this post was submitted on 08 Mar 2026
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Online age-verification tools spread across U.S. for child safety, but adults are being surveilled (www.cnbc.com)
submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by throws_lemy@lemmy.nz to c/technology@lemmy.world
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New U.S laws designed to protect minors are pulling millions of adult Americans into mandatory age-verification gates to access online content, leading to backlash from users and criticism from privacy advocates that a free and open internet is at stake. Roughly half of U.S. states have enacted or are advancing laws requiring platforms — including adult content sites, online gaming services, and social media apps — to block underage users, forcing companies to screen everyone who approaches these digital gates.

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[–] brucethemoose@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

No one cares.

Maybe I'm just down today, but most everyone I know is getting sucked into ChatGPT, short form videos, Discord, political extremism, getting screwed by the corporations they work for, you name it. They get their eyeballs scanned, they do the verification; no one cares. They aren't even intrerested in basic privacy steps.

And even in things I have some expertise in (like transformers LLMs), I can't talk anyone out of anything.

Even Lemmy feels like its spiraling.

It feels like humanity is losing.

[–] Sludgeyy@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I feel like you'd have to be a serious "hacker" kind of person to be anonymous on the internet.

Majority of people use their phone. I'm sure the government right now could tell who I actually am if they wanted to know. I wouldn't be surprised if someone on Lemmy could even figure it out.

Home WiFi?

Let me go sign up for a VPN with all my info...

I mean is it all really worth it?

I could be in the minority but I would rather watch tailored ads than hear another medication commercial.

Do I care that "they" know what kind of YouTube videos I watch? Do I even care what kind of porn I watch?

I am all for privacy and freedom don't get me wrong. I think we should fight.

But it does feel like we have lost the fight. What's wrong is we have to worry about what the government will do with that information.

We make a big deal about giving Pornhub our information but gladly hand it over to Amazon. Hell people would probably send in blood to get free 2-day shipping.

[–] brucethemoose@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I don't mean being anonymous, but basic hygeine.

Block ads.

Use startpage or something instead of Google.

Avoid getting stuck on YouTube Shorts for hours, don't trust ChatGPT implicitly. Maybe use a password manager.

It is not that hard. But, even compared to a dysfunctional person like me, people literally cannot help themselves, apparently.