cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/49729865
However you look at it age verification is a major change to the internet and our freedoms.
We’ve seen all kinds of legislation pushed through in the past, often even against major resistance.
What makes me suspicious this time is the speed at which some of the slowest bureaucracies in the world are adopting it and how it’s happening in 20+ countries in parallel.
It’s like they’re all in a group chat, fast-tracking this before resistance can even form.
The cowards way forward.
Force these companies to drop their algorithms and do most recent posts by friends/follows.
French kids about to become revolutionaries all over again by creating online spaces that adults can’t lock down. I’d love it if they brought back IRC and Usenet.
it’s just an attack on safe spaces for queer kids considering the internet was the first place i ever felt safe and comfortable to be myself.
Safe spaces for queer people existed before social media and before the average politician knew what the internet was.
Of course France would be the first. They’re the most known to dthrow revolutions.
Doesnt help the whole world is experiencing a gen z anti authoritarian shift.
Even in India right now they are fighting against their goverment. The whole world needs Israel’s spyware to protect them and genocide anyone who stands up to them. They need you to ID your online identity so they can Ai filter our your speech and send you to prison for life.
Makes sense why trump is labeling anyone that dares be critical of him or his policies as a “Cuban terrorist”
came here to post this
France first European country to ban social media access for under-15s
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/21/france-ban-social-media-access-under-15s“For four months, all of us in France will have to prove our age,” she told journalists. “If someone is under 15, the account will be closed.”
Thanks for also sharing this friend! We got to stick together to get through this! Best quote of all 100/100
there’s always quadrature but they haven’t yet published this one in English ☞
Derrière la vérification d’âge sur les réseaux sociaux, la généralisation du contrôle d’identité en ligne
https://www.laquadrature.net/2026/05/21/derriere-la-verification-dage-sur-les-reseaux-sociaux-la-generalisation-du-controle-didentite-en-ligne/jolie illustration! <3
Your crosspost spam is annoying, welcome to my banlist.
The world is all doing this in a coordinated fashion because social media is causing many, well-evidenced problems.
There well-evidenced problems, sure. But what these governments think are the well-evidenced “problems” versus what you think they are, are two very different things.
Social media is indeed causing many probs.
Destroying privacy on the internet is not the way to fix those.
Their solutions suck, I agree. These are designed by people who don’t understand the role social media plays in people’s lives in 2026. They should use parental controls for age-inappropriate content and require age verification to get algorithmic recommendations (to discourage people from doing so, if nothing else).
But the problems are real, and that is the driving force behind this globally coordinated campaign of legislation. It’s not some shadowy cabal of malicious people, it’s a genuine worldwide crisis.
You’re dreaming. The reason they are doing this is surveillance of the population.
None of this is about online safety. It’s not age verification, it’s ID verification.
Exactly. As Louis Rossmann says, don’t accept the premise of assholes
It’s not some shadowy cabal of malicious people
It literally is.
IIRC a lot of big tech are lobbying for these laws. Raises barrier of entry for competitors, and makes it easier to harvest more accurate data from users.
