Post #1685747

2026-04-06 20:58 UTC

“The only point [of these age-verification laws] is to restrict access to content,” says @riana, quoted in _Papers, Please: The toll of age verification laws on digital sex work_ https://thebaffler.com/latest/papers-please-mcgrady More and more I see work on privacy and free expression as so directly aligned. When the goal is restricting access to disfavored content (in this case, most directly, porn), the mechanism is invasive data collection, and the side effect is comprehensive surveillance of all online speech.

Replies (1)

@ink@merveilles.town 2026-04-07 09:57

@npdoty @riana It seems like another complicating factor here are legal efforts (in the US and around the world) to protect children from the harmful effects of social media platforms that have been engineered to be addictive? (The irony being that adults aren't worthy of protection too.) https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/content-neutrality-for-kids-intermediate-scrutiny-for-social-media-age-verification-laws/ Looking at the issue through the lens of sex work is important for labour and privacy rights. But social conservatism doesn't seem to fully describe the confluence of what is happening at the moment, specifically with regard to (desperate) attempts to regulate surveillance capitalism. The laws and technical mechanisms of online age verification discipline our online lives along multiple dimensions, and it seems like a much more complicated sociotechnical picture. I'll admit this knot is probably not the best topic for a digestible and actionable news piece. But I would enjoy reading something more along these lines if you have any recommendations.

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