"The Bill’s rhetorical appeal rests on the idea that it targets under-16s. Its mechanism does not."

"The Bill’s rhetorical appeal rests on the idea that it targets under-16s. Its mechanism does not.

"To reliably prevent a 15-year-old from holding an account, a platform must satisfy itself about the age of every account-holder — which in practice means age-assuring the entire adult population as well.

"Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster made the point bluntly when the policy was first floated. Keeping under-16s out means ... everyone will have to demonstrate they are not under sixteen, including you.

"This is the paradox the Bill never resolves, and it is not a drafting quibble but the whole problem. ... "[L]iberal societies are meant to presume adults free unless there is an overwhelming reason to constrain them, not to demand identification as the price of entry to the public square.
The Bill’s privacy safeguards, though real, do not answer this."

~ David Harvey from his post 'A Law That the People It Targets Can Defeat With a Felt-Tip Pen'