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Messaging platform Signal has issued an urgent warning over ‘dystopian’ new phone privacy laws as new UK privacy measures are put into place.
The British prime minister Keir Starmer announced this morning (June 15) that the UK is placing an entire ban on social media for all residents under the age of 16.
In a statement, Starmer said: “I want this message to be heard loud and clear. I am not prepared to compromise on the safety and happiness of our children, and that is why this ban must happen, and why this ban will happen.”
However, it seems not everyone is happy with the prospect of children being restricted online and Signal has posted their own statement to share their perspective on the matter.
In a strongly worded post, Signal argued that children should be protected through investment in education, social services, and effective safeguarding measures rather than what it describes as widespread monitoring of personal devices.
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The criticism comes amid ongoing debates around online safety and age-verification requirements, with concerns growing over how new regulations could impact personal privacy and digital communications.
The statement from Signal read: “Children deserve to be safe, protected, and nurtured. They do not deserve surveillance, funding cuts, and cover-ups. Children also deserve their human right to privacy, as does everyone. The UK government’s demand that all content on all devices sold or used in the UK be scanned on the presumption of nudity, using a dystopian combination of age verification and content scanning, will not safeguard children.
“It endangers us all, whilst strengthening Apple, Google, and Microsoft's market dominance and their control over our most personal information. Forcing all UK residents to prove their age and/or have all their content scanned, simply to exercise their fundamental right to communicate, is a perilous proposition.
“We know that mass surveillance and censorship capabilities, however sincere-sounding the promises of those who initiate them are, never remain narrowly scoped. Once created, they will be expanded, forming a dangerous tool that will be wielded both in the UK and abroad to censor and surveil whatever they might consider ‘threats’ or ‘harmful content’.”
Under the new ban, all children under the age of 16 in the UK will be prohibited from accessing social media.
Starmer cited the ‘addictive’ nature of social media as part of his decision, with features that ‘lock you in for hours’.
The UK prime minister also shared concerns for the mental health of children, saying that social media platforms make it ‘easier for bullies to harass and abuse’ kids online.
While it has not yet been confirmed how this new law will be enforced, Starmer has said that his government needs to ‘harness the power of technology to build a stronger, fairer Britain’.
