this post was submitted on 26 May 2026
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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.