The Age Verification Trap

Verifying user’s ages undermines everyone’s data protection

https://spectrum.ieee.org/age-verification

#security #privacy #tech #technology #news #technews #ageverification

Discord cuts ties with Peter Thiel-backed verification software after its code was found tied to US surveillance efforts

https://fortune.com/2026/02/24/discord-peter-thiel-backed-persona-identity-verification-breach/

#news #politics #uspol #uspolitics #GOPCult #ethics #corruption #maga #security #privacy #discord

In the U.S., police are finding suspects based on their online searches as courts weigh privacy concerns.

@AssociatedPress reports authorities "have been asking Google to reveal who searched for specific information online, seeking 'reverse keyword' warrants."

https://flip.it/FtogoN

#Privacy #Google #Tech #Crime #Technology

The Age-Verification Trap — Verifying user’s ages undermines everyone’s data protection

Social media is going the way of alcohol, gambling, and other social sins: Societies are deciding it’s no longer kid stuff. Lawmakers point to compulsive use, exposure to harmful content, and mounting concerns about adolescent mental health. So, many propose to set a minimum age, usually 13 or 16.

🕵️ https://spectrum.ieee.org/age-verification

#ageverification #socialmedia #security #trap #dataprotection #privacy #youth

Daily Digest | 24 February 2026

Your daily dose of Privacy, Data Protection, AI & Cybersecurity news.

5 stories you should not miss.

Read more: https://www.nicfab.eu/daily-digest/

#Privacy #AI #GDPR #Cybersecurity #TechLaw

Happy to report that about a year after getting a mate to communicate using Signal instead of WhatsApp, we just today made the progression to securing our emails via pgp. 🥳

He was already using Thunderbird as his email client, and although just a few clicks it was a James Bond meets Bill Gates moment when we sent and received encrypted, signed emails to one another. 🤓

[Per the anarchist theory of practice] I remain convinced this practice of changing how we behave on the internet with intention will continue to change the people engaging in it. Digital prefigurative politics, nibbling away at surveillance capitalism one little data set at a time.

Slowly slowly catchim' monkey...... 🐒

Happy days. 😀

#pgp #encryption #Thunderbird #privacy

Americans are destroying #Flock #surveillance #cameras | TechCrunch

people across the United States are dismantling and destroying Flock surveillance cameras, amid rising public anger that the license plate readers aid U.S. #immigration authorities and #deportations.
#alpr #privacy #immigrants #security

https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/23/americans-are-destroying-flock-surveillance-cameras/

Is #AgeVerification a Trap? - IEEE Spectrum

Verifying user’s ages undermines everyone’s data protection
#privacy #security

https://spectrum.ieee.org/age-verification

From Oregon to Virginia, a quiet, very physical revolt against Flock's automatic licence plate readers—ALPRs—is underway, with cameras sawn down, poles severed, and devices methodically dismantled. What would once have been fringe anti-surveillance activism is edging into the mainstream, as Americans discover who can access these cameras' data and how it is being used.

Well I like the sound of that. #privacy https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/flock-surveillance-cameras-backlash-1780945

Wisconsin Drops VPN Ban Provisions in Age Verification Bill

It looks like Wisconsin has dropped their efforts to implement a VPN ban in their age verification legislation.

https://www.freezenet.ca/wisconsin-drops-vpn-ban-provisions-in-age-verification-bill/

#Censorship #News #Privacy #Security #AgeVerification #legislation #US #VPN #Wisconsin

Americans are destroying Flock surveillance cameras

https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/23/americans-are-destroying-flock-surveillance-cameras/

#HackerNews #Americans #Flock #Surveillance #Cameras #Privacy #Activism #TechNews

Absolutely love it… Just gave the middle finger to Google and their privacy invasive practices with YouTube. How’d I do it? Used Podman, Yattee/Yattee Server and Invidious plus TailScale to run a privacy-preserving proxy that hopefully will slam the door on the adds and tracking that I’d normally have to deal with, and I will no longer hopefully have to fork over the dinero to Google for YouTube Premium. It’s just for my personal use, not intended for public use, but I’m proud that I found a self-hosted solution. #SelfHosted #Podman #Yattee #Invidious #Tailscale #Privacy #NoAds #NoTracking #Google #YouTube

New Privacy Guides video 🎞️🪪
by @jw:

Age Verification represents an incredible threat to our privacy.

Not only Age Verification doesn't protect the children, but this could mean the end of protective pseudonymity for everyone if implemented widely.

Watch this excellent video created by Jordan here on PeerTube (based on my article on the same topic): https://neat.tube/w/aR4toTWJpcBZamUdQQpGRu

#PrivacyGuides #Privacy #AgeVerification #DataMinimization #Pseudonymity #PeerTube

Discord's age verification rollout has ties to Palantir co-founder and panopticon architect Peter Thiel

The company has informed some users in the UK they may be part of "an experiment" with Persona, an age verification vendor whose investors include Peter Thiel, co-founder of ICE's premier surveillance provider, Palantir.

#Discord #ageverification #surveillance #privacy #palantir #ice #peterthiel #socialmedia #technology #tech

https://www.pcgamer.com/software/platforms/oh-good-discords-age-verification-rollout-has-ties-to-palantir-co-founder-and-panopticon-architect-peter-thiel/

RE: https://mastodon.social/@Tutanota/116120524781775682

c'mon Europe! This would be so incredibly depressing, but I know you've shown up before. Please fight for us!

#privacy #Europe

Tuta boosted

Tuta » 🌐 2026-02-23
@Tutanota@mastodon.social

Chat Control 1.0 lets Big Tech scan ALL your messages. 👀 

And the EU wants this to continue. Decision is this WEDNESDAY.

⚡  Call your MEPs now! ⚡ 
➡️ https://fightchatcontrol.eu/

Alt...

Screenshot: The EU (still) wants to scan your private messages and photos. 4 member states opposing, 23 member states supporting, 0 member states undecided.

Cyber security authorities, including the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, advocate the use of VPNs to enhance online safety.

“Implementing age verification for VPNs could undermine their privacy benefits and pose challenges for legitimate users, including young individuals seeking online privacy and security. We risk trading one risk posed to young people for another.”

🗣️ @JamesBaker for ORG.

https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366639234/Businesses-may-be-caught-by-government-proposals-to-restrict-VPN-use

#vpn #privacy #security #ageverification #ukpolitics #ukpol

The #Uk government is trying to place age verification on all user-user platforms.

Can you sign this petition I created: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/762236/sponsors/new?token=XBUJNuzxL8JoS1JcFqns

We need 5 people to sign it to get the petition published.

#ukpol
#privacy
#onlinesafetyact
@openrightsgroup
#ageverification
#AgeVerificationPolicy
#ageverificationandagegating

Daily Digest | 23 February 2026

Your daily dose of Privacy, Data Protection, AI & Cybersecurity news.

5 stories you should not miss.

Read more: https://www.nicfab.eu/daily-digest/

#Privacy #AI #GDPR #Cybersecurity #TechLaw

The US Government want Australian's biometric data - beware. https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/trumps-america-wants-access-to-australian-biometric-data/ftomgcy5j #USA #Australia #politics #travel #security #privacy

Controversy Surrounds Resurfaced Video of Erika Kirk at Charlie Kirk's Casket

A video of Erika Kirk mourning her late husband Charlie Kirk at his casket has reappeared. Candace Owens identified the person who filmed it. This brings up questions about public grief and privacy.

#ErikaKirk, #CharlieKirk, #PublicGrief, #Privacy, #CandaceOwens

https://newsletter.tf/erika-kirk-charlie-kirk-casket-video-september-2025/

Cryptography as a tool of power
https://negativepid.blog/cryptography-as-a-tool-of-power/

#cryptography #history #IT #tech #privacy #Internet #tech #IT #science #STEM #computing #AI #quantumComputing #quantumPhysics #inventions #innovation #negativepid

“Nothing to hide” is a dangerous myth: it turns a fundamental right into a moral test and ignores how data is stored, combined, and used to judge or manipulate us over time 🔍

Privacy isn’t about hiding crimes, it’s about keeping control of our lives in a world of profiling, data brokers, shifting laws, and client‑side scanning 🔒

#Privacy #Security #Surveillance #DataProtection #DigitalRights #BigTech #AI #Tracking #Profiling #Cybersecurity #Freedom #HumanRights #NothingToHide #OpenSource #FOSS

Discord and Persona part ways after UK age-check controversy sparks outcry. 🧑‍💻 Privacy concerns mount over data handling and age-verification plans, as Discord emphasizes rapid data deletion and vendor updates. 🔒🗣️ #Privacy #TechNews #Discord #AgeVerification https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/02/discord-and-persona-end-partnership-after-shady-uk-age-test-sparks-outcry/

#Newz

#FckDiscord 😁

"America desperately needs new privacy laws"

"The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. For more on the dire state of tech regulation, follow Adi Robertson. This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world."

https://www.theverge.com/column/882516/privacy-laws-america

#Privacy