Holding water in a sieve

is not possible is it? You might catch a drop or two. The sieve might appear to be damp. That will be about it. 

The "age verification" process for removing under 16s from social media looks like being about as useful. It has more holes in it than a Swiss cheese - and Swiss cheese is a great deal more useful. 

The onus for removing young people from social media has been put on the "big tech" companies. They have been warned they will be hit with massive fines if they do not comply.

But is it possible to comply? Is it really possible to comply? The answer of course is that it is not possible. This morning's paper contains a story of a boy who went through the "age verification" process. His face was scanned. He is fourteen and the verification process tells us he is twenty-five. 

Last night there was a fifteen year old interviewed on the news. He was quite frank about the fact that he intends to lie about his age. It is likely he has already done so. 

He won't be the only one. I overheard a bunch of giggling girls telling each other how they have already bypassed the ban by using make up to "look older". I imagine it was very easy to do. 

Teenagers will not meekly give in to this ban. They will find ways around it and there is a major problem with that fact. If they are using social media then they will now be doing it in contravention of the law.  Bullying won't stop. Telling others about bullying is going to be more difficult if it also involves the illegal use of a device.

Rather than put the onus on the tech giants it should have been put on young people and their parents. It should have been made illegal for under 16s to own a phone which can do more than make and receive calls and text messages.