The "social media ban" for under 16s

is just over a week away. 

I have had my say about this here and elsewhere. There is a High Court challenge coming up. The case will argue the legislation trespasses on the constitutional implied right of freedom of political communication. It will be interesting to see what arguments are put.

There is also the issue of "digital ID". At the moment the onus is on the big tech companies to deal with the issue. It is unlikely the legislation would have passed if it had been any other way because that would have meant bringing in some form of identification for everyone in order to get the proposed ban in place. The failure to comply will bring about large financial penalties for the companies.

In reality this is the first step towards some form of universal means of identification. It is going to be even easier for the government of the day to effectively "spy" on all we do. 

Whenever I go into the largest supermarket in the shopping centre I am asked if I have a "loyalty" card. The answer is "no". At times I have been asked if I want one. The answer is "no". The same thing occurs in the bakery. 

"But you could get..." I am told. No, I could not. I am all too aware that even "paying by card" tells them what  my shopping pattern is. I do not need to be inundated with "offers" for items I do not want. If an under sixteen year old pays for something with a card or, more likely, a phone "app" then the business and the government already know what they are spending their money on.  They know a great deal more about them as well. 

I reluctantly opted out of a medical information site because I was not certain it was secure. There is nothing particularly wrong with my actual health and certainly nothing I am ashamed of. I may not be "sane" in the eyes of some people but I have never been sectioned or talked to a psychiatrist as a patient. (My experience with them socially has been more than enough.) All that said I have no particular desire to share the details of my medical history with the world and any site can be "hacked". 

I can see a situation where the information being demanded by tech companies in an effort to abide by the age-related legislation will be used for other purposes. Really? 

Some people will say that teens only have themselves to blame for the ban. If they had used social media in a responsible manner then this legislation would not have been necessary. Give me a break! We are talking about children and young people here. 

Perhaps we should be putting much more responsibility on parents?