Colorado group wants to ban sale of cellphones to kids under 13 years old

[Teh One Who Knocks]

FOX News and The Associated Press


http://i.imgur.com/CoyM5P0.jpg

A Colorado group is looking to curb the sales of cellphones to children under 13 years old and officials in the state have cleared the language for a proposed ballot measure.

Parents Against Underage Smartphones, the backers of the move, would now need about 300,000 voter signatures for the legislation to make the 2018 ballot.

The ban would require cellphone retailers to ask customers about the age of the primary user of a smartphone and submit monthly reports to the Colorado Department of Revenue on adhering to the requirement.

Retailers who sell a phone for use by a pre-teen would get a warning for the first offense, but may face fines from $500 to $20,000 for continued violations, according to KDVR-TV.

"Eventually kids are going to get phones and join the world, and I think we all know that, but little children, there's just no good that comes from that," Dr. Tim Farnum, who is leading the movement, told The Coloradoan on Saturday.

Farnum said he was inspired to make the push after watching his own kids struggle with the psychological effects of always having a device in hand.

"They would get the phone and lock themselves in their room and change who they were," he said.

Democratic state Sen. John Kefalas said he understands the reasoning behind the proposed law. But he told the newspaper that it would overstep the government's role.

"Frankly, I think it should remain a family matter," he said. "Ultimately, this comes down to parents ... making sure their kids are not putting themselves at risk."

Last fall, the American Academy of Pediatrics released new guidelines for children's media use, including smartphones.

The doctors recommended restricting screen time to no more than an hour a day of high-quality programming until age 6, after which parents should set consistent time limits and make sure electronic devices don't take time away from sleep or physical activity.

[Goofy]

I agree :)

[redred]

they're parents will buy it for them

[Teh One Who Knocks]

I agree :)

I would agree in principle, but it's not the government's job to tell you how to raise your kid


they're parents will buy it for them

They can't, if it becomes law, you won't be allowed to buy one for a kid under 13, unless you lie when you buy the phone

[redred]

i'm sure kids aren't aloud 18+video games or films but they do , it will be useless unless you ban kids from even touching a phone :lol: but i agree kids should have them

[Goofy]

I think i was 17 or 18 before i got one....... never really needed one when i was a kid, too busy out playing footy etc

[Teh One Who Knocks]

We debated about when to get the kid her first phone. She was 11 when we got one for her (refurbished, nothing fancy, not spending $700 on a phone for a kid) ultimately because of when she was playing soccer and having practices 3 nights a week in case it ended early, or weather, or something came up, so she could get hold of one of us. And that was our decision, the government should have no say in that. It's a phone, not a fifth of whiskey and a pack of cigarettes.

[redred]

Me and the other half are talking about when to my daughter one was thinking 11 as that's when she starts secondary school, but hopefully might be able to drag it out longer

[PorkChopSandwiches]

Its a parents choice, fuck the government

[deebakes]

my kids were 13 and 11 when i gave them each one of my old ones :shrug:

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Ian Miles Cheong - Heat Street


A new proposed law in Colorado threatens to ban the sale of smartphones to children. Denver-based anesthesiologist Tim Farnum is campaigning to restrict the sale of the high-tech devices to preteens after he witnessed his own children’s social reclusiveness, which he believes is caused by smartphone use. If passed, the far-reaching law will impact the sale of smartphones in general and curtail existing freedoms enjoyed by the public pertaining to their use.

Business Insider reports that Farnum is crusading to help parents prevent their children from becoming antisocial and “moody,” which he says is caused by spending too much time in front of smart phones. His campaign has been translated into a proposed law that’s appearing on the Colorado ballot as Initiative 29.

Farnum founded a non-profit organization called Parents Against Underage Smartphones to develop Initiative 29, which will prohibit cellphone retailers “from selling or permitting the sale of a smartphone to a person under the age of 13, or to any person who indicates that the smartphone will be wholly or partially owned by a person under the age of 13.”

In other words, even if you’re a parent who monitors your child’s smartphone usage, you’ll not be allowed to buy one for your kids. If the measure is successful, Colorado will be the first state to regulate smartphone usage for any reason whatsoever.

According to Forbes, the initiative will require retailers to “verbally inquire” about the age of the intended recipient of the smartphone, document the buyer’s response, and even file a monthly report to Colorado’s Department of Revenue detailing the age of the user using it. The department will be responsible for investigating cases, collecting fines, and creating a web portal for businesses, which must pay $20 a month for the privilege of submitting sales reports.

Stores will have to abide by a three-strikes system set to punish them with a written warning for their first offense, a $500 fine for the second, a $2000 fine for the third. Subsequent violations will range up to $20,000 per offense.

As Forbes notes, the proposed law would apply to “a business at a specific location that sells new or used smartphones, or a provider that operates in another jurisdiction and sells smartphones to a consumer in Colorado.” The vagueness of the language would therefore allow the law to extend to online retailers as well as pawnshops and grocery stores.

Farnum told the Washington Post that his initiative has received “overwhelming” support from other helicopter parents concerned about their children’s smartphone activity. His proposal has met with resistance from lawmakers who say that it shouldn’t be the government’s job to raise your kids.

“Frankly, I think it should remain a family matter,” Colorado state Sen. John Kefalas said to the Coloradan. “I know there have been different proposals out there regarding the Internet and putting filters on websites that might put kids at risk. I think ultimately, this comes down to parents … making sure their kids are not putting themselves at risk.”

[Noilly Pratt]

My daughter was 14 when we got her one and it's ours, not hers. It's a pay-as-you-go phone and we gave her $20 into the plan, and said we wouldn't be topping it up at all. So far, after about 8 months, she's used $5. We can monitor what she does if we want to. We have an open policy...she can look at our phones, too.

She doesn't rack up the minutes at all - she uses WhatsApp and waits for a WiFi signal at the school or a secure Internet point from our internet provider.

She wants an Instagram account but I said she can use my phone while I'm there to check on things like that, because other friends of hers have been silly on it. Next year, since she hasn't abused the privilege, we will review it and may allow her on it.

As there are some reports of kids in her school being idiots on Facebook, she doesn't even want to go on that. And, a friend was on some chat app and was being an idiot chatting to somebody she didn't know at a party which disgusted her, so she doesn't want that either.

Sure, maybe I'm living in a fool's paradise and she's installing and uninstalling things, but I do check that from time to time...a trail is usually left when you do that, which she doesn't know.

[deebakes]

i think a lot of appropriateness comes with routine oversight like you say noilly :tup:

it's the kids that don't have oversight that are the problem :shrug:

[RBP]

Kids have been involved in after school activities for generations. And for generations, the only way to effectively manage the process was with a smart phone.

Oh wait.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Kids have been involved in after school activities for generations. And for generations, the only way to effectively manage the process was with a smart phone.

Oh wait.

Yeah! So the government should ban them :tup: And while we're at it, you shouldn't be allowed to buy cereal with too much sugar in it if you have kids under 13 in your home, you should have to sign a waiver that says if they do eat it, you're labeled a bad parent for eternity and you should have one of your limbs removed as punishment. Same goes for TV, the government should totally regulate what households are allowed televisions, because, well, people got along just fine for tens of thousands of years without them. Same with radios, we wouldn't want little Timmy to hear a bad word or anything like that, or even worse, have some subversive thoughts put into his head. I could go on an on about all those things out there we need the government to protect us from. We need more government regulation please, it's the only way to save ourselves from ourselves. We all need to move to Best Korea :tup:

[RBP]

Yeah! So the government should ban them :tup: And while we're at it, you shouldn't be allowed to buy cereal with too much sugar in it if you have kids under 13 in your home, you should have to sign a waiver that says if they do eat it, you're labeled a bad parent for eternity and you should have one of your limbs removed as punishment. Same goes for TV, the government should totally regulate what households are allowed televisions, because, well, people got along just fine for tens of thousands of years without them. Same with radios, we wouldn't want little Timmy to hear a bad word or anything like that, or even worse, have some subversive thoughts put into his head. I could go on an on about all those things out there we need the government to protect us from. We need more government regulation please, it's the only way to save ourselves from ourselves. We all need to move to Best Korea :tup:

Not my point at all. I agree with you.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Sorry :oops:

[RBP]

Sorry :oops:

:lol: I was taking a shot at a lazy society not suggesting government play daddy.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

:lol: I was taking a shot at a lazy society not suggesting government play daddy.

:oyh: :doh: