BREAKING: UK House of Lords Draft Amendment to Ban Social Media for Under-16s in the UK

Baronesses Cass & Benjamin, and Lord Nash, propose to turn the UK into The Leather-Wrapped Village:

“This new clause would require the Secretary of State to take action to promote children’s wellbeing in relation to their use of social media by […] introducing regulations to prevent under 16s from accessing social media.”

The story goes:


But one day the queen wished to walk … As she walked through the village she cut her foot on a sharp stone. She quickly realized that this must happen to all of her loyal subjects. Dismayed she asked her advisors what could be done to prevent her people from cutting their feet. Her advisors told her that perhaps the entire area could be wrapped with leather. In this way the sharp stones would be covered

[…]

Finally the jester could take no more and he called out, “Instead of wrapping the earth with leather, why don’t you all just cover your feet?” After a moment of stunned silence, they all realized that the jester was in fact no fool and he was right. With the proper protection on their feet, the villagers could walk anywhere.

…also cited previously; it’s a well-known children’s story, especially today after being featured in Bluey, so you’d think that people who care about children would know about it.

It’s misconceived, illiberal and pointless to blanket the internet to prevent harms, because the kids will be driven to circumvent the protections because they are kids; better, instead, to teach them individual wisdom.

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