Should we regulate the internet?

eightieschewbaccy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121866430#Comment_121866430

And it's parental responsibility to have some idea of what children or teens are doing online. Using set lists of acceptable websites is regressive and would absolutely be abused. On top of that, it would by default block entirely acceptable websites.

MegamanBoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121865889#Comment_121865889

I am very liberal when it comes to adults. I'm not trying to take away peoples access to the internet, any adult would be free to visit and licensed premises and see what they want.

I'm sure things would still be post on social media that shouldn't. If a site didn't react and take down the offensive content immediately, then they would be blocked.

In practice, and because the EU is such a large market, I'd expect these social media sites would quickly produce a sanitized version for home audiences.

MegamanBoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121866453#Comment_121866453

Yes it would default block a lot of entirely acceptable websites, that is a downside.

I would think hosting/directory term services would become available to cater for people advertising small businesses, or for niche hobbies etc. There would have to be a cost to verify content. But I think that's worth it.

I'm afraid this can't be fobbed off as 'parental responsibility'. Parents can't watch their children 24/7 and further many parents won't. It's a public health matter, not a personal or family matter.

I can't find the article now but I saw a report recently on how sexual assaults are now far more prevalent in colleges, linking the phenomenon to many kids coming out of their teenage years with no understanding of consent or sexuality. How do you protect your kids from that?

Potatoeman

It amazes me how people know so little about how the technology they use works. Here’s an easier solution, parents should parent their own children and look at what they are doing. You could easily stop your own child from having a computer or mobile.

eightieschewbaccy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121866501#Comment_121866501

And you think blocking websites will prevent access to adult content and such? There's a myriad of ways to share content outside of websites. There's p2p protocols, file transfer protocols and plenty of other ways to transfer data. Block a website and there's a dozen ways to achieve the same result. Are ips in general gonna require whitelisting cause that would not work... Your concept would not only regress the Internet but it would be pretty impossible to achieve.

China hasn't managed to achieve it as there are numerous ways to bypass it. You cited North Korea but in general, only high ranking officials have access. The rest of the country is on the intranet at most.

Outside of your idea being draconian, it shows an obliviousness to online infrastructure and how networking works. Websites are only a portion of the Internet. On top of that, parents do have a plethora of ways to manage their teens internet use, many teens will work out how to bypass them but they will too if the EU attempted to block every website.

MegamanBoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121866585#Comment_121866585

Explain to me how P2P and ftp works if your ISP limits you to 100,000 approved IP addresses?

And it's not enough to say it's 'parental responsibility'. Parents can't watch their kids 24/7 and they certainly can't protect them from other children or young adults who think bullying and sexual violence are acceptable because of what they see online.

jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121865935#Comment_121865935

Have you ever built a web directory? Basically, what you are describing is a web directory of links that have been approved by you or someone else. The problem is that website content changes. Domain names are deleted and reregistered. After a while, your whitelist will become stale and filled with problematic links.

Even a small list of 100K takes considerable work to keep it maintained. And you still haven't explained who will do this work and who will approve these websites. There are approximately 220 million gTLD domain names. I track them from registation to deletion using rather large databases. I also track the IP addresses of their websites and where these websites are located. On yout hypothetical list you could expect to see about 1.3% domain names being deleted per month. The deletion rates for domain names with developed websites are somewhat better but your 100K list needs to be continually updated and have new links added.

Automation is only good for a few things and this is not one of them because the approval process is manual and that does not scale well. Yahoo tried to do it in the 1990s when the web was much smaller. Eircom tried to do it with its Doras directory. Even Dmoz tried it at a global level. They were all successful for a while but when the management wasn't looking, the Web changed. Search engines replaced them.

Regards...jmcc

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121866430#Comment_121866430

I am happy you turned out fine. At the same time I'd suggest we shouldn't decide how we deal with the internet based on one individuals experience.

Says the poster who threw some unsubstantiated allegation about a bathroom rape for me to respond to 🙄

There's a ton of evidence out there on the harm being done to kids. I'd think aswell that there's far more kids with access to smartphones etc now than did in the early 2000s.

...and even until now, you've failed to address what should be done about the lack of obligations towards parental responsibility - as was mentioned previously, you're just wanting to press the nuke button

thereiver

It's up to parents to monitor their kids internet browsing , even if the web did not exist theirs plenty of r rated movies on tv if you have cable tv the UK government wanted to bring in a law any adult who wanted to visit porn websites would have to setup an online ID it's up to parents to bring up their kids to be responsible if Trump gets elected we will probably see more laws about regulating internet content maybe no one under the age of 15 should be given a smartphone the average teen probably knows more about vpn hacks than their parents the French government did a study on age verification it says there's no system at the moment that can do this without putting people's privacy at risk eg hacker might be able to access the private data users name address etc

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121866501#Comment_121866501

Yes it would default block a lot of entirely acceptable websites, that is a downside.

Who would define what sites are acceptable? Some Eastern European countries might oppose pro-gay content for example - is that OK?

I'm also reminded of the bullsh1t logic about information on abortion being illegal in Ireland not so long ago because a few men in dresses said so.

I'm afraid this can't be fobbed off as 'parental responsibility'. Parents can't watch their children 24/7 and further many parents won't. It's a public health matter, not a personal or family matter.

Until your children become adults, who is responsible for them if you think you should have time off from the duties each day. Hint: as a parent, it's your one fuppin job!

I can't find the article now but I saw a report recently on how sexual assaults are now far more prevalent in colleges, linking the phenomenon to many kids coming out of their teenage years with no understanding of consent or sexuality. How do you protect your kids from that?

What you're describing is criminal activity and the college should be ensuring that people are safe whilst on their grounds.

However, to answer your question: it's the parents fuppin job to educate their kids.

MegamanBoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121866820#Comment_121866820

The college should be ensuring people are safe on their grounds! Are you kidding? You think that will solve the problem?

Sorry but you're completely out of touch if you don't see the harm this is doing.

The problem is the idea of a free internet has become normalised. We're too long hearing vested interests telling us limitations can't be done.

Can you imagine if back in 1990 somebody proposed, "I've got this new system where kids can readily access hardcore pornography, share explicit pictures of themselves and other children, and urge each other on to more and more cruel acts of bullying 24/7"

You'd have been rightly dismissed as deranged, evil and dangerous. Yet here we are today and you're trying to tell me we dare not change that same system.

Seth Brundle

You continue to ignore all the valid points put to you in defence of your draconian and unworkable proposal for internet censorship - you cherry pick what you reply to, presumably because your argument is full of holes.

Why are you continuing to ignore the role of the parental responsibility in a child's development?

Whose role is it to ensure that someone walking through a college is safe?

Where is your evidence and research to show that rolling out a draconian censorship system will result in lower sexual attacks?

As has been said earlier, the idea of censoring the internet in order to protect our children won't work as it can easily be bypassed and will also be met with massive opposition. It is the kind of idea from someone who knows the absolute sum of FA on the subject.

CalamariFritti

nutjob idea tbh, its from any totalitarian states wish list. something North Korea might get up to. If anything is proof wrt to whacky ideas people get into their heads when spending too much online its this. just no.

having said that I do agree that all this screen time is ruining kids. but thats on the parents and not on the state and no way should we all move to North Korea cos parents dont do their job and excuse themselves by saying oh all the other kids are doing it what can I do.

also kids will be **** to each other online or not

MegamanBoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121867613#Comment_121867613

Getting a steady 40% approval in the poll. Considering this is an anonymous website I'd think that a good sign the public appetite is there for this.

CalamariFritti

Well I count more like 15%.

Even if I thought the idea had merit which I emphatically do not, if nothing else this is nothing any government or any organisation could be trusted with. 100%

MegamanBoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121867054#Comment_121867054

The parents of children who committed suicide having been harmed on Instagram, or that were exploited there, to whom that horrible man Zuckerberg apologised recently. Did they not do their job properly?

As for kids being safe in college, they won't be on campus all the time. I'd expect most of the socialising and partying is done off-site. Interesting though that your argument on this echoes the pro-gun lobbyists, who suggest stopping school shootings by bringing armed security to classrooms.

MegamanBoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121866739#Comment_121866739

I'd say quite similar to a web directory. The difference to those attempted in the 90's being that those listed here are already established larger entities, incentivised to keep their details up to date.

If they want their content available in European homes and public places, they'd best make sure the organisation managing this is aware of their location.

I'd see the role of automation in this in checking sites are available and haven't been compromised.

But I'd agree that deciding who'd be on the list would be difficult. Worth the effort though.

MegamanBoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121867671#Comment_121867671

Look at the poll again, there are two 'yes' options.

CalamariFritti

Thats what my grandmother used to say about Nazi-Deutschland. That thing with the jews wasnt great but I could walk home on my own at 2 in the morning no bother.

eightieschewbaccy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121867653#Comment_121867653

Thing is, regulate is vague. Eg I already stated earlier in the thread that I favour regulations but that's more around privacy and the likes of social media providers and search engines breathing ethically. That's very different to a whitelist of which sites we should be about to access. In fact, that insane idea came in later posts.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121867716#Comment_121867716

And we actively do interact with social media providers at the EU level to improve moderation of what is or isn't allowed. Equally, people with teens who are actively bullying others teens on the likes of Instagram, I view the parents to be partially at fault for the behavior of their teens. I say this as somebody who was bullied to the point where I almost took my life, the social media platforms are a new problem but equally parents tolerating their children's bullying of others is a serious issue too and is an age old one unfortunately.

You equally seem to be oblivious to the fact that the Internet actively can act as respite for people of all ages who have very difficult lives.

CalamariFritti

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121867782#Comment_121867782

Well if you ask ambiguous questions you'll get ambiguous results. People not thinking it's possible could be thinking that for a variety of reasons not just technical ones. No way can you just classify that section as 'approval'. They're effectively saying no.

MegamanBoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121867786#Comment_121867786

I've said already the wider internet should still be available in licensed premises, pubs etc where age is verified.

I've no interest in controlling or censoring adults whatsoever.

There'll still be the same democratic freedoms and free press that we were just fine with 30 years ago.

CalamariFritti

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121867818#Comment_121867818

Only there wouldnt be. Licensed premises where you have to identify yourself. Cant you see it?

CalamariFritti

This is actually silly tbh. I'm bored a bit tonight, but I'm not THAT bored.

MegamanBoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121867829#Comment_121867829

You're age verified going in the door. Your identity wouldn't be recorded.

Not an issue i don't think.

CalamariFritti

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121867856#Comment_121867856

Do they have cubicles? Like for having a ****?

eightieschewbaccy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121867856#Comment_121867856

Nobody has ever used a pub underage? 🤣 This is truly one of the most stupid of ideas.

MegamanBoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121867866#Comment_121867866

If you like? But you can take stuff home with you to enjoy later if you prefer.

You just won't be able to widely share it with children.

MegamanBoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121867872#Comment_121867872

Unless one in ten 9 year olds, or a quarter of primary school kids, are drinking in pubs then this is a huge improvement.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/society/2023/jan/31/one-in-10-children-have-watched-pornography-by-time-they-are-nine

From that article, a quote from the UK's children commissioner.

“We urgently need to do more to protect children from the harms of online pornography. It should not be the case that young children are stumbling across violent and misogynistic pornography on social media sites. I truly believe we will look back in 20 years and be horrified by the content to which children were being exposed.”

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121867716#Comment_121867716

When exactly did I say when you claim I did? You're lying about what I said presumably to further your stupid proposal.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121867818#Comment_121867818

You've no intention in censoring adults but what they consume on the Internet must be done in a public place after showing a form of identity. What a fuppin stupid thought!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121867856#Comment_121867856

Right, what about when you bring your family in for lunch - will the pub have to switch off their WiFi?

Please rell me that the fact that you're still trying to drag out this gobsh1te idea surely means you're trolling us all?