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When No ID Means No Internet: Age Verification and the Right to Access Information (www.eff.org)
submitted 1 month ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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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.

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[–] 9 points 1 month ago (8 children)

I'm payin $25/mo to join an online community by a YouTuber I follow and everyone is using their real names and real photos (or simulacra thereof). It's pretty crazy.

But I think what will happen is communities will be based on trust, and that trust will eventually be enforced by siloed environments.

Like, right now, I'm guessing that the site's software is probably hoovering up information and it's all centralized somewhere... but maybe in the future, if small communities become the norm, providing real privacy will be a thing.

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  • [–] 9 points 1 month ago*

    I think small communities should be the norm.

    Social media that makes it so that you're always anonymous and always speaking to strangers creates a lot of problems (Internet Fuckwad Theory)

    Recognizing other users and knowing that your behaviour will result in a negative reputation goes a long way towards creating higher quality discussions. Moderation isn't as needed and it's harder for outside actors to manufacture a consensus by spamming bot accounts.

    I think that'd go a long way towards resolving a lot of problems created by social media.

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  • [–] -3 points 1 month ago (6 children)

    Basically describing what happened with Lemmy. What started out as Reddit Minus Shitbag Mods became a screaming match between .world and .ml, while everyone on .hexbear retreated into exile.

    You still won't have any real trust, because the accusations of "bot" and "shill" will follow anyone who violates a taboo. But you'll at least have a few people you recognize, who you can have well-defined opinions on.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 month ago (3 children)

    I'm thinking more the opposite.

    I'm thinking, "How do I keep my information out of the hands of centralized database looking for people spreading discontent?"

    Lemmy succeeds only so far as it is anymous, but absent that, anyone can plug in and siphon the database.

    A siloed server with good security could lack anonymity, but because the data is not centralized, the feds would have to take a special interest to create an account, and because there would be so many of these instances, it would be a very time consuming process.

    But maybe SI, which is what the fascists are calling the fascism machine, would make a mockery of that.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago (2 children)

    I'm thinking, “How do I keep my information out of the hands of centralized database looking for people spreading discontent?”

    On a public forum?

    A siloed server with good security could lack anonymity, but because the data is not centralized, the feds would have to take a special interest to create an account, and because there would be so many of these instances, it would be a very time consuming process.

    Kinda depends how it's hosted. You don't need an account to mine AWS if you can just pick through the backend.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    If it's hosted on AWS with a centrally accessible backend, it's not siloed.

    The idea is that you can have access, but there's a BARRIER to access for very little gain--the messages of a few hundred users at most.

    And if you want to be a dick about it, you can even rate limit to avoid quick and easy data scraping.

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