Greg Dash

Higher Education, Skills and Strategy at @UCL
Former Labour advisor: Elections, Local Government & Cabinet Office.
Fellow of @IWA_Wales.

[The Labour Party @UKLabour]

Congratulations to Andy Burnham, Labour MP for Makerfield!

[Rhys Williams﮷ @RhysWilliamsTV]

There is now no Labour Party representative in the Senedd in Wales' eastern valleys.

This is where Aneurin Bevan and Michael Foot used to win with 80% of the vote.

[Greg Dash @GregLabour]

A century of Labour leadership in Wales has come to an end - a record that made us "the most successful political party in the democratic world” according to Cardiff University.

Time for reflection - but urgently we need a change in leadership.

[Paul Moore - Security Consultant  @Paul_Reviews]

4 days ago, @vonderleyen said
"This app will allow users to prove their age when accessing online platforms. Just like shops ask for proof of age for people buying alcoholic beverages"

There's a palpable irony there which is only evident when you dive into the architecture of the #EU #AgeVerification framework.

When a shopkeeper asks for ID, four things happen simultaneously; the shopkeeper sees the person's face, compares it to the photo on the ID, confirms their date of birth and hands the product to the same person. They're also highly unlikely to keep a copy/disseminate it, but I digress.

Verification and consumption are bound together by their physical presence.

With the AV app:
There's no human shopkeeper.
There's no line of sight with the consumer.
There's no personal ID to verify.

"Proof" of age can come from anywhere and there's absolutely no way for the "shopkeeper" to spot it's not true.

For the company desperate to reach compliance, they'll likely consider the checkbox ticked and won't invest in genuinely helpful protection as there's now a strong legal argument that no further investment is necessary. They'll point to the cryptographic, government-backed, hardware-attested, zero-knowledge proof and declare the problem solved.

That wouldn't be unreasonable either. @vonderleyen said it herself, "now there's no excuse" - suggesting this, and this alone, is sufficient to reach compliance and represents the gold standard against which other systems should be benchmarked.

It's the European Commission effectively telling an industry to stop investing in alternatives; the problem has been solved.

So, let's flip the narrative and implement this in the real, physical world.

A 10yr child enters an off-license.
The shopkeeper can clearly see they're a child, but to make absolutely sure, they present a QR code which the child scans with their phone.
Rather than using the AV app, the child installs a free relay which simply sends the challenge to a valid phone.
The phone receives the challenge, has no idea where it came from or who initiated it, signs it and sends "proof" back to the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper, utterly confused, has cryptographic proof they are over 18 and hands over the alcohol.

The EU #AgeVerification framework has created the digital equivalent of "excuse me mate, can you buy us some alcohol?" - it removes every single element that makes the physical analogy work... then makes the situation worse.

It does not & can not protect children in the manner they describe.
It creates a legal shield for companies looking for compliance, not necessarily child safety.
It's creates a commodity market for bulk-generated, pre-approved assertions that you're "over 18".

... that's just at the architecture level. The implementation goes on to make a mockery of authentication, doesn't cryptographically tie PINs to vaults, stores sensitive biometric data insecurely and breaches #GDPR in the process.

I don't think anyone disputes the need to protect children from online harm, but this really isn't the solution.

[Greg Dash @GregLabour]

@johnsearby57 Yep, Preston Park. Drop me an email and looking forward to getting involved.

[Greg Dash @GregLabour]

@johnsearby57 Hi John, are you deputy at Preston Park branch? Moved into the area and trying to get to meetings.

[Greg Dash @GregLabour]

Gutted to see that @JimfromOldham has left his role at MHCLG, especially just after the 2nd reading of the Devo Bill. Jim has Local Government running through his veins, and will be a hard act to follow. #Reshuffle

[Abtisam Mohamed @Abtisam_Mohamed]

Great news: 9 Gaza students will be evacuated to start their UK scholarships.

I’ve led cross-party efforts with 100+ MPs to help over 40 students escape war and study in safety.

This must not stop here, we must evacuate the rest. #LetThemLearn

https://t.co/pkBLWVmZFv

[Greg Dash @GregLabour]

Great from @williamnhutton - also arguing for funding an Americorps style programme like @ukyearofservice that I strongly agree with (obvs a bit biased) https://t.co/3ZFSOSguNR

[The Labour Party @UKLabour]

Happy St David’s Day from the Labour Party.

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus gan y Blaid Lafur.

[stellacreasy @stellacreasy]

Walthamstow know many people were worried about someone trying to deface or steal our banksy pelicans - thank you to the unsung heroes who have now made sure it’s protected in such a sensitive way and we can enjoy it ( and the chips!) for many years to come.

[Greg Dash @GregLabour]

Also Bonners do really good chips ❤️

[stellacreasy @stellacreasy]

Walthamstow. Where even our chippy is just a bit cooler than everyone else’s …. #boastingMP

Even if this isn’t a #banksy it’s brill and the chips there are magic so thank you whoever added this bit of beauty to our street art today … (h/t amy for the picture!)

[UK Year of Service @ukyearofservice]

On 16 & 17 July, @NCSTrust hosted our Summer conference.

The event saw over 80 members develop their skills, with sessions from @SpeakersTrust and NCS and provided networking opportunities.

Thank you to all our members for your engagement and willingness to meet new people.

[Department of Health and Social Care @DHSCgovuk]

We welcome Andrew Gwynne MP @GwynneMP as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention.

[Roderik Rekker @RoderikRekker]

(1/-) Very excited to share that this paper from my Veni-project has just been published. By analyzing 258 elections studies from 21 countries, I examined to what extent electoral change between 1948 and 2021 has been driven by generational replacement.
https://t.co/8GqqMO6n6C

[Cllr Andrew Morgan OBE @AndrewMorganRCT]

It was great to attend and see the stunning Eisteddod chair and crown being unveiled this evening at Llantrisant Guild Hall.

50 days until we welcome the Eisteddfod to RCT 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[Greg Dash @GregLabour]

@DanielSleat 👏

[Greg Dash @GregLabour]

@FisherAndrew79 @Grownmangrumble Labour have said they are not giving voting rights to EU nationals.

[HOPE not hate @hopenothate]

Liz Truss’s alarming descent into far-right territory continues as she appears on the notorious Lotus Eaters show to promote her new book.

🔗 Read our full analysis here:
https://t.co/golmJKmmxh