this post was submitted on 11 Aug 2023
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Porn sites have had "Confirm you are over 18" since the dial up days. That's about as much of a safety net as I think is necessary or practicable.
A decent filter on a network (think pi-hole and next dns and the like) helps block adverts, trackers, scam sites, shady pop ups as well as bog standard porn sites etc
Internet is full of things that it’s easy to accidentally stumble on that you wouldn’t want a young kid to see and I think it’s a reasonable step to have some basic levels of controls on your own network
The onus is on the parents to manage internet access in a way the feel best and shouldn’t be forced or assumed. definitely not to porn sites (or any other site!) to collect entirely unnecessary personal data which would inevitably get leaked.
So you feel the same way about online gambling sites too, for example? Do you think they shouldn’t need to do age verification and should just rely on parents?
Imo it’s both parents and regulations that need to do their part.
I hadn’t considered that, you make a very good point. If anything I’d be for stricter controls on gambling sites as they can be so dangerous to children and adults. But maybe that’s being hypocritical.
Maybe it comes down to if there’s payment? Or is that too abitrary? Perhaps it’s just a gut aversion to governments forcing a sort of sex morality…. But even that isn’t entirely right as I don’t have a big problem with a cinema having she ratings. Or could also be that I really really don’t trust websites to collect personal info unless absolutely necessary (and even when it is I don’t exactly trust it) and porn sites in particular would be a huge target and expose people to black mail Etc
Yeh it’s not a black and white situation like many are treating it. They don’t want the government mandating age restrictions for porn, but have no problem with the government mandated age restrictions for drinking or driving or voting or movie watching etc. As you said, where do you draw the line?
The solution to me is a secure global government issued ID, like your social security number in the USA, and that can be used through a government provided online API for age verification, where the sites don’t need to store any private information - just that they have verified that you’re 18. Kind of like how credit card processing works now where the site never sees your credit card number but just gets a token that can’t be used by anyone else.
Of course this won’t sit well with many people as they don’t want a government ID like that. As you said, it would become a honeypot for hackers to use for blackmail etc.
I’m all for age verification for online services, but only when the ones forcing the requirement of it are providing a safe, secure, and easy way to implement it.