Replying to Avatar Reclaim The Net

TEXAS just passed a law that turns Big Tech giants Apple and Google into bouncers at the gates of the internet.

Under SB 2420, starting 2026, app stores must verify the age of every user. Want to download a weather app? You’ll need to show ID. And if you’re under 18, you can’t install anything without a parent’s permission.

This isn’t about “protecting children.” Porn apps are already banned in the app stores. This is about creating a mass surveillance system that erases anonymity, chills speech, and forces Texans to hand over their real identities to access digital life.

The state tells developers to “delete the data.” But delete when? And trust who? Developers? Apple? Google? You’re betting your privacy on a handshake.

Meanwhile, Apple and Google are forced to collect and store troves of sensitive info from every user, just to comply.

For Texans, from next year, everything you say on a social media app can be tied to your real-world identity.

And if you think this ends in Texas, think again. Utah passed a similar law. Congress is eyeing one, too. The war on online anonymity is here.

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Original But Not 7mo ago

I’m not going to pretend there aren’t pros and cons to this to ‘fit in’ on Nostr…and yes there ARE ways this could ‘protect children’. And also ways it couldn’t if they have abusive guardians for example

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0x07AD 7mo ago

Protecting children is the responsibility of their parents, not the government.

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Original But Not 7mo ago

Yeah so parents need tools to be able to do it because parents don’t own the internet. Usual non developer parents can’t just create other gateways to safeguard their kids online…it’s a balance between safeguarding and giving them autonomy if they’re old enough but they can still be groomed online etc or have issues using social media which could even lead to suicide. There is an infinite number of possible situations for children to be unsafe online