Post #2469474

2026-03-06 14:02 UTC

"The solution to online ID checks is to stop using any site that asks for IDs!" No, that is terrible advice. Most people have an employer or school that forces them to have a Google, Apple, or Microsoft account. If Google, Apple, and Microsoft start requiring photo IDs, normal people can't just stop using them. If you're self-employed and run your own private email server and have one of the six phones that allows unlocking the bootloader, then what you do is not actionable advice for anyone else. "Okay, so give your ID to Google, but don't give it to any other company!" This is exactly what the politicians passing ID laws want. They want all communication to be controlled by a few big companies. They want you to avoid any small or noncommerical websites and stick with the three big tech companies who already have your ID, or the big television publishers who are exempt from ID requirements. I don't know what the most effective way to fight surveillance age discrimination laws is, but I'm pretty sure it's neither 1) Just convince all ordinary internet users to do something that 99.9% of them can't do, nor 2) Just do exactly what the politicians proposing these laws want.

Replies (6)

@hazelnot@sunbeam.city 2026-05-10 18:24

@2something@transfem.social so basically no matter what we do we're completely fucked 😬

Open ##2595129
@2something@transfem.social 2026-05-10 17:14

Uh oh the OP is going around again so time to boost this.

Open ##2595131
@ahrienby@mk.absturztau.be 2026-03-10 06:42

@2something@transfem.social Japan wouldn't succumb to age verification demands.

Open ##2595133
@sablefeline@transfem.social 2026-03-06 14:06

@2something@transfem.social Precisely this is why boycotting google is just impossible, they're too powerful to not use. that's why (hopefully) the average person realizing that things aren't ok will lead to change.

Open ##2595134
@ariarhythmic@ohai.social 2026-05-10 17:22

@2something@transfem.social Disobedience is better than obedience.

Open ##2682528
@fluffykittycat@furry.engineer 2026-03-29 01:10

@2something@transfem.social the network effect is the only moat corpotech has, and now there's a compelling reason not to use them. The pirate bay is proof that the government can't effectively make even illegal websites that anger big business go away

Open ##2682529