The UK has reached the point where adults are being asked for ID or a credit card to access ordinary parts of the internet on their iPhone. No, really.

@speakukorg @verdur_in The UK has reached the point where children are being protected from internet pornography on their iPhone.

@Gitgitgitgit The same technology that’ll control your access to information and curtail your communication at the whim of the state-tech nexus. This is not the solution.

@verdur_in I agree there's a balance of positives and negatives. But the positives are omitted in the original post, and that's a bad thing.

@Gitgitgitgit Solutions that introduce more problems and than they solve are the problem.

@verdur_in No-one could argue with that. But it doesn't help to pretend there are no benefits.

@Gitgitgitgit The Stasi brought many benefits to the stability of East German society. It's helpful to bear this in mind precisely to remember that the solution lies entirely elsewhere.

@verdur_in It's silly to compare the Stasi to stopping children having access to porn

I compared mandatory age checks and the removal of all anonymity from electronic communications (not the child safeguarding argument which is being rolled out to justify it) to the Stasi. If anything, my comparison is an understatement: the scenario is that we are being sold into a regime of total and unstoppable control, but, at best, some kids will be a little safer.