From Child Safety to Total Control: How UK's Online Safety Act and US PII Laws Target Every Digital Activity
Legislation like the UK's Online Safety Act, Canada's Bill S-209, and various US state bills are forcing platforms toward mandated age verification systems. The mechanism of control is shifting specifically from vetting *content* to capturing *Personal Identifying Information (PII)*.
Commenters view this shift with deep suspicion, seeing it as a pretext for total surveillance. 'floofloof' nails the core issue: age verification is really just 'identity verification,' allowing data brokers to tie all activity to a permanent profile. 'Eric Goldman' warns these are 'segregate-and-suppress' laws intended to normalize constant authentication, stripping away digital freedom. Furthermore, 'switcheroo' explicitly frames it as a pattern: 'Outlaw porn. Then start calling LGBTQ folks pornographic. Now it's illegal to be gay.'
The overwhelming signal is fear. The community consensus is that the stated goal of child protection is a smokescreen. The real threat, as emphasized by 'underpantsweevil,' is the evolution from overt state surveillance (FBI) to insidious corporate tracking via mandatory digital identities. The structural changes threaten to fundamentally rewrite the nature of online organization.
Key Points
Age verification is not about age; it's about identity tracking.
'floofloof' stated this is 'identity verification,' enabling data brokers to map all user activity to a single, permanent identity.
These laws are structured for systemic control, not moderation.
'Eric Goldman' calls them 'segregate-and-suppress' laws meant to enforce authentication as the new internet norm.
The legislation represents a dangerous escalation of government reach.
The fear centers on the shift from content filtering to mandatory PII checks across multiple jurisdictions (UK, Canada, US).
The narrative suggests a slide toward suppressing marginalized groups.
'switcheroo' warns of slippery slopes: 'Outlaw porn. Then start calling LGBTQ folks pornographic. Now it's illegal to be gay.'
Mandating verification changes the nature of online data collection.
'streetfestival' notes this moves data collection from simple emails to stable identifiers capable of fraud and theft.
Source Discussions (4)
This report was synthesized from the following Lemmy discussions, ranked by community score.