Wondering why the Australian government is suddenly concerned about children accessing social media?
I am fully on board with constraints in place so children can’t access pornography and other harmful content. However, this government initiative is a trojan horse for biometric scanning, Digital ID and AI sweeping through our internet searches.
Albanese doesn’t think 16 years of age is old enough. I will discuss this further down in the article, but what this really means is that this initiative is the trojan horse to bring in a blanket Digital ID to be able to access the internet.
The government is SOOOOO concerned about our children’s mental and physical health!
What is this really about?
Under the guise of stopping children accessing pornography, and in the same spirit of the United Nations wanting every person in the world to have a Digital ID to stop child trafficking, the Australian government is “exploring” methods for online verification.
The document Roadmap for age verification and complementary measures to prevent and mitigate harms to children from online pornography was released in March 2023.
You don’t have to wade very far in to realise that this is about a biometric Digital ID:
Age verification includes a Digital ID, age assurance is biometric scanning and surveillance on all the sites a child accesses. The government wants both:
Inclusivity is (of course mentioned). Inclusive means no one is left out of the plans- they will make it very hard to get around the system (and I’m not talking about accessing pornography here- it’s much broader. It’s about access to the internet):
The next excerpts are talking about a decentralised Digital ID, which is sold under the guise of protection and privacy What it’s really about is a centralised Digital ID which allows you, or not, to access the internet. Housed under the centralised Digital ID, over time, will be anything the government wants. It will include vaccination status, mental health, physical health, your movements, carbon score, a social credit score. Your attributes will increasingly determine your access to goods and services:
Regarding access to services based on your personal reputation, document Capital and Debt by Canada Beyond 150 (a series of documents sponsored by Policy Horizons- an arm of the Canadian government) states that we are moving in to an access economy where we will not own anything:
And to be able to access services you will need a good reputation score which is captured on blockchain, such as how Uber drivers are rated:
And just so we are under no guise that we are entering a dystopian world of centralised control:
So the answer to children accessing online pornography is Digital ID:
Next steps
Since this report the government has expanded their concerns from children accessing pornography to children accessing social media and harmful content. Currently, the Australian government has an open tender for the technology they will “trial” for age verification:
In this tender we find face and voice biometrics and tracking of what the child is accessing on the internet “digital usage patterns”:
The government has obviously got wind that the public are concerned about a Digital ID, so they hide it under the term “tokenised attribute exchange models”:
Digital ID is mentioned here in code “a government-issued credential”:
This reads to me like you have to prove you’re over 18:
And here we go- surprise, surprise this digital surveillance is in motion for all- regardless of age:
The documents reference numerous times that the “community” are supportive of children being protected from pornography and harmful content. Of course the vast majority of people if asked would say they don’t want children to watch pornography. In the usual deceptive fashion the government does not make clear that their answer to children watching online harmful content is Digital ID, biometric scanning and surveillance of what children are accessing. They also don’t make it clear this is coming for anyone accessing the internet. If they’d told people this, they might have got a different response.
In short, access to the internet (which as part of the 4IR is where they tell us we will need to access goods and services from) will need a Digital ID, biometric scanning, and AI to assess what you are looking at.
I so enjoy living in a "democratic" country where the people are fully aware, engaged, and consulted regarding government plans. The Digital ID Bill was only passed in May 2024 with the assurance it would be voluntary (with clauses that state it wont be).
P.S. When I went to post a blurb about this on FB I was given a pre-crime incitement warning- couldn’t be more fitting for this articles subject matter:
Trojan horse indeed ... beware Greeks bearing gifts … or in this case, just drop the “r” in Greeks.
Great work Kate, crazy times! I have hope though. As a “60 year old, law abiding, non questioning retired therapist I could wake up to the big “why” of all of this so can others! Keep up the great work.