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UK Health Secretary Urges Social Media Companies To Block Cyberbullying And Underaged Sexting (betanews.com)
Mark Wilson shares his article on Beta News:
Health secretary Jeremy Hunt has made calls for technology companies and social media to do more to tackle the problems of cyberbullying, online intimidation and -- rather specifically -- under-18-year-olds texting sexually explicit images. Of course, he doesn't have the slightest idea about how to go about tackling these problems, but he has expressed his concern so that, in conjunction with passing this buck to tech companies, should be enough, right?
Hunt apparently believes there's already a technology which can identify sexually explicit photos, and that social media networks should now also develop algorithms to identify and block cyberbullying, an idea the Guardian called "sadly laughable."
"Is the blanket censorship of non-approved communications for all under 18s -- something that goes far further than even the Great Firewall of China -- really the kind of thing a government minister should be able to idly suggest in 2016?"
Hunt apparently believes there's already a technology which can identify sexually explicit photos, and that social media networks should now also develop algorithms to identify and block cyberbullying, an idea the Guardian called "sadly laughable."
"Is the blanket censorship of non-approved communications for all under 18s -- something that goes far further than even the Great Firewall of China -- really the kind of thing a government minister should be able to idly suggest in 2016?"
How is "underaged sexting" a health issue? It may be a moral issue, but that seems to be outside the authority of the Health Secretary.
If you plan to propose a law concerning the internet and telecommunication:
1) Find out how the internet and telecommunication infrastructure works.
2) Ponder how to enforce the law.
3) Ponder who gets to set the required rules and regulations to enforce the law.
4) Propose it.
Jumping straight to 4, as you usually do, leads to ridicule and only accomplishes that you're showing off your ignorance to a more and more computer- and internet-savvy population. In other words: Don't do it if you value your career.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Last time we had it because of terrorism, this time it's because of the children. Next time terrorism again, but then censorship instead of surveilance.
Technology never solved social problems.
And here the workaround to your idea: Troll with two accounts. Do you still see the second one? Oh, it must be "versebanned".
Ideas like shadow banning seem clever to their inventors, but actually they are a silly game. Just convery your message and say "You're banned. That's it". Controlling if somebody returns needs to be done anyway, and hoping nobody notices your fancy new type of ban is just hopeless. Like the forums with the "crash browser of banned users" option in the good ol' times.
First the UK essentially banned pornography. Now it wants to ban being "mean" (which, being a subjective term, I'm sure will never ever be used to nefarious purposes). I can't wait to see what gets banned next in the name of protecting the children... maybe the political opposition will be labeled as "hate speech" and also be banned. Or maybe any religion that purports any morality that the government doesn't like will be labeled as "hate speech". I'm sure all this will lead to a British utopia in 10 years. I mean, sure, this path has always led to fascism in the past, but this time I'm sure it will somehow end up differently.