Remember When 'Data Protection' Was All The Rage?

Social media firms such as Facebook and Instagram should be forced to hand over data about who their users are and why they use the sites to reduce suicide among children and young people, psychiatrists have said.

I guess if it's 'For the chiiiiillllldreeeennnnn!' we shouldn't worry that our data is being harvested then?

And who is going to use it?

The college, which represents the UK’s 18,000 psychiatrists, wants the government to make social media platforms hand over the data to academics so that they can study what sort of content users are viewing.

Oh.

Well, giving the sort of people that tell you it's perfectly fine for a man to 'identify' as a woman more data can't be a mistake, can it?

The government plans to set up a new online safety regulator and the college says it should be given the power to compel firms to hand over data. It is also calling for the forthcoming 2% “turnover tax” on social media companies’ income to be extended so that it includes their turnover internationally, not from just the UK.

What's that got to do with mental health? It's just a money grab!

Naturally, other State agencies want their piece of flesh too:

NHS England challenged firms to hand over the sort of information that the college is suggesting. Claire Murdoch, its national director for mental health, said that action was needed “to rein in potentially misleading or harmful online content and behaviours”.

They are talking about data, Claire, not what use they'd put it to. You've just blown their cover.

She said: “If these tech giants really want to be a force for good, put a premium on users’ wellbeing and take their responsibilities seriously, then they should do all they can to help researchers better understand how they operate and the risks posed. Until then, they cannot confidently say whether the good outweighs the bad.”

Crucially, nor can you. And I don't think the jury's in yet on whether the good that the NHS does outweighs the bad, hmmm?

The demands have also been backed by Ian Russell, who has become a campaigner against social media harm since his 14-year-old daughter Molly killed herself in November 2017.

Hard cases used to make bad law. Oh. Wait. They still do.