on social media ban and e-kyc

on social media ban and e-kycin 14 days, 4 cases of school violence happened in malaysiathe government's response?malaysia's considering:mandatory eKYCraising age limits from 13 to 16potentially banning smartphones for under-16shere's why this might create more problems than it solvesa thread 🧵context: october 2-14, 2024 - four separate incidents of students being harmed at school [be more detail on the cases, stabbing, etc]the pattern was horrifying. parents are terrified. the anger is justified.when kids are getting hurt, you want to DO something immediately. i understand that impulseparents are backing these measuresmany cite "brain rot" from endless scrolling, exposure to harmful content, radicalizationthese are real concerns from real people watching their kids strugglethe desire to protect children is 100% legitimatebut here's my worry:somewhere between "protect our children" and actual policy implementationwe might be building something that doesn't solve the problemand creates new ones we didn't anticipatethe theory: kids exposed to violent content online → radicalized → violence at schoolsthe proposed solution: verify everyone's identity with IC numbersmy question: does knowing someone's IC number stop radicalization?it's not that age verification is a bad ideakids probably SHOULDN'T have unrestricted access to everything onlinethe question is: are we doing this in a way that's secure, effective, and doesn't create worse problems?let's talk about malaysia's data security reality:december 2024: 17 million ICs leaked to the dark web (still circulating) 72.5% of users have had personal data compromised multiple government sites and databases breachedthis isn't ancient history, this is NOWso when we talk about giving dozens of platforms access to IC datait's not paranoia to ask: what happens when this leaks?because based on track record, it's not IF, it's WHENand here's the thing about surveillance infrastructure:you might trust the current government to only use it for child safetybut what about the next government? or the one after that?once you build the tool, you can't control who uses it or howwe've seen this pattern across asia:thailand: started with "protect the monarchy" → now arresting students for tweets china: started with "financial compliance" → now full social credit system myanmar: started with "national security" → 1,840+ arrests for online postsall started with legitimate concernsmalaysia already ran this experiment with SIM card registrationgoal: reduce scams and crime seemed reasonable, right?result: scam losses UP 29%, scam calls UP 82%, created "SIM mule" black marketsbut government got a database linking every number to an ICi'm not saying the government is evil or had bad intentionsi'm saying the solution didn't work for its stated purposebut it DID create infrastructure that could be used for other thingslet's talk about raising the age limit from 13 to 16:i get it - kids glued to screens, missing real-world development, exposure to harmful contentmany parents support thisbut have we thought through the implications?what 13-16 year olds can actually do on social media:• follow educational content creators on YouTube/TikTok • join study groups and learning communities on Discord • access coding tutorials and tech communities on Reddit/Twitter • find mental health support and resources • connect with mentors and professionals in fields they're interested inwhile kids in Singapore, South Korea, Japan are:building online portfolios at 14 accessing global educational communities at 15 learning from international experts creating content that opens doorsmalaysian kids would be... locked out until 16?cutting kids off from social media isn't just protectionit's limiting their access to the same opportunities that changed my lifeto free education, global communities, mentors who actually care, opportunities that don't care about your backgroundthat's not protection, that's putting them behindthis isn't just about safetyit's about opportunity and competitivenessa 17-year-old malaysian student can't join tech Twitter to learn from developersbut a 14-year-old in Singapore can network with startup founders and engineerswho's more prepared for the future economy?and here's the practical reality:blanket bans don't work because determined kids find workaroundsVPNs, borrowed accounts, fake ICs, older siblings' phonesnow they're accessing content WITHOUT parental oversight or platform accountabilityyou've pushed the problem underground where it's harder to monitorso what WOULD actually work?here's the thing: we don't need to wait for perfect tech solutionsthere are things we can do RIGHT NOW that actually work1. fix what we have FIRSTbefore collecting MORE data, secure what already existsenforce PDPA with real penalties - not slap-on-wrist fines mandate instant breach notifications upgrade government cybersecuritydon't build on a broken foundation2. regulate platforms, not peoplelook at the EU Digital Services Actrequire algorithm transparency force platforms to audit their recommendation systems remove manipulative features like rage-bait amplification hold THEM accountable for harm, not us for existingshoutout to @altorithm by @mypocketofpink who are doing crucial research on how algorithms shape experiences and amplify harmthis is the kind of work that should inform policy, not reactive surveillancecheck them out: pocketofpink.com/#/altorithm3. actually invest in educationdigital literacy reduces cyberbullying and scams by 72%SEVENTY TWO PERCENTmake media literacy core curriculum teach kids to spot manipulation and scams train teachers and parentseducation beats surveillance every single time4. strengthen school environmentsthose four incidents happened AT SCHOOLmental health support, conflict resolution, early intervention programsbuilding trust so kids report problems before they escalate5. THEN consider privacy-preserving techzero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) for age verification could workplatform sees "this user is 16+" without getting IC, name, address, or any personal dataBUT ZKP takes time to implement properlytransparent audits, independent oversight, corruption-resistant systemsdon't rush this part just to look like you're doing somethingdo the other stuff FIRST while building this righthere's the clear alternative path:✓ platform accountability for algorithmic harms ✓ investment in digital literacy and mental health✓ fix existing data security infrastructure ✓ smart regulation that protects without handicappingTHEN when infrastructure is ready: ✓ ZKP-based verification with independent oversighthere's my actual take:age verification for social media? reasonableprotecting kids from harmful content? absolutely necessaryparents' concerns? 100% validthe method matters thoughtraditional eKYC with IC numbers collected by dozens of platforms?that's maximum risk for minimum benefitone breach = millions compromised, and our track record suggests breaches are inevitableblanket age restrictions for teens?sounds good until you realize you're handicapping our youth's competitivenessand pushing determined kids toward less supervised alternativesZKP-based age verification with strong safeguards?this could actually workprotects kids, preserves privacy, doesn't create surveillance infrastructurebut needs proper implementation and oversightplatform regulation + digital literacy + school support?this addresses ROOT CAUSES instead of just symptomsrequires sustained investment but actually prevents harmwe CAN verify age without compromising privacywe CAN protect children without handicapping their educationwe CAN address radicalization without enabling authoritarianismit just requires doing it RIGHT instead of doing it FASTi'm not anti-government herei genuinely believe they want to protect childreni just think we need to pressure them toward solutions that workwithout creating bigger problems down the linebecause once you build surveillance infrastructure, you can't unbuild itonce you compromise millions of ICs (again), you can't uncompromise themonce you lock kids out of educational resources, you can't uncomopete the disadvantagelet's demand:• platform accountability for algorithmic harms • investment in digital literacy and mental health • ZKP-based verification with independent oversight • smart regulation that protects without handicappingthis is solveablebut it requires asking the hard questions nownot after we've already built something we can't take backif you care about this:share this thread with parents, teachers, policymakerslet's have this conversation BEFORE policy becomes permanentour voices actually matter in shaping thismalaysia's kids deserve protection from harmAND access to opportunityAND privacywe don't have to choosewe just have to be smart about implementationthe infrastructure we build today shapes the society we live in tomorrowlet's make sure we're building the right thingfor the right reasonsin the right way/end 🧵