About

I’m Ben. Developer, network engineer, dad, and increasingly angry citizen of the United Kingdom.

I’ve spent years building platforms, managing infrastructure, self-hosting services, and working with everything from fibre optics to Bluetooth Low Energy. I understand how the internet works — not from a textbook, but from plugging things in, breaking them, and fixing them at 2am.

I’m also a dad. I grew up on the wild west internet of the 90s and 00s. I know what’s out there. I want a safer internet for my kids — but I also know that the solutions being proposed by people who can’t set up their own email aren’t going to achieve that.

This blog exists because I’m tired of watching politicians legislate technology they don’t understand. Encryption backdoors that can’t work. VPN bans that are unenforceable. Age verification that creates more risk than it prevents. All wrapped in “think of the children” while the actual children remain unprotected.

I write in plain English. No academic waffle, no jargon walls. Just a bloke from Northamptonshire who understands both the tech and the real world, explaining why these things matter to everyone — not just developers.

If you’re a politician, regulator, or civil servant who’s stumbled across this: welcome. I’m not your enemy. I want the same things you want. I just know why your current approach won’t get us there, and I’d rather help than just complain.

If you’re a normal person who’s been told “nothing to hide, nothing to fear”: stick around. I’ve got some things to show you.

I’m also available for hire if you need someone who builds things that work.