If you thought Democrats and Republicans never played nice, you would be wrong.
U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Katie Britt (R-Ala.) have teamed up to introduce bipartisan legislation that would "protect kids" from the dangerous and horrible world of social media (pause for laughter.)
The Protecting Kids on Social Media Act would require children to be 13 and over to use social media apps and would require parental consent for 13 through 17-year-olds. The bill would also prevent tech companies from delivering ads and other tailored content to users under the age of 18.
If anyone has ever wondered why libertarianism exists, it's because of this type of busybody nanny state nonsense.
When the government isn't playing Big Brother, they're going full out "Call me Daddy." In a laughable attempt to curtail the potential harm of social media, the government is assuming the role of parents yet again.
News flash, the government is not your parents.
Introducing tyrannical legislation against Big Tech doesn't solve anything. Children will always be at risk of being exposed to "unsuitable" content and will always be vulnerable to predators.
Beyond that, there will always be a raging war for the minds of your children.
Yeah, it's scary out there. But the government has never been able to protect your children from the dangers of the world with unconstitutional or overreaching legislation.
Sure, we want our nation's children to have a certain level of protection against viable threats, but it's not the government's job to shield their eyes from the world--whether real life or the virtual reality social media hellscape.
They are both worlds your children will inevitably access. No legislation will ever stop your kids from finding crap on the internet you wish they never saw.
The government will only make things worse.
One of the main problems with this type of legislation is the perceived failsafe that it creates. When "protect the children" legislation is passed, it generates the false idea that the government cares about your kids. (They don't.)
When people believe that the government is doing something to protect their children, they become less vigilant. Parents let their responsibilities sift through their fingers like powdery hourglass sand and let it fall onto the government's lap.
Children will become more vulnerable to attacks because the grownups think the government has their back. (They don't).
Society must learn to stop relying on the government for everything. People need to stop relying on the government to teach their children, feed their children and protect their children from the content and dangers that comprise the world we live in.
While the Protecting Kids on Social Media Act may seem like a brazen, heroic wakeup call to pump the brakes on the bullet train of moral decay, it's actually just the government flexing its muscles against Big Tech, hoping to gain more power and control in a largely unrestricted universe.
What has the government ever done to instill the confidence in you that the safety and best interest of your children is at their heart?
"Think about the children" is a tagline used by every authoritarian since the dawn of civilization to enact rules and laws that allow the government to accumulate more power and control.
The government policing social media is a slippery slope. To gain footing, they will use children as their Trojan Horse--as they always have. Once they get a few "righteous" bills passed, the freedom of the internet will be the ghost of yesteryear.
Don't be fooled. This bill has nothing to do with protecting children and everything to do with crushing the foundations of liberty.
There doesn't need to be any laws that ban children under 13 from using social media apps, and there doesn't need to be any regulations that require parental consent for teenagers 13-17 to use social media. Stop this nonsense.
Don't let the government use your children as pawns in their game for ultimate dominance.
If you enjoyed this article, you may also like 'Obedience is Not Patriotism'.
