Age Bans, University Capture, and the ADHD Care Gap
June 11, 2026
Canada, the UK, and multiple US states are advancing age-verification mandates and social media bans that risk hardwiring invasive surveillance into identity infrastructure while ignoring the widening ADHD care gap and unequal access to mental health support for neurodivergent youth. Meanwhile, cash-strapped universities face pressure to become talent pipelines for AI vendors, and Meta's rollback of content restrictions has coincided with a spike in violent threats against politicians, demonstrating how state overreach and platform governance failures converge to concentrate control over public discourse and care while leaving material harms unaddressed.
-
BRIEF
Keir Starmer’s social media ban for under-16s could backfire, experts warn
Critics accuse embattled prime minister of rushing plans that will have consequences for surveillance and privacy
- structural power
- geopolitics
-
BRIEF
The university must not become a supply chain for AI
Cash-strapped universities are being told to make AI central to their missions, by the people selling the AI.
- geopolitics
- structural power
-
BRIEF
Meta Changed Its Speech Rules. Then Threats Against Politicians Skyrocketed
New research finds that in the six months after Meta relaxed rules in the name of free speech, violent threats against lawmakers—including President Donald Trump—surged on Facebook.
-
BRIEF
On AI Safety Concerns, Mark Carney Is Out of Step with Canadians
The public is right to be concerned about AI. But Carney and his ministers have framed our reluctance as ignorance.
-
BRIEF
How and Why to Fight Back Against Social Media Bans
Several U.S. states are pushing to ban young people from social media entirely. This marks the latest wave of censorship bills masquerading as “children’s online safety” measures, with states like Massachusetts, Idaho, Minnesota, North Carolina, South Carolina, Illinois, and EFF’s home state of Cali…
- AI governance
- structural power
- media and technology
-
BRIEF
Canada introduces bill to ban social media for children under 16
The bill also aims to make AI chatbots safer by establishing a digital regulator to set safety standards.
- geopolitics
- structural power
-
BRIEF
The high cost of undiagnosed and untreated ADHD: Unequal mental-health access and the care economy
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that can persist from childhood into older adulthood. It impacts individuals from all ethnic groups and socioeconomic backgrounds. Current estimates suggest that one of every 21 people in Canada has the disorder.…
- all