Once you realize it’s not “age verification”, but actually “identity verification”, then it’s easy to understand that the real goal is “papers, please” for the entire internet.

@passenger and a follow up question:

*This* is the internet you're defending?

@txtx

Yes. The cops often monitor these chats so they can turn up and protect the fascists in question. Sometimes they don't and then we have fun.

An example is UKIP's planned attack on mosques in Birmingham this very weekend. You are welcome to come to Birmingham to oppose them if you want. There will probably be a lot of cops there to keep the fascists safe.

It's important to understand that violent fascist thuggery gets organised regularly in the UK by people with their real names and real faces, under the full knowledge of the police, and said police do nothing. At worst they might briefly hold a few high-profile people, but it's not serious: is Danny Tommo behind bars? Is Tommy Robinson, or Mark Collett, or Nick Tenconi?

If the concept of the rule of law has been abandoned by the state, you should probably consider your fallback option. Because mine was to get a mask and hoodie.

@passenger This just solidifies my opinion that I absolutely do not want to replicate UK politics in the EU. Everything about it sounds like a failure, from using social media to organize crime to having stick fights with thugs.

I demand more from my government.

@txtx

Be careful, a lot of EU states are basically the same. Some (Sweden, Finland, Netherlands, Italy, Hungary) have already gone further and let the fascists into power. Others (France, Hungary) have banned organised antifascist groups.

You have chosen not to tell me where you live. That's fine! Privacy is everyone's right. Your country of residence may not have openly embraced fascism yet. But it creeps in, and by the time it reveals itself it's already too late. You should consider what, apart from voting, you're going to do.

@bencourtice I think we need a more sophisticated approach. I'll give an example:

Twitter users generally appreciated the blue checkmark that verified official accounts.

I think that, in working democracies, an opt-in verification for citizens could be an answer. This may mean being an ID to a post office, but we can still make it anonymous so that neither the govt nor the server owner knows which ID was used to verify which account.

Then I can safely ignore unverified users.

@passenger And the rise of far right parties can be directly attributed to the rise in anonymous bot armies paid and organized by foreign dictators.

I say: tackle the problem at the core.

@txtx

If you're determined to proceed via electoral channels, then a good starting point might be to refuse to vote for any party which restricts antifascist organising or uses the power of the law against antifascists. France's banning of Jeune Garde, for example, is unacceptable.

You could also press for the cessation of EU policies which fascists love, for example Frontex or the support of Israel's ongoing campaign of genocide.

As ever, it is tempting to see the enemy as an external threat, but this misses the point. Vladimir Putin is not the main threat to Finland, for example. Riika Purra is the main threat to Finland, and she doesn't have to hide her face for safety.

@passenger We'll have to disagree here. Russia is allowed full access to social media in Europe, and they're responsible for the surge in right wing parties. Block Russia and you block much of the financing and backing of extreme right parties across all of Europe.

It won't solve everything but it'll be much easier to deal with the extremists left over once their financial and media support is practically extinguished.

@FlashMobOfOne @mhoye just because they have some info there's no need to feed them more.

@FlashMobOfOne @mhoye nor should we make this practice a norm

@txtx @mhoye I didn't say Facebook & birdchan are anarchist/anti fascist. I said that the demand that they don't have a hold on our public spaces that only allows people able and willing to dox themselves to participate in public life is anarchist and antifascist.

@charogg @mhoye According to your logic, why would we need to check voter ID since they already know?

@mynameistillian @mhoye You're not giving them anything they don't already have. What you're doing is proving you're an adult. That's it.

@mynameistillian @mhoye It's a norm here in the US where we provide ID for all sorts of things.

@dalias It looks like none of that is working. ICE is rounding up anyone they want in the US. Iran is crushing protests. Syria? Egypt? China? Russia? Where has social media helped society in public discourse? It's leading to death everywhere. It's a complete failure in every way possible.

So I can't support the status quo.

@FlashMobOfOne @mynameistillian unfortunately that’s not true. You’re also correlating your identity directly with whatever site or action you’re using through a third party who happens to be the state.

@mhoye @FlashMobOfOne yes. it also makes a precedent where you cannot use a service if you're not showing your data first.

also, as someone who is championing youth liberation, i don't want teens and kids to have their freedoms limited because they're minors.

@FlashMobOfOne @mhoye and who does that norm benefit?

@FlashMobOfOne @charogg when people say that Americans are the most propagandized people on earth it’s because of conversations like this one.

@txtx "It's not working so let's try more fascism!" is the brainworms of lots of voters. And it's always an utterly horrible idea.