The UK is moving towards a social media ban for children under 16, with wider restrictions on livestreaming, contact with strangers in gaming, and romantic AI chatbots.
The aim is child safety. Fair enough, kids do need better protection online.
But the bigger question is how this gets enforced.
Age checks, ID systems, face scans, platform controls, all of that can quickly become infrastructure for everyone, not just children. We should be careful about building a locked gate around the internet and calling it protection.
There is also the learning problem. Young people use YouTube and social platforms to revise, learn skills, keep up with the news, understand politics, and explore the world. A blanket ban risks cutting them off from useful knowledge while pushing them into less visible spaces.
Protect children, yes. Hold platforms accountable, absolutely. But do not sleepwalk into a system where every person has to prove who they are to access the open web.
What is the better answer: stronger platform accountability, better digital education, privacy-preserving age checks, or a full ban?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b2BO7M5G5Y
#OnlineSafety #Privacy #DigitalRights #SocialMediaBan #UKPolitics #SelfSovereignty #OpenWeb #DigitalFreedom
The aim is child safety. Fair enough, kids do need better protection online.
But the bigger question is how this gets enforced.
Age checks, ID systems, face scans, platform controls, all of that can quickly become infrastructure for everyone, not just children. We should be careful about building a locked gate around the internet and calling it protection.
There is also the learning problem. Young people use YouTube and social platforms to revise, learn skills, keep up with the news, understand politics, and explore the world. A blanket ban risks cutting them off from useful knowledge while pushing them into less visible spaces.
Protect children, yes. Hold platforms accountable, absolutely. But do not sleepwalk into a system where every person has to prove who they are to access the open web.
What is the better answer: stronger platform accountability, better digital education, privacy-preserving age checks, or a full ban?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b2BO7M5G5Y
#OnlineSafety #Privacy #DigitalRights #SocialMediaBan #UKPolitics #SelfSovereignty #OpenWeb #DigitalFreedom