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Online age verification is the hill to die on

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411–420 of 750 posts

Re: Online age verification is the hill to die on

#411
post #8

The one and only method I will participate in is server operators setting a RTA header [1] for URL's that may contain adult or user-generated or user-contributed content and the clients having the option to detect that header and trigger parental controls if they are enabled by the device owner. That should suffice to protect most small children. Teens will always get around anything anyone implements as they are alr…

An outstanding idea. Those lobbying for age verification hate it though, because they want to be the arbiters of age, and all that juicy PII that they can analyze and resell.

Re: Online age verification is the hill to die on

#412

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is exactly the way it should be done. Device with parental controls enabled disables content client-side when the header is detected. As far as I can tell, it's a global optimum, all trade-offs considered.

Well why haven't all the big tech companies done it then? They have only themselves to blame. They had years to fix the problem of inappropriate content being delivered to kids and their response was sticking their fingers in their ears and saying "blah blah blah parenting blah blah blah" And it really should be the opposite. Assume content is not kid-safe by default, and allow sites to declare if they have some othe…

The reason is that this whole push for age verification is nothing to do with actually stopping kids seeing the content. If it was then this kind of solution would be being legislated for. It’s just about making everyone identifiable.

Re: Online age verification is the hill to die on

#413

It’s not online age verification. It’s online identity verification. Would you vote for that? Prove who you are to visit this website? Would you do it to access Hacker News? Your newspaper? Didn’t think so.

It's turning using a computer into a privilege that can be revoked by the government at any time, for any reason.

Re: Online age verification is the hill to die on

#414
post #129
post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So is social media.

It's framed as being only for social media. But, really, it's about network access. Without network access, it's difficult to thrive in the modern world. Are you not alarmed at the possibility that a person's network access could be cut arbitrarily and at-will?

I'm mostly alarmed by kids parroting Andrew Tate and a whole generation being raised propagandised by Tiktok brainwashing.

Re: Online age verification is the hill to die on

#415
post #397

Enjoy dying on that hill then because without mandatory ID for potentially harmful services like social media, we will continue to descend further into the brainrot that many of you suffer from today.

I'm curious to hear your theory on how it saves us from the brain rot!

Presumably it makes people fearful to post things that differ from the norm, which is what I'm assuming parent means by brainrot (wrongthink).

Re: Online age verification is the hill to die on

#418
post #8

The one and only method I will participate in is server operators setting a RTA header [1] for URL's that may contain adult or user-generated or user-contributed content and the clients having the option to detect that header and trigger parental controls if they are enabled by the device owner. That should suffice to protect most small children. Teens will always get around anything anyone implements as they are alr…

>I a small server operator and a client of the internet will not participate in any other methods period, full-stop.

You will however follow the law if it mandates you to do else.

Which is we "age verification" should be stopped before it's too late.

Re: Online age verification is the hill to die on

#419
post #289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a good idea. There could be two headers, the existing RTA header that adult sites use today [1] and another static header that explicitly states there shall be no adult content. [1] - https://www.shodan.io/search?query=RTA-5042-1996-1400-1577-R... [THESE ARE ADULT SITES, NSFW]

What is adult content? I know parents who have no problem with their kids seeing porn. I know parents who give their kids a beer. I know parents who take their kids to violent movies. I used to know parents who will give their kids cigarettes. Most parents I know will disagree with their kids doing one of the above. I know songs that were played on the radio in 1960 that would not be allowed today, even though today…

That was our struggle with implementing "blocking" tech at a school I worked at. Is a kid looking up how to do a breast self exam porn? What about a self testicular exam.. What about actual Sex Ed kinds of sites?

Re: Online age verification is the hill to die on

#420

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AFAIK there are designs in the EU that respect privacy. There is a range of options being pushed around the world, and theres definitely a few of them which are more technically defensible than others.

The EU's proposed design still has a ton of issues.

Elaborate please
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