The Flaws and Dangers of Online Age Verification Laws
By
zdw
10mo ago· 8 min readenOpinion
100/100
Golden Brown
Bagelometer↗
The bagel they save for the regulars. Don't skim, savour.
Score100TypeopinionSentimentnegative
Summary
The article critiques the idea of age verification for accessing adult content online, arguing that it undermines privacy and security for adults while failing to effectively protect children. It highlights the impracticality and potential dangers of such laws, comparing them to prior restraint on free speech.
Key quotes
· 3 pulled“Won’t someone think of the poor children?” they say, clutching their pearls as they enact another stupid law that will harm the privacy of every adult on Earth and create Prior Restraint that inhibits the freedom of speech in liberal democracies.
If you’re totally ignorant of how things work, the proposal of “verifying you’re an adult” before you access adult content sounds, superficially, like a reasonable thing to do. But it’s a patently stupid idea at every level.
Age Verification Makes The Internet Less Secure
“Won’t someone think of the poor children?” they say, clutching their pearls as they enact another stupid law that will harm the privacy of every adult on Earth and create Prior R…
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