Oh and by the way, these age verification things are pure bullshit. This is Go.cam - the leading "open source" one people are talking about. I thought I'd have to employ some AI image generation stuff to spoof it. That was... overly optimistic about their capabilities.

"Highly Effective Age Assurance" they said.

#OnlineSafetyAct

Bluesky will be age-gating content for UK users. It’s your privacy that pays.

The UK Online Safety Act has unleashed an unregulated market in age verification.

That we have to do these intrusive checks with countless providers for different platforms is dangerous.

https://www.theverge.com/news/704468/bluesky-age-verification-uk-online-safety-act

#onlinesafetyact #ageverification #ageassurance #privacy #dataprotection #data #biometrics #onlinesafety #ukpolitics #ukpol #bluesky

A gentle reminder that, if you run a regulated user-to-user service within the scope of Part 3 of the UK's #OnlineSafetyAct, which falls within the requirement to put in place highly-effective age assurance (which does not apply to all services), you have just a few more days - until 25 July - to do so.

If you are not sure, start with a child access assessment, and then, if needed, a child risk assessment.

Most problematically, I have zero recommendations for a tried-and-tested, Free / open source, data protection compliant, age assurance system.

If you cannot implement age assurance, you might want to look at ways to lessen the risk, to escape the requirement.

> Reddit introduces age verification in the UK ahead of new rules

Expect a fair few social sites to introduce age assurance for some content - or block people from the UK - ahead of the UK's #OnlineSafetyAct deadline of 25 July.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj4ep1znk4zo

"Email-based age assurance" has been deemed to be (capable of being) "highly effective" under the UK's #OnlineSafetyAct

Annoyingly, this means data sharing and only works if someone uses the same email address with multiple third parties.

My email address is well above the age of majority in the UK, but surely "Neil likes to reply in-line and signs email with GPG" is a good enough indication of grey-beardedness anyway.

I can't see how masto instances can avoid getting embroiled in this. It will come for us...

Age verification is a goldrush for providers who don’t need certification.

The risks to the privacy and security of our sensitive personal data are high.

It didn’t need to be this way. Our digital rights should come first.

Our website explains what the UK Online Safety Act means for users and site owners with age verification ⬇️

https://www.ageverificationfacts.org.uk/

#onlinesafetyact #ageverification #ageassurance #privacy #dataprotection #data #biometrics #onlinesafety #ukpolitics #ukpol

The UK Online Safety Act could’ve required proper regulation of age verification providers and given us a choice.

We should be able to pick a provider with high privacy standards that can work for any and every platform. It could and should be interoperable.

Instead, we either accept what we’re given or lose access to chunks of the Internet.

#onlinesafetyact #ageverification #ageassurance #privacy #dataprotection #data #biometrics #onlinesafety #ukpolitics #ukpol

Well well... Better late than never... #OnlineSafetyAct

Grindr is rolling out age verification for UK users to comply with the Online Safety Act.

The Act lets platforms choose the provider to do these checks and requires no certification for high privacy standards.

Users deserve to have their data handled securely.

https://www.attitude.co.uk/news/grindr-introduces-age-verification-for-uk-based-users-486823/

#ageverification #ageassurance#OnlineSafetyAct #privacy #ukpolitics #ukpol #grindr

https://onlinesafetyact.co.uk/in_memoriam/

@lobsters

Want to know more about age verification, age assurance and what it means for your privacy online?

ORG has developed a website with key facts and advice on what the UK Online Safety Act means for you.

Find out more ⬇️

https://www.ageverificationfacts.org.uk/

#ageverification #ageassurance#OnlineSafetyAct #privacy #ukpolitics #ukpol