{"id":331814,"date":"2026-10-07T07:14:30","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T07:14:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=331814"},"modified":"2026-10-07T07:47:41","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T07:47:41","slug":"govt-wants-interventionist-state-policing-regulating-online-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=331814","title":{"rendered":"Govt wants \u201cinterventionist state policing & regulating online space\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

he United Kingdom already has one of the most controlled digital environments in the world.<\/p>\n

We have a social media ban for children in place, requiring everyone to scan their ID or otherwise verify their age to use social media. They require age verification for \u201cadult content\u201d. There are proposals and legislation pending to implement \u201cdevice level nudity detection\u201d<\/a>, introduce a \u201csocial media curfew\u201d for teenagers<\/a>, and we already lead the world in social media-related arrests<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But, according to the Culture and Technology Secretary Lisa Nandy, we are far from done.<\/p>\n

Last week, at the Labour Party Conference, Nandy gave a speech hailing the UK\u2019s \u201cfirst in the world\u201d social media ban (it\u2019s not actually the first, except by some very specific metric, but whatever). She told the conference<\/a> [emphasis added]:<\/p>\n

[T]he world wide web \u2013 that created [sic] by Tim Berners Lee, to share knowledge, not exploitation \u2013 has revolutionised the way we live. An extraordinary democratic force, a source of connection, creativity and solace that has unleashed incomprehensible hatred, anger and polarisation<\/em> \u2013 ask yourselves this, while it has undeniably shaped and defined us, have we done anything like enough to shape and define it?<\/p>\n

Like the printing press, electricity and television, it has upended society. But what is almost unique to this moment is how absent the state \u2013 on behalf of its people \u2013 has been for so long. We have outsourced a revolution almost entirely to the private sphere to shape and police<\/em>.<\/p>\n

It is an almost violent indifference. To the women whose privacy and dignity is stripped from them. To the children who are preyed upon, their childhoods stolen. To people \u2013 how many of you in this room particularly women- hounded from public life. Where anger is monetised and profit put before people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n

So conference, we are calling time on that indifference. Enough is enough.<\/p>\n

We will not look away or stand aside when it comes to safety online. And we will be the first. First in the world to introduce legislation to make it impossible for children to take, share or view nude images. First in the world to introduce a comprehensive social media ban for children.<\/p>\n

\u2026[W]e will do whatever it takes. Because when it comes to women and girls. Women\u2019s rights are human rights and human rights are non-negotiable.<\/p>\n

But friends shouldn\u2019t we be ashamed, that decades of violent indifference has come to this, having to remove our children from social media altogether, because we cannot protect them from harm?<\/p>\n

So our message to the incredible tech sector, who are everyday leading breathtaking innovation, is that this is our collective call to arms.<\/em><\/p>\n

Let this country pioneer technology as an unequivocal force for good. Because our online spaces live in the palm of our hands, and the cables that run under our feet. They are a civic space like any town hall or high street. So let\u2019s insist they are not just safe but thriving, inclusive and empowering.<\/em><\/p>\n

Where people can trust what they see, and find common ground and connection.<\/em><\/p>\n

Prior to her speech, Nandy had told The Guardian<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe shouldn\u2019t accept that this is the end [\u2026] This is a staging post to what must be a very active interventionist state, policing and regulating the online space so that people are safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

To paraphrase a politician rather more charismatic than Nandy, it seems this is not the end of digital censorship, it\u2019s not even the beginning of the end of digital censorship, or even the end of the beginning\u2026rather it may be the beginning of the beginning.<\/p>\n

So what does that mean, in real terms?<\/p>\n

Well, digital ID obviously.<\/p>\n

One of Andy Burnham\u2019s first acts as Prime Minister was to \u201cscrap\u201d the BritCard digital ID scheme<\/a>. But that was very much a gesture.<\/p>\n

It never really went away, and it will be coming back\u2026quite soon if simmering headlines like \u201cBritain can\u2019t shelve Digital IDs forever\u201d<\/a> are anything to go by.<\/p>\n

Probably, in the near future, something will happen that will \u201cforce\u201d good old Andy to \u201crevisit the digital ID issue\u201d.<\/p>\n

And, of course\u2026<\/p>\n

Without global interoperability, digital IDs can\u2019t deliver on their promise
\nTech Radar<\/a><\/p>\n

And, once digital ID is officially unscrapped<\/em> and \u201cglobally interoperable\u201d the social media ban for children will spread to verified ID for digital purchases, or to use AI or to prevent the spread of \u201cmisinformation, or even ID-gating internet access itself.<\/p>\n

Whatever they want.<\/p>\n

If everything they\u2019ve already done is only a \u201cstaging post\u201d, just imagine how tight a grip they really want.<\/p>\n

\u201cA very active interventionist state, policing and regulating the online space so that people are safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chilling stuff. Perhaps most chilling of all is the fact \u00a0her handlers think this<\/em> \u00a0is the positive spin that will sell the idea to the proles.<\/p>\n

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

Support OffG<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n