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I think you have recognized a significant part of the motivations behind this, but you're missing a key detail: pornography. The Corporation for the President

I think you have recognized a significant part of the motivations behind this, but you're missing a key detail: pornography. The Corporation for the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - which is currently embarrassed to be known colloquially as the Mormon church - has declared "pornography" to be one of the most menacing and dangerous things in our society. Most of the people in Utah's government, including the governor and both senators, are active members in the Mormon church. "Active" is a key word here: it is not by any means a casual relationship, especially if you want political support from other Mormons. The narratives surrounding porn as "a threat to children" tend to conclude that all content a child interacts with must be curated to protect them from that danger. It's trivial to just blacklist pornhub et al with DNS filtering. You can't go blocking Reddit or Facebook, though: that would be an overreach, placing you clearly in the realm of "helicopter parenting". This law has two effects: 1. It gives parents the social excuse to invade their children's privacy: It's the law's fault now. 2. It gives parents the social responsibility to invade their children's privacy: it must be irresponsible not to. To invade a child's privacy is to do harm. This law, and all of the intent it came from, demands that harm be done in the name of safety.

jstarfish 4y ago
"Children's privacy" isn't a thing. They are wards of their parents, whose basic fucking job requires they have some clue where the kid is and what they're getting up to. Then you bring up porn, something illegal for children to be accessing anyway. You are aware of this, yes? Shame on parents for daring to uphold the law in their own homes.
- thomastjeffery 4y ago
  Legality is not morality. It is a parent's responsibility to ensure their child is safe, and that does involve some level of intrusion. It doesn't mean reading their diary or listening in on every conversation they have with their friends. How else can a child learn healthy boundaries? Is it really a surprise to you that many humans under the age of 18 are watching porn? A vague legal threat never stopped me, and it's not going to stop most teenagers. No matter what the law says, that is the reality we live in. As I see it, changing the legal age for porn consumption would be a political nightmare, not because it's hard to argue that teenagers should be allowed, but because it is hard to argue that teenagers should be marketed to as direct consumers. Personally, I find this entire situation counterproductive, but the tacit allowal of teenagers to watch porn (and not necessarily pay for it) without prosecution has been a workable compromise.
- deleted 4y ago
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jstarfish 4y ago

"Children's privacy" isn't a thing. They are wards of their parents, whose basic fucking job requires they have some clue where the kid is and what they're getting up to. Then you bring up porn, something illegal for children to be accessing anyway. You are aware of this, yes? Shame on parents for daring to uphold the law in their own homes.

thomastjeffery 4y ago
Legality is not morality. It is a parent's responsibility to ensure their child is safe, and that does involve some level of intrusion. It doesn't mean reading their diary or listening in on every conversation they have with their friends. How else can a child learn healthy boundaries? Is it really a surprise to you that many humans under the age of 18 are watching porn? A vague legal threat never stopped me, and it's not going to stop most teenagers. No matter what the law says, that is the reality we live in. As I see it, changing the legal age for porn consumption would be a political nightmare, not because it's hard to argue that teenagers should be allowed, but because it is hard to argue that teenagers should be marketed to as direct consumers. Personally, I find this entire situation counterproductive, but the tacit allowal of teenagers to watch porn (and not necessarily pay for it) without prosecution has been a workable compromise.
deleted 4y ago
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