> Whilst we sympathise with the government’s desire to show action in this space and to do something about children’s safety (everyone’s safety really), we cannot possibly agree with the methods.
Respectfully, stop sympathising with authoritarians who want to take away your freedom. They are not good people. Good people aren't nosey. Good people don't deprive others of liberty. Neither do they class a whole group (Internet users and entrepreneurs) as responsible for the actions of a minority. Guilt by association and collective punishment are antithetical to any lover of freedom and life.
Their reasons of 'child safety' and 'online harms' (whatever on earth that means) are simply pretexts. They don't give a shit about children's safety. This bill will do nothing, nothing to improve the safety of children. The perpetrators will simply go after children in other ways. They won't change.
If you, Mr. MP, care about children then ask why are they drawn to bad online content? What's going wrong with families and upbringing? Start with questions that might actually address the problem rather than implicate everyone who uses the Internet!
The trajectory is to increase their power and control over your life. Again, they are NOT good people. They know EXACTLY what they are doing. They love dominating you. It's understandable why some imagine the government as simply well-meaning but misguided, for it makes our helpless subjection easier to accept. But we won't stop getting the boot from the state until we start calling their actions out as morally reprehensible.