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Social Networks Government The Internet United States

Arkansas House Wants You To Show ID To Use Social Media (arktimes.com) 42

With no discussion, the Arkansas House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill that would require social media users in The Natural State to verify they're 18 years old or older to use the platforms. Arkansas Times reports: The proposal, backed by Gov. Sarah Sanders, is aimed at shielding minors from the harmful effects of social media. Young folks could use the platforms, but only if parents provide consent. Senate Bill 396, sponsored by Sen. Tyler Dees (R-Springdale) and Rep. Jon Eubanks (R-Paris), would require social media companies including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok to contract with third-party companies to perform age verification. Users would have to provide the third-party company with a digital driver's license. Dees also sponsored a bill, now law, that requires anyone who wants to watch online pornography to verify they're an adult.

The social media bill squeaked through the Senate with 18 yes votes, the bare minimum, but passed the House 82-10 with four voting present (same as no). No one asked any questions of Eubanks -- who assured his colleagues that Facebook had "the AI and algorithms" to keep track of what users had parental consent without holding on to sensitive data -- but because it was amended (to among other things exempt LinkedIn, the most boring social media platform), the bill has to go back to the Senate, where perhaps it will meet some resistance.
Utah's governor signed two bills into law last month requiring companies like Meta, Snap and TikTok to get parents permission before teens could create accounts on their platforms. "The laws also require curfew, parental controls and age verification features," adds Engadget.
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Arkansas House Wants You To Show ID To Use Social Media

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  • by RUs1729 ( 10049396 ) on Friday April 07, 2023 @05:49PM (#63433912)
    Clearly, government is the problem when it does something these guys don't like. Otherwise, the more government, the better.
    • by quonset ( 4839537 ) on Friday April 07, 2023 @06:05PM (#63433934)

      Clearly, government is the problem when it does something these guys don't like. Otherwise, the more government, the better.

      Yup. The hypocrisy [imgur.com] can't even be called surprising any longer. They're grifters [arkansasonline.com] at heart.

      • Lol, I will end socialism!

        Tornado hits

        Please send us cash!

    • by Darinbob ( 1142669 ) on Friday April 07, 2023 @06:08PM (#63433936)

      Yup, these "small government" states only apply "small" to the feds. They are perfectly happy to be overbearing and peek through your windows. The social conservative nanny state. Their aim of states' rights is not about local control or small government, it is about states taking supremacy over the feds.

      These sorts of bills aren't really intended to be practical anyway, these bills are passed in order to drum up election support from social conservatives. So even if the bills are struck down in the courts they can still claim "vote for me, I would have protected your children if it wasn't for those meddling judges who are probably liberal pedophiles and not decent folk like you or me."

      • by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Friday April 07, 2023 @08:19PM (#63434148)
        Billionaires can buy off individual state legislatures but it's much harder to do that on the federal level. It took Federal action for example to end racial segregation. And every one of those guys talks about the civil War as if it had anything to do with states rights.

        They have a phrase for it, small enough to drown in a bathtub. The goal is to have a government large enough they can use it to oppress people but small enough that large-scale coalitions can't form they can stand up to billionaire corporate multinational power
      • They want to apply it to the Fed too, with the massive military getting ever more funding, the massive national security apparatus to spy on everyone from US citizens to our enemies, the massive immigration enforcement division, and of course the DEA to continue losing the war on (some) drugs. And they absolutely want the feds to have supremacy everywhere a liberal state is doing something they don't like that the feds could stop. 'States rights' is another one of their rhetorical tools masquerading as a pr
    • You've defined neo-conservatism. More laws and taxes for you; less regulation and more concessions and rebates for me.
  • by fermion ( 181285 ) on Friday April 07, 2023 @05:59PM (#63433928) Homepage Journal
    We need a law to protect kids from ministers like her father. Require parental permissions for minors to attend church with minister who sing about having sex with 10 year old kids, [youtube.com]. Or promote known pedophiles. [snopes.com]
    • by bjwest ( 14070 ) on Friday April 07, 2023 @08:23PM (#63434164)

      ...who sing about having sex with 10 year old kids... [youtube.com]

      Cat scratch fever is a real infection [webmd.com] caused by being bitten or scratched by a cat that carries Bartonella henselae in their mouths or under their claws, where in hell are you getting this BS about the song being about sex with underage kids?

      • Sigh...

        OK, I've been in the hospital with a cat scratch/bite back in 2001 (my cat sitting in my lap tried to bite me and I moved my leg, causing him to fall mouth open, straight down into my arm.) They had to use the ?second level of penicillin? because the first try didn't work and I was starting to get streaks in my arm.

        To Your Point: This song's been around for decades (I graduated in 1976 but only found out the ?intended? meaning maybe 2 decades ago. Yep, I'm one of the hip COOL kids, you can tell
      • I've contracted this while trying to help out a feral cat. Blood poisoning spread up veins on my arm, and antiobiotic IV infusion at the emergency room fixed it. I discovered that they have bacteria on their claws 'n jaws as part of their predator equipment - and then stalk their sickly prey. They aren't quite the cuddly creatures that domestic cats are, but you gotta hand it to 'em: They work smarter not harder!
  • by jobslave ( 6255040 ) on Friday April 07, 2023 @06:04PM (#63433932)

    No one asked any questions of Eubanks -- who assured his colleagues that Facebook had "the AI and algorithms" to keep track of what users had parental consent without holding on to sensitive data

    What magically fairy land is this jackass living in?

    • by Darinbob ( 1142669 ) on Friday April 07, 2023 @06:14PM (#63433952)

      What magically fairy land is this jackass living in?

      Arkansas. No relation to Kansas or the magical land of Oz that exists there.

    • by znrt ( 2424692 )

      well, they certainly have a simple solution that would totally respect privacy. i would love to see facebook, instagram, twitter, tiktok and youtube just showing a "sorry, this service is not available in your area" page if the ip is from arkansas, job done, losses would be insignificant and it would spawn a little new blooming vpn market, besides setting a strong example to other clueless asshats. but if most natural arkansasians truly want to return to the middle ages then that's their privilege, gotta re

      • "Sorry, by decree of your government, you're not allowed to see that. If you want to use our service, get a better government"

  • wecome to Arkansas papers please

  • Au naturel, are you serious? If that's true I'm canceling my pornhub subscription and heading there right now. Wait nevermind I just googled what they look like.

  • by backslashdot ( 95548 ) on Friday April 07, 2023 @06:46PM (#63434016)

    We have to do something about the fact that many kids are being given access to pornographic texts and in some cases even forced to read them. It's a big problem, kids shouldn't be exposed to a book that has excerpts like these:

    (1) Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her. – : Judges (16) : 1.

    (2) And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. – : Genesis (19) : 33 – 36.

    (3) And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. – : Genesis (35) : 22.

    (4) And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her. – : Genesis (38) : 2.

    (5) And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother’s wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother’s wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. – : Genesis (38) : 8 – 9.

    (6) When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face. And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me? And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it? And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him. – : Genesis (38) : 15 – 18.

    (7) And when she had brought them unto him to eat, he took hold of her, and said unto her, Come lie with me, my sister. And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me; for no such thing ought to be done in Israel: do not thou this folly. And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee. Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice: but, being stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her. – : 2 Samuel (13) : 11 – 14.

    (8) So they spread Absalom a tent upon the top of the house; and Absalom went in unto his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel. – : 2 Samuel (16) : 22.

    (9) Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied. – : Ezekiel (16) : 28.

    (10) And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity. – : Ezekiel (23) : 3.

    (11) And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours, Which were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses. Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all them that were the chosen men of Assyria, and with all on whom she doted: with all their idols she defiled herself. Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised t

  • by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Friday April 07, 2023 @06:54PM (#63434044)
    And people who claim to be independent voters going to stop voting Republican because these bills always come from Republicans and they can't keep winning these elections without the libertarians and Independents.

    People who claim to be concerned about freedom never seem to be worried about it when it's their side taking away those freedoms
    • Sure they can keep winning elections, they've practically guaranteed they'll win through their gerrymandering alone.

      Also the Republicans haven't been about freedom since Reagan committed treason to win. It's a dog whistle to their base because you can't be an open nationalist racist theocratic oligarch and win elections.
      • by Anonymous Coward
        > It's a dog whistle to their base because you can't be an open nationalist racist theocratic oligarch and win elections.

        You can. Trump did that and look at how many people still back him up today despite all the horrible things that happened in the mean time.

        A lot is possible with hypocrisy and a lack of the part of brain that's responsible for cognitive dissonance. That way you can both be for locking up Obama, Clinton, and Biden even with investigations that were ultimately a huge waste of taxpaye
  • Aaand.... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Bahbus ( 1180627 ) on Friday April 07, 2023 @07:18PM (#63434068) Homepage

    Arkansas has absolutely no ability to fine or otherwise punish any social media company who completely ignores this. None of them "operate" out of, or have offices in, Arkansas. And ordering ISPs to block the sites if they don't comply doesn't work either. I mean, they can order it, but it doesn't actually block anything. They don't realize it, because Arkansas sits in the bottom 10% for IQ.

  • Who decides what "social media" is? Pretty much every website with any sort of interactivity or the ability to create an account or post comments could fall under that category.
    • That's gonna be really watching Disney get worked up over having their Kids' boards blocked.

      Disney vs. Arkansas.
      Whoever loses
      We win.

  • The only reasonable response to local rules like this is to just stop servicing those jurisdictions. If people elect idiots to lead them, the we should accept that choice. Facebook, Google, Twitter and *any* other site that may be affected (for example Amazon - they let people rate products, that may be something that some judge who never herself used the Internet believe is a social media) should just leave and serve anyone accessing their services from such jurisdictions something like the picture of a to
    • Am I the only one that thinks anonymity on social media does not bring out the best in us? I think if we'd had to use our real identity, it would all be a lot more civilised. We'd probably refrain from posting more often.
      Not pleading for dropping anonymity completely, but a social media platform with confirmed identities in the open would have its benefits. (And would be boring?)
  • ...social media should be flushed down the toilet along with any government that infringes on MY freedom like this does, as an adult with no children. The internet was designed BY ADULTS, FOR ADULTS. This is just more B.S. from the Uniparty. The right can complain all day about how the left wants to control us with their censorship-industrial complex. The reality is that the right wants to control us all just as much as the left does, except the right has their own censorship-religious complex. Individual r
  • The 'harmful content' they want to shield minors from is so-called 'liberal content', aka 'real truth and real facts'. Can't have their neo-conservative, 'white nationalist' indoctrination ruined by free access to the real world and being able to have free and open discourse with a wide array of people, now can they? /s
    • The 'harmful content' they want to shield minors from is so-called 'liberal content', aka 'real truth and real facts'. Can't have their neo-conservative, 'white nationalist' indoctrination ruined by free access to the real world and being able to have free and open discourse with a wide array of people, now can they? /

      No it isn't you racist piece of shit. The "harmful content" they want to protect minor from is teaching a third grader how to suck a dick. An don't tell me that isn't' true. The name of the book is Gender Queer and its on page 168.

      I bought the book to see for myself. It's sitting right here on my desk opened to that page. That is the content they are trying to protect minors from.

      Or do you approve of trying to teach a eight year old how to suck your dick? We already know you are fucking homoph

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