from the of-course-it-means-id-verification dept

Last week, Ofcom, the UK regulator in charge of all this stuff, released its “ rapid assessment of highly effective age assurance at 16 .” That came right on the heels of its quietly released (only because the law required it) report showing that the Online Safety Act’s duty of care wasn’t actually having any noticeable impact on kids’ access to “harmful content.”

Even as the Online Safety Act was being rolled out after years of debate, UK politicians started whining and screaming that they had to follow other countries towards banning kids from social media entirely. Ofcom is supposed to help put together a plan for such a social media ban by the end of the year, with implementation set for next spring.…