Looks like some have to the come conclusion that the problem in "1984" was the dangerous lack of surveillance. This is a left-wing (Labour) government, btw.

Stuff like this is why I no longer want regulations to protect us from big tech. Thank you very much.

all 56 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] 81 points 5 months ago* (19 children)

Yeah, since it's the UK, I have a hunch that will include scanning your ID and uploading it to 5 different "international parners" aka American companies. To be tied to all online activity... Why not simply mandate parental controls be implemented in all phones and tablets, and we can do it without all the privacy invasion?

  • source
  • hideshow 19 child comments
  • [+] 66 points 5 months ago (6 children)
  • [–] 4 points 5 months ago* (3 children)

    Hmmh, sure. That's usually 300% of what this is about. Though they have some "genuine" attempts at filtering the internet over in the UK. From what I gather, ISPs are supposed to filter pornography, copyright violations, gambling, weapons and violence and all sorts of stuff (Edit:??) per default. So there seems to be some wish for a "family safe" internet mixed in with the usual exploiting children to manifest some surveillance dystopia... Which definitely is the major reason why this is pushed all around the globe.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 9 points 5 months ago* (2 children)

    There's really not much filtering here. A couple of torrent sites is pretty much everything. Sure, porn got stuck behind an age check but that's about it. There's no restriction on gambling, weapons etc.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 child)

    Huh. And how do these age checks work? Is that something you'd call your internet service provider to remove for you? Or is it just the average "Are you over 18? Y/N" popup?

    But doesn't sound too different from what we got. My ISP here in Germany has some secret list of forbidden piracy sites. So I switched to a different DNS server and I'm all good. Is that what they do in the UK as well? Sorry I'm lacking a bit in first hand experience. Haven't been there in a while. An when on vacation, I rarely try to watch porn or read about automatic rifles 😅

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago

    It wouldn't surprise me if the list was the same tbh.

    As for porn, they want you to do the age verification thing on the providers site. Probably involving some third party checking what your face looks like, or something. Most people I know just use a VPN to a more civilised nation.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 6 points 5 months ago (10 children)

    Your responsibility as a parent is to make a best effort to protect your children. Giving them a phone with a camera, microphone, and unrestricted access to the whole damn internet is like handing them a loaded gun. Stop IDing everyone and fine or lock up neglectful parents.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 10 child comments
  • [–] 12 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    If this was actually about protecting children then they could simply ensure phones had an ability for parents to enable a firmware lock which added these protections to their child's device. No need for people to provide age verification credentials to the government. Of course, it's not really about kids it's about normalizing explicit tracking of adults' internet use.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (7 children)

    Yeah, I mean they do have to be able to communicate with their friends, listen to audiobooks... Do their homework assignments, look up the bus schedule or text/call mom to pick them up, read/watch stuff if they like... Learn about the world. So there needs to be some sane way to do these things.

    But it's not like anyone needs to send in their ID to Google to accomplish that.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 7 child comments
  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago (4 children)

    While I'm 100% on your side here and I make a point to champion the actual values of these anxiety riddled glass boxes, I do want to point out that we can do all that without them. My kid didn't get modern electronics until he was competent with paper books, dictionary, and offline only tech.

    That said, the added stance here is that we can have both. My kid's phone is locked down to the point that he can't even message contacts that I didn't approve. It's all operated in house from his phone, my phone, and the shit box excuse for a server I run. I have a curated plan for how he'll earn his way up to full access and planned strategies for teaching him the safety and independence he needs. I know exactly fuck all about tech, can't remember any commands for Linux, struggled to understand Docker, but still managed to make it happen. If I can pull it off, the only thing stopping literally anyone else is the choice not to do it.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago (2 children)

    Hmmh. Is there good Free Software to do these things with a Linux server at home?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 4 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    Right now I'm using a combination of Home Assistant on the server, GrapheneOS on the phones, a pihole set up as a DNS whitelist, and an app that escapes me from F-droid that locks other apps bases on screen time. Took me maybe 10min to find everything and 2 months to set up but that was mostly due to my sheer incompetence when it comes to anything that isn't physical. Along the way I even got a jellyfin server going age appropriate music and video sectioned off for him. When he's responsible enough for it I'll be teaching him how to pirate his own content.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago

    My first computer of my own was a wiped surplus machine my father brought home from work, with a pack of Redhat floppies and an 800 page user manual in a binder. I was allowed to do whatever I wanted on it as long as I could figure it out myself.

    So like, now I have a PhD in engineering. Weird how that works.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago (1 child)

    Schoolwork aside, none of those things are critical. I haven't used Facebook since like 2009 and I turned into a successful, relatively well adjusted adult. I suppose there was even a good bit of porn thrown in there from time to time.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

    Idk. That's a bit of a treacherous point in itself. I mean first of all life isn't supposed to be just the bare essentials. But than that argument gets abused a lot, the usual stuff being "a bit of beating didn't harm me"... but it probably did. At least I've rarely seen it been used in a good context. I'd say it depends. Some things used to be better, or simpler back in the days. Some weren't. I think a lot of things (in society) improved in the 20 years or so since I've finished growing up. I don't think the internet did. All the social media stuff got way worse. But it's complicated. I don't see any reason to be on 4chan at 13yo. But at the same time we also don't want some "clean" dystopian society like in the dark sci-fi movies. Sexuality is part of life. And so is making mistakes, experiences...

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 80 points 5 months ago (3 children)

    Adults will still be able to take, share or view nude content through an age verification process.

    OR "Harvesting Users data/IDs via social media isn't working because people just simply stopped using social media...but people can't stop looking at porn! that's where we'll get em!"

    fuck off.

  • source
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 24 points 5 months ago*

    Bet it'll still bar a significant amount of youthful looking, small breasted, hair-free folk up to the age of 40.. If they also implement an AI scan

    Bet said AI model that would clearly be trained on images of CSAM will be hacked to generate worse images than Grok

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 9 points 5 months ago

    They're just evolving. Its all the same thing - a foot in the door. Using children and even teenagers as bait is the real tragedy here, such minorities are only getting harmed with this victim blaming bullshit.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 9 points 5 months ago

    Conservative logic be like: "It's personal responsibility. If you don't want to get an abortion, just don't have sex!"

    Also Conservatives: "We can't have anyone look at porn! So we must make it as difficult as possible for people to view porn."

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 42 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    Calling Starmer's Government left-wing is ironic considering by most accounts he's proven himself to be slightly progressive Tory in a red tie

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 31 points 5 months ago
    [–] 34 points 5 months ago (9 children)

    This is a left-wing

    Oh?

    (Labour) government, btw.

    Oh.

    Neoliberal is not “left wing“.

  • source
  • hideshow 9 child comments
  • [–] [S] 3 points 5 months ago (7 children)

    What would be a left-wing party in the UK?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 7 child comments
  • [–] 19 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    I think Labour were left wing before, but they were compromised by right-wingers and now they are about as right wing as our right wing mainstream party, the conservatives.

    Pro-Israel, arresting activists, cutting welfare and disability benefits. I like to call them Forced Labour.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 5 points 5 months ago* (4 children)
  • [–] [S] 1 point 5 months ago (3 children)
  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago (2 children)

    sorry, are you asking in what way a party like green would be considered left wing in the UK?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] [S] 2 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    Ok, yeah. Stupid question. I mean: In what way are they left, but labour isn't?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 8 points 5 months ago

    Labour focus on an economy that is for business. They think that austerity leads to growth (somehow). They basically sell themselves as neo liberals with a heart, but that heart isn't in control of much.

    Greens as like the Labour of old. They focus on an economy that serves the population. They want to redistribute wealth away from corporations and banking, towards the rest of us, and services for the rest of us.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 16 points 5 months ago

    Oh god you useless fucks. You realize a non nude image is easily made nude with AI now right? The end result is the same, whether its real or not.

    In addition, there are more ways to share these than just using computers. You can't possibly police it all.

  • source
  • [–] 15 points 5 months ago*

    How about arresting pedophiles starting with those connected to Epstein?

  • source
  • [–] 15 points 5 months ago

    We will do anything except education.

  • source
  • [–] 27 points 5 months ago (2 children)

    We cannot possibly let children know what a human body is or looks like !

  • source
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 13 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    This is already partially true. With the crippling ability to properly teach sex-ed & biology - because "reasons"; we have children and also teens/adults who know barely anything about sexual anatomy.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 4 points 5 months ago

    It's their master plan: if kids don't learn about bodies and sex, they'll have unwanted pregnancies soon. Ooops: we also banned abortions! Wow, amazing. Now there's going to be a wave of new kids that can work for our companies and make us earn more money!!

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 12 points 5 months ago

    So, they don't have a plan. Their "plan" is threatening the companies to implement their ideas, or else!

  • source
  • [–] 12 points 5 months ago

    Labour government not punching themselves in the dick challenge (impossible)

  • source
  • [–] 11 points 5 months ago (2 children)

    The UK ain't far behind the US now is it?

  • source
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 10 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    Wdym? UK started all of this. They've had age verification working since summer 2025, then EU joined and got it implemented in autumn for many sites like X for example where any NSFW content requires age verification (for more than half a year now), and US only started coming up with similar stupid laws almost a year afterwards.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 8 points 5 months ago

    Nooo, it's only me who can look at underage nudes, not the underage people!!

  • source
  • [–] 15 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    I don't know why isn't it just the parents responsibility. For example where I live, you can get charged with "negligent storage of a firearm". Why can't there just be a "negligent allowing your kid to do whatever they want with no DNS filtering" offense

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 6 points 5 months ago

    Imagine how scarring it would be to look in a "smart mirror" and have it automatically censor your own body.

    This is of course, aside from the million reasons I don't trust the government when they talk about "for the children" …

  • source
  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    Stuff like this is why I no longer want regulations to protect us from big tech. Thank you very much.

    Don't throw the baby out with the bath-water.

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 4 points 5 months ago

    Don't throw the baby out with the bath-water.

    Well said, the regulations are doing precisely what they want; which is regulating the populace. Its a double edged sword where both the corpos and gov want to fuck us over.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago*

    This is literally impossible even with ai and a dangerous bill for big tech. While for smaller Fediverse Communities it's much much easier to moderate that type of content since

    a. we don't have to rely on a corporation to provide the tools we need.
    b. you would only be responsible (I think) for content on your own local feeds. However if you are responsible for federated content appealing as well, might want to federate with servers with some type of user verification (not id verification) but like verifying your use purpose of a server they are joining. and defederate from other servers that are not moderating their local feeds.

  • source
  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago

    First? What about Afghanistan or Iran?

  • source
  • 23 comments in c/privacy@lemmy.ml view that post
    [–] 39 points 4 months ago (3 children)

    The language used in the entire thing is so off putting. Like they really really want you to believe is for the children. Also, the first country in the world that won't allow children to share pictures of themselves nude? I had to chuckle at that (to be clear, I think children should not operate devices unattended to avoid stuff like this, but that should be parenting, not daddy government)

  • source
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 21 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    think children should not operate devices unattended to avoid stuff like this, but that should be parenting, not daddy government)

    Same. The colateral damage of policies like this is just too much.

    I'm not a parent but I do sympathize with parents in this day. I know they can't supervise kids 24/7. Often the kids are more techy than the parents. Kids can run circles around them. I get that the internet is dangerous for kids. So is big-tech, IMO. Getting kids used to being vassals of big tech, that's harmful in a differnet way. Plus, social media can harm their mental heath and development. It even makes them less empathetic, esp while their personalities are still developing.

    I get all that! I want kids to be safe too! IDK what the right answer is. But it can't be this. It can't be total surveilence of every picture everyone takes! It can't be turning control of every device over to Apple and Google, as the final authority. This guy warned us for good reasons.

    There is a real prob with kids and tech. But we can't, forgive the exp, throw the baby out with the bath water, and lose ultimate control of our own devices.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 9 points 4 months ago*

    Teaching kids about openness and dangers of online activities is one of the best things to do. Make sure your kids feel safe to tell you what they are up to and you as a parent be also trusting on your kids judgment if they tell you the truth. Sure, some privacy is needed, but if something is up there is ground to talk about it.

    Another thing not discussed at all is parents actually spending time on what the kids use as apps or understand their social life, to make sure you understand as a parent how something works or how the circle of friends look like.

  • source
  • parent
  • [+] 3 points 4 months ago (1 child)
  • [–] 2 points 4 months ago

    This is a bit of a different issue. This as more to do parents not feeling that being part of this group is normal or acceptable. Kids need privacy on devices to an extent, but should be closely checked if there are any red flags on groomers, scammers or similar encroaching in the kid's life

  • source
  • parent
  • load more comments (-1 replies)
    [–] 33 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    How? How will they do this?

    Oh, an always on, always watching government mandated app connecting to a centralized government server?

    For the kids!

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 18 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    No parent should have to worry that giving their child a smartphone opens the door to abuse and exploitation.

    Yes they should be. They should be extremely worried about that. They should be fucking parents and handle it. Not have big daddy government do it for them.

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 11 points 4 months ago* (1 child)

    The subtitle on that page is so arrogantly ignorant.

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 8 points 4 months ago

    Hah yeah, "impossible". I bet it will take 60 seconds after w/e Google and Apple do rolls out, for some kid to bypass it. From which, 60 more seconds for every other kid to learn how, from that kid.

    And it won't even solve the big harms that kids experience from tech. It won't solve cyber bullying! It won't solve the disinformation firehose. It won't solve sextortion schemes. It won't solve doxing. It won't solve social media destroying their feeling of self worth. It won't solve swatting. It won't solve ANY of that shit.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 17 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

    And suddenly nudity becomes pornography.
    And also, looking at one's own body becomes something looking a lot like a sin one should not commit.

    I suppose the next logical step will be the reintroduction Victorian-like anti 'self-abuse' devices for young people? Have fun, kids

    What a wonderful world we're building.

  • source
  • [–] 8 points 4 months ago

    Narrator: no, it won't

  • source
  • [–] 8 points 4 months ago

    We feel mirror manufacturers should be held accountable for reflecting nudity by, of, from, or to minors.

  • source
  • [–] 9 points 4 months ago (5 children)

    I don't care if kids see porn. They'll live.

    Stop fucking with adults and blaming that goal.

  • source
  • hideshow 5 child comments
  • [–] -2 points 4 months ago* (4 children)

    My ex exposed our kids to porn and it seriously messed with one of them. More than a year of counselling and they were still never the same. Only took until adulthood that they could really process it. Some kids I would imagine may unalive themselves over it if the level of depression and anxiety my kid went through is anything to go by.

    I'm also a child sexual abuse survivor and was also exposed to porn as a kid and had issues because of it. It also took until adulthood for me to work through my sexual trauma and come to a place of mostly peace. But I am not likely to ever be 100% (even with the therapy I've had).

    Porn has only gotten more extreme over time with some seriously fucked up shit.

    So no, they may not survive and if they do, they don't always come out of it mentally unscathed.

    Porn exposure to kids is a form of sexual abuse and should be taken just as seriously.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 6 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (3 children)

    may unalive themselves

    Oh please stop that. We are not Tiktok here.

    And it depends on the kid, the kind of porn they see (bdsm, skat) and how enlightened the kid is, that porn is not like reality.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago (2 children)

    I'm going to need more details. Everyone saw it as a kid. Like wtf were these people seeing that caused trauma? I could see ut being traumatizing if maybe it was CSAM or something.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago (1 child)

    Sure I'll bite about what was a fucking awful time in our lives. I don't know they saw because my kid was so traumatised they were unable to speak specifics. But they were able to draw some of it which I am not going to put in detail here for what should be obvious reasons. But it wasn't vanilla that's for sure. To adults, I'm sure it would be fine. To a kid it would look like violent abuse.

    But hey, what would a fucking child abuse survivor and parent of a a kid who also suffered abuse know. Ffs, I thought I escaped Reddits gas lighting of abuse survivors and ignorance of academic studies which show the same.

    I'm done with this convo.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 0 points 4 months ago

    what a nothing reply. Normally when people have strong convictions about something genuine they're pretty transparent in their reasons. yours reads like generic exaggerated emotional manipulation with no actual substance to me. God forbid you get called out and asked to explain your horseshit eh? everybody else is the abuse enabler and your the perpetual victim poor you buddy.

    your done with this convo because you have nothing to offer and can't take criticism and if I'm being honest that's a you problem

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 2 points 4 months ago

    I will not co-parent with the government. The Epstein class suddenly cares about the safety and well being of children? I don't think so.

  • source
  • [–] 0 points 4 months ago* (2 children)

    I'm pretty sure big tech already had access to all of your pictures, and I don't think this means the UK government will gain access, they don't even know what to do with it anyway.

    I mean they explicitly say it should be done in a way so that no data leaves the device.

  • source
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] [S] 5 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    They're asking for something that will most likely require some server interaction, and can be modified to include more things the government doesn't like (mostly if Farage takes power at some point). It would be insane to think this is all well and good.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 3 points 4 months ago

    Plus, I'm wondering how you do it without data leaving the device. All I can think of is an AI model that willl process every picture. You can't compare to known hashes, b/c it's a novel picture out of the camera. The device has to judge it somehow.

    If there's an AI model, you'll have false positives and false negatives. And gray areas, where even reasonable humans would disagree. Since false negatives are way more legally risky, co's will err waaaaaaaay on the side of false positives. Which will block totally innocent pics. And gender diffs in what's socially accepted, and the AI will get that wrong a lot.

    Gonna be a mess.

  • source
  • parent