Re: Online Safety Bill Etc
 

I have no issues with that stuff being made illegal, what I have an issue with is it being used as an excuse to force 24/7 surveillance on each and every one of us, and surveillance on everything we do on our devices, every conversation we have etc.

Don't tell me they are not it, because they are, they have already looked into it, they are already forcing hardware manufacturers and software developers to implement it despite them saying "we won't be doing it".

The level of surveillance being introduced, the level of restrictions and control being introduced, the twisting of what was once a good idea, all because the Labour Government want to stop the people from being able to do anything they don't like.

I am grateful I have not had kids nor will I have kids, because I wouldn't want to bring a kid into a world where they are not allowed to be proud of who they are, not allowed to move freely, think freely or speak freely!

For those who think the Conservatives, Reform, Lib Dems, Greens etc will do any better or remove any of the stuff that Labour have put in place, well you are delusional, money is king and none of them will say no to their donors!

Re: Online Safety Bill Etc
 

Technically it already should do. The OSA doesn't make much distinction between a forum and other forms of social media in terms of what is considered in scope.
It was, and they had a chance to repeal it or not implement it, they chose to keep going with this, and there's also a fair chance they voted for it at the time as well.

Re: Online Safety Bill Etc
 

Indeed, the Act had all party support.

Regarding the banning of social media for u16's. 90% of parents who responded to the consultation about this were in favour of the ban & the Conservative leader of the opposition has said that she agrees with the ban & so will be supporting it.

Re: Online Safety Bill Etc
 

and what do the under 16s think about it

Re: Online Safety Bill Etc
 

Doesn't matter, they are not to be listened to, just like parents who took part in a Government and Ofcom related study, although I am for some reason struggling to find it, where the overall majority was that parents said they should be in charge of controlling what their kids see not the government.

I will keep trying to find it, and when I do I will post a link, but it puts a spanner in the works of those who seem to think that every parent on the planet wants to have to prove they are over 16 in order to use the internet, buy a newspaper or even walk into some shops.

How long before anyone under the age of 16 is not allowed in a shop because they might see a newspaper or magazine with a women on the front who, has been on a diet and the government says "Dieting is bad, it gives people mental health issues about their weight"!

Re: Online Safety Bill Etc
 

All governments want to control the public, just set about it in different ways.

Re: Online Safety Bill Etc
 

https://www.ippr.org/media-office/va...ren-ippr-finds

Re: Online Safety Bill Etc
 

*cough*

Re: Online Safety Bill Etc
 

I suspect that the majority of people in this country will be broadly in support of a ban for under-16s. As always, easy to pass a law, but how will it be implemented, how will it be enforced?

Let’s ask for (sensible, please) suggestions from my fellow posters; ‘just how would you implement it?'

I’ve seen some ideas; ‘special child-friendly phones’ - but not really practical for technical and commercial reasons.

So we have the problem of a phone or other device (laptops, some people still use desktops - especially gamers, games consoles etc.) which in the hands of an under-16 behaves differently to an identical device being used by a 17 year old. How does the device know? Remember it’s not possible for the under-16 to have to fail to show that they are old enough, the onus is on everyone else to have to prove that they are! Hopefully this could be done in a simple, non-invasive way - but I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting. More likely it’ll be send scans of your passport along with a mugshot to some third-party who will absolutely promise to keep it all secure, and destroy the info once age has been confirmed, and somehow the device knows this.

Oh and what happens if it’s a shared device?

But anyway, let’s assume that the ban becomes law and some age-verification method is in use. What happens when a tabloid paper reveals that some thousands of under-16s are still using SM - parents just ‘allowing’ it because they didn’t understand the parental controls, a bug in the verification system, someone found and disseminated a ‘work-around’?

Will even more draconian restrictions be put in place, again, for everyone, to try to close these loopholes - rinse and repeat?

I’m not against taking steps to protects children from the worse parts of the internet (or the world in general - the internet is just a means of communication), but let’s make sure that the ‘cure’ isn’t as bad as the ‘disease’!

Re: Online Safety Bill Etc
 

Tell me you don’t understand how statistical sampling works without telling me you don’t understand how statistical sampling works… ;)

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sampling.asp

https://yougov.com/en-gb/about/methodology

Re: Online Safety Bill Etc
 

Tell me how a survey of 2000 people (catered to the poll subject) is a valid indication of what every parent in the UK think.

Re: Online Safety Bill Etc
 

I fear that Hugh would have to explain the mathematics behind statistical sampling. Trust me, it’s not immediately obvious, but it does work.

If you are interested consider https://towardsdatascience.com/small...-1a1b15052ac8/

You’ll have to wade through the maths, but it does explain how an apparently small sample can fairly predict the probable views of a large population.

Re: Online Safety Bill Etc
 

It isnt, nor do we know what questions were actually asked (loaded or worded to get the answer wanted).
Its easy to ask if if you just think something is a good idea, without going into detail or the consequences.

I'm sure if you asked parents if families with children should all get free access to the internet they would all say its a great idea, without thinking about issues it may create.

This is complete ballcocks
Loss of childhood ? Seriously, what planet are they on ?

Re: Online Safety Bill Etc
 

So the dictator in charge, has just announced the death of digital privacy in the UK, with the introduction of a Social Media Ban, 10 sites initially but will be rolled out to all sites where communication can happen, including games etc.

Goodbye freedom, goodbye internet, it was nice whilst it was around.

Re: Online Safety Bill Etc
 

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has, this morning, confirmed that under-16s will be banned from social media as part of a major overhaul of online safety rules for children. New legislation hoped to be in place by Spring 2027

I'm 78 is this new legislation going to mean I have to prove I'm over 16 on every social media site I visit. :Yikes:
Also who will be the first to create a VPN where P = persona. It will only take one person to do it and kids will spread the information faster than a wild fire.
Never underestimate a young teenager they will always find a way around something that tries to stop them doing what they want to do.

Don't get me wrong I do believe we should protect our children but so much that has been put forward is already a naive attempt to turn back the tide.