this post was submitted on 26 May 2026
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I imagine that, while good on the surface, the apps that will then require the age information called from the OS will just reject any platform that doesn't provide it, essentially segregating the internet.
Which, adding more and more friction makes it more likely that users will just give up and submit to giving up their privacy.
But that isn’t mandated in the laws
Regardless they can destroy the clearnet and we’ll make our own internet with blackjack and hookers
Yet.
But it doesn't need to be once the data exists, corporations can build their websites however they like once the data is mandated to exist. Think about how your browser, if not chrome, will often break/slow down on YouTube because google wants you to use chrome/have ads play on YouTube. Or how captcha will just sometimes break and force you to use a chrome browser (which exposes a bunch of data)...cause google again. None of that is mandated by law.
Don't forget the legislation is funded by Meta. They want that delicious, scrumptious data that will help them legally avoid COPPA and target/collect data on child accounts and get them addicted while young.
And I know we will. We're cool like that.
It's back to the same question from the early days of the Internet. "How do you know the person you are talking to isn't a cat?". How can you know they aren't a cat or maybe a clever monkey taking a break from typing Shakespeare, or how old they are, or who they even are?
You can't.
You can implement every security measure available and anyone can simply lie or bypass it.
If by some miracle they actually implemented some age verification tech for OS and websites and the Internet as a whole, it will just pop up an underground market of "fake IDs" or hacks to get past it.
Absolutely we would, we're paying attention. Most people aren't.
What I worry about is the longterm effects. Look at children who have grown up with iphones. Most of them don't know that other apps exist outside of their locked down appstore.
What scares me is the normalization through the generations of the surveillance state. Remember what we used to call spyware? I'd hazard a guess that basically every corporate application could be classified as spyware given the amount of data they collect on a user. But we've largely stopped using the term.
Chrome is spyware, but if you called it that you'd be met with "bro, what? It's a browser" or even worse "so? I need it to access the internet"
Same with Flock and Ring and all the smartphone apps with location access we carry around all day.
We've slowly given away every last shred of privacy and have no increased security or happiness from it. In fact I believe our safety and security is FAR worse under mass surveillance than if we simply "did nothing". Surveillance and police and punishment do not really stop crime or help protect anyone, it just opens up dozens of other avenues for harm.
Also, I don't know about you guys, but I feel icky being out in public now. I'm so painfully aware that I'm being filmed from 15 different angles as I walk or drive or do anything, I feel like I'm being stalked and it's creepy.
This is why my glasses now have an IR blocking coating to interrupt facial recognition somewhat.
Not that they don't have gait tracking or other methods 🙃
Time to start a new fashion trend. Algorithm scrambling cloaks and trench coats lol. Welcome to the bladerunner/cyberpunk era.
Even better idea for a new fashion trend. Cans of black spray paint and paintball gun accessories, with a cute little strap. And if a few cameras get accidentally blinded well that's just the price we are willing to pay to slay.
I expect I'll need a phone that I turn on from time to time that's got all my details logged so I can access things like banking and tax.