option is to uninstall the app and then block App Store altogether, at which point they can’t update anything.

We market IAP almost exclusively to kids. They buy em up like candy, and by the time parents realize it we’re gone.

Who is "we" and how do you sleep at night?

Profile checks out

> Ethically challenged software engineer working for a major tech company you know

Though scanning the account's comment history, they appear to use this site almost exclusively to brag about their unethical and occasionally criminal behavior. Not "challenged," but "bankrupt." Downvotes encourage them to continue this trail of evidence, apparently.

in their bio:

> Help me get to 1000 karma and I’ll stop posting forever.

Maybe we should give them that last 50 karma.

You really believe their promise to leave, and that they won't, say, bump the threshold to 1500 and keep posting?

fair point. couldn't hurt to try?

Optimism, defined. Alternative strategy: downvote, flag where appropriate, and they'll eventually be shadowbanned.

I can't downvote, nor flag. I'll leave you to your work.

I will really stop posting at 1000.

Saying "really" doesn't make you any more credible.

You have nothing to lose.

Not a selling point.

Just 25 more karma and I can finally stop posting.

I guess you do have something to lose.

what's so special about 1000 karma? I never comment on things for points.

Not the original person but from talking to parents, a lot of the games are like $7/week subscriptions.

Get them addicted to social media feed scrolling early.

At least they are "thinking of the children".

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