Decentralized social network Mastodon says it cannot comply with age verification laws, like in Mississippi and elsewhere, and says it's up to individual server owners to decide.
My point is that any solution here will be used for tracking, because that’s in the interests of both regulators and regulated entities. It’s not going to solve the original problem because kids are great at finding workarounds, and it will cause harm to those who follow the rules.
I also could devise a technical solution here that respects users’ privacy and is effective, but once it’s implemented, it will be changed to violate privacy. That’s how these things work.
Easy:
I don’t trust the government and private interests to come to an agreement that somehow benefits citizens more than their combined interests.
I’m not saying I’m for age verification. I’m just saying if it were for it, there’d be solutions.
What I wrote I did while being barely awake in five minutes. Sure it needs work. But there’d be ways to do it without a camera up your butt.
My point is that any solution here will be used for tracking, because that’s in the interests of both regulators and regulated entities. It’s not going to solve the original problem because kids are great at finding workarounds, and it will cause harm to those who follow the rules.
I also could devise a technical solution here that respects users’ privacy and is effective, but once it’s implemented, it will be changed to violate privacy. That’s how these things work.
Sadly, I agree with everything you wrote.