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Big brother gets worse

George Orwell's prophecies continue to play out in 2026.

Orwell's dystopian novel 1984 predicted a world where a citizen's every move, every word and every thought was controlled by the authority of "Big Brother".

As someone who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s when freedom wasn't just a word but an ideology, I cringe every time I see people handing over those freedoms to governments on some false premise such as "safety", "security" or in the name of our children.

Sadly, I must report that "won't someone think of the children" is now being used once again to allow greater intrusion by the state into people's lives -- this time in the UK (again).

If the UK government gets its way, censorware will now be mandatory in all smart devices used by under-16-year (U16) olds.

The U16 criteria is just a smokescreen. This is all part of the agenda of forcing digital IDs onto an unwilling population. After all, you can't determine whether a device is being used by a U16 unless you have some kind of official identification that provides the age of that person can you?

According to this story (BBC), "The [UK] government has said it will introduce a new law to force tech firms to prevent children from taking or sharing nude images on mobile devices".

It is planned to introduce the legislation "as soon as possible".

The censorware would work by scanning images on the user's device, not by sending those images to a central server, according to other reports.

There are so many problems with this proposal, over and above the obvious one of effectively forcing compulsory ID checks on every user.

One of the most worrying elements must be that this could well represent "the thin end of the wedge" for greater forms of control and censorship. Once an auto-updating censorship technology is forcefully installed on all devices by law, it's only a tiny step to expanding the scope and purview of that censorship as and when a government deems fit.

Perhaps those who have views that are non-aligned with the government of the day will find that their devices refuse to display or send such dissenting material -- all in the interests of safety and security of course. Those who hold the hosepipe control where the water goes.

This comes on the tail of the whole 3D printer censorship fiasco where governments around the world are preparing (and already have in some places) to roll out mandatory "gating" of 3D printer files. They want to ensure that bad actors can't use 3D printers to make bad things so the proposal is that every single 3D printer file will need to be "approved" by "Big Brother" before it's allowed to print.

As I've said before, attempts to create roadblocks like this will simply result in smart people creating detours, backroads and diversions by way of innovative technology solutions. What's more, thanks to the proliferation of AI, the creation of such systems is now something well within the reach of the average U16 or back-yard tinkerer.

The real danger is that when stupid politicians pass laws that they think solve a problem, the problem itself can often simply disappear underground and then become totally out of their control.

The ban-hammer is a blunt and ultimately ineffective tool used only by feeble minds and lazy souls.

I think we're going to see our politicians wake up to some nasty surprises in the wake of their endless attempts to play the role of Big Brother.

Carpe Diem folks!

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