• @[email protected]
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    235 months ago

    Probably going to get downvoted for this, but this just makes kids look for VPN’s and other ways to skirt this restriction. It may make VPN’s less useful for the rest of us as a result when certain services are forced to comply with the law, breaking those services for those of us using VPN’s. It sounds like a great idea but I don’t know that the implementation will make a noticeable or effective difference.

    • @[email protected]
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      65 months ago

      Just because it isn’t perfect it doesn’t mean it’s useless.

      Just because there is no way to stop 100% of all crime it doesn’t mean taking measures to reduce crime is futile.

      There is a lot more to this than just blocking the site. It will also change social norms. Right now, if a 14 year old as social media, nobody bats an eye; but with the 16 year requirement, through all the sudden, parents aren’t too comfortable with letting their 14 year old have social media. So not only will they need to find some free VPN totally not spyware to use (and even know that that exists and how to use), they will also have to hide it from their parents, as it is no longer socially acceptable for 14 year olds to have social media.

      And before you say “Kids can easily get a free VPN and hide it.” Never underestimate tech illiteracy.

      • @[email protected]
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        5 months ago

        The thing about kids getting a VPN, free or paid is that it will spread like wild fire. It only takes one kid who knows how to do something. They tried this at my highschool, blocking websites and such. That was more than 20 years ago and we knew how to use VPN’s or similar then and once we figured it out it was an open secret.

        I’m not saying the law shouldn’t exist or that we should do nothing. I’m saying that this isn’t going to be effective as it is and could end up leading to worse things.

    • @[email protected]
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      235 months ago

      Most kids are not going to pay a subscription for a VPN, I don’t think that would be as big of an issue as you think.

        • @[email protected]
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          5 months ago

          There are free VPNs that are subsidized by payers and are legit (though most are not). Calyx and Proton to name two.

          Also Tor is free, and the most popular site on the darknet is Facebook, so I dont think you’re informed about the nature of Tor traffic.

          • @[email protected]
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            35 months ago

            Also here, where a VPN or proxy is a “must” for using the internet normally, there are also some ran by charities. But yeah, the omnipresence of shady free VPNs is very concerning.

      • Thorman
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        255 months ago

        Well unless they go for free vpns and get data mined to the moon and back… Which is a far worse outcome imo.

          • Thorman
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            15 months ago

            Well they have to host the servers and pay for them somehow… So they take all of your traffic going through their servers and sell it. They know when you go to any website, at what time, and how long you were there… That’s why anyone recommending a VPN strongly recommends vpns that do not keep logs of what their clients do when connected to their servers. Even some paid vpns double dip and keep logs and sell them as well as charging for access.

            • @[email protected]
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              15 months ago

              To be fair, I wouldn’t really count on a VPN not collecting logs - if I can’t check it, better assume they’re collected. This may not matter as much, but I still wouldn’t rely on this for anything sensitive.

              Also, the free VPNs can harm you in more ways than just selling your traffic logs, such as making you a part of a proxy botnet.