this post was submitted on 28 Apr 2026
1015 points (99.4% liked)

Technology

84277 readers
3763 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related news or articles.
  3. Be excellent to each other!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
  10. Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.

Approved Bots

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
L3s@lemmy.world
enu@lemmy.world
technopagan@lemmy.world
L4s@lemmy.world
L3s@hackingne.ws
1015
Age checks could turn internet into an ID checkpoint and would kill anonymity, Proton CEO says (proton.me)
submitted 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) by Deep@mander.xyz to c/technology@lemmy.world
222 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

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.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 11 points 4 days ago (1 children)

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.

[–] Bluescluestoothpaste@sh.itjust.works 2 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

Na bro social media is nothing like credit score. You're totally fine not having facebook, all these municipalities have websites, you don't need social media for anything.

And even credit scores, you just want it for like two years before buying a home, it's no problem at all especially in contrast to the challenge of actually saving up enough money to buy a home.

State officials have been searching for a kind of uniform, iron-clad, easily verifiable public ID for ages

What are you talking about? People have been voting, paying taxes, applying for driver's licenses, for ages online, they all have usernames and passwords with uploaded proof of ID for their online government transactions.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Na bro social media is nothing like credit score.

You might want to talk to folks in recruiting or HR. Everyone checks your social media history when they're evaluating you.

[–] Bluescluestoothpaste@sh.itjust.works 1 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Exactly, i dont have them so they can't. It can only hurt you if you have embarassing stuff.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 1 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

i dont have them so they can’t

"Please provide any social media as part of your application"

"Haha. Well, guess what, dipshits. I don't have any. Checkmate!"

Sound of resume hitting the bottom of the trash can

[–] Bluescluestoothpaste@sh.itjust.works 1 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

Well idk somehow ive stayed employed my whole adult life, including one fortune 500 company so i guess im really lucky

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 1 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

Hey, it's the Internet. You can aim higher.

Say you're the CEO next time.

[–] Bluescluestoothpaste@sh.itjust.works 1 points 21 hours ago

Probably couldn't be a ceo without social media lol you have a point there