The woman is the public and the arm is the government, in case you didn’t get it.<\/p>\n
We covered the UK\u2019s Online Safety Act Age Verification clause going live earlier this week. We\u2019ve also covered the fact the UK is far from alone in this.<\/p>\n
Australia launched their \u201csocial media ban\u201d, which is in reality just an age verification system, back in the spring. Now they\u2019re expanding it to include search engines<\/a>, and YouTube<\/a> as well. The EU has given tech firms 12 months<\/a> to enforce \u201cstrict\u201d age verification measures and is testing their own app across five nations as we speak<\/a>. Mexico, Ireland, Canada and at least 27 of the 50 US states<\/a>\u2026they\u2019re all coming to the party.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s not just countries, now companies are doing it off their own bat. YouTube announced<\/a> only yesterday that they would be implementing \u201cage verification\u201d for US-based users.<\/p>\n The wrinkle in this scheme is that it\u2019s essentially a mirror image of the government plans. Rather than forcing people to prove their identity, YouTube will be using AI to \u201cestimate\u201d your age. If they \u201cestimate\u201d you are under 18 they will place limitations on your account, if they \u201cmistakenly\u201d label you as a minor, you will have to submit a face scan or credit card to \u201ccorrect the error\u201d.<\/p>\n If that sounds like a distinction without a difference, that\u2019s because it is.<\/p>\n The age verification rollout just keeps going and going and going.<\/p>\n The reaction to this \u2013 both in the UK and around the world \u2013 has been rather encouraging: Everybody hates it.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not talking about Reform MPs going on Question Time to criticise the act. The whole point of Reform is to critise things that \u201creasonable centrists\u201d are supposed to like. That\u2019s also setting up the potential VPN ban discussion<\/a>.<\/p>\n No, I\u2019m talking about the hundreds of thousands of people petitioning the government to repeal the act. Or the thousands of outraged commenters all over the web.<\/p>\n More than just hating, a lot of people seem to be\u2026noticing.<\/p>\n People you wouldn\u2019t expect to comment on the meta are seeing the giant global coincidence and pointing it out. So we get threads like this one<\/a> on reddit, or posts like this.<\/p>\n Our tweet on the subject has had over 7000 likes, which isn\u2019t anything like a huge number, but is a sign it somehow burst through the soundproof bubble we\u2019ve been locked in on every major social media platform for years.<\/p>\n If this real and organic awakening, as we saw in during Covid, then something is going to have to change.<\/p>\n The \u201cthink of the children!\u201d<\/em> defence, in which you simply accuse anyone criticizing the act of being a peadophile (as exemplified in this tweet from British MP Peter Kyle), isn\u2019t going to cut it.<\/p>\n If you want to overturn the Online Safety Act you are on the side of predators. It is as simple as that. https:\/\/t.co\/oVArgFvpcW<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Peter Kyle (@peterkyle) July 29, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n