What's up, folks, long time no post. I figured here would be a safe space to vent some of my thoughts regarding the events of the past few weeks, because I don't use social media and any other forums I frequent have form for yeeting any stream of consciousness I have felt compelled to post in the past (looking at YOU, DW).
By now, I'm sure everyone (still) here is aware of the UK's Online
Surveillance Safety Act - a bill passed under the previous UK government that requires all websites operating in the UK to provide "robust" age verification checks (most of which have been punted on to a third party company run by a
very good friend of the government) to ensure that all users consuming 18+content are of legal age, either via facial scans or government-issued ID, all under the banner of "protecting children" - a large section of whom were just granted the right to vote, no less. The same bill also gives sweeping power to the Home Secretary to change what is classed as unsuitable for children on a whim.
Now, every major website, from X to Spotify, from Youtube to Discord, are rolling out these "robust" age checks (which have already been defeated using images of Norman Reedus aka Sam Bridges from Death Stranding) and it is already spreading outside of the UK.
We are told that all of this is necessary to protect children and that anyone concerned about having their online privacy effectively revoked is "shielding predators" (actual quote from Peter Kyle, Minister for Science, who incidentally admitted to having a reading comprehension age of
, yet the content that has been deemed as "potentially harmful" extends far beyond simple pornographic material - extending as far as criticism of government policy, especially with regards to illegal immigration (quite a hot-button topic in the UK right now).
All of this comes into effect just as the new Labour government lowered the voting age to 16, meaning we now have a new block of voters who are legally forbidden from accessing dissenting opinions or other information which may sway their voting choice away from the establishment narrative.
You may have your own opinions on immigration, etc. We may fundamentally disagree, even, but personally, I am struggling to find a charitable interpretation of this.
Porn is an easy target - nobody in their right mind is ever going to defend it publicly when it comes to formulating government policy. But all too often, it is the trojan hors via which more sinister policy is smuggled into law.
This law does nothing for children - if the UK governments of the past 30 years gave a damn about children, frankly there are many other more effective measures they could have taken to prevent things like the Southport stabbings, 7/7, the Manchester Arena attacks, and so on. Instead, they choose to usher in a new era of surveillance. Digital ID is next, then digital currency. Nothing you do will be anonymous, everything will be recorded, tracked, and used against you for the rest of your life. One wrong word, one false move, and forget about finding employment, you won't even be able to buy groceries with the money you have. Prisons will no longer be necessary - all they need to do is ban/disable your account.
If this sounds ridiculous, it's already happening in China. Lawsuits are currently being drafted in the US to shut this shit down. There have been many attempts to implement laws like this in the past, but they have a nasty habit of bumping up against those pesky First and Fourth Amendments.
Here in the UK, though (I'm in Northern Ireland -
technically part of the UK but with absolutely no say in any of this), we have no such constitutional protections outside of Common Law, which has been eroded beyond recognition through decades of power grabs by - let's face it - the disciples of Tony Blair, both on the left and the right.
As for these so-called "protections" under this law, good God. There have already been dozens of fake "age-verification" sites popping up over the last week with the sole purpose of stealing people's ID, and many young people are reportedly turning to the likes of Tor and Mullvad just to use the internet as they were previously. Yes, the Online Safety Act is
actively pushing people towards the Dark Web.
I'm not in a good place right now given all of this - I'm of course running a VPN to avoid opening myself up to identity theft - but I shouldn't need to go to such lengths just to chill with some bloody Youtube videos. I feel like I'm in a Black Mirror episode.
Anyway, thank you for coming to my TED talk.
