this post was submitted on 28 Apr 2026
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Online threats to children are real, but the headlong pursuit of age verification that we’re seeing around the world is unacceptable in its approach and far too broad in scope — and we simply can’t afford to get this wrong.

To be clear, parents’ concerns are valid and sincere. Few people would argue that kids should have unfettered access to adult material, to self-harm how-tos, to social media platforms that manipulate them and expose them to abuse.

But it’s the very depth of those worries that is being cynically exploited. Age verification as is currently being proposed in country after country would mean the death of anonymity online.

And we know exactly who stands to gain: The same tech giants who built the privacy nightmare that the internet is today.

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[–] treesquid@lemmy.world 4 points 55 minutes ago

"Could" is a funny way of saying "are obviously intended to". Stop playing around, call it out directly. Points where you must have your ID checked are, in fact, ID checkpoints.

[–] tinfoilhat@lemmy.ml 10 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

How long before we get a Meshtastic style, decentralized internet?

[–] a_gee_dizzle@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

What can I, as a regular guy, do to help make this happen?

[–] PerfectDark@lemmy.world 1 points 56 minutes ago* (last edited 54 minutes ago) (1 children)

I know you mean a Meshtastic style internet in general. But this is too fascinating to not share. Meshtastic is amazing:

https://meshtastic.org/

[–] parzival@lemmy.org 1 points 53 minutes ago (1 children)

Meshcore has worked far better in my exp although there's been some controversy recently

[–] PerfectDark@lemmy.world 1 points 47 minutes ago

I have to admit I am a fan from afar, I just enjoy keeping up with new devices and so on.

But I do love drama, so I'll go check that out now!

[–] KulunkelBoom@lemmus.org 1 points 39 minutes ago (1 children)

Time for a different internet then.

Another one. Or two.

[–] terabyterex@lemmy.world 2 points 30 minutes ago

well to be pedantic, this really affects the web, which runs in the application layer of the internet. since i am sure they arent going to require refrigerators to have id, the intetnet should remain open. we will just communicate over different protocols

[–] SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world 7 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Maybe Kaczynski had a point by running off to the woods and living in a cabin.

[–] SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org 1 points 1 hour ago

Fuck proton and especially fuck the proton CEO.

[–] SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world 3 points 2 hours ago

I'm only surprised they've taken this long to get anonymity removed from the internet. Using kids as the lever isn't surprising either.

[–] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 4 points 3 hours ago

I other words, a pipe dream for the likes of weird freaks like Yarvin and Thiel and Musk and Zuck and Bezos and Ellison...

[–] sturmblast@lemmy.world 11 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago) (1 children)

Theres a big wide internet beyond apps and social media.

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[–] Randelung@lemmy.world 23 points 5 hours ago (4 children)

Man, parents not wanting anything to do with their kids' upbringing will believe anything, huh. They'd rather offload any and all responsibilities to automation than spend one minute teaching kids how to protect themselves.

Then again, they probably don't know, either.

I have siblings like that. Literally never seen them parent. I've changed more of their kids' diapers than I have seen them do, and I have no kids. It's kind of irritating in an understatement kind of way. My poor niblings

[–] innermachine@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago

I see this as more like the patriot act- gover ent and big tech are pushing to elevate concerns of "the children's safety" to violate our privacy and sell data. Same way the patriot act is so you can "keep all the evil bad man terrorists" at bay but really it's an excuse to violate our rights "legally" in the name of "safety".

[–] Zink@programming.dev 2 points 3 hours ago

It seems like a pretty common thing for people to expect that the luxuries of modern technology include not having to do anything you don't want to, including being present for your own life.

People make self-destructive choices every day. (insert "always have been" 🌏🧑‍🚀🔫🧑‍🚀)

[–] FLAGSHIP@lemmy.zip 6 points 5 hours ago

I think you’re correct in both aspects for sure. Parents are certainly less involved, for the most part, in informing their kids of literally anything. It is much easier to ‘offload any and all responsibilities’ as you put it. iPad kids are a good example of this. Handing a 2yr old a video device and walking away is not parenting. This is an issue with many many topics from internet safety, to general life things, to talks about their bodies. Parents do not want to parent.

I’d also agree, largely, the parents just don’t know, or care. Privacy is, unfortunately, a niche thing to know and care about.

[–] SnarkoPolo@lemmy.world 31 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

Anyone think that's not the point?

[–] FauxLiving@lemmy.world 17 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

"Age Verification" is just them attaching "THINK OF THE CHILDREN" to their push to have every single bit of information about every person on the planet.

[–] Clbull@lemmy.world 9 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

All the more ironic when you realise that some of the big businessmen and lobbyists pushing for mandatory age verification checks are in the Epstein Files. Basically the kind of people who you don't want to be thinking of the children...

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 12 points 7 hours ago

Social media functions as a kind of gatekeeper for public interactions, not unlike credit scores, driver's licenses, and college degrees. The absence of a presence on social media is not only socially debilitating (you're cut out of the information stream for local events and public amenities) but a red-flag for college recruiters and employers. It's much like how not using a credit card regularly in your teens/20s impacts your ability to access low-interest lending in your 30s/40s. Or not having a driver's license interferes with your right to vote.

State officials have been searching for a kind of uniform, iron-clad, easily verifiable public ID for ages. Linking your online presence (a thing that you need for a myriad of daily tasks) to your ID becomes a pathway to this goal. Universal, non-transferable digital ID becomes a wicked two-edged sword as it both exhaustively tracks the "documented" individuals and neatly severs the "undocumented" from society.

[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 6 points 5 hours ago

That's the goal.

[–] RedGreenBlue@lemmy.zip 33 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Make social media unprofitable instead of this.

[–] WanderingThoughts@europe.pub 15 points 7 hours ago (6 children)

Basically don't allow ads for kids and only show social media posts from their friends in chronological order instead of any fancy algorithm. Also make them liable for showing scams to minors. That kills most profit.

[–] orclev@lemmy.world 16 points 6 hours ago

Kill it from the other direction. Make it illegal to algorithmically adjust a users experience to prioritize interaction regardless of whether that's positive or negative. Ultimately that's the problem with places like Facebook, they weigh an angry rant the same as a positive one, higher even in a lot of cases. Things that make people angry generate a lot more interaction than positive things so it drowns people in hate and fear. If you treat any interaction as a positive signal things just devolve.

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