Open Rights Group
@openrightsgroup@social.openrightsgroup.org  ·  activity timestamp 7 days ago

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
Paul Chambers🚧
@paul@oldfriends.live  ·  activity timestamp 3 days ago

tl;dr: Porn will get harder to watch in Ohio soon as advanced photo ID type verification will be required starting September 29, 2025 ~Attorney General Dave Yost is already getting a hard-on thinking about enforcing it. Will require "location-based tech provider" to "dynamically monitor" a user attempting to access a website.

Ohioans will need to submit their photo ID to watch pornography beginning this fall, with explicit content giant #PornHub likely to consider pulling out of providing content to the state. #Ohio#Porn#AgeVerification#Privacy

To crack down on kids and teens accessing porn, state Reps. Josh Williams (R-Sylvania) and Steve Demetriou (R-Bainbridge Twp.) put a provision in the budget, requiring every porn watcher to provide age verification. #USPol

Verification would be done by submitting a photo of your state ID or by entering your personal information into a third-party system that will then run your details through other online or government databases — it could also use facial recognition technology, capturing photos of users. Companies would be penalized if they don't comply.

The law starts on page 655 of House Bill 96. pdfhttps://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/api/v2/general_assembly_136/legislation/hb96/07_EN/pdf/https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/136/hb96
wcpohttps://www.wcpo.com/news/state/state-ohio/porn-will-get-harder-to-watch-in-ohio-soon

(a) A commercial establishment that, for any form of consideration, has as a significant or substantial portion of its stock-in-trade in, derives a significant or substantial portion of its revenues from, devotes a significant or substantial portion of its content or advertising to, or maintains a substantial section of its sales or online content display space for the sale, rental, or viewing of materials that are obscene or harmful to juveniles; (b) A commercial establishment as defined in section 2907.38 of the Revised Code. An establishment may have other principal business purposes that do not involve selling, delivering, furnishing, disseminating, providing, exhibiting, or presenting any material or performance that is obscene or harmful to juveniles on the internet and still be categorized as an organization subject to this section. The existence of other principal business purposes does not
(a) A commercial establishment that, for any form of consideration, has as a significant or substantial portion of its stock-in-trade in, derives a significant or substantial portion of its revenues from, devotes a significant or substantial portion of its content or advertising to, or maintains a substantial section of its sales or online content display space for the sale, rental, or viewing of materials that are obscene or harmful to juveniles; (b) A commercial establishment as defined in section 2907.38 of the Revised Code. An establishment may have other principal business purposes that do not involve selling, delivering, furnishing, disseminating, providing, exhibiting, or presenting any material or performance that is obscene or harmful to juveniles on the internet and still be categorized as an organization subject to this section. The existence of other principal business purposes does not
(a) A commercial establishment that, for any form of consideration, has as a significant or substantial portion of its stock-in-trade in, derives a significant or substantial portion of its revenues from, devotes a significant or substantial portion of its content or advertising to, or maintains a substantial section of its sales or online content display space for the sale, rental, or viewing of materials that are obscene or harmful to juveniles; (b) A commercial establishment as defined in section 2907.38 of the Revised Code. An establishment may have other principal business purposes that do not involve selling, delivering, furnishing, disseminating, providing, exhibiting, or presenting any material or performance that is obscene or harmful to juveniles on the internet and still be categorized as an organization subject to this section. The existence of other principal business purposes does not
European Commission
@EUCommission@ec.social-network.europa.eu  ·  activity timestamp 4 days ago

A safer internet starts with smarter age checks.

Today, we're rolling out our first prototype of an age verification app to protect minors:

📱 Online platforms will be able to use it to protect our children from harmful and illegal content.

🚸Young people will be able to verify their age without revealing any other info, such as their identity.

🌍 The pilot phase kicks off with 🇩🇰🇫🇷🇬🇷🇮🇹🇪🇸

Making sure our children and young people are safe online is our duty.

https://europa.eu/!BKxcW3
Outfrost
@outfrost@mastodon.social  ·  activity timestamp 4 days ago
@EUCommission This is a non-solution in search of a problem. Young people are getting radicalised by neo-nazi content on all-ages websites like YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, while youth consumption of pornography causes zero measurable harm. I am appalled that we are introducing this level of surveillance into European daily lives.

#ageverification
Em :official_verified:
@Em0nM4stodon@infosec.exchange  ·  activity timestamp 6 days ago

New[ish] Privacy Guides article 🪪🚫
by me:

Age verification laws have been multiplying in recent years. This is extremely bad news for your privacy rights.

While framed as a measure to
protect the children, collecting more data on every users of the internet endangers everyone, including the children.

This isn't a protective measure,
this is authoritarian policies normalizing mass surveillance and silencing dissidents.

It could very much become
the end of pseudonymity online,
if we do not push back against it.

https://www.privacyguides.org/articles/2025/05/06/age-verification-wants-your-face/

#PrivacyGuides#Privacy#AgeVerification#GDPR#Biometrics#MassSurveillance
Open Rights Group
@openrightsgroup@social.openrightsgroup.org  ·  activity timestamp 7 days ago

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
Open Rights Group
@openrightsgroup@social.openrightsgroup.org  ·  activity timestamp 7 days ago

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
Open Rights Group
@openrightsgroup@social.openrightsgroup.org  ·  activity timestamp 7 days ago

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
Open Rights Group
@openrightsgroup@social.openrightsgroup.org  ·  activity timestamp 2 weeks ago

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
Open Rights Group
@openrightsgroup@social.openrightsgroup.org  ·  activity timestamp 2 weeks ago

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
Open Rights Group
@openrightsgroup@social.openrightsgroup.org  ·  activity timestamp 2 weeks ago

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
Open Rights Group
@openrightsgroup@social.openrightsgroup.org  ·  activity timestamp 2 weeks ago

As age verification providers are not regulated, users could face providing their sensitive data over and over across different platforms.

This means ID documents could be sent off to other countries and some sites will pick providers with poor privacy terms and conditions.

We must have a choice!

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