this post was submitted on 24 Feb 2026
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If there was an actual interest in actual security and privacy at all, we'd have a system something like this:
The government has your data. Like it or not, they do. So the government gives each citizen a token that is anonymous but unique. Like, just a long string of numbers.
If some place on the internet wants to verify your age, you tell it the token and the country it's from. The site then asks the government database if this is a valid token for adult stuff and the government server that knows sends a yes/no back.
At no point does Discord or whoever have my ID or biometrics, but they still know I am of age.
Every incentive to verify age that isn't set up like this or in some other anonymous way is simply an attempt by the service provider to get more information from you and sell it later, or use it to give you more targeted ads, or both. Most likely both. They just get to hide behind the idea that politics is making them do it because politicians that push for this do so on the behest of these same companies, opportunistically pushing the savety of children forward so they can get these laws through.
Congratulations you just invented the social security number
Actually there are even better ways. It involves some complicated crypto, but it is possible to create zero knowledge proofs that require a document signed in a specific way and then allow anonymous and unlinkable presentations. So you can use the same age restricted service multiple times and they have no way of linking your requests to each other.
Thats whats planned with the European digital identity. Theres still some problems with EUDI, but it's mostly acceptable.
Unless the government generates a new token every time you log on to the internet, eventually data collection will de-anonymize the token. Any unique information will always become identifiable with enough data collection.
Yeah it should be disposable. You have to get a new one next time you sign in to something.
every page and content access can then be tied to your unique id by government and service provider by excessive checks, no?
on the billion of tokens like 50 requests will uniquely identify you as well (by say, commercial map provider checking if they can show 18+ businesses to you, as an easy example) to commercial providers
feel like hardware locks on the phone level are more straightforward, home networks are parent responsibility (and give kids with desire to watch restricted content know-how about networks), libraries and public spaces are whatever, not a problem. But then again, this is all assuming there is an argument in good faith somewhere there.
as a neolib solution, just fine 1 dollar for every ad shown to a minor, real quick solution.