The UK debate around under-16 social media restrictions is not just about children being online.
That part matters, of course. Children should be protected from harmful platforms, addictive design, and exploitative algorithms.
But the bigger question is this:
Do we really want ordinary adults to hand over passports, driving licences, or biometric data just to access social platforms, games, comment sections, or online communities?
Age verification sounds simple until you realise what it can become: a gatekeeping system for everyday internet access.
Child safety should not become an excuse to normalise digital ID checks across the open web.
How do we protect children without building a surveillance checkpoint for everyone?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znCTwPSPeMc
#Privacy #DigitalRights #OnlineSafety #UKPolitics #AgeVerification #CivilLiberties #FreeSpeech #SelfSovereignty
beitmenotyou1 / Michael J Burgess
npub123…58dpt
2026-05-27 09:24:51 UTC
Author Public Key
npub123j6zd6p5dls3qf2cae3dzqtrgl9vpd942jq6ge8l6mwr7muyy8qv58dptSeen on
wss://relay.nos.socialPublished at
2026-05-27 09:24:51 UTCEvent JSON
{
"id": "91719a5975c9e260f9e7e985b7453275d2a16d5f2a6ceac9dec0bcfa5fd8bd81",
"pubkey": "5465a13741a37f08812ac77316880b1a3e5605a5aaa40d2327feb6e1fb7c210e",
"created_at": 1779873891,
"kind": 1,
"tags": [
[
"t",
"Privacy"
],
[
"t",
"DigitalRights"
],
[
"t",
"OnlineSafety"
],
[
"t",
"UKPolitics"
],
[
"t",
"AgeVerification"
],
[
"t",
"CivilLiberties"
],
[
"t",
"FreeSpeech"
],
[
"t",
"SelfSovereignty"
],
[
"client",
"Primal Web"
]
],
"content": "The UK debate around under-16 social media restrictions is not just about children being online.\n\nThat part matters, of course. Children should be protected from harmful platforms, addictive design, and exploitative algorithms.\n\nBut the bigger question is this:\n\nDo we really want ordinary adults to hand over passports, driving licences, or biometric data just to access social platforms, games, comment sections, or online communities?\n\nAge verification sounds simple until you realise what it can become: a gatekeeping system for everyday internet access.\n\nChild safety should not become an excuse to normalise digital ID checks across the open web.\n\nHow do we protect children without building a surveillance checkpoint for everyone?\n\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znCTwPSPeMc\n\n#Privacy #DigitalRights #OnlineSafety #UKPolitics #AgeVerification #CivilLiberties #FreeSpeech #SelfSovereignty",
"sig": "5ea51f21fc454229b622e2162368c9a8b5bbf80354ec70dd51d72e2c1c2b615c7db654fe7bfb139f29f4332f2a8b9071f9a30af9bf9d7b134e996e973c919123"
}