ukpol
one thing i've noticed reading the hansard transcripts of the debates over online restrictions for under 16s is this great emphasis and panic over "stranger pairing" which i believe is what we used to call "making friends"
https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2026-04-28/debates/10561CF6-2D3B-4460-BE8A-0194D12E146C/Children%E2%80%99SWellbeingAndSchoolsBill
re: ukpol
never mind that 99% of such interactions are teens befriending other teens or having totally benign or positive interactions with adults. we're doing stranger danger again baby. oi mate you got a loicense for that human connection you're forming
re: ukpol
we should be educating kids about what dangerous interactions look like and the tools they have to block and report people or disable stranger contact on their own terms. but nah fuck informing and empowering them to keep themselves safe eh. that's too hard. just take away their rights
re: ukpol
and i do need to emphasise by the way that when they talk about preventing under 16s from "stranger pairing" or whatever they really mean preventing anyone who has not ID verified. so even if you don't give a shit about the kids (and you should) this will affect everyone
re: ukpol, abuse reference
one of the lords proposals was that the reasoning for whatever restrictions they land on should be taught in the national curriculum - quite revealing tbh that they don't want to teach them how to keep safe but do want to tell them that daddy government is keeping them locked away for their own good
like i often call this shit abusive but they really make the parallels clear sometimes