It’s technically impossible, so a pretty pointless discussion.

And it’s dangerous too. Even if they legislated them off the major platforms, there’s a million other ways to communicate online. Hundreds of DMs, talkers, games, live chats, streams, even IRC still exists. And pushing them into the darker corners makes it far more likely for them to be exposed to coercive and controlling types. Extremism, child abuse, bullying, suicide encouragement and so on.

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Why is that unpopular? It’s literally the main stated purpose of most governments.

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Graveyards don’t exist for the dead.

They exist for both relatives to mourn, and the wider populace who value the perspective on their own problems that graveyards provide. They’re also normally a peaceful place in an often unpeaceful world, much as urban green spaces.

I prefer rap music by white artists because it’s less likely to feature the N word.

I don’t think using porn is abnormal, at least by the definition of normal.

Of course, that depends on Trump following court orders, which as we know, he’s more than willing to ignore.

I think that’s been one of the biggest surprises to this European spectator - that justice can be ignored if you’re powerful enough in America.

We had glimpses of it with the first end-of-term pardons. Then Biden did the same for his son, and Trump released all those who committed treason in his name on his first day of his second term. All those people were fund guilt after due process, but someone can unilaterally say “let them free” and they’re out. I totally understand the lawyer quitting his career when Trump was “pardoned” for his own crimes after being elected. Biggest case of his career, years invested in training and work and he played a blinder - only for it to be turned to nothing.

So we’ve learned that if you’re rich in the US (because rich == powerful there like nowhere else in the world) then you are untouchable by justice. For a country that was literally born from a civil war, that’s a pretty huge failing of its constitution.

But apart from all that, things are looking good?

So what’s Google doing? I assume they’re impacted by the same regulation.

The UK government has you that way too - you are legally compelled to reveal any passcodes if ordered by a court, and you’ll stay in prison until you do. (Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000)

But it at least does remove them from third party exposure (phone company, their AI, massive breaches etc), you just have to be sure your own security is good.

I think it’s the right move by Apple.

I don’t think it’s the right move by my Government to be ordering this.

Like most governments, the UK’s has a poor record on understanding technical standards (They’re still trying to implement age-restriction on porn sites, something that’s been ongoing for a decade) Backdoor or lack of encryption - both make data security impossible and make the lives of criminals a whole lot easier. We simply cannot have safe data this way.

Democracy isn’t about getting your own way.

True democracy (Direct Democracy) can’t happen - you’d need to vote in every single decision. Without everyone’s decision, nothing could get done. It’s bad enough for a family of four to agree what movie to watch, let alone a whole country. It would be democratic if most people watched what they wanted, but the logistics for a country ain’t gonna work.

That’s why most Western countries in the world have Representative Democracy - we elect people to do that stuff on our behalf, and are aware of affecting factors. And by and large, it works. Sure, there are always failings and scandals and someone can point these out, because human beings like to cheat and have their own agendas, and of course, power corrupts. Sadly, there is no form of government that is safe from subversion.

If you don’t like a decision, vote for a representative that you think will do more of what you want. Or form an effective protest.

I’m certain it’s not - but it doesn’t matter. Trump has proved that he is beyond the law in every way.

Clinton got impeached for lying and it ruined his credibility. Trump lies all the time and gets re-elected, but has no credibility to ruin.

Then I’d have someone else accusing me of ripping off this guy.

You should do this for other countries too. America isn’t the only country with an idealised view of what other people think of them.

Nor the television (Scottish). Nor the radio (Canadian and Italian).

They’re being shaken down. Same as Mark Zuckerberg being summoned to a meeting with Trump and the next day paying $1m to the same fund.

I’m betting these meetings went something like, “You don’t want a president as an enemy, do you? Cough up.”

And don’t think of it as a tax on the rich - it’s not going towards the benefit of the American people. It’s extortion.

Fun fact: Where I live (Devon, England), every common person once had to spent two days a month working for their local Lord for free, maintaining the roads. That’s as well as paying rent to them, of course. Plus, they had to provide tithes to the Church as well as grow or raise enough food for their family. And if they had any strong sons that might be particularly useful in working their meagre strip of land, they’d be conscripted for the Crown’s armies.

They worked 7 days a week. Incredibly hard and long days by our standards. The only half day they got off was to go to church, which wasn’t really optional. (You weren’t forced, but the whole community turned against you if you didn’t)