Is this a real thing even worth discussing or just some silly performative stunt? Nobody is seriously considering this as a real thing we want to implement in society right? Right??
The negative effects of social media on children are absolutely something we should be discussing. Kids spend an unbelievable amount of time online in these networks, and it's having a real consequences. We already require by law blocking access to kids under 13 in certain situations, so it's not without precedent.
Why would you think this is something that is so far outside the reasonable to not warrant discussion here or in govt?
> We already require by law blocking access to kids under 13 in certain situations
The COPPA age-gating on 13 years old is trivially bypassed by most 13 year olds. It definitely won't keep teens off social media. But adding ID verification to enforce it is dystopian.
The issue is real, but the bill is a stunt. It's not actually going to pass or even get any real time in committee. It won't make it out of committee; if somehow it did, it would be voted down.
It gets people talking about the issue, and it puts the guy on the social calendar for talking with other people about the issue. That's how politics works: people talking with each other. The actual votes are only the final stage, and really the least important.
Lots of things are silly performative stunts until they aren't. The Governor of Texas has also formally declared that the state is subject to an invasion (in the military sense) and that he intends to act independently of the federal government with regard to the Mexican border.
