{"id":326746,"date":"2026-05-06T08:26:44","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T08:26:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=326746"},"modified":"2026-05-08T07:17:43","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T07:17:43","slug":"digital-id-the-kids-in-fake-moustaches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=326746","title":{"rendered":"Digital ID & the Kids in Fake Moustaches"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kit Knightly \u2013 Off-Guardian May 6, 2026<\/strong><\/h1>\n

A new report is doing the rounds, warning that the UK\u2019s new Online Safety Act is being circumvented by the cunning device of children drawing fake moustaches.<\/p>\n

The press is treating it as a big joke, but that\u2019s a propaganda tactic we\u2019ll get to in a second.<\/p>\n

The report itself \u2013 published by corporate-backed non-profit Internet Matters and titled \u201cThe Online Safety Act: Are children safer online?\u201d<\/a><\/em> \u2013 is taking it very seriously.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot more to it than eyeliner moustaches.<\/p>\n

The foreword insists that\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026questions remain about whether current regulations are sufficiently robust, effectively enforced, and adaptable to
\nan evolving digital landscape.<\/p>\n

And suggests more laws are on the horizon [emphasis added]\u2026<\/p>\n

UK Government is currently consulting on what more can be done<\/strong> to keep children safe in a digital world<\/p>\n

The media aren\u2019t engaging with this messaging \u2013 yet. Instead, they are focusing on anecdotes about kids in moustaches.<\/p>\n

Or rather \u201canecdote\u201d, singular. It\u2019s one anonymous, unsourced reference in 40 pages, and yet it\u2019s all the media are talking about.<\/p>\n

It is being covered in a light-hearted mood across the media landscape, always accompanied by jaunty pictures of silly children being silly.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

But this joviality is an insincere tactic selling an idea. A propaganda angle sent down from the top, and it has a very predictable aim.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook at our silly government, and the silly rules they put in place that can be so easily circumvented by little kids! Isn\u2019t it funny!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

You see, the point is to rebrand the authoritarian Online Safety Act as just a silly piece of paper, something they can\u2019t even enforce. It\u2019s not tyranny, it\u2019s just bumbling, idiotic half-measures.<\/p>\n

So the pincer movement goes\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously the kids need to be protected, and we tried to do it in a sort of half-hearted way because we\u2019re just so incompetent and bumbling and well-intentioned\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

In a matter of months, the OSA goes from an appalling example of government overreach that undermines human rights to a toothless exercise in buffoonery and befuddlement.<\/p>\n

We all share a little British chuckle. And, for now, the unspoken end of that ellipsis hangs.<\/p>\n

And then drops.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026so I guess in the future we\u2019ll just have to be stricter.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The smile fades, the face turns to stone, and they move in to close the loopholes.<\/p>\n

As the report says [emphasis added]\u2026<\/p>\n

If age verification is to be used to keep children safe online, then platforms, government and the regulator need to ensure it is effective.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What does that mean?<\/p>\n

Well, obviously, if age verification checks are being so easily fooled, they are not \u201crobust\u201d enough and need to be stricter. That means more laws or \u201cclosing the gaps\u201d in existing legislation [emphasis added]<\/p>\n

Government must ensure existing legislation is properly enforced and hold both regulators and platforms to account where it is not. It must also address gaps in the law without delay<\/strong><\/p>\n

VPNs are singled out for special attention:<\/p>\n

the evidence suggests that while some children are using VPNs to circumvent age verification, this is a small number overall. However, we must continue to monitor uptake<\/strong> to ensure this does not change in the future, especially if stronger age verification is rolled out<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf\u201d (they clearly mean \u201cwhen\u201d) \u201cstronger age verification is rolled out\u201d, they will need to \u201cmonitor the uptake\u201d of VPNs.<\/p>\n

Practically speaking, it\u2019s clear where this goes.<\/p>\n

No more face scans or photos, no more shared accounts or \u2013 especially \u2013\u00a0 VPNs. Instead, we must register using a government-issued ID that is then linked to every digital account you have.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s so dully predictable.<\/p>\n

But still, let\u2019s all have a nice laugh about the fake moustaches, right?<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Support Off-Guardian:<\/p>\n

Ko-fi<\/a><\/p>\n

Subscribestar<\/a><\/p>\n

Paypal<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kit Knightly examines a sly propaganda ploy that is being used to promote an authoritarian Online Safety Act<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39262,"featured_media":326774,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[61,59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-326746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-Commentary","category-Surveillance"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=326746"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":326779,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326746\/revisions\/326779"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/326774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=326746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=326746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=326746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}