Hacker News Reader

Comment by barbazoo | Hacker News Reader

> Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, announced he was probing Meta in a post on X on 15 August.

> "Now we learn Meta's chatbots were programmed to carry on explicit and "sensual" talk with 8 year olds. It's sick. I'm launching a full investigation to get answers. Big Tech: Leave our kids alone."

If only there was something the law maker could do other than farm for rage. Like make a law so 8 year olds aren’t exposed and abused on Meta’s platforms.

We can’t expect people working for Meta to act ethically. But we could expect lawmakers to actually protect the children.

View on HN

> Like make a law so 8 year olds aren’t exposed and abused on Meta’s platforms.

Many states have enacted laws designed to limit kids’ exposure to social media. Many of these laws have also faced legal battles.

> Many of these laws have also faced legal battles

I'm assuming that's because "the founding fathers are against it" because they lived in a time when 8 year olds worked the fields?

Major reason for this is that many of these laws get warped and used to overstep their stated objective. Perfect example is chat control.

Due to existing laws such as COPPA, Meta already has in its terms of service that kids under 13 aren't allowed to use Meta AI:

> Without limiting the Meta Terms of Service or any other applicable terms or policies, you cannot access AIs if you are under the age of 13 (or such greater age required in your country or territory)

The problem with this is enforcement. How does Meta actually prevent an 8-year old, such as in the case Hawley is referring to, from using Meta AI against the ToS? The "obvious" answer is requiring some kind of age verification, but that gets into (adult) privacy issues incredibly quickly. It's not surprising that laws that require you to send even more private information such as your government ID to Meta (or questionable third-party verifiers) aren't exactly popular.

> Due to existing laws such as COPPA, Meta already has in its terms of service that kids under 13 aren't allowed to use Meta AI

Then why were there specific guidelines for interaction with children at all?

> The "obvious" answer is requiring some kind of age verification, but that gets into (adult) privacy issues incredibly quickly.

What would be the alternative to that?

How would it work in the real world? I guess if one didn't have a mechanism to check for a legal requirement before offering a service, then I guess they just can't offer that service. It's that easy.

> But we could expect lawmakers to actually protect the children

No. They only _claim_ to do this.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com