ukpol
Heads up anyone who cares about young people's rights or internet freedom or privacy in the UK
The UK consultation on further "online safety" measures has opened up, anyone can participate, there are surveys for young people (10-21), parents/carers and the general public
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/growing-up-in-the-online-world-a-national-consultation
re: ukpol
This includes all the hits - social media ban under 16, age restricting VPNs - as well as some more classic New Labour authoritarian bollocks like a digital curfew, time limits on particular apps, and various other restrictions
re: ukpol
Although a complete ban is the worst case scenario, any age-based measure would require everyone to age verify, and so present many of the same problems, many platforms would probably choose to block anyway. I suspect the wording is aimed at negotiating people down to more "agreeable" restrictions that would have the same effect in the end
re: ukpol
I haven't gone through the full thing yet but will say if you're thinking about filling it out - be serious/thoughtful about it, consider the harms these restrictions would do to kids esp marginalised & abused ones, don't only talk about adult privacy/freedom as that's easier for them to dismiss