From the US and Australia to France and Italy, those seeking to obliterate privacy and restrict content are on the move, says technology journalist Taylor Lorenz
I totally understand that. And FWIW, I used to sit squarely in the camp that this wasn’t just foolish, it was nefarious.
But the challenge is really in how the UK has decided to implement this - zero knowledge proofs should have been a legal requirement like it is the the EU infrastructure regulation.
If there really, truly was no way to tie back proving your age to who proved their age, then surely this is a good thing? The slippery slope argument I understand but it is, at heart, at fallacy. “Well, if you start putting people in prison for murder, then pretty soon you’ll start putting people in prison for breathing”.
I’m obviously against having to prove your identity to access some content. But can I not support having to prove your age (in a fully anonymous way) without automatically saying “let’s know exactly who is accessing what and when”?
If there really, truly was no way to tie back proving your age to who proved their age, then surely this is a good thing?
Still nope.
The government shouldn’t be putting up mandatory barriers for what adults watch in the privacy of their own home. It’s a huge overreach.
Imagine being an adult in your 40s, living alone without a minor anywhere near you, and having to prove you’re an adult with a fucking Android app every time you want to open your liquor cabinet. That’s how this feels to me, and I find it extremely offensive. Like, get out of my life.
And then this age gating crap doesn’t even solve the problem, and has the potential to make things worse, because only the major players like pornhub and reddit will comply. For shits and giggles, I set my VPN to UK the other day, and was able to find non-age gated porn in no time. So this is just driving minors who want to view porn to more sketchy, less moderated sites.
I totally understand that. And FWIW, I used to sit squarely in the camp that this wasn’t just foolish, it was nefarious.
But the challenge is really in how the UK has decided to implement this - zero knowledge proofs should have been a legal requirement like it is the the EU infrastructure regulation.
If there really, truly was no way to tie back proving your age to who proved their age, then surely this is a good thing? The slippery slope argument I understand but it is, at heart, at fallacy. “Well, if you start putting people in prison for murder, then pretty soon you’ll start putting people in prison for breathing”.
I’m obviously against having to prove your identity to access some content. But can I not support having to prove your age (in a fully anonymous way) without automatically saying “let’s know exactly who is accessing what and when”?
Still nope.
The government shouldn’t be putting up mandatory barriers for what adults watch in the privacy of their own home. It’s a huge overreach.
Imagine being an adult in your 40s, living alone without a minor anywhere near you, and having to prove you’re an adult with a fucking Android app every time you want to open your liquor cabinet. That’s how this feels to me, and I find it extremely offensive. Like, get out of my life.
And then this age gating crap doesn’t even solve the problem, and has the potential to make things worse, because only the major players like pornhub and reddit will comply. For shits and giggles, I set my VPN to UK the other day, and was able to find non-age gated porn in no time. So this is just driving minors who want to view porn to more sketchy, less moderated sites.