It started with “adult content” in the UK and US, and social media bans for children in Australia, France…and many others.
The UK just passed their own social media ban, and we know they’re not done yet. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has promised to “revisit” Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) in July, with a potential ban on the table.
The US is hovering toward a federal social media ban as well.
Next comes the operating systems themselves – meaning needing ID scans to access any and all phones, laptops, desktops or tablets. Or at least those from Google, Microsoft or Apple.
As PC Mag reports [emphasis added]:
Age verification laws are no longer limited to porn sites. Two US states have already passed laws requiring your operating system to collect your age, and a federal law is under discussion. After more than two dozen states passed laws targeting adult websites like PornHub—and Utah moved against VPN use—the next battleground is your operating system.
Starting in 2027, California’s Digital Age Assurance Act will require operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Android, ChromeOS, and Linux distributions, to ask users for their age during device setup and share an age range with apps. Depending on how future laws evolve, that process could eventually involve government IDs, credit cards, or biometric verification.
In the UK, in April, Apple changed their policy to force adults to share their ID, credit card or biometrics in order to use certain features of their iPhones. The “nudity detection” software will be device-based too.
And as the technological bounds of this tyranny expand, the moral panic aspect is shifting as well.
Fresh from “protecting the kids”, we’re already talking about social media “stoking division” instead:
The World Cup has prompted “hundreds of thousands” of “abusive” social media posts, according to tabloid headlines from earlier today.
Couple that with the UN’s shiny new “say no to hate” campaign and you can tell they’re feeling the momentum.
They’ve got their foot in the door now. Next comes the shoulder.
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