AIBU to think the social media ban will be impossible to enforce?

[Viviennemary]

I'm not totally against this ban on social media for under 16's. but I don't see how it can be enforced. It's on BBC news now. One boy spent 14 hours a day. Another girl 9 hours. Crazy.

Are old people and it is generally older people going to be excluded from websites because they haven’t got a driving licence or passport. To age verify for Apple you needed a driving licence, passport or credit card unless you had had an account for 18 years

Precisely. The onus is on the social media companies to come up with a system that works for them - and no doubt different companies will come up with different solutions. The government certainly aren’t going to mandate one, just as they don’t mandate a system for the current age limit of 13 (which no one seems to have been bothered about when it was introduced).

Honestly, you would almost think this backlash was orchestrated by those who have the most to lose in not being able to pump toxic messages into the heads of impressionable children…

The irony is that if lockdown and the state of fear had not been so oppressive, I would probably now be welcoming restrictions on social media for youngsters, and even digital ID. But 2020 showed us so clearly how the government can weaponise technology, oppress the public with it, and paradoxically make us dependent on it, that I’m now extremely cynical.

I know this sounds like wild speculation, and may be totally unwarranted, but I think we need to get these thoughts out there. This has echoes of lockdown: snatch everything away at once, then hand back government-approved crumbs bit by bit, with tight strings attached. Total ban on social media for under 16s; but once they have digital ID, they can access this government-approved channel for studying. See also “throw the idea to the press, making it very vague how it will be done, and watch the public reaction”. This happened so many times in 2020 and 2021. Also, no discussion on how it will be enforced; apparently, the police chiefs didn’t know it was their duty to enforce lockdown, until Boris Johnson announced it on TV; they had no briefing at all.

It will stop kids being able to tell their parents “But EVERYONE else has it, I’m the only one who doesn’t “

Theres a huge mental health crisis with young people and we have to look at what’s changed in society to cause this. I think it’s sensible to take steps to try to address what could be contributing to this

They are free to get identification if they wish to.
Are you concerned about those 18-25 who are forced to purchase ID in order to buy age restricted products due to the check 25 policy?

They should also ban parents using their children to make money on social media by putting their whole lives out there for strangers to see.

Then it seems that you object to the ban itself, rather than have concerns about how it will be enforced.

They can generally get a cheaper provisional driving licence. People over 70 can’t

those parents that allow their DC to watch 15 films at 10 will just log them in anyway. BBC seem happy about it as many families watch YouTube instead of getting a TV licence

It will be up to social media providers how they ensure that they are not providing accounts to under 16s. They will, like any service provider, have to abide by the Equality Act 2010 and ensure they are not indirectly discriminating against the protected characteristic of age.

I would imagine that Apple might be indirectly discriminating if they only accept those forms of ID. Compare it to the list of ID acceptable for voting for example.

Yes this is wild speculation and it was hardly a shock that during a global unprecedented pandemic things happened that hadn’t been entirely considered- because it had literally never happened before.

All this sounds like tin hat conspiracy theory silliness, and ironically the kind of stuff that circulates unchecked on social media.

The BBC have just done a partnership deal with YouTube.

And no one will be breaking any laws if they do so. The proposed ban is on social media companies providing accounts to under 16s, not on under 16s watching YouTube videos on the family TV (where they wouldn’t have access to the comments and chat features of YouTube anyway).

The more I’ve thought about this the more my biggest concern is growing. As a family we’ve suffered the horrific grooming of a child on sm ( not my child but one close enough) it’s absolutely destroyed her life. She will never be a normal functioning member of society after the things she’s seen and been subjected too.
she had no safe space as her parents banned her from all sm so at the start she couldn’t tell them what was happening because of fear of being told off for having sm in the first place. By the time her parents became aware she was so embroiled she enjoyed it and now she’s a very messed up young adult.

I am all for the ban tbh especially after what we’ve been through but I worry about those that get past it and have sm and how do they then go onto raise concern without fear of being told off? It’s also a groomers delight - don’t tell
anyone or you’ll lose your sm etc etc

There is no excuse anymore for older people not to use the internet. It’s been around decades.

If they didn’t learn when they were younger then that’s on them. It isn’t new tech.

People over 70 can apply for a provisional just as those 18-25 can.

Some might have valid reasons like not being able to afford broadband (true of a couple I know) or just lacking the technical savvy as they age.

Then I don’t think they will be moaning about having to verify their age to scroll on Tiktok, will they??

Then they should have learnt when they were younger. And you don’t need broadband for your phone.

Maybe harder to enforce for children who have already had access to the Internet/ parents who let them access it

I'm really pleased about it. DD is due to start high school in september and I had so much anxiety about her wanting social media because her friends could potentially of had it. It'll be so much easier now to say it's the law 🙌

It looks like Apple have updated and added more methods now like Pass cards. They did get a bit of a backlash as at first it was really just Driving licence or credit card for uk not even passport if you didn’t have a long standing account

Is it true that BlueSky is exempt from ban? If so, why? Is it because it's left wing? I personally think kids will find a way round the ban. It's all posturing from a moribund Keir Starmer.

No it’s not true it’s exempt.

No it’s not except because it’s fucking left wing.

Some of these posters with their fake news agenda are just proving the sort of disinformation and coordinated spread of it that young people are up against online.

The list of social media companies that will have to ensure that their users are 16 or over has not been announced.

it’s interesting that so many people have concerns that a single obscure platform that the vast majority in the UK won’t have even heard of has been left off the (non-existent) list.

Almost as if influential figures on the right (not least Mr Musk) who have had it in for BlueSky for months are orchestrating a campaign about it.