Age verification proposals are often presented as a simple tradeoff: sacrifice a little privacy to better safeguard children online. But that framing overlooks a more fundamental question. What happens to people who cannot verify their age at all? This is particularly a problem when users are required to prove their age with identity documents.
The people who can verify their identity will be less willing to share their opinion on certain topics once they know they aren’t anonymous. I’m certain this is one of the goals. The reactions to political news, world events, law proposals and atrocities will be far more muted and it will be easier to control the population.
The amount of internet “needed” these days is staggering, to have that attached to a comment you made 20 years ago drunk online is terrifying.
Bank accounts, trading platforms, medical insurance, rent payments, car insurance, locks, restaurants, job applications, grocery shopping, gas stations everything is online and requires registration now.
Moreover, people will be less willing to upload video of George Floyd dying, or of brutality and massacre in Gaza, or to stream from the streets during the 2014 Ferguson unrest.
Visceral video from the ground accelerates popular movements. They want us dependent on news agencies for our only window into the rest of the world.
Have you heard of Facebook? People use their real names and don’t give a single fuck.
Some people do meth.
You’re only seeing the people who don’t give a single fuck. This won’t affect them, this will affect anonymous posters and people who aren’t even “posting” but are using online communication to talk to other people directly (chat rooms, direct messaging)
A close friend of mine was visited by police over a political joke they made on social media. People don’t seem to give a fuck, but those same people might stop posting after some offline intimidation.