Hans-Christoph Steiner @eighthave@librem.one

#Trump blowing up a #boat in international waters is as absurd as it is scary. They just murdered 11 people and justified it by saying war tactics work. "The War On Drugs" has been going on since 1971, cost $1 trillion and is a miserable failure.

More likely, this was migrants being smuggled. At least Trump & Co are not boasting about killing migrants. But this is looking really scarily close to the opening scene of 1984. US media is happy to just replay all the government's claims and video

@mnalis @eff age restriction laws are also useful because they restrict related economic activity. If something is legally age restricted, it also can mean that companies can't make money offering such content to minors, they cannot promote it to minors, etc.

@mnalis @eff None of the conditions here are binary, they are all continuums. Any restriction can be circumvented, but that does not make the idea useless. Just all all software insecure, its only a matter of degrees. One clear win is just preventing harmful things like gambling, pornography, addictive software, etc. from being mainstream and socially acceptable. E.g. Its possible to gamble on the internet although its restricted almost everywhere. And now, there is far less gambling online.

@404mediaco Interesting article, but labeling piracy as the root of the problem means you are taking the point of the view of the #copyright maximalists. We should also consider that copyright itself could be part of the problem. Then we can see that better solutions might come from removing some things from copyright eligability. The #USConstitution says it is "to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts". Does pornography really fit in there? Could removing copyright lead to less harm?

@eff I agree that is probably true, but then, I also agree that we need much better age restrictions on the internet. The critical mass of governments also believe there needs to be age restrictions, so if we're to have any chance of keeping anonymity on the internet, we need to accept that age restrictions are required, and focus our work on making sure they get implemented in the best possible way. Even in the #US with its #FirstAmendment, age restrictions are legal and in place for decades.

I believe in the rule of law. At the same time, I recognize it is important that people can break the law in order for human societies to develop. When I make software, I aim to guide users to respect the law without forcing them to. Software developers should not enforce the law, they should respect #UserFreedom.

Martin Luther King, Jr explained the guiding principal best in this interview
https://youtu.be/fAtsAwGreyE?feature=shared&t=702

(the whole thing is also worth listening to)
#MLK #ethical #software #law #FOSS

@lightrush @commonsguy yes, they will do that, but then other countries will know that they have already implemented said feature, and it becomes easy to ask them to enable it for them as well.

@commonsguy They are seeking public input from anyone who knows about the technical details of Android (among other things). Writing posts like you do is very helpful, plus that lets other competition authorities, the US's FTA included, find out the details of how things are working. I think it is clear that Apple and Google are using "security" to protect their monopolies. Devs like us are best positioned to make that case.

@commonsguy really great questions, thanks for writing this up! Also, this is the kind of stuff the #EuropeanCommission needs to enforce the #DigitalMarketsAct as well as competition authorities in other countries. If you'd like to get involved with providing feedback directly to governments, let me know, and I'll make the introductions!