The delayed Queen’s speech finally went ahead today, this being where the Queen addresses government with a list of laws the newly elected party in power are proposing to put into place. It’s all very traditional and obviously taken very seriously by MPs and the public.
There were definitely some interesting proposals by the Conservatives, which will all be passed through government since they have almost 100% confirmed to have joined forces with the DUP, meaning they now have a majority in parliament.
As you’d expect there’s a whole load of Brexit related stuff in there, however, it’s the new Data Regulations Act which foresees an interesting vision for the future of the internet in the UK.
Firstly, when you turn 18, you are now going to be able to make any social media platform delete any of your personal data. This means that any cringeworthy posts you make as a teenager can be made to vanish if you wish.
The home secretary Amber Rudd has met with the big social media giant companies earlier in the year to discuss these new regulations they are preparing to bring into place. The whole act emphasises that individuals will have more control over their data, which seems like good news.
Slightly worryingly however, depending on how you look at it, is the introduction of more transparency between social media and the government, which means more of our data will be able to be accessed by those at the top.
The conservatives are proposing this as a way to manage terrorism, which obviously in theory, is a great shout, but there is of course a danger in letting all personal information be accessible and therefore seemingly controlled by the government and law enforcement agencies.
At the moment, conversations on Whatsapp, for example, cannot be accessed by outside forces due to encryption, whereas the new act will make it easier for these conversations accessed by those at the top, and in turn means posts can be more heavily regulated.
Still good news for teenagers at least: your messy antics can be viewed no more. In terms of the new act in a wider sense, it remains to be seen if it is actually a positive move forward for the use of technology.