Mike

[Mike @redbeardsmashy]

As a Belgian I've had some recent experiences with twats that don't care about us regular people and do whatever they want.
The people of Clacton now have a unique opportunity, get Count Binface at least a 4-1 majority win against this twat!

[Mike @redbeardsmashy]

@ClaireCoutinho Cut costs for AI data centres? They are run/funded by the richest people on the planet and you want their costs cut? No thanks, fewer data centres please, we've got too many already.

[Mike @redbeardsmashy]

@BGatesIsaPyscho The first part of this is such a big problem and it's not just about the kids, they'll go to platforms that aren't regulated and more than likely very unsafe for them and any adult that complies will get their ID stolen/cloned and abused.

[Mike @redbeardsmashy]

@joe44778 @BGatesIsaPyscho Interesting, an American trying to put ideas in our head in a post about the UK, that's new and exciting...
You're completely wrong either way, kids know far earlier than you think what they like, who they like and if they feel right in their body or not.

[Mike @redbeardsmashy]

@piggykropotkin @Keir_Starmer My account was verified a while ago yet I can't chat after today's change... and reporting to support has done nothing.

[Mike @redbeardsmashy]

@TonyGoldSE @MazderVerhal @KirstieMAllsopp Is Mumsnet the most harmful part of the internet for being horribly misinformed?

[Chris Heatherly @chrisheatherly]

I’m actually a child online safety expert and was one of the pioneers in this space with Club Penguin and so I feel uniquely positioned to critique this.

The groomer problem is real but it’s also vastly overstated. The far larger issue we saw at Penguin was suicidality or reports of sexual abuse in the home.

There is no solution for lazy/bad parenting. You can implement all the ID laws you want but if parents are going to just hand kids their phones unlocked, those kids will have access to all the same things the parents have unfettered.

What I found is that these draconian safety laws actually make it harder to be an honest operator of kids apps because on one hand it’s so much legal risk and so much user friction that it simply becomes uninvestible as a business.

Parents will just lie to let their kids use the unfettered internet. For example, I have a friend who works in mobile gaming who has two kids, one above and one below the age limit but separated by just 2 yrs, and the two wanted to play and chat together on Roblox - which is reasonable. To do this, he just verified that his younger kid is old enough for the chat feature when he’s not.

This happens all the time and will happen with these laws to. How far do we want to go with this? Scan the face of the user in real-time to make sure it’s not a kid using the device? We could do that but it feels like a massive unwanted intrusion of privacy.

That’s how you know this law isn’t about kids. COPPA and GDPR-K and so forth already make it illegal to allow chat and other grooming vectors to kids.

What’s really being done here is trying to eliminate online anonymity. And this is a far bigger issue that goes to core speech rights because if you cannot criticize the govt anonymously and if wrong speech is a crime then it becomes easy to identify all the detractors of the govt in power, and ban, fine or jail them for speech crimes.

Starmer has already been doing this and he wants to do it at a much bigger scale. Starmer won’t even acknowledge the problem of actual grooming gangs in Britain’s neighborhoods but he’s worried about online grooming?

No he’s not, and this hypocrisy gives away the game. What he wants is to kill online anonymity so he can enforce censorship of his unpopular policies. No politician should have this power.

[Spitfire @RealSpitfire]

To the idiots celebrating government controlling kids, you just agreed to adults having to hand over facial recognition, digital ID, passports and/or credit card details to prove you are not a child.

Your stupidity is immeasurable.

[Mike @redbeardsmashy]

@Pinotnoirgirl @badgers_back All those things happened before social media existed, I know, I've been there. This ban won't help kids, those things will still happen.

[Blues Badger @badgers_back]

I have put restrictions on my kids phones so they can’t use them before 7am or after 8pm except to make calls/send texts.

They can’t download apps without me approving and they’re not allowed:

WhatsApp
Instagram
TikTok
Snapchat
X

It’s called parenting, some should try it.

[Mike @redbeardsmashy]

@sciantificnew I'm not at all worried about what I say on social media, I'm worried about what will happen with the data I have to provide to be able to continue to use what the government considers to be social media. Worst part is parents can already stop their kids, parental controls exist.

[Mike @redbeardsmashy]

@notkatbaker You're making 20 year predictions? I've got one too, before the end of the year people in the UK won't have to worry about phishing emails/texts anymore, scammers will have access to all our personal data and it will have made 0 difference for kids.

[Weasel Words 🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇮🇪 @WeasleWords]

30+ years in technology here. These politicians and their advisors are dangerously ignorant. They know nothing about how the internet, devices, networks, or age verification actually work. Armed only with soundbites and lobbyist talking points.
When you interview them, push hard on the how, not the headline. This “ban” will mean mandatory facial scans or ID uploads for every user, VPN circumvention on steroids, black-market accounts, and unprecedented privacy invasions (for everyone).
Platforms can’t enforce it without breaking end-to-end encryption or becoming state surveillance tools.
Exemptions for WhatsApp, Discord etc. make it pure theatre.
Kids already bypass school filters in minutes. Real protection needs parental tools, education, and targeted fixes, not grandstanding legislation that treats the entire internet like a 1990s TV remote. Enforcement by 2027?
They’ll still be arguing over what “social media” even means while the tech has moved on.
This is performative governance at its worst.
Tech veterans - chime in:

[Mike @redbeardsmashy]

@ZeroRegrets3 @matthewdmarsden You're right, it's the same thing, I've had to give every shop owner a copy of my ID every time I bought alcohol.

[Mike @redbeardsmashy]

@PauletteHamilto This is a big step towards everyone getting their personal data stolen and not helping any kids at all.

[Mike @redbeardsmashy]

@MicrosoftUK my Minecraft account is almost old enough to be allowed to chat in the UK ruled by an incompetent and draconian government yet somehow I still have to verify my age, I tried, it said I was already verified....yet I still can't chat. Make that make sense!

[Mike @redbeardsmashy]

@KirstieMAllsopp It's not about keeping children safe, it's about having more of our personal data and (ab)using it. This ban won't help kids, the worst of the internet isn't even on social media. This government is either horribly incompetent or lying through their teeth.

[Mike @redbeardsmashy]

@its_Lexieroy All of the above, without a doubt. I'm also wondering if he's corrupt and will be getting some money for all the data he's forcing people to share.

[Mike @redbeardsmashy]

@harrystabbings "Britain is safer for it." biggest load of shite I've seen in a very long time. It didn't work in Australia and won't work here. It's actually making the internet much more dangerous for anyone in the UK uploading personal data that WILL get stolen.

[Mike @redbeardsmashy]

@leicesterliz Can we have someone in government that knows about technology because it's clearly not you @leicesterliz
Anyone that gets scammed in any way after this horribly misinformed change will have you to thank for it.