This blog is not suitable for kids

2 years ago I wrote an op-ed of that title for a prominent Lib Dem blog* , arguing that even liberals should support what Labour has announced today: namely banning under-16s unrestricted internet access. “The internet is not, and probably cannot be, safe for children… We may need to consider more radical approaches that ask whether any of the web - including social media - should be accessed by children. Any such radical policies would involve thorny implementation questions: such as whether the age cutoff… I personally think 16, the age at which Brits gain the majority of citizen freedoms such as being able to leave home, seems like a realistic target. Until then, the government should build upon their phone-free classroom policy” and their compulsory-to-16 Computing curriculum to promote proper digital literacy in that age group instead, or as I’d put it elsewhere in 2024: “Teach every kid to code before they get a phone” 🎵 * (lead photo their choice)