Age verification is spreading like cancer.
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Age verification is spreading like cancer.
First they came for adults site and social media; now they are already discussing about putting VPNs and app stores behind #AgeVerfication
What’s sold as “online safety” means #surveillance via IDs checks or face scans.
Privacy & anonymity protect journalists, whistleblowers & activists.
We must fight against age verification - or the free web dies!
More: https://tuta.com/blog/age-verification-kills-anonymity@Tutanota@mastodon.social
Folks... I don't know who was responsible for the Martin Niemöller allegory.
That's really inappropriate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_They_Came -
@ToniMassari @Tutanota next thing you know is social media getting ID-walled for "protecting the children" and the moment you post a dissident opinion someone knocks on your door...
@roohafzaluvr @ToniMassari @Tutanota I mean, it's not like there's a modern day Gestapo disappearing people as they wish, is it?
https://www.404media.co/elite-the-palantir-app-ice-uses-to-find-neighborhoods-to-raid/ -
@roohafzaluvr @ToniMassari @Tutanota I mean, it's not like there's a modern day Gestapo disappearing people as they wish, is it?
https://www.404media.co/elite-the-palantir-app-ice-uses-to-find-neighborhoods-to-raid/@kikebenlloch @ToniMassari @Tutanota its sickening. imagine a bunch of brainless, big men with guns dragging you out of your home for nothing. there's absolutely nothing we can do about it.
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@kikebenlloch @ToniMassari @Tutanota its sickening. imagine a bunch of brainless, big men with guns dragging you out of your home for nothing. there's absolutely nothing we can do about it.
@roohafzaluvr @ToniMassari @Tutanota Exactly, and those thugs and the fascists who pay them are going to use absolutely every tool they can reach to keep smashing whomever they feel like, be it inmigrants, activists, journalists, lgtbi community, etc. That's why age verification is a trap.
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@Tutanota Hurrah!! Excellent news!! I don’t want young men inducted into pornography and sexual abuse of minors! And I don't want young women inducted into the belief that that kind of abuse is normal! I would like to see high costs for ALL pornography, and the obligation to REGISTER to allow Authorities to verify whether a registered user is guilty of sexual criminal behaviour and abuse!
Maybe YOU like it, and maybe YOU like little children being targeted, but most of us do NOT!@ToniMassari @Tutanota Monitoring the internet access of minors can be easily achieved by enabling parents to do so eg via government backed online tutorials and mandatory features like no-data SIM cards and modem parental controls for Internet service providers.
Asking for an ID to be shared every time someone visits an adult website is both ineffective and overly controlling. Not to mention UK politicians have already admitted it's also about controlling adults, not just children.
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Sadly, lots of people online think this is for the good and important to protect children...
Like if the fact that some parents doesn't want to take care of their children is enough to force everyone to be monitored...
@superboom12s @Tutanota Until Elon Musk with hishateful, lying, kiddy-porn-site isn't banned I will never believe that it is for "the protection of our children". Because protection of children means that social media would be regulated and providers would be held accountable for the damage they do by spreading lies, misinformation, and hate.
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@Tutanota@mastodon.social
Folks... I don't know who was responsible for the Martin Niemöller allegory.
That's really inappropriate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_They_Came -
@jathanasiou@mastodon.social
The issue is that Niemöller's poem specifically addresses the Holocaust and Nazi persecution - the systematic murder of millions. Using it for age verification, no matter how concerning those policies are, trivializes the Shoah.
Age verification absolutely raises serious privacy and surveillance concerns that deserve strong opposition. But we can make that case without invoking genocide. The slippery slope to authoritarianism exists, but comparing a digital rights issue to the Holocaust weakens both arguments.
There might be plenty of other powerful ways to criticize age verification laws.
@Tutanota@mastodon.social -
@jathanasiou@mastodon.social
The issue is that Niemöller's poem specifically addresses the Holocaust and Nazi persecution - the systematic murder of millions. Using it for age verification, no matter how concerning those policies are, trivializes the Shoah.
Age verification absolutely raises serious privacy and surveillance concerns that deserve strong opposition. But we can make that case without invoking genocide. The slippery slope to authoritarianism exists, but comparing a digital rights issue to the Holocaust weakens both arguments.
There might be plenty of other powerful ways to criticize age verification laws.
@Tutanota@mastodon.socialI appreciate the well-put reply but I have to say I humbly and respectfully disagree with the "trivializing of genocide" angle.
Didn't genocide and fascism start with control? ID Checks and marks on people's arms, and monitoring and "removal" of opinions different to the state's? First peacefully, with some half-reasonable excuse "immigrants/<others> threaten our quality-of-life" and then violent suppression.
1/2
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@Tutanota@mastodon.social
Folks... I don't know who was responsible for the Martin Niemöller allegory.
That's really inappropriate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_They_Came -
I appreciate the well-put reply but I have to say I humbly and respectfully disagree with the "trivializing of genocide" angle.
Didn't genocide and fascism start with control? ID Checks and marks on people's arms, and monitoring and "removal" of opinions different to the state's? First peacefully, with some half-reasonable excuse "immigrants/<others> threaten our quality-of-life" and then violent suppression.
1/2
The web is too big in 2026. Controlling it is not much different to controlling what goes on in the streets.
We've already heard rumors of the UK government using these "web ID checks" to censor wikipedia and news/posts regarding #Palestine and #israel
This IS how it starts, it's just on the digital space now.
2/2
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The web is too big in 2026. Controlling it is not much different to controlling what goes on in the streets.
We've already heard rumors of the UK government using these "web ID checks" to censor wikipedia and news/posts regarding #Palestine and #israel
This IS how it starts, it's just on the digital space now.
2/2
@jathanasiou@mastodon.social
I think we agree on the substance: digital surveillance infrastructure DOES enable authoritarianism, and we're seeing it happen with the UK law. Your concerns about control mechanisms have merit.
Where I'd still push back: Niemöller's poem carries specific weight because it's about genocide. We can call out authoritarian patterns—ID checks, surveillance, censorship—without invoking the Holocaust. That reference should be reserved for contexts that actually approach that scale.
Let's respectfully agree to disagree on the specific comparison. That said, your points about the UK and the potential for censorship via ID gates are valid and worrying. That is definitely a fight worth fighting—I just prefer different rhetoric to fight it.
@Tutanota@mastodon.social -
@kgMadee2@mathstodon.xyz
I already made my stance clear:
@Tutanota@mastodon.social
RE: https://punk.cyber77.de/notes/ahklg4paq2f809e1 -
Age verification is spreading like cancer.
First they came for adults site and social media; now they are already discussing about putting VPNs and app stores behind #AgeVerfication
What’s sold as “online safety” means #surveillance via IDs checks or face scans.
Privacy & anonymity protect journalists, whistleblowers & activists.
We must fight against age verification - or the free web dies!
More: https://tuta.com/blog/age-verification-kills-anonymity@Tutanota the other day reporting on Roblox (game platform) some people were happy that the platform added age verification by scanning a photo. So voluntarily having children giving their pictures for facial recognition… (the kids were unimpressed. One 12 years old was identified as 16-17, another claimed to have shown a random photo of an adult)
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@jathanasiou@mastodon.social
I think we agree on the substance: digital surveillance infrastructure DOES enable authoritarianism, and we're seeing it happen with the UK law. Your concerns about control mechanisms have merit.
Where I'd still push back: Niemöller's poem carries specific weight because it's about genocide. We can call out authoritarian patterns—ID checks, surveillance, censorship—without invoking the Holocaust. That reference should be reserved for contexts that actually approach that scale.
Let's respectfully agree to disagree on the specific comparison. That said, your points about the UK and the potential for censorship via ID gates are valid and worrying. That is definitely a fight worth fighting—I just prefer different rhetoric to fight it.
@Tutanota@mastodon.social -
@Tutanota@mastodon.social
Folks... I don't know who was responsible for the Martin Niemöller allegory.
That's really inappropriate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_They_Came -
@elexia@catcatnya.com
exactly - thx for confirmation
@Tutanota@mastodon.social -
Age verification is spreading like cancer.
First they came for adults site and social media; now they are already discussing about putting VPNs and app stores behind #AgeVerfication
What’s sold as “online safety” means #surveillance via IDs checks or face scans.
Privacy & anonymity protect journalists, whistleblowers & activists.
We must fight against age verification - or the free web dies!
More: https://tuta.com/blog/age-verification-kills-anonymity@Tutanota I'm happy.. I'll start using simple phone or smartphone with minimum services or apps with custom rom..
️
Atleast it ll give me full time to hangout with my people locally. -
Age verification is spreading like cancer.
First they came for adults site and social media; now they are already discussing about putting VPNs and app stores behind #AgeVerfication
What’s sold as “online safety” means #surveillance via IDs checks or face scans.
Privacy & anonymity protect journalists, whistleblowers & activists.
We must fight against age verification - or the free web dies!
More: https://tuta.com/blog/age-verification-kills-anonymity@Tutanota The reality is that to fight disinformation, misingotmation and scams, only ID verification will work IF and it's a big if, cannot be controlled by governments and corporations, plus the "fake accounts" and bot farms are locked out of Internet, especially social media.
And it ain't going to be good if governments take the lead on developing the solutions. -
Age verification is spreading like cancer.
First they came for adults site and social media; now they are already discussing about putting VPNs and app stores behind #AgeVerfication
What’s sold as “online safety” means #surveillance via IDs checks or face scans.
Privacy & anonymity protect journalists, whistleblowers & activists.
We must fight against age verification - or the free web dies!
More: https://tuta.com/blog/age-verification-kills-anonymityno way the app i always see when i open f-droid is on wafrn(well, mastadon but i dont care. my point is i didnt expect to see it THERE yk)
