The core issue lies in the fundamental nature of the state and the internet. States inherently control while the internet is freedom. Since we spend half our waking hours online, states naturally want to extend their reach but lack the ability to control. Hence, they ban.
India’s IT ministry banned Telegram for one week because some users shared leaked exam questions.
This punishes 150M+ ordinary Telegram users in India — not the insiders who leaked the exam materials.
And the ban hasn't stopped anything. The leaks just moved to other apps.
Pour défendre notre liberté, nous devons cesser de solliciter l’État pour davantage de services. Cela ne fait qu’accroître son contrôle et notre asservissement. Ainsi, il incombe à chacun de nous de s’informer par lui-même et d’être en posture de défiance par défaut envers l’État
A state’s fundamental purpose is to govern everything, which inherently contains the seeds of tyranny. No matter how free and democratic a country’s foundations are, a state’s essence is to gain greater control consciously or unconsciously.
All social media users in the UK will have to “prove” they’re over 16 — with an ID, face scan or bank card.
Thousands in the UK are already arrested for political posts every year.
Is this really about protecting children — or identifying more people to arrest?
Good parenting has been undermined when parental authority has been transferred to the state under the guise of “private life is politics as well”. We should never have let the state dictate our private lives. Age verification is simply a natural progression towards more control.
No law can replace good parenting.
Parents already have the tools to limit kids’ digital consumption: parental controls, screen-time limits — or no smartphone at all.
Instead, many parents give toddlers iPads just to keep them quiet.
No amount of regulation will fix that.
Banning social media for teenagers only puts them in greater danger.
Teens are forced to switch to VPNs — and unlock far worse illegal content.
We’ve seen this before. When the Russian government banned Telegram, 95% of Russian teenagers kept using it. They just moved to VPNs.
Coup de gueule contre l'UE qui nous pourrit la vie avec son foutu DMA. Entrain de switcher mon iPhone au Canada pour profiter des nouvelles fonctions de Siri.
🥖 The French government is accusing X of the very things the French government itself is doing:
- Illegally collecting personal data
- Processing personal data without proper security
- Extracting data from automated systems
- Violating the secrecy of electronic communications
@EP_EPRS@EP_Justice You are just a bunch of tyrannists! If you ever make it required to verify identity to verify VPNs, I will refuse to abide by the law and seek a VPN outside your jurisdiction ! Bunch of idiots !
@JonHaidt Any age verification system on entire population is a direct road to tyranny !
Tyranny is not protection. Parents and teachers should have the law to back their authority instead. That’s the ONLY lasting way to safeguard children and ensure they inherit a free world.
@FrenchResponse C’est évident que le bureau du procureur manque d’indépendance. Aucun système judiciaire au monde ne l’est véritablement. Même les régimes les plus tyranniques ont un arsenal juridique pour la censure. Il faut priver le législateur d’un quelconque pouvoir de réguler la parole.
This is how the EU/UK now regulates social media:
🤐 Offer CEOs secret deals to censor dissent.
🚨 If they refuse, open criminal cases against them.
😑 When people push back, say it's "all for the children".
🎭 "Protecting children" has become the standard legal/PR cover.