The solution to problems with the internet is not a fucking surveillance state.

That ship, has sailed.

Set aside the complete obliteration of any online privacy, and the fact that these bans are completely ineffective (piracy streaming websites are already illegal in basically every western country. Still watched a movie on one yesterday), the internet is also a valuable and important resource for many things, including studying and finding support encouragement, nformation and safe spaces on issues particularly for children and teens growing up queer.

Nothing I disagree with there but I never said it would take it away from children. I suggest it would ringfence to acceptable sites so children can now find out about Homosexuality and Gender fluidity without being linked to a video on how to shoot up fentanyl with a knitting needle and a Maccie D's straw (other straws are available and other restaurants).

You’re throwing out the baby entire god damn family with the bathwater.

I feel that ship has sailed. The government hasn't listened yet, only to extremely old and sanctimonious other politicians.

All these bans do is push teens and children into LESS safe spaces on the deep web that don’t care about enforcing UK regulations, and banning those sites is literally just playing an infinite game of whack a mole.

That's why it would be ringfenced.

Banning children and teens from everyday life activities has never worked and never been a solution, just how “abstinence only” doesn’t work to prevent teen pregnancy. The solution is to teach children early and comprehensively how to engage with these systems safely and responsibly, how to recognise warning signs of unsafe situations or fake information, and how to react appropriately to those.

100% completely agree with not banning teens and working with them, but the Internet is an actively and pervasively hostile place towards children. They are being groomed (not always sexually), and most social media is just predatory grooming. If they're not being told what to think, they're being told what to buy. It's pretty disgusting.

Parents have their place in all of this too. Perhaps if more of them actually engaged with their children we wouldn't be in this sorry state of affairs, but then the way things are now, Parents don't even have the time because they're working just to pay bills.

The big Kaiju of the internet likes it this way (FAANG), they have the control. How do you stop that? It doesn't seem legislation against them is working.

We are currently now at the state where ID is required for certain access. It's absolutely shitty, it's terrible and shameful, but it seems the government and the zealots have built a brick wall around this issue about as much as talking honestly about the Israel / Palestine situation. They have shut down almost all dialogue with ordinary citizens - most likely because it serves more of a purpose of shutting out foreign actors and helps to combat terrorism.

It's not an excuse, it's just the way it is...and it's all one big mess where you're damned no matter what you do.