Quick thoughts on the proposed UK social media ban

- Enforcement will be a nightmare, teens are already more tech savvy than most parents

- Taking an existing right away from teens for 'debatable' reasons will never end well

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- It's ultimately based on the paranoia of concerned parents, rather than evidence. The victims will be the less privileged kids, and those who don't have concerned parents, for whom SM acts as a lifeline, but are absent from the whole discussion

- https://www.techdirt.com/2026/02/17/australias-social-media-ban-is-isolating-kids-with-disabilities-just-like-critics-warned/

As ever, it's a policy where the *possible* but unsubstantiated risk to the privileged are heavily prioritised over the *actual* harms that would be done to the underprivileged. Modern politics in a nutshell, basically.
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Australia’s Social Media Ban Is Isolating Kids With Disabilities—Just Like Critics Warned

We’ve been covering Australia’s monumentally stupid social media ban for kids under 16 since before it went into effect. We noted how dumb the whole premise was, how the rollout was an …

Techdirt
@Garwboy My take is that the amount of screen time EVERYONE is subjecting themselves these days is not good. Not exclusive to kids, not exclusive to social media.
It’s a much bigger problem and banning social media for kids is ridiculous.
The bare minimum would be to promote inclusive public social programs - again, for everyone - so people would have a reason to gtfo of their screens to have more physical and mental stimulation than scrolling.
But no let’s ban social media for kids 🤦‍♀️
@renata @Garwboy It seems to me that this is the easier/more cowardly path. These platforms are riddled with misinformation, bigotry and abuse. And that's coming from all levels, states, oligarchs, and individuals. Sorting them out or regulating, or breaking up monopolies, it's all stuff neoliberal governments refuse to do. So just ban it for kids and let it fester? Weak. It's like putting up a ricketty fence around the nuclear waste dump and forgetting about it.