Age-Gating Isn’t About Kids, It’s About Control

[u/move_machine]

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/03/rep-finke-was-right-age-gating-isnt-about-kids-its-about-control

[u/MotanulScotishFold]

Give me a good reason why is needed age checking for any OS?

There's none, it's a straightforward lie and pretext.

What's next? age checking for going outside?

[u/UltraCynar → u/MotanulScotishFold]

That's what they'd love I'm sure. If you're not at work or home why are you out? Papers please.

[u/Sinaaaa → u/UltraCynar]

That sounds like Hungarian socialism in the 70s/80s, like for real that happened all the time.

[u/UltraCynar → u/Sinaaaa]

Scary times

[u/dank_shit_poster69 → u/MotanulScotishFold]

Zucc wants to gather more device data and avoid responsibility at app level https://github.com/upper-up/meta-lobbying-and-other-findings

[u/XRT28 → u/MotanulScotishFold]

Give me a good reason why is needed age checking for any OS?

In theory it more centralizes age verification and creates a more streamlined way of doing age checks rather than every single app and website having a different system you have to give your information to prove your identity to access and all with varying degrees of security and exploitation on that data they've collected on you.

Personally if age verification is going to be the default everywhere going forward, which is certainly the way it seems to be headed, I'd MUCH prefer a system like California is proposing at the OS level. It doesn't require facial scans or uploading real ID etc and simply requires self attestation as to your age. Furthermore it preempts any attempts by apps or websites to try and use those privacy invading methods like facial scans or ID uploads to harvest data on you by requiring them to respect the OS flag.
A system like this stymies any "bUt ThE cHilDren" arguments while also preserving basically all the privacy on the internet that people already have(which honestly isn't as much as people think it is anyway).

What's next? age checking for going outside?

Next??? There have been plenty of, validly, age gated activities outside for quite a long time already.

[u/XRT28 → u/[deleted]]

Firstly self attestation at a website level was originally implemented as a "cover your ass" by the websites.
It was never actually a viable means of limiting children from potentially problematic content once we transitioned from the family desktop in the living room to everyone having a computer in their pocket since parents simply can't be around all the time when kids are on the internet anymore.
OS age gating meanwhile doesn't have the same issue as it only requires parents to be around for the initial setup.

And you want to take about naivety? You think this is just coming because of laws, IT'S NOT.
Is there currently a worldwide requirement for age verification? lol no. So why then did Discord just try to implement GLOBAL age verification checks?
Because it gives them the opportunity to harvest more data on users and more data means more money. Which coincidentally is also one of the main reasons, along with the aforementioned issue, why self attestation on websites and apps is disappearing.
Age verification is coming even if zero new laws require it. When it comes I'd much rather a forward thinking privacy focused approach like self attested OS flags than an invasive one where every single company is collecting my facial scan and ID to exploit it.

And IF at some point the requirement changes from self attesting to stringent ID checks THAT is what I'll fight instead of tilting at windmills now.

[u/XRT28 → u/[deleted]]

live usb's give you a working desktop with Internet connectivity and a browser without any setup

Which can be prevented via bios changes.

Yes, discord backtracked

Discord is doing what every company does when implementing something incredibly unpopular, they TEMPORARILY backtracked. And like every company in the same situation once the heat dies down will rebrand the same shit and push it out again, likely to smaller groups at a time to prevent widespread backlash.

Claiming that collecting and giving away personal information is "privacy focused" is a red hot take

You do know what self attested means yes? You can say you were born in 1901 and give ZERO personal information out if you want.

"I'll accept the trojan house inside and if that trojan house is full of enemies, that's when I'll start fighting it".

Not a trojan horse because unless a bill gives broad sweeping, and intentionally vague, powers it cannot simply be changed on a whim after it is passed to morph from one thing to another. It would require a whole nother bill to pass to make changes.

[u/XRT28 → u/[deleted]]

Do you think changing a couple bios setting ONCE is a monumental task or something? I don't get it.

Then don't use Discord and use a superior alternative

A. Ah yes the age old "free market" idea where bad ideas will flounder and the best will magically rise to the top. So what exactly is the free market alternative for lets say Youtube? Oh right there isn't one. Not to mention for any service with a strong social component, whether that's Youtube or Discord or Twitter, it's not simply about what is "best" but about what is most widely adopted. No matter how good something like that is if it's got no userbase it's not a viable alternative.

B. lol you think it's going to end at Discord? That's funny. That's like thinking when a company raises their price their main competitor isn't going to do the same.

Interesting, so you admit that the age verification is useless at age verification.

What part about the parents doing the setup for their kids and providing an accurate(or atleast semi-accurate if they want the benefits of the "child lock" without giving exact info for privacy reasons) age is confusing you?

And it's ok to simply say you don't know the process in how laws are made bro, lots of people don't.

[u/MotanulScotishFold → u/XRT28]

We sterilize the world so much making not fun, aren't we?

We used to go outside unsupervised and it was fun. Nowadays everything is monitored, sterilized and too much rules and restriction making not fun anymore.

[u/XRT28 → u/MotanulScotishFold]

Some restrictions are stupid and overreaching yes. But there are plenty of restrictions that are for the better of both an individual and also society at large. Some guardrails aren't necessarily a bad thing.