Banning social media for under-16s is on the cards in the UK.

Age verification is the only way to do this, meaning millions will have to hand over sensitive data.

This industry lacks effective regulation. An U16s ban would multiply existing privacy risks.

https://www.openrightsgroup.org/press-releases/under-16-social-media-ban-would-expand-age-gating-for-millions-and-silence-young-people/

#socialmedia #uk #socialmediaban #ageverification #privacy #ukpolitics #ukpol

A version of the U16s ban is already being debated in the UK House of Lords as an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

This goes beyond social media to include social functions of online games, WhatsApp and Wikipedia.

Shutting young people out of digital public spaces, rather than building ones that work for them is not protection. It is exclusion.

#socialmedia #uk #socialmediaban #privacy #freedomofexpression #ukpolitics #ukpol

Online harms are driven by platform design and business models. A blanket ban on young people doesn't fix this.

We need:

⚫ Interoperability to promote competition over standards.
⚫ Greater user control over feeds and content moderation.
⚫ Strong enforcement of data protection laws for children.
⚫ Limits on profiling and targeted advertising, and greater transparency around how user data is used on platforms.

#socialmedia #uk #socialmediaban #privacy #freedomofexpression #ukpolitics #ukpol

“Protecting children online should not mean building a surveillance infrastructure for everyone.”

“We need regulation that puts users back in control, not policies that force people to trade their privacy and voice for access to modern life.”

🗣️ James Baker for ORG.

#socialmedia #uk #socialmediaban #privacy #freedomofexpression #ukpolitics #ukpol

@openrightsgroup I think the first point is open to misinterpretation. Bad people think competition is better than having standards: Microsoft, Google, Amazon... because they can use their monopoly in a market to win the competition.

I'd prefer to have 1 good standard over 2 competitors, but a competition for that 1 standard is a good idea e.g. TCP/IP.

If nothing wins, we waste so much duplicated effort, fighting: vi vs emacs, Unix System V vs BSD, KDE vs Gnome.

@openrightsgroup I wonder how many VPNs have been sold by recent UK ID requirements on porn sites? Do they really think a randy teen won't crack controls invented by clueless middle-aged politicians trying to show how 'strong' they can be? :-)

@openrightsgroup That seems excessive. There should be safe spaces for children to chat to others perhaps limited by time (if such a thing were possible). And banning Wikipedia? It’s more reliable than AI guff even if it isn’t 100%. My son had online safety classes at school every year and we always advised him to give out no information about himself online ie age, where he lives etc

@openrightsgroup There is a point here which can't be overstated: you need to check everyone's ID if you hope to banish a group like the under-16s from the Internet. In other words hey you - papers please, if you want to go online!

@openrightsgroup The uk already has several databases that indicate a person is over 18. National Insurance, tax, NHS number, etc. A random code could be generated and issued, but not linked to an individual known to be over 18. Also, a number of roles within society are allowed to estmate age for dispense alcohol, etc. so maybe they could issue unlinked age verification. If a trusted 3rd party (post office, GP, for a small fee) viewed id irl, they could issue an unlinked internet id cde.

@openrightsgroup and youngsters will have figured a workaround before the ink is dry.

@openrightsgroup It might actually silence all people. I read a comment from someone saying, "If I need to confirm my age on (some account... forgot his complaint), then I won't go on again."

This could stop many people of all ages from logging on anywhere online.