New Interview: UK Protests + Under-16 Social Media Ban – The Twin Engines Driving Digital Authoritarianism

I recently sat down with Paul Brennan on Reality Check Radio (RCR NZ) for a wide-ranging discussion on two major developments that are accelerating Britain’s slide into digital control.

The tragic knife attacks and subsequent unrest are providing the perfect pretext for tighter online controls, expanded censorship, and rushed amendments to the Online Safety Act. What’s framed as “public protection” is rapidly becoming real-time monitoring, faster takedowns, and broader labelling of dissent as “incitement” or “disinformation.”

This isn’t just about protecting children. It’s laying the groundwork for mandatory age verification, biometric data collection, digital IDs, and pervasive state surveillance across the population. Once the infrastructure is built for “youth safety,” it expands.

Together, these two issues reveal a coordinated push: use public outrage and genuine safety concerns to justify unprecedented levels of online control and identification.

The COVID-era censorship playbook is being updated for the 2026 “public order” era.

Watch the full interview.

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