So, the issue here seems to be that we are relying on giant corporations to do the due diligence of who our kids are talking to, and they are failing, because they don't have enough incentive to put in the effort.
I wonder if there is an opportunity here to get a fully distributed effort going, based on web of trust.
Most users don't do web of trust verification even in apps which support it, like signal, because it's not worth the effort for general low stakes communication. But people are willing to put in a lot of effort to keep their kids safe. And the requirement here: "I want my kids only to message adults I trust, or kids that an adult I trust has verified are kids" is a good match for web of trust, because it's basically an emulation of how the mark 1 meatspace method of doing it worked. (yes, my use case here is for younger kids, older ones should be able to explore more and I haven't figured out how that would work).
> So, the issue here seems to be that we are relying on giant corporations to do the due diligence of who our kids are talking to, and they are failing, because they don't have enough incentive to put in the effort.
As a parent dealing with some of this currently, this isn't entirely how I'd put it.
Roblox is marketed for kids, and claims to have a large number of parental controls, but in fact they either don't work or don't exist. Most parents aren't savvy enough to know they even need to check for that.
Meanwhile, I'm extremely computer literate (a developer even), and have largely banned my kids from the internet, installed multiple blockers and monitors, and my kid still gets to shady places and content. It's f-ing impossible unless you are going to literally watch over their shoulder the whole time, which is wildly unrealistic and frankly immoral once they reach a certain age.
Please don't ban them from the internet. That's what my parents mostly did and I ended up going behind their backs on a device they didn't know was functional and I ended up doing some things I regret now. Talk to your kids. They need to understand where you're coming from and be informed about what's out there. There will always be workarounds for blocking, there's no workaround for mutual respect and consideration.
The curiosity for the forbidden/unknown is a powerful motivator for children. Destroying that magic by personally becoming invested can be quite effective.
The same applies for things that are "cool" or whatever the current term is. Either you become part of the "in group" and earn some of your child's respect or whatever you touch no longer becomes corrupted by your "boomer energy". Both are a win and far more effective than the cat and mouse game of training them to be mini pen-testers.
I wonder if there is an opportunity here to get a fully distributed effort going, based on web of trust.
Most users don't do web of trust verification even in apps which support it, like signal, because it's not worth the effort for general low stakes communication. But people are willing to put in a lot of effort to keep their kids safe. And the requirement here: "I want my kids only to message adults I trust, or kids that an adult I trust has verified are kids" is a good match for web of trust, because it's basically an emulation of how the mark 1 meatspace method of doing it worked. (yes, my use case here is for younger kids, older ones should be able to explore more and I haven't figured out how that would work).