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The advice from the AG, Judith Collins, on the new Age Verification Bill gives it a big thumbs up and includes a scenario where it would be OK to restrict access to adult websites, even though the bill is targeted at social media, and none of the debate has mentioned adult websites.
Get ready to upload your ID to sketchy adult websites?
Social media is defined as:
a. Has as a sole or primary purpose (disregarding any advertising or revenue- generation purposes) the enablement of online social interactions between two or more end-users; and.
b. Allows end-users to link to, or interact with, some or all of the other end-users; and.
c. Allows end-users to post material on the platform; or.
d. Is otherwise specified in regulations.
That is an extremely wide net to cast. This covers everything from SMS (can post links and interact with others) right through to Facebook et al.
d. Is otherwise specified in regulations.
Makes it sound like almost any website could be "regulated" if this bill passes.
Potentially, c makes SMS and direct messaging exempt, as they may get around the "post messages to the platform" part.
So... personal blogs with comments. 🤦🏽
Yep, basically everything.
The bill is not targeted at social media. It's targeted at you and me. It's to control what we are allowed to say and do online.
The part about protecting youth from data breaches is pretty rich in light of the Manage My Health debacle.
