Tell us what’s on your mind
Teens will beat porn blocks in seconds
The problem with facial scanning to block under-18s accessing porn sites is that it gives parents a false sense of security (‘Question of the Fortnight’, Issue 673, pictured right). Many of them will assume that this technology is all they need to keep their children safe from online harms, but kids will do what they’ve always done, and find ways to bend the rules. Most teenagers know how to use VPNs. It’ll take them about three seconds to work out what to do.
Mark Rennie
Face scanning won’t just stop teenagers accessing porn sites – I think it’ll put off most adults too. Just imagine if every time you tried to buy a magazine off the top shelf the newsagent had to scan your passport or driving licence, and then take a photograph of you. That feels intrusive, but I reckon it’s still more secure than giving all that information to a porn site.
People who want porn will look for ways around this restriction, and that will drive them to websites that ignore the law requiring age checks. I dread to think what kind of filth they’ll come across on those.
Tom Mitchell
CA SAYSWe think there are serious moral, security and practical obstacles that could prevent face scanning being introduced. But there’s no doubt that age checks for porn sites are coming. What form they take will be decided by Ofcom, government and the websites themselves.
Android updates stopped after just two years
I much appreciated Robert Irvine’s warnings in Issue 672 (‘What NOT to buy for Christmas’, page 60). I can echo his comments about Motorola phones, after buying a Moto E3 in 2017. In my innocence I thought this was a fairly new model, launched in 2016. However, the Android updates stopped in 2018 when the phone was just two years old. I received only six or seven months of updates.
Google app updates have continued without a break and I haven’t noticed any security problems. But performance seems to have deteriorated over the years and the device went wrong last month with half the features not working.
I’ve now scrapped the E3 and have returned with some relief to a Nokia E61. Not only is the Nokia superior to the Moto for texts and phone calls, but it has a nice keyboard for the batch of useful Symbian apps I use.
Ted Cross
One-hour battery won’t prevent three-day power cuts
In several editions you’ve highlighted the downside of the proposed switch from copper phone lines t
