“The internet lets young people connect outside of the controlled spheres of their parents’ worldview — and that’s the danger that proponents of age verification are terrified of,” EFF’s @ericabp told Salon.
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“The internet lets young people connect outside of the controlled spheres of their parents’ worldview — and that’s the danger that proponents of age verification are terrified of,” EFF’s @ericabp told Salon. https://www.salon.com/2026/02/11/social-media-age-verification-is-full-of-risks-and-unclear-rewards/
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“The internet lets young people connect outside of the controlled spheres of their parents’ worldview — and that’s the danger that proponents of age verification are terrified of,” EFF’s @ericabp told Salon. https://www.salon.com/2026/02/11/social-media-age-verification-is-full-of-risks-and-unclear-rewards/
@eff@mastodon.social @ericabp@mastodon.sandwich.net saved my life; made me who i am today
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“The internet lets young people connect outside of the controlled spheres of their parents’ worldview — and that’s the danger that proponents of age verification are terrified of,” EFF’s @ericabp told Salon. https://www.salon.com/2026/02/11/social-media-age-verification-is-full-of-risks-and-unclear-rewards/
@eff @ericabp I don't want a world in which people need to identify themselves to use the Internet any more than you all do.
But disparaging parents who are rightfully concerned about their kids' mental health in an era of greatly increased depression and anxiety in young people is a really shitty way to argue against it.
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@eff @ericabp I don't want a world in which people need to identify themselves to use the Internet any more than you all do.
But disparaging parents who are rightfully concerned about their kids' mental health in an era of greatly increased depression and anxiety in young people is a really shitty way to argue against it.
@SteveFoerster @eff @ericabp
It does seem a bit disingenuous to act like the ONLY thing waiting for kids online are different viewpoints from their parents...There are legitimate horrors online, and places young people absolutely shouldn't go. There's also, sadly, predators who actively seek children out online.
I'm concerned about the various age/ID verification schemes we're starting to see, and we do need to proceed carefully. But I can absolutely see the rationale behind them as well.
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“The internet lets young people connect outside of the controlled spheres of their parents’ worldview — and that’s the danger that proponents of age verification are terrified of,” EFF’s @ericabp told Salon. https://www.salon.com/2026/02/11/social-media-age-verification-is-full-of-risks-and-unclear-rewards/
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“The internet lets young people connect outside of the controlled spheres of their parents’ worldview — and that’s the danger that proponents of age verification are terrified of,” EFF’s @ericabp told Salon. https://www.salon.com/2026/02/11/social-media-age-verification-is-full-of-risks-and-unclear-rewards/
@eff @ericabp All collections of user biometric data eventually become standard issue for increasing police surveillance.
The average time from establishment of a biometric database to the instance when police declares that without access to this database they can’t do their job properly is about one year.
With the speed authoritarianism is moving now, I suspect it will take ICE / DHS less to demand access, perhaps only months.
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“The internet lets young people connect outside of the controlled spheres of their parents’ worldview — and that’s the danger that proponents of age verification are terrified of,” EFF’s @ericabp told Salon. https://www.salon.com/2026/02/11/social-media-age-verification-is-full-of-risks-and-unclear-rewards/
@eff @ericabp governments of all shades are delighted to implement this “child protection” legislation because the flipside is they can monitor the Internet activities of every single adult in the country.
Don’t be fooled. It’s nothing to do with children. It’s all about adult surveillance and government overreach.
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@noodlemaz @eff @ericabp Right, so implying that parents who support age limits are all "controlling parents who can't deal with the fact their children are individual people and not their property" isn't even slightly disparaging, got it.
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@noodlemaz @eff @ericabp Right, so implying that parents who support age limits are all "controlling parents who can't deal with the fact their children are individual people and not their property" isn't even slightly disparaging, got it.
@SteveFoerster @eff @ericabp why are you automatically linking the two? Why can't there be both?
Do you deny controlling parents exist??Do you really think these bans are protective overall, when there are so many kids who have bigoted, unsafe parents and need to connect with others and find information elsewhere?
When they impact every adult regardless?Seems like no to the latter, so why are you reading about the problems and assuming all parents are faultless? Obviously many care and are safe people for their kids. But that's not universal and catering to a few at the expense of the many isn't right.
Not to defend all the big social media companies and their social experiments on us, but I'm fucking sick of having my privacy invaded because politicians catering to 'think of the children' superficially does have support.
