2 minutes ago, johng said:

If the government was paying pensioners there due pensions then there would be no need to 'pretend'.

They (government) pretended that the mandatory payment via taxation would provide in old age and now renege on the deal..very much not cricket old chap.

So are you another one of those pretenders?

I'm sure UK pensioners were well aware that their pension would get indexed if the permanently moved to Thailand.

On 2/16/2026 at 2:05 PM, JonnyF said:

Communists wanting the state to control and spy on everything.

Snowden showed us that it's not only "communists" but also the states that regards themselves as the "guardians of the free world".

Every state power, no matter what political inclination, wants full control over their citizens. One way, or some other. That's what comes with electing narcissistic egocentric megalomaniacs to the heads of states. And sheeple are so easily fooled!

9/11 incident allowed the US government to legally spy on their citizens, and with the current Clown POTUS, creating his own SS force (aka ICE), it has an enforcement agency, not even answerable to the courts.

On 2/16/2026 at 12:21 AM, Chomper Higgot said:

Make Internet service providers criminally responsible for transmitting harmful content to minors, attach huge financial penalties.

That’ll get their attention.

Do you truly want an ISP to monitor all traffic at the packet level? Are you aware of the massive volume of traffic and the technology needed to achieve this?

2 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

Yes it is, or you already forgot what you posted before?

Yes I said it was about control not removing 'illegal' content.. you said it was about removing illegal content not me remember ?

They want control over everything available on the "internet" they use the 'illegal' content as a cover to achieve the real goal of total control...

Also remember that what is legal in some places is 'illegal' in others..the internet was hoped to be a great leveler enabling free flow of information unhindered by dictates of one politician or state.

DARPA designed it to be nuclear war resilient lets hope it is petty politician proof too.

On 2/16/2026 at 1:22 AM, spidermike007 said:

That would be a bit like standing up to Big Pharma, it just doesn't seem to happen.

This is one of the most misguided posts I've seen. You seem to struggle with technology and misunderstand the cost and scale of this endeavor.

13 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

So are you another one of those pretenders?

Nope.

7 minutes ago, Effective altruism said:

Are you aware of the massive volume of traffic and the technology needed to achieve this?

Think of the children !!!

We should all go back to the good old days of 56k dial up modems and huge phone bills that'll keep those damned kids off the internet 😋

On 2/16/2026 at 5:21 AM, Chomper Higgot said:

Make Internet service providers criminally responsible for transmitting harmful content to minors, attach huge financial penalties.

That’ll get their attention.

You do like relieving other people of their money .

Either raise their taxes or fine them

24 minutes ago, johng said:

Think of the children !!!

We should all go back to the good old days of 56k dial up modems and huge phone bills that'll keep those damned kids off the internet 😋

These people want to live in a dystopian world where the government monitors everyone's communications.

5 hours ago, Effective altruism said:

These people want to live in a dystopian world where the government monitors everyone's communications.

Or its a world where government abrogates responsibility. One argument why UK governments so liked the EU was it allowed government to offload responsiblity, and basically blame the EU. Its no coincidence that the UK was a particular stickler for Brussels legislation. Make no mistake though, I am a Remainer. The Middle Powers (a nice new term) need to stick together in a world dominated by two geriatric super powers.

The public get upset about what they are told is happening on the internet, because its apparently dominated by child abusers and terrorists, a view perpertrated not even by Digital Experts, but by Analogue Natives.

Analogue Natives are those who came of age before the digital age, baby boomers. Most of them adopted digital technology late in life, mostly as a hobby ("Silver Surfers").

Digital Experts came of age at the cusp of the digital age, Gen X, early Millennials. Digital technology is seen mostly as a tool that you have to use, but we have an analogue life as well. We think we can get along fine without wifi. We preferred phone calls and face to face meetings, hated WFH, and would punish anyone doing business in their jim jams.Gen Xers are increasingly like their forefathers, as their careers wind down, responsibilities reduce, and they suddenly realise they have maybe 20 years tops of being compes mentis, so what was the bloody point of planning for 40 years of retirement. So the "internet" a late in life leisure tool, to take to the internet and argue over.

Digital natives have only ever known digital, but they are constantly reminded by elders that they need to conform to their standards of behaviour, and so its lip service to going outside to kick a ball around.

Now Gen Alpha is waiting in the wings, far removed in their treatment of digital technology from Analogue Natives who are about to croak, but making all the decisions, and doing all the voting. There is likely to be a lot of intergeneration resentment. This is just fuel to the fire. I grew thinking the best of my Grandfather's generation, they fought in a war etc. Do Gen Alphas think the same of their Gen X grandparents?

Restricting kids' access to the internet is just a move by Gen X politicans to placate Analogue Natives who are still left alive. What it allows a government to do is check a box. See, we're being tough on social media, because we've stopped kids accessing the internet by passing a law. Does restricting beers sales stop 11 years olds being found legless after necking Special Brew? Did drinking laws stop the alcohol companies from developing products that encouraged a dangerous lifestyle? Nope.

The Internet ban will allow these companies to exist in a complete moral vacuum, because the users are all grown adults, and its free speech, innit? It will be a mess, and likely cause the Fall of Civilisation as generation Xers and Y's <deleted> themselves senseless, while ordering spice on next day delivery, while clicking like for the post that suggests we need to revisit the question of maybe Work does set you Free (or rather, you hope its some other bloke who will be set free through work).

Nick Clegg joined Meta after leaving politics. Decent enough youthful chap, with kids. Promised he was going to do great things with Meta, really clean it up, to herald a new age of decency and kindness.

What did he say about FB before he came on board?

I’m not especially bedazzled by Facebook. While I have good friends who work at the company, I actually find the messianic Californian new-worldy-touchy-feely culture of Facebook a little grating. Nor am I sure that companies such as Facebook really pay all the tax they could — though that’s as much the fault of governments who still haven’t got their tax act together. And I think it’s ridiculous that self-confessed liars such as Mr Horner appear to have earned good money through Facebook advertising arrangements. Google, Facebook and others have said they are going to take action against hoax news sites. About time too.

Hmm. 10 years on, and whats it like. Not Californian, new-World touchy feely certainly.

The government can't regulate the internet. Even China has found this out. Its censorship has merely resulted in a generation of hardcore nationalists, more fans of Bai Qi the Butcher (killed 400,000 in a single battle) than Chairman Mao, who are now largely out of control of the government. Its far easier, cheaper, to say (even self funding perhaps) to pass a law saying kids can't access bits of it, for arbitrary reasons.

Government has done its bit, anything that goes tits up, then its obviously the parents/teachers's fault. The government did what the Septogenarian voters wanted in 2026. Check who gets fined for kids getting whacked out on Special Brew and Vodka. Not often the manufacturer.

https://adage.com/article/news/marketers-blast-charges-alcohol-suit/96977/

Someone tried to sue the makers. Got absolutely nowhere.

14 hours ago, johng said:

It's not the governments job to parent kids..except when they treat everyone like kids deciding the smallest minutiae of their 'citizens' life's for them..to keep them safe of course !!!! its not about keeping 'children' safe for the umpteenth time it's about control.

Unfortunately socialist/communist governments DO think it's their job to parent the nations children.

Hence social media bans, VPN bans, teachers advising kids on trans issues without having to tell the parents etc.

They want to control absolutely everything, including how your children are raised.