We've got the Online Safety Act in the UK, and now we're about to have new rules "to protect children online" - although it mostly affects social media. This is not the usual sort of news we would cover here on GamingOnLinux, but these type of laws tend to have a lot of knock-on effects.
So what exactly has been announced? Starting sometime next year, the UK will follow Australia to completely ban social media for under 16s. This includes the likes of Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook and X (formerly Twitter). While WhatsApp and Signal appear to currently be exempt.
The UK gov said that high-risk features like livestreaming and "strangers being able to contact children" will also be restricted for under 16s on "other online services like gaming" which will require "stronger requirements for age checks on platforms". It will also hit AI chatbots, specifically those of a "romantic companion" which will be limited to 18+.
I would expect the likes of Reddit, Discord, Bluesky, Threads to also end up included.
In another government post they confirmed that while the law will affect communication features in games, it won't stop under 16s from playing online games.
When children reach 16 / 17 they will be able to access social media but "live streaming, and stranger communication including in gaming, will be switched off by default for these ages".
How will you prove your age across various platforms? Interestingly, the UK gov actually suggests simply using the account age is good enough (or has a linked credit card - like Steam, or an email address that's age verified) but the rules have not yet been formalised. They said Ofcom will "set out in the coming months different options for effective forms of age assurance for proving whether someone is over 16 that are accurate, robust, reliable, and fair".
What's the actual time-line here? They're not being exactly clear. They said the changes should be implemented "in Spring 2027" with the first set of regulations due to be laid before the end of the year.
The end result is that we are all going to have to verify our identities just to access more and more of the internet in the UK. We're past the point of a slippery slope; when it comes to privacy, we are staring down a massive cliff-edge. This is very much a Papers, Please situation for all UK adults.
Just think about how this will affect gaming - any game that has text or voice chat is then likely included (just like with the Online Safety Act - but now this too). It all depends on exactly how Ofcom will lay down the law.
The era of the open internet is over.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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Quoting: CaldathrasAh, speaking to a fellow Canadian. What can we do between elections to control our government? The federal government/politicians have done everything they can to prevent it. We have no MP recall. The modern politician ignores citizen protests or invokes the Emergencies Act to silence them. Referendums are pointless, as the federal government does not have to legally implement or follow the results of a referendum. It's basically just a poll. (Look it up, like I did. Referendums, in most provinces, are binding, but not at the federal level.) So, what recourse - other than elections - do Canadian citizens have to influence and control the Canadian government?Ah, asking the important questions.
The politicians gave themselves raises exactly because they knew that Canadian citizens are powerless to do anything about it. I agree that $209.8K for a MP backbencher is obscene. On the flip-side, at the local government level where I live, our elected officials are only paid $28.9K annually (as of 2023). It used to be $12.9K before that.
For starters, mass political ignorance is a huge problem here. Ask a random person on the street to name a single person in Mark Carney's cabinet, and I bet you most of them wouldn't be able to name a single person - nevermind the details of what our provincial and federal governments are even doing. On the flipside, ask them about American politics, and I guarantee you they'll talk your ear off about all the things they saw on American TV. They'll tell you all about the American problems that American TV likes to report on... and sadly, I really do believe that most people here vote for our Prime Minister based entirely on what goes on in the United States. It's pathetic. We like tell ourselves that we're proud of our country, but the truth is that the majority of us think so little of ourselves that we actually believe that another country is in charge of our own destiny. Most people either did not care about the Emergencies Act, don't even know that it happened, or if they did know about it, don't understand why its illegal use is a big deal and how it affects them. I hate to say it, but Canadian citizens themselves are a bigger threat to us than our government is. How do we fix this? Holy shit... well... I'll let you know if I figure that out.
Caldathras 1 hour ago
Quoting: SlaxerRead this to my wife. She feels that the only way to fix this would be to reintroduce a civics class into school curriculum, like they used to have decades ago when her father was a child. She also thinks it's unlikely to happen, just like old-school home economics.Quoting: CaldathrasAh, speaking to a fellow Canadian. What can we do between elections to control our government? The federal government/politicians have done everything they can to prevent it. We have no MP recall. The modern politician ignores citizen protests or invokes the Emergencies Act to silence them. Referendums are pointless, as the federal government does not have to legally implement or follow the results of a referendum. It's basically just a poll. (Look it up, like I did. Referendums, in most provinces, are binding, but not at the federal level.) So, what recourse - other than elections - do Canadian citizens have to influence and control the Canadian government?Ah, asking the important questions.
The politicians gave themselves raises exactly because they knew that Canadian citizens are powerless to do anything about it. I agree that $209.8K for a MP backbencher is obscene. On the flip-side, at the local government level where I live, our elected officials are only paid $28.9K annually (as of 2023). It used to be $12.9K before that.
For starters, mass political ignorance is a huge problem here. Ask a random person on the street to name a single person in Mark Carney's cabinet, and I bet you most of them wouldn't be able to name a single person - nevermind the details of what our provincial and federal governments are even doing. On the flipside, ask them about American politics, and I guarantee you they'll talk your ear off about all the things they saw on American TV. They'll tell you all about the American problems that American TV likes to report on... and sadly, I really do believe that most people here vote for our Prime Minister based entirely on what goes on in the United States. It's pathetic. We like tell ourselves that we're proud of our country, but the truth is that the majority of us think so little of ourselves that we actually believe that another country is in charge of our own destiny. Most people either did not care about the Emergencies Act, don't even know that it happened, or if they did know about it, don't understand why its illegal use is a big deal and how it affects them. I hate to say it, but Canadian citizens themselves are a bigger threat to us than our government is. How do we fix this? Holy shit... well... I'll let you know if I figure that out.
Quoting: CaldathrasRead this to my wife. She feels that the only way to fix this would be to reintroduce a civics class into school curriculum, like they used to have decades ago when her father was a child. She also thinks it's unlikely to happen, just like old-school home economics.I agree with your wife, that would be a great start, but how would we convince our public school districts to include this in the school curriculum? Our provincial governments have control over that. I dunno what it's like in your province, but the government here in BC loves to preach about how Canada is a terrible racist country that deserves self-hatred because it's fundamentally racist, and will continue to be racist forever. Obviously, this is not true, but this is what they like to remind people everyday.
Even though the Canadian government is required to post our Constitution (both the Constitution act of 1867 and 1982) on the government website, I really do believe that they don't want you looking into that too much. They don't want you to know anything about sections 1 and 33 of the Constitution Act of 1982 (and I'm paraphrasing here) where it basically says that Canadians have basic rights and freedoms, UNTIL a judge decides that we don't. What's the problem with that? Our judges are appointed by the Governor General based on the advice of our Prime Minister... which means the judges in our country will all favour our Prime Minister and his party - which then means that our rights and freedoms are just make-believe. This was demonstrated when NOBODY went to jail for implementing martial law because a bunch of people waved Canadian flags and ate hot dogs on the streets of Ottawa in 2022. It's a joke.
I love Canada, but I definitely don't like it right now. Either way... we'll make it somehow.
Caldathras 19 minutes ago
Quoting: SlaxerYep. It is the provincial governments that define the public school curriculum. And I agree that, with an idealogy-driven social activist as Premier, it would probably be very difficult to get a civics class into the curriculum.Quoting: CaldathrasRead this to my wife. She feels that the only way to fix this would be to reintroduce a civics class into school curriculum, like they used to have decades ago when her father was a child. She also thinks it's unlikely to happen, just like old-school home economics.I agree with your wife, that would be a great start, but how would we convince our public school districts to include this in the school curriculum? Our provincial governments have control over that. I dunno what it's like in your province, but the government here in BC loves to preach about how Canada is a terrible racist country that deserves self-hatred because it's fundamentally racist, and will continue to be racist forever. Obviously, this is not true, but this is what they like to remind people everyday.
Even though the Canadian government is required to post our Constitution (both the Constitution act of 1867 and 1982) on the government website, I really do believe that they don't want you looking into that too much. They don't want you to know anything about sections 1 and 33 of the Constitution Act of 1982 (and I'm paraphrasing here) where it basically says that Canadians have basic rights and freedoms, UNTIL a judge decides that we don't. What's the problem with that? Our judges are appointed by the Governor General based on the advice of our Prime Minister... which means the judges in our country will all favour our Prime Minister and his party - which then means that our rights and freedoms are just make-believe. This was demonstrated when NOBODY went to jail for implementing martial law because a bunch of people waved Canadian flags and ate hot dogs on the streets of Ottawa in 2022. It's a joke.
I love Canada, but I definitely don't like it right now. Either way... we'll make it somehow.
Last edited by Caldathras on 16 Jun 2026 at 7:27 pm UTC
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