I feel like the ending undermines the whole piece. Throwing your hands up and going "we should do nothing" isn't really a solution. If a compromise exists I think it's adding age requests on device setup. There wouldn't be any verification but it could be used as a way to limit access to content globally. Content provides would just need a simple API to check if the age range fits and move right along.

This puts more onus on parents and guardians to ensure their child's devices are set up correctly. The system wouldn't be perfect and people using something like Gentoo would be able to work around it, but I think it helps address the concerns. A framework would need to be created for content providers to enforce their own rating system but I don't think it's an impossible task. It obviously wouldn't cover someone not rating content operating out of Romania, but should be part of the accepted risk on an open internet.

Personally I do agree with the "do nothing" stance, but I don't think it's going to hold up among the wider public. The die is cast and far too many average people are supporting moves like this. So the first defense should be to steer that conversation in a better way instead of stonewalling.