Just saw an unconfirmed rumor that YouTube is going to institute an ID requirement next month to verify people’s ages. If so, you won’t be seeing YouTube videos on SLL anymore. That’s how choice and markets work. From Kit Knightly at off-guardian.org:
The latest attempt to control the internet is just more evidence the-powers-that-be never really understood it.
On Friday, the “Age Verification” clause of the UK’s Online Safety Act officially came into force. The result was a sudden surge in discussion, and a lot of people realising – finally – what the law really means.
People have been googling “VPN” a lot. That’s a good thing; we’ll get to why later.
Unfortunately, much of this is stable doors and bolted horses. We’ve been warning about the OSA since it was first mooted (by the Conservatives, just to remind you that “sides” are an illusion), and we’re rather past the point where awareness would have mattered.
The new law essentially forces companies to put any even potentially “adult content” behind an ID wall – meaning a user must prove their age before they access it. The ways of doing that vary; you can use a credit card or let an AI-powered system scan your face via webcam to guess your age.
Don’t worry, it won’t store the data, and it’s only guessing your age, not scanning your face and uploading it to some data storage centre. They promised they wouldn’t do that.
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If you’ll excuse me, it’s time for my Soma…