Can't we build a gateway in the internet that detects if someone is a influential CEO or something and just bar access to the internet?
Google will expand age checks on Android worldwide till the end of the year
11–20 of 549 posts
Re: Google will expand age checks on Android worldwide till the end of the year
#12I don’t understand how are they even checking the age ??
In some jurisdictions/countries they have to call some government service which then tells them whether a person is above or below a certain age.
Theoretically you could make this double blind and that's the story they are telling.
We have no way to (dis)prove it though.
Alas, here goes the freedom, with thunderous applause.
Re: Google will expand age checks on Android worldwide till the end of the year
#13I don't understand why apps need to know anything about a specific age. If we have to go down this road, which I really don't, why can't we just simply have verification whether or not an age fits within a range better yet a category. Yes, age can still be inferred, for example, under 21 or over 21.
Because it's not about age at all. That's just ruse to get a lever to lock people out of their devices if they don't behave.
How would that make sense?
If anything, I would imagine that Google's changes are motivated by driving traffic to their Google Play Store, where they make billions in commissions.
Once this framework is in place for the Google Play Store, perhaps they can lobby for strict age verification laws, and then tell developers who publish outside of Google Play that they are responsible for compliance themselves.
Re: Google will expand age checks on Android worldwide till the end of the year
#14This smells like Soviet Union. The next step will be a requirement to confirm your identity - trying to justify it with a wicked manipulation tactic "we need to know your are not lying when selecting your age". No one asked for it to begin with. Android is normalising totalitarianism and mass spying on citizens, one step at a time. This is a very bad feature and a very bad development.
Re: Google will expand age checks on Android worldwide till the end of the year
#15They want your data.
YOU have become their product.
By the way, this also explains one reason why Google shut down third party access/applications recently on Android. Android (if one uses the Google software) becomes the ultimate spy tool on people. At the same time you see several countries force age sniffing on people - this is the beginning of the end of the free web. It will happen in various steps; the next one is Microsoft adding this to their software.
Re: Google will expand age checks on Android worldwide till the end of the year
#16I find myself stuck on the fence with age checks.
Companies have show that they are incapable or unwilling to address the problems they cause. And market forces are not working to correct things. It’s also pretty obvious that saying “parent should take responsibility” is also not working. Just observe the world around you to know it’s a non starter.
This is where regulation is supposed to come in.
At the same time, companies have shown that they will abuse any personal information that is shared with them and we are now giving them more details about ourselves…
Re: Google will expand age checks on Android worldwide till the end of the year
#17I don't understand why apps need to know anything about a specific age. If we have to go down this road, which I really don't, why can't we just simply have verification whether or not an age fits within a range better yet a category. Yes, age can still be inferred, for example, under 21 or over 21.
Because it has never been merely about age only.
They want to track everyone now. Age sniffing is just one additional step for forcing verification. This will continue - see how suspiciously many countries adopt new legislation. It is quite fascinating to me to see how easy it is to kill off democracies.
Re: Google will expand age checks on Android worldwide till the end of the year
#18Earlier quoted context omitted.
The API behaves this way: > To request a user's age range and sharing status, you call the Play Age Signals API (beta) from your app at runtime. The default age ranges the API returns are 0-12, 13-15, 16-17, and 18+, but you can receive custom age ranges. https://developer.android.com/google/play/age-signals/use-ag... But I don't find it any better. I don't see any viable reason to provide identification to my phone'…
You can also get GrapheneOS right now on Google-branded hardware, which is expensive but not enshittified.
>which is expensive
The rumored Motorola devices are even more expensive. It's the signature and some foldables, all in the 1000+ MSRP range. At least with pixels you can get the a series for as little as 400 on sale.
Re: Google will expand age checks on Android worldwide till the end of the year
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because it's not about age at all. That's just ruse to get a lever to lock people out of their devices if they don't behave.
How would that make sense? If anything, I would imagine that Google's changes are motivated by driving traffic to their Google Play Store, where they make billions in commissions. Once this framework is in place for the Google Play Store, perhaps they can lobby for strict age verification laws, and then tell developers who publish outside of Google Play that they are responsible for compliance themselves.
It makes total sense. You here assume that this is only driven
by Google. Once you include state actors, suddenly it makes sense.
They gather more data now. Only verified users will be able to use the internet in unrestricted ways - that is what is new.
Re: Google will expand age checks on Android worldwide till the end of the year
#20[flagged]