Online age verification schemes force users to reveal sensitive personal information to third parties to access websites. Centralized data becomes a target for leaks, hacks, and misuse, and such incidents have already occurred. Age gating creates a honeypot of private information that bad actors can exploit. Restrictive mandates are used to justify government-led censorship and expanded surveillance, which can be abused over time. Even with intentions to protect young people, the approach trades digital rights for access. Demanding better policies is presented as necessary to keep the web open and accessible while improving online safety without broad surveillance powers.
"Even with the best intentions, every online age verification scheme has the same result: users are forced to reveal sensitive personal information to third parties simply to access the web. Once that valuable data is centralized, it becomes an immediate target for leaks, hacks, and misuse. This isn't hypothetical: it has already happened several times."
"By age gating the web, we serve up a honeypot of private info ripe for bad actors. But you can help us stop this when you join EFF. Thanks to our members, EFF is on the front lines fighting against online age gating and identity verification online. We're working with lawmakers to pass better policies, educating the public, and fighting the wildfire of age verification proposals around the world."
"We all want young people to be safe online, but we don't need to trade everyone's digital rights to achieve it. These new restrictive mandates are used to justify government-led censorship and expanded surveillance. That's no accident. Whether you trust today's lawmakers or not, handing anyone keys to new forms of censorship and surveillance is a serious risk."
"Because history shows us that these powers are always abused. It's time to demand better. Join EFF today Help us claw back your privacy. EFF is a member-supported U.S. 501(c)(3) organization."
Read at Electronic Frontier Foundation
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