Dutch teenagers are less likely to smoke, drink or have sex compared to teenagers in other countries. Despite the nations relaxed stance on drugs and sex work. So making something legal could make it lame for teenagers.
In most EU countries, children of farmers can drive 10 ton death machines with pointy spikes on the front from the age of 14 to 16. In some countries you can even do that on public roads!
> In some countries you can even do that on public roads!
I might be wrong but in the US I think it's generally anything goes on private land. Public roads would be the only relevant thing to consider.
What prevents absurd situations is (IIUC) the combination of child labor laws and the need to keep your insurance policy affordable.
I suppose if a parent turned his toddler loose in an excavator he might get brought up on some sort of child abuse law but honestly I doubt it. Some of the people out in the sticks teach their kindergartners to wield a shotgun and the government seems to leave them alone.
>In most EU countries, children of farmers can drive 10 ton death machines with pointy spikes on the front from the age of 14 to 16
Are you sure that's legal? If those kids kill someone with those farm death machines, who goes to jail for it? The kid or the pearant who gave him the equipment? Will your insurance cover this?
I remember a time around 2010 where I benefitted from social media, Facebook in particular. It wasn't addictive, I used it for 15 minutes at the end of the day to catch up with what foreign family was doing, we would organize real-life parties through Facebook, share photos of those events, tag each other. If you traveled internationally it was easy to keep in touch with people you met along the way.
I'm afraid we will never get to that point anymore but I do think there was a point in society where social media was a positive addition.
It could still be like that if there was no opaque algorithm and even better if there was no endless feed to doomscroll. If you only got alerts for messages directed at you and otherwise had to actively visit a person's page to check up on them. But that wouldn't be as engaging (ie addictive) and there wouldn't be nearly as many opportunities for ads or even the collection of data to drive those ads.
Imagine if his health insurance premiums got raised because of it, if he loses a job opportunity due to background checks or if he gets arrested because of it. Even going through customs or getting a visa can be tricky with a history of cocaine on your record.
For now. With all that is happening in the US I wouldn't be surprised if medical records will become public for law enforcement and immigration.
I'm here in Europe on a private health plan, my blood results go straight to my insurance company. Wouldn't be surprised if my premiums got adjusted if my cholesterol goes up.
Since the late 90s, the US has been continually moving the opposite way of what you are suggesting. You are hearing about it because people have been demanding changes to the way it used to be.
I wonder how it changes the calculus when medical data is leaked into the public domain then hoovered-up by data brokers.
Is a law being broken by a data broker if a credible case can be made that the data was publicly available?
I would think the leaking party would be subject to action, but does the "taint" of the data being private somehow get "washed away" if it becomes publicly available? Asked another way, is a party who consumes illegally-leaked but publicly available data also on the hook for privacy regulations.
It's only illegal until someone in power decides it isn't. Anyone watching the US over the past year should know that by now. (And anyone who has lived under a repressive regime or a country that has slid into autocracy or fascism already knows this well.)
I have plenty of chemical dependency medical records, it has had zero impact on me at all (the records, not the chemical dependency). Heroin and alcohol.
Your medical records can only be viewed if you approve access, and employers are not allowed to ask for medical records. Foreign countries can’t see your medical records when you apply for a visa.
Possibly it could impact life insurance if you need to turn over medical records, but my life insurance policy was written after my drug abuse days so I don’t think it would matter.
The problem in Australia is that influencers and musicians are still allowed on social media regardless of age, as they have professionally managed accounts. So the result is that poor children in Australia don't have access to social media and that rich kids just hire an agency to represent them.
Cookie wall was a big shift. I noticed that since the introduction of the cookie wall, websites now have about 3 to 4 modals that I have to click away before I can start interacting with the website. Typically it is the cookie wall I have to reject first through a secondary modal, then something about a newsletter, then the paywall and finally I have to hit ignore on the "Do you want to login with Google" on the top-right.
Agreed. Being Dutch myself, I prefer that we lay out a long-term vision and plan for enhancing the society through democratically chosen representatives over caving for a violent minority that will literally set the town on fire if they don't get what they want.
> appreciation for the willingness of French workers to stand up for themselves
I wonder if you still have that view when your car is one of the hundreds that typically get set on fire during protests.
Rioting and the government caving for a minority out of fear of violence is the most undemocratic possible and does not fit in 21th century society. I’m happy to grow up north of France where minorities don’t torch the town when the democratically appointed representatives decide on something they don’t like.
You forgot the part where the French government (who doesn't control their currency) is going bankrupt. Some simple reforms would fix this problem but when they are considered, the crazies start burning down Paris. Its actually amazingly sad to watch.
Reminded me of being a CS student. I got a list of 10 requirements for the software design. Most people implemented 9, struggling with the 10th. I implemented 6. Professor asked why I only did 6. Well, if I implemented 6 features and those would all pass testing that would have been enough for a 6/10 grade, which is enough to pass the class. The rest of my precious time I could spend on classes that I found more interesting.
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