Why would anyone think 16 year-olds should be allowed to vote?

[MsAmerica]

Be honest - think back to when you were 16. Did you have an understanding of a broad range of issues? Did you pay serious attention to national news? Okay, even many adults may lapse on the score, but still, it seems crazy to me.

In the U.S., voting age had been 21 and the only reason it was lowered to 18 was that teens were being drafted to fight in Vietnam, and it was felt as unfair for them to have no say.

True

What am I missing?

Youl'd have to make the effort to look. Oh hang on...only 16 and 17 year olds would have to.

I can see why Labour did it. Reduce voting age but limit what the children can see. But on the basis it's such an obvious conflict to anyone with half a brain if we weren't governed by morons (apologies for language but they are) someone might have pointed it out.

We are into the worst part of the foursquare - Unknown unknowns.

All of science, all of my career, all of humanity has been edging towards removing as many people as possible from that corner of the playing field. And then this clown government, presumably aided by it's "AI" handlers goes and kicks the ball into the long grass over there.

You have to make an effort to look,

Well yes, would you prefer to have news spoonfed to you?

It's no more effort for a 16 year old as it is for 36 or 76 year old.

This new objection of yours is a stretch worthy of an Olympic gymnast.

We shall see. I think the government are going to have problems with this. If you limit what 16 year olds can see, then you are not allowing them an informed vote. If you have even a basic understanding of how democracy works then you understand this point. If you don't, then you won't.

An 18 year old can read/see the Internet.
A 16 year old can only read or see what they are permitted to. And what they are permitted to see will be determined by politicians and ofcom. It's unbelievable really. Or would have been before July 2024.

Never heard of news sites? There are hundreds of them - none of which are or ever will be age specific.

Remember. It will also mean that many scenes from Gaza for example will be unavailable as they may contain upsetting violence. That is OK with me. Is that OK with everyone on this thread bearing in mind many people were arguing that 16 year olds are more switched on politically than most people? And were old enough to see everything.

Why do you think that under 18s will not be allowed to see news sites?

I have to say. Apologies. I really dont mean to be rude. The arguments countering mine are pretty weak! 😂

Part of the electorate will have less available information than all the rest of the electorate.

Part of the electorate due to an altered algorithm won't know what they aren't being told. The unknown unknowns.

It's so interesting how it's the left wingers on this thread that continue to valiantly support something that is so very wrong. As with so much of this government's actions.

But there's no problem with an uninformed electorate though.

What kind of news sources have unavailable war scenes?

Well, any platform that allows them to see content that is "harmful to.children" such as violence for example will be severely punished. Any platform that allows them to hear details of politically sensitive issues such as what the girls suffered at the hands of rape gangs.

This means the BBC, X, apple, android cannot show news that contains the content listed in the Act

What is restricted content will be decided by politicians and OfCom. They will make political decisions.

This obviously can be used by Labour. But it can also be used by a future Reform government.

None. This is one of the most ridiculous arguments I’ve ever seen. Can anyone seriously think that news sites like the BBC will ever be age verified?

It's not the news sources. It's the platforms that will be fined.

How does that work for newspapers whose online sites are reflections of a paper anyone who can read can access?

Do you think 16 year olds watch the BBC news?

Where do you think 16 year.olds get their political views from? It's not the BBC.

My point is that 16 year olds are now potentially open to political censorship at the exact time as the franchise is being extended. Come on! It's outrageous behaviour by Labour. If Reform tried this there would be uproar by all lefties! 🤣

A platform isn't going to be able to run the defence of "well we showed content that breached the law but it wasn't us that made it!!"

Actually X has already started restricting content for the UK as a whole. So I suppose that evens things up a bit age-wise

That isn’t what I said.

The newspapers will get fined if they allow someone under the age of 18 to access restricted content. Read the legislation!

Also a newspaper will be hosted on a platform too.

Anyway I think the Online Safety Act has successfully scuppered any reasonable argument for extending the franchise downwards. Now we shall watch and see if Labour are a democratic party or are gerrymandering.

You're making some enormous assumptions about how the act will be deployed and what it was intended for. What will you do if the government decides not to restrict access to news sites but limits its implementation of the Act to things like porn, grooming, crime, radicalisation - the things it was originally intended for?

Honestly, you're catastrophising about something that won't happen just because you don't want 16 and 17 year olds to vote. And it's already been established that as a bloc they won't make a noticeable difference to election outcomes, so what are you so concerned about?

There's no such danger of catastrophising with this government. They know they are going to lose in 2029. They are desperate. The wording of the Act re proscribed information for 16 and 17 year olds is extremely wide and to be determined by a political body (Ofcom).

If its just porn they are worried about why has Keir Starmer set up an elite (ahem) squad of police to check people's online posts?

Just because some parents have made an arse of raising their children doesn't mean that all 16/17 year old young people should be denied the right to vote. Many in this age group are very switched on.

Not as switched on as 18 year olds will be allowed to be...