Moves to ban under-16s from social media should raise deeper questions about who controls democracy’s digital infrastructure
T
he last UK general election of the 20th century was also the first to anticipate, albeit faintly, the coming technological revolution. The 1997 Labour and Conservative manifestos both included pledges to connect schools to something they called “the information superhighway”.
That metaphor soon fell out of use, unmourned, although it contains an interesting policy implication. Roads need rules to prevent accidents. Superhighways do not sound like the kind of places where children should play.
The comparison falls short because the hazards in a flow of information traffic are harder to define than reckless driving. Legal restrictions on what can be published online are a more contentious constraint on freedom than speed bumps and breathalyser tests.
