Apple iOS now requires age verification to access websites it deems 18+. Not even using another browser like Firefox works, it's blocked at the OS level.
I was putting off switching to Graphene or e/os until prices improve, but looks like my hand is forced.
Edit: VPN doesn't even work because Apple knows your GPS location. I haven't tried location spoofing yet because that's a bit more annoying to setup.
The only people who can control any apple device are the people working the back end of Apple's ecosystem
Did you know they already did that in the UK?...even though they weren't obligated to.
You can't VPN to the UK, Australia or any of the EU countries anymore because of this crap. And in case anyone hasn't figured it out yet, it's not about protecting kids from anything. It's about unmasking everyone online and the next step will be digital ID and CBDC
What do you mean? That I can't set up something like tailscale on iPhone? Or can I set it up as long as it's in the same country and I can't set up a makeshift VPN service by routing my traffic through a VPS in a different country?
in china? probably not on an apple device of any kind. In the UK? maybe, but if the apple device was first booted within the UK, apple might remove the software from your device. That's something apple can do by the way, they can just take things off your device if they don't want you to have them
What is apple’s endgame of unmasking everyone online? Better ad placement? Hardly seems worth it.
Or does apple really have interest in allowing governments around the world to track and identify people who view certain content or say certain things?
Like how does this benefit apple?
It's to combat bots and AI scrapers. It's expensive tracking every bot and scraper out there. They created a problem. Now they want us to fix it for them so their money printer doesn't slow down.
it benefits them because they get to continue having customers in dictatorships like china, the UK, australia and the EU.
they're bending over and pulling that fascist dick up their asses so they can keep operating in as many countries as possible.
Before you say it. I'll ask this...What do YOU call it when you get arrested for words that aren't threats?
Calling the EU a dictatorship is outstandingly uneducated. Like, stone age levels of primitively stupid.
No free speech, Forced age verification, chat control. They made it illegal to run your AC during a heatwave.
Do you really need more than that?
Freedom of expression is a EU law, age verification is stupid but isn't enacted, the current chat control version is stupid but doesn't force anything, and no it's not illegal to run an AC you dumbass
Only if they agree with what you have to say
China will be interesting with this ridiculous precedent Apple are self inflicting on themselves.
They already put censorship into every china-based apple device over 10 years ago
Wow by censorship do you mean Apple literally enforce the Great Firewall blocklist at device level? If so wild.
Permits to build factories, datacenters, other infrastructure. Better chances of striking deals. Being considered as a supplier when time comes to upgrade state phones and IT.
Lots of potential benefits of licking the boot.
Maybe internet content will improve as a result. In my early life I was hard pro anonymous internet access, but the way social media content is impacting liberal societes I suspect now that was an error.
Mean internet comments with no one's real name attached to them means you have a free and open internet for everyone. The solution to bad speech is good speech, not censorship and certainly not mandatory self-doxing
forcing everyone on the internet to show ID is a huge cybersecurity risk. What with databreaches and all. Literally every ID verifier who said they delete the IDs once the account is verified was proven to be lying after they got hacked