I read an article today that made me wonder if it is something that would gain traction in this country:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c39r7p47wzgo
This week, China's Cyberspace Administration launched a two-month campaign to curb social media posts that "excessively exaggerate negative and pessimistic sentiments". The goal, according to authorities, is to "rectify negative emotions" and "create a more civilised and rational online environment".
In the crosshairs are narratives like "studying is useless" and "hard work is useless", as well as stories that promote "world-weariness".
Initially I thought nah, we are still a free society but then I started thinking of the recent use of the police to patrol social media for anyone saying things in support of organisations that the government consider problematic (think of the Middle East) - if you protest you easily end up in jail, if you write something on social media then having the police turn up on your doorstep is a realistic threat.
Our freedoms only really can be defined in the Citizens Charter and these are subject to all sorts of emergency powers and erosion as bills are passed granting more exemptions for the government. The current government have a sufficiently large majority that passing laws which curb our freedoms should be easy so long as they make small changes each time.
Think digital IDs, online age verification checks etc. Each one is a way to tie us to what we say and do in a way that they can track patterns of behaviour and use vague laws to act if they choose to.
So it is possible but do you think they have the appetite for making the population more compliant?
