"This week, politicians in the UK pushed forward with plans to eviscerate privacy and free speech on the internet by announcing a ban on social media for users under 16 that is set to take effect in Spring 2027.

The UK government continues to falsely characterize this policy as a necessary response to growing concerns about online harms for young people. In reality, much like the Online Safety Act, it will cause more harm than it will prevent.

Users of all ages are burdened with proving their age before accessing content, with social media platforms such as Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X included in the ban. There remains no reliable, privacy-preserving method of verifying the age of every internet user and methods vary from one platform to the next.

Young people will not simply be protected from being contacted by adults or endlessly scrolling—they’ll also lose access to educational videos on YouTube, local events on Facebook, and potentially cut off from distant friends and family.

Public policy must be effective, proportionate and respectful of fundamental rights. Young people deserve better than a policy built on panic, and all internet users deserve a safe and free internet. A social media ban generates headlines, but it will not solve the problem."

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/06/uks-new-under-16-social-media-ban-will-cause-more-harm-it-prevents

#UK #SocialMedia #DigitalRights #AgeVerification #Privacy #Censorship

The #UK Will Scan Asylum-Seekers’ Faces for Age Checks—Despite Knowing the Tech Is Flawed

Internal Home Office tests of age-verification technology show the risks of life-altering errors. It’s moving forward anyway.
#asylum #ageverification #security #privacy

https://www.wired.com/story/facial-age-estimate-uk-asylum-seekers/

The UK government could announce restrictions on VPNs next month.

This would threaten our privacy and security.

VPNs keep young people safe from harassment. Businesses secure. Journalists, activists and whistleblowers protected.

Here's why we must #ProtectVPNs 🧵

Sign the petition if you agree ⬇️

https://action.openrightsgroup.org/tell-government-protect-vpn-use-uk

#vpn #vpns #cybersecurity #privacy #onlinesafety #onlinesafetyact #ageverification #StopKillingTheInternet #ukpolitics #ukpol

"A VPN ban could be on the table as part of the ongoing internet safety crackdown, which has already seen the Government announce a social media ban for under-16s.On Monday, Technology Secretary Liz Kendall announced a law change, set to be put in place by 2027, which will ban children from social media and AI chatbots as well as introduce ‘curfews’ to stop ‘doomscrolling’.

The ban was announced in response to concerns that social media is unsafe, making children miserable, and could cause lasting damage to their mental health. On Tuesday morning, Ms Kendall hinted that further restrictions could be introduced on Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).

VPNs have become increasingly popular in the UK since the Online Safety Act was enacted. Often used by employers to create a network to share resources, VPNs can also be used to spoof or hide your browsing location, thereby sidestepping geographical restrictions. A VPN is a system which connects somebody’s device – normally a computer or smartphone – to a server in a different location. This means that the websites that person visits cannot see their IP address.

It is used by many people for privacy or to get around restrictions that websites place on who can visit a page. It can also be useful for allowing people to work from home and still access their workplace’s resources."

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2217934/vpn-ban-table-july-labour

#UK #VPNs #Privacy #NannyState #Surveillance #BigBrother #AgeVerification #DigitalID

🚨 First the social media ban, now the UK government wants to restrict VPNs 🚨

VPNs are a vital cybersecurity tool for businesses, politicians, journalists and families to protect data and communications.

Banning or requiring digital ID checks before buying VPNs would increase cybercrime risks and expose IP addresses to predators.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2217934/vpn-ban-table-july-labour

#vpn #socialmediaban #ageverification #ukpolitics #cybersecurity #onlinesafety #ukpol #vpns #ProtectVPNs #privacy #onlinesafetyact

The government has ignored calls to regulate age verification companies to ensure our sensitive data is protected.

Instead it has expanded ID checks to multiply the risks.

But the actual cause of harms is off the hook – how platforms use our data to monetise our attention.

Sign the petition ⬇️

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/break-big-tech

#stopKillingInternet #StopKillingTheInternet #socialmediaban #socialmedia #ageverification #onlinesafety #privacy #censorship #ukpolitics #ukpol #dataprotection

With the worldwide wave of social media bans on major platforms aka digital verification, I wonder if we'll see an influx of people to the #fediverse

🤞🤞🤞 Here is hoping <3

#SocialMedia #Privacy #Ageverification #SocialMediaban #new

“Soon it will be virtually impossible to be online in the UK without handing over identity documents or biometric data to unregulated companies.”

The social media ban means EVERY user has to prove they're over 16. This puts millions at risk of their personal data being hacked.

🗣️ ORG's @JamesBaker.

https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366644294/Big-tech-must-introduce-age-checks-to-support-UKs-under-16s-social-media-ban

#stopKillingInternet #StopKillingTheInternet #socialmediaban #socialmedia #ageverification #onlinesafety #privacy #censorship #ukpolitics #ukpol

""Every failed attempt to make children safer online is followed by more surveillance and censorship," he said. "Children have rights too and these policies will harm their free expression and privacy rights, and push them into less regulated spaces. Meanwhile the business models driving harms are untouched."

Others questioned whether the measures can realistically be enforced. Mark Jones, an online harms specialist and partner at law firm Payne Hicks Beach, noted that the consultation closed only weeks ago and warned that determined teenagers have a habit of finding ways around restrictions.

"A social media ban only helps if it is genuinely enforceable," Jones said. "If large numbers of young people simply circumvent the restrictions, parents will just lose visibility into where their children are actually spending time online rather than reclaiming any control."

The political case for the crackdown appears relatively straightforward, but the practical one is less so. The government now has to persuade social media companies to enforce the rules and teenagers not to find ways around them."

https://www.theregister.com/personal-tech/2026/06/15/britain-plots-digital-bedtime-after-kicking-under-16s-off-social-media/5255341

#UK #AgeVerification #NannyState #Surveillance #Oligopolies #Censorship #BigBrother #BigTech #Privacy #Anonymity

Do not provide your ID or facial scan to access social media.

I repeat, do NOT provide your ID or facial scan to access social media when requested.

This is not a drill.

If everyone refuse to comply, and let their accounts dormant instead, I promise you the platforms themselves, with their immense budget and network of lobbyists, are going to fight these absurd laws to recover their users.

They need you more than you need them.
Make them fight for your rights.
Do not comply.
Spread the word and boycott ID checks ✊

#StopIDSurveillance #AgeVerification #Privacy #HumanRights #Democracy #Safety #MassSurveillance #Authoritarianism

RE: https://ohai.social/@Garwboy/116753869821948051

Unintended consequences - The age verification debate is backwards. It prioritizes theoretical risks to privileged kids over documented harms to those already marginalized. For disabled youth, LGBTQ+ teens, and kids in unstable homes, social media isn't a distraction—it's a lifeline. Banning access punishes the most vulnerable while doing nothing about algorithmic harms. Real policy would protect without erasing. #AgeVerification #DigitalEquity #DisabilityJustice #a11y #MarginalizedVoices

#Authoritarian tech policy:

- #ChatControl,
- #Ageverification,
- #Google / #Apple #control,
- #Digital #app use etc

A thread to Stop ID Surveillance from coming to Canada ⛔️🧵

Yesterday, I sent a long letter to the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, the Culture Minister Marc Miller, and the leaders of all other major federal parties in Canada.

I sent this letter to voice my concerns about the upcoming bill that is planned to be introduced today at 5 p.m. ET, to propose a ban of social media for children, therefore requiring all social media platforms to identify every adults accessing it.

This is a long thread of what I wrote (mute me for one hour if you don't want to see it).

Feel free to copy any parts you want to share in your own letter of opposition sent to your representatives this week.

Here's how to find their contact information: https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/search

(1/9)

#StopIDSurveillance #Privacy #HumanRights #AgeVerification #CanPoli #Canada

Today, the Canadian government wants to introduce a bill banning social media for children under 16.

This means requiring ID from every adults who want to access social media. This is a privacy and democracy nightmare.

"Ottawa is set to introduce legislation to enact what the government is calling the Digital Safety Act and the Digital Safety Commission of Canada Act.

It’s expected to be introduced later Wednesday, with Culture Minister Marc Miller holding a news conference at 5 p.m. ET after a technical briefing."

https://globalnews.ca/news/11897929/social-media-ban-under-16/

Contact our Prime Minister Mark Carney and Culture Minister Marc Miller TODAY to voice your opposition:

mark.carney@parl.gc.ca
Marc.Miller@parl.gc.ca

Contact your local MP as well by finding their contact information here: https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/search

We must Stop ID Surveillance in Canada before it's too late.

#StopIDSurveillance #Privacy #HumanRights #AgeVerification #Authoritatianism

Following the Australian precedence, Brazil, Greece, Turkey, and Malaysia have now passed laws requiring age checks for social media.

😡 But age verification and ID checks destroy everyone's #privacy. 😡

Learn what countries are planning a social media ban for teens and fight #AgeVerification 💪

👉https://tuta.com/blog/age-verification-kills-anonymity

Alt...

Image shows the flags of different countries including Greece, Australia, Brasil, Turkey and Malaysia.

Alt...

Image shows the number 16 crossed out

How and Why to Fight Back Against #SocialMedia Bans

Several U.S. states are pushing to ban young people from social media entirely. This marks the latest wave of #censorship bills masquerading as “children’s online safety” measures, with states like #Massachusetts , #Idaho , #Minnesota , #NorthCarolina , #SouthCarolina , #Illinois , and EFF’s home state of #California leading the charge.

Just a few years ago, lawmakers supporting age-gating laws insisted their efforts were narrowly targeted at limiting young people’s access to adult content.
#agegating #ageverification
#privacy

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/06/how-and-why-fight-back-against-social-media-bans

In reality, what they call age verification is abusive ID surveillance checks for everyone.

Start calling it what it is:
ID Surveillance.

We must all fight to Stop ID Surveillance.

#StopIDSurveillance #AgeVerification #MassSurveillance #Authoritarianism #Privacy #HumanRights

Mainstream Media is Already Lying About Age Verification

It took one day for the word to get out about a forthcoming age verification bill and the lies are already being published.

https://www.freezenet.ca/mainstream-media-is-already-lying-about-age-verification/

#Censorship #News #Privacy #Security #AgeVerification #Canada #journalism #Media #NationalPost #SocialMedia

Utah’s VPN Ban Law Goes Into Effect in Age Verification Escalation

Utah is attempting to cover up the failures of their age verification law by effectively banning VPNs.

https://www.freezenet.ca/utahs-vpn-ban-law-goes-into-effect-in-age-verification-escalation/

#Censorship #News #Privacy #Security #AgeVerification #encryption #law #legislation #US #Utah #VPN

"Make no mistake: These kinds of regulations are like a bad cold — they spread fast and are hard to shake. Governments and legislators around the world are constantly peeking over the fence at their neighbors to see what policies they’re rolling out and asking themselves whether they, too, can enact such laws.

You shouldn’t be surprised when more nations ask, If Turkey can do away with that pesky anonymous internet speech, why can’t we? In fact, the sentiment already exists in democratic nations freer than Turkey. In February, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for an end to anonymous posts. “I want to see real names on the internet,” he said. “I want to know who is speaking.” Coincidentally or not, Germany also prosecutes insults to public officials. Not long after Merz’s statements, police investigated a Facebook comment calling Merz “Pinocchio.”

Anonymous online speech is in peril even here in the United States. In 2023, then-presidential candidate Nikki Haley walked back her demand that companies “verify every single person” using their platforms “by name.” The idea was toxic at the time, and she faced backlash among conservatives. But in the years since, that campaign has ballooned. The bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act, which enjoys Democratic and Republican support, as well as the constantly growing list of state-level age-verification bills in red and blue states are putting a real strain on Americans’ ability to remain anonymous, whether they are 16 years old or 60."

https://expression.fire.org/p/its-the-end-of-internet-anonymity

#Turkey #Anonymity #AgeVerification #FreedomOfExpression #Censorship #Surveillance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0JAAF61AiE

"I warned you years ago that Windows 11 was the beginning of the end. Today, the door is officially closing on general-purpose computing. In this 24-minute manifesto, I am moving past the "ripping on Rust" memes to address a documented existential threat to your hardware. Between the $12.5M Big Tech "security" grants and the US government's memory-safety mandates, we are witnessing a coordinated execution of legacy systems."

None of the open source projects are putting up any real resistance to the age verification agenda. They are helping obfuscate it with effete, token efforts that accomplish nothing.

Age Verification is merely a subterfuge for establishing an API for remote viewing and control of your system. It is a 'baby step' toward the real goal of panopticon control of all digital communication and data.

When the nations are ruled by genocidal criminals, the rulers are paranoid and want to know and control everything. They instinctively fear rebellion because they know they are guilty.

#AgeVerification #Shills #Sellouts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adCMNAVBGSQ

Age Verification is beyond Epstein 2.0.

"You are basically laying out your children on a silver platter in the name of protecting them."

"Once these OS-level age verification laws take hold, we're about 3 months from a real-time GPS-located database of verified children for creeps, politicians, and rich Ep-style people to use."

Why are several other 'software freedom' organizations silent on the matter?

World leaders and corporate bosses are slowly cobbling together a digital 'singularity' system to monitor and control all human activity via AI-controlled systems. The plan is to extend the reach of this AI into every app, operating system, and device of every citizen, maintaining 24/7/365 real time monitoring of everything you do.

Different facets of the planned system are being individually implemented across an array of countries. The speech control system is implemented in Britain and being tested there. The social credit system is implemented in China and being tested there. The fake news and propaganda system is heavily implemented in the United States.

#AgeVerification in your operating system is a building block of the #SingularitySurveillanceSystem (#SSS). This system has been long in the planning and now the hidden hand is acting through its corporate and government storefronts to begin #Panopticon construction one building block at a time.

#GameOfDrones #Singularity #CBDC #Currency #Money #SocialCredit #Government #Economy #Enslavement #CreepingControl #ControlGrid

California's age verification law empowers malicious actors with a grooming tool to narrow down the hunt for children.

Age Verification Mandates: The ‘Protect the Kids’ Scam That’s Building a Permanent Surveillance Grid

https://youtu.be/lqt5czOckdw

#AgeVerification

"While the [age verification] bill moved through the legislature, the OSI, FSF, Software Freedom Conservancy, and Linux Foundation all sat it out — no testimony, no public analysis, no formal opposition on the record."

California's computer age verification law is poison. The new California age verification law is a version of INGSOC's telescreen watching you. And the usual self-proclaimed software freedom fighters are AWOL as this attack on your freedom is executed.

Don't listen to apologists who claim this isn't a big deal. It is a huge deal. This law is not about protecting children. The California law is a ruse for laying the foundation and precedent for mandatory remote control of all operating systems. They are using children as a shield for their true intentions. It's called a 'subterfuge' or a 'pretext' to hide the real rationale. And in politics subterfuge is very common. These politicians don't care about your children. They care about control and information is control. Compliance with California's new law is highly corrosive to free software and deadly to personal privacy.

With the mandatory age verification API in place, legislators can later add more laws mandating retrieval of even more privacy-invasive information just to install and use any operating system. This is Big Brother's telescreen in your living room. And the Linux community is nearly silent on the matter, instead focused on artificial intelligence investment.

Where were the software freedom organizations when California was mandating installation of #spyware in all free and open source operating systems? Did they oppose it? Or did they support it by silence? The California age verification law is the greatest threat to software freedom in recent history., striking right at the root of software installation for all users. Yet (((crickets))).

Is silence really tacit support?

"While the [age verification] bill moved through the legislature, the OSI, FSF, Software Freedom Conservancy, and Linux Foundation all sat it out — no testimony, no public analysis, no formal opposition on the record."

Where were they when this mandatory spyware infrastructure was being shoved down our throats? Where were the self-proclaimed software freedom fighters? Where were the calls to action? I didn't see any.

Is silence golden ... or is gold buying silence?

Let these organizations know that you oppose California's age verification spyware law and that you expect them to rally in defense of true software freedom--freedom from government oversight of your software systems. Parents--and not the spyware state--should protect their children. The government is neither your parent nor your god nor your savior and the people should send a clear message stating that.

California, stay out of my operating system! And stay the hell away from children!

@eff@mastodon.social
@linuxfoundation@social.lfx.dev
@fsf@hostux.social
@osi@opensource.org
@conservancy@sfconservancy.org

#AgeVerification #Linux #EFF #OSI #LinuxFoundation #FSF #Privacy #Cybersecurity #Surveillance #Spyware #OpenSource #OperatingSystems #FreeSoftware #SoftwareFreedom #Panopticon #BigBrother #Government

CC: @laffer1@bsd.network @leo@twit.social @MichaelRoss@social.linux.pizza @rms@mastodon.xyz @thenewoil@mastodon.thenewoil.org @TechDesk@flipboard.social @remixtures@tldr.nettime.org

Alt...

A crowd of sillouettes of people stands in front of a giant telescreen depicting a single giant eye watching them.

"California residents are not authorized to use MidnightBSD for desktop use in the state of California effective January 1, 2027. California law CA AB1043 requires a complex age verification system implemented for operating systems with no exceptions for small open source projects. At this time, we don't have development time or a plan in place for this."

Alt...

California residents are not authorized to use MidnightBSD for desktop use in the state of California effective January 1, 2027. California law CA AB1043 requires a complex age verification system implemented for operating systems with no exceptions for small open source projects. At this time, we don't have development time or a plan in place for this.