re: #477 Obdicut

Well, children really are exposed to advertising, and they really don’t have the same rational faculties as adults. Not to mention the enormous peer pressure at that age.

Even the most libertarian of people generally accept that children are more malleable and influence-able than adults. The only thing I’m talking about is advertising which is viewed by children.

I understand that children are more susceptible than adults. In fact, one of my hobby horses for the past few years, is my desire to teach media literacy in schools. Not just one class, but a required course every year, to teach kids all about the media and advertising, so they could appreciate it as a message crafted by people with an agenda, rather than an anonymous authoritative imperative. I want kids to be better able to criticize and analyze all media.

But, that being said, any laws that abridge freedom of speech in one area, no matter how altruistic they are, set dangerous precedents for freedom of speech in other areas.