RE: https://eupolicy.social/@hpod16/117286020053320946
It’s interesting that people who support age verification have to ask what the problem is. As if it was a big mystery.
Asking people to reveal their personally identification so they can use the internet isn’t a problem that should need to be explained. But since you asked…
1. Our data can not be protected online. Especially by every random person who has the means to buy a domain and pay for hosting.
2. Forcing identification is a barrier for many people. That’s exclusion. And in many cases ableism.
3. Age verification won’t keep kids from using technology. If their parents are that disconnected, they’ll help them through the gates and move on. Restricting access creates a hurdle, not an impasse.
4. Age verification puts the onus on people using the web instead of the people make parts of it horrible. We are victims of nefarious systems. We are not the problem. The systems are. That should be the focus of solutions.
@markwyner
To add to this, if we don't create spaces for kids to be kids and teens to be teens, taking away their internet connection is going to drive up suicide rates among other issues. I know if I was 15 again, had no social media and no place to spend time with friends, I would be dead right now. The reason I got by without social media was because we had AOL instant messenger for chat and there were still loads of places for kids to just hang out and be kids.
I know of a child who had her social media taken away during covid lockdown. She removed herself from existence because to her that was better than feeling alone.
The people pushing for these policies have no idea the damage they will cause. Lives, children's lives, will literally be lost as a result of this.