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Comment by Fervicus | Hacker News Reader

Somehow all the countries are suddenly proposing the same thing. You'd think at least one of these countries might try something different if they actually cared about the kids, like banning algorithmic feeds. Not suspicious at all.

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I don’t think it’s suspicious - I think trust globally in tech companies has been deteriorating at the same pace in most western countries is all.

But so has trust in government (for very good reasons). And those same unscrupulous governments are heavily influenced by the very same tech companies people are suspicious of.

Then why not regulate some other aspect of those companies? Surely the harms extend beyond children?

This is not about tech companies, they will shrug it off. It’s about containing protest and suppressing public speech.

Not beyond the realms of possibility that Meta etc has decided it wants government/photo ID and has convinced governments to implement it

Big tech will act inconvenienced but they will in reality benefit

Just like any attempt by a UK Gov to fix housing: they just make it worse, because that was the real aim (yes I include the latest renter's rights legislation)

World leaders pay attention to the world. Australia implemented the law and it went smoothly. So naturally other world leaders are going to see that as a green light that the general public is on board and the tech companies complied.

I'm probably going down a conspiracy theory, but it's notable when all the Five Eyes countries seem to start talking about the same problem and pushing through legislation. The US would probably do the same if not for the constitution.

I think there's some sort of 'social pressure' between nations. Policies during the COVID-19 era come to mind.

It's called lobbying.

Not sure how closely you follow US news, but a majority of Americans feel that the current US administration is not all that concerned with the constitution, so that not really a blocker.

And yet you're still labeled a conspiracy theorist if you suggest that their might be ulterior motives for identity verification in the nation that arrested 12,000 people for what they posted online in 2023.

I'm actually very supportive of getting rid of screens + social media for kids. I don't the reasons I'm supportive of that bear any resemblance to the motives of the UK's political class.

Everyone started using Claude for coding at the same time, something is suspicious!

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