Australia thinks GitHub is as risky for kids as TikTok (@MichalSvatos brought it up in the Signal group)
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner is investigating whether GitHub, along with other platforms, should be restricted for children under 16 due to potential harm. Starting December 10th, new rules will ban teens under 16 from using certain social media platforms. GitHub, primarily a code-sharing platform, has been contacted to determine if it meets the legal definition of a social network. The platform allows user interaction and has hosted malicious content in the past, but internet users have criticized the inclusion of GitHub on the restricted list. Other platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and Reddit are also under scrutiny. The eSafety Commissioner has sent letters to 16 companies, asking them to use a self-assessment tool to determine if they fall under the new laws. Companies can argue for exemption but must provide proof. The list of platforms under review may expand as the eSafety Commissioner has researched about 100 different platforms.
Kagi Universal Summarizer
So What the Fuck Australia.
I think the discussion which platform is social media and which not is all here known. There is no clear line between social media and other platforms, but I think we can all agree that GitHub is not a platform that should be banned for people under sixteen.
Some of you might say, that’s not that big of a problem you still got Stack Overflow or GitLab, but the truth is nothing holds the eSafety Commissioner back to also ban these platforms. GitHub, GitLab or Stackoverflow aren’t just online websites they are a place for learning, storing and collaborating with developers. I would like to compare it to a school. You can learn things in there, collaborate with other students or even store things there (lockers and classrooms).
In my eyes the idea of banning a platform like GitHub is the same as banning educational institutions.
A pox on those who suspect evil of it …