this post was submitted on 08 Mar 2026
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New U.S laws designed to protect minors are pulling millions of adult Americans into mandatory age-verification gates to access online content, leading to backlash from users and criticism from privacy advocates that a free and open internet is at stake. Roughly half of U.S. states have enacted or are advancing laws requiring platforms — including adult content sites, online gaming services, and social media apps — to block underage users, forcing companies to screen everyone who approaches these digital gates.

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[–] Kraiden@piefed.social 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Ok, lets start from an age verification POV: What you're suggesting is at the account level. If YOU want to access social media, then everyone in your household gets access to is as well. Even if YOU decide you don't want it, nothing stops your kid from connecting to your neighbours wifi, or going to their friends house, or even public library/cafe wifi. It will not address the core issue.

On the flip side, you've now given your ISP permission to decide what information you are allowed to see. Sure they may block porn, and social media, but hey, maybe "kids" shouldn't be allowed to access information on LGBT issues, or political ideologies, or "upsetting" news about unrest at home or abroad. If YOU want to access that information, well that's ok, we'll just add you, along with the address of service, and all your contact information to our "whitelist"

Believe me, it's the wrong approach

And I dont care about the social media justifications for verification anymore. You, me, and many other people accessed the Internet at a young age and turned out fine.

Actually there's mountains of evidence to the contrary here. It's pretty widely accepted now that social media is not a place for children.

This hysteria of parents not wanting to take responsibility for raising and monitoring their own kids and demanding the government remove everything seems like boomers back in the day wanting games banned.

In an ideal world, you're right, parents would be responsible for protecting their kids, but we're not in anything remotely like an ideal world. You could say the same about anything. It's the parents responsibility to prevent underage drinking or smoking too, yet we still do what we can to restrict those at the point of sale, rather than just shrugging and going "Not my problem"