Online age identity verification is rolling out in the UK. Pundits expect an enthusiastic rollout of similar laws in the US this fall. I’m in Canada, per the OP instance.
I don’t have a computer scientist background. I don’t understand this stuff. I find the most credible-sounding person I can and basically trust them on whether or not this stuff can realistically be implemented in a privacy-respecting fashion. I don’t think it can be.
I know how I’ll probably handle online identity verification laws when then land on my shores. I’ll refuse to participate in any new age of online identity verfication insofar as I can:
- I might not be able to access content via anonymous frontends of YT, twitter, and reddit that I occasionally use
- Probably can’t access porn or buy anything sex-related online
- Might be limited in accessing other content of personal interest (e.g., LGBTQ+ sites, non-mainstream news)
- Probably have to go in-person for government or commercial services more often
- Most of all I think I’d miss the Fediverse
In putting these thoughts to figurative paper, I think I realize my best strategy. It’s to be prepared to shift to other online platforms. Because freethinking people will shift if they have to. I don’t want to get left behind. Any advice on how to prepare or what to look into (as a layperson)?
Will Lemmy and other Fediverse sites be able to remain operational without enacting identity verification if they ensure there’s no restricted material on their websites? And say let’s for example that this just means porn (and not LGBTQ+, anti-fascism, anti-zionism etc; ie, chilled free speech around very broadly relevant content), is that possible as is without paid admin/mods?
-Dumb and worried
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I don’t think the current quick ID/age verification systems can be implemented in any sort of privacy respecting fashion, in part because all these verification services so far, at least as far as I dug which isn’t very far, appear be to some random third parties with dubious implementations that can be bypassed with random images or 3D models in game.
Can it be done down the road? Theoretically… maybe. We already have some online services that communicate with your bank or government account to verify your identity. What I’m guessing is the main hurdle in all of this is implementation time. It takes a lot of time to set up these sort of systems with these constraints in mind and then secure them to the best of whoever’s ability. Meanwhile policy goes like “look how fast they did the thing, we can slap something together in a month” and then it goes to the lowest bidder that can demonstrate any sort of surface level of competence. Which… often times none of the actual professionals who have any shred of an idea would guarantee.
As for the platforms… it’s always a good mindset to be ready to go if you need to and have things prepared (same applies for your workplace btw) but how it will impact instances that are outside of these jurisdictions, remains to be seen.
If it does begin to affect you, look into using a VPN. It basically allows you to access the internet remotely through other locations, like countries that haven’t implemented these privacy-invading laws. You dont need to be techy to use them.
Thanks, I always VPN :). VPN and adblockers seem like basic online hygiene to me, but I only understand how they work abstractly and enough to use the apps (uBlock and Proton [I know, I know; I already had a student plan with them and next it’ll be Tuta])
I would be astonished if VPNs were allowed to continue if they actually succeed in identity-gating everything. eg. that’s next. Best we can do is keep talking about it, help people understand what’s happening.
Chances are the implementation will be either a bill in our Parliament, or a treaty we ratify with the US, EU or another country.
The current potential invasion of privacy we need to fight is Bill C-2, which among other things effectively compels companies to give secret government backdoors to customer data when served flimsier versions of warrants. Some of the bill is okay IMO, but it is so wide-ranging that it needs to be split up, parts like section 15 withdrawn or heavily revised to ensure we don’t end up like the USA’s near-complete lack of digital privacy.
Canada’s version is currently hanging out in the Senate: https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bill/45-1/s-209
Here’s some background and detailed analysis about it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBJe3gB2Po4
https://www.michaelgeist.ca/2025/05/herewegoagain/And yeah C-2 is also bad. As you point out, these sorts of things are often coordinated and some of that is at least documented in the form of treaties. That was really not made clear in the case of C-2 but it very much is:
Given significant democratic, public interest, and human rights implications of Canada’s potential agreement to a data-sharing framework with foreign authorities in the United States and/or elsewhere, it is surprising that the federal government is now quietly introducing the powers necessary to ratify the 2AP, without making this intent explicit to the broader public when it introduced Bill C-2.
https://citizenlab.ca/2025/06/a-preliminary-analysis-of-bill-c-2/
someone told me you can self host your own lemmy instance and you are the only user. so no verification needed.
i do think it would be cool though if we all started congregating at libraries as a place to hang and chat. build community around them with physical message boards etc.
