David Farrar: A good critique

David Harvey has a good critique of the proposed social media ban for under 16s. I certainly support the intent that we should keep under 16s off social media. The linkage to poor mental health outcomes is incredibly powerful – especially for girls.

Even those who support the idea of a ban concede that enforcing it poses serious problems. Age-verification systems would be required, and every available option comes with significant risks.

Document-based verification demands the uploading of passports or driver licences. Biometric systems analyse faces or voices. Digital IDs link real-world identity to online accounts. Third-party verifiers create new pools of sensitive data. Almost all these options undermine privacy, create fresh targets for cyber attack, and risk excluding vulnerable teens who lack official ID.

Worse, they introduce an infrastructure of identity surveillance that could easily be repurposed. Once digital identity becomes a prerequisite for online access, anonymity disappears. Every click becomes traceable.

But David Harvey captures well the issues around a legislated age verification system. We’re not just talking people having to tick a box declaring they are 16, but actually having to prove who they are, and their age. That could result in every adult needing to scan their passport or drivers licence is, to use Facebook or Twitter.

David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition Leaders