Pornhub to (Mostly) Block the UK Over Ridiculous Age Verification Laws

Pornhub says that UK access to its site will cease as of February 2nd for most users, giving people more incentives to use things like VPNs.

https://www.freezenet.ca/pornhub-to-mostly-block-the-uk-over-ridiculous-age-verification-laws/

#Business #Censorship #News #AgeVerification #Aylo #OnlineSafetyAct #Pornhub #UK #VPN

Call your Florida lawmakers and tell them you oppose SB 1722, the Florida App Store Accountability Act!

https://www.miamitech.club/oppose-the-florida-app-store-accountability-act/

#Florida #Privacy #Cybersecurity #AgeVerification #DigitalRights #Tech #Apple #Google

RE: https://mastodon.social/@FirewallDragons/115962131540094840

Thank you to @FirewallDragons for covering the AI age verification bill being considered in the Florida Legislature! Between this and the Florida App Stores Accountability Act, we have our work cut out for us.

If you live in Florida, please call your state legislators and tell them you oppose these age verification bills!

#Florida #Privacy #Cybersecurity #AgeVerification #InfoSec #DigitalRights #Miami

Thank you to @techlore for covering the extremely concerning age verification bills being considered in Florida. We have 47 days to stop this. Call your state legislators and tell them you oppose these bills!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m__kJCz2oS0

#Techlore #Privacy #Florida #Miami #Cybersecurity #Tech #AgeVerification #DigitalRights #InfoSec

Age verification is no longer exclusive to accessing explicit content, soon we will have to verify ourselves for everything we do online. 

In this video, we explain why #AgeVerification could mean:

❌ Less anonymity
❌ More surveillance
❌ A less free internet

🎥 Watch it here: https://inv.nadeko.net/watch?v=Fu6xJnbgk8U

At Tuta, we say no to age verification, & yes to privacy. ❤️ 🔒

#AgeVerification #OnlineSafety #PrivacyMatters #DigitalFreedom

If only we hadn't been right about #ageverification spreading in 2026. 😤

Let's keep fighting for #privacy and #anonymity 💪

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Screenshot of a post: JUST IN: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom looks into banning children under 16 from social media. With an image of the British flag and another of popular social media apps with a big red ban symbol across them.

Proton VPN Warns of the Dangers of Michigan’s VPN Ban Bill

Age verification laws have become more dangerous to civilians as VPNs become increasingly targeted. Michigan is one example.

https://www.freezenet.ca/proton-vpn-warns-of-the-dangers-of-michigans-vpn-ban-bill/

#Censorship #News #Privacy #Security #AgeVerification #FreeSpeech #Michigan #ProtonVPN #VPN

Banning social media for under-16s is on the cards in the UK.

Age verification is the only way to do this, meaning millions will have to hand over sensitive data.

This industry lacks effective regulation. An U16s ban would multiply existing privacy risks.

https://www.openrightsgroup.org/press-releases/under-16-social-media-ban-would-expand-age-gating-for-millions-and-silence-young-people/

#socialmedia #uk #socialmediaban #ageverification #privacy #ukpolitics #ukpol

Oh look: #discord outsourced their age verification to some vendor. You know, the #ageverification that countries like the UK want to make mandatory for basically every online service. And the vendor had a data breach exposing photos of government IDs for 70,000 people.

Do you feel safer? How many children did we protect by exposing the IDs of these 70,000 (presumably) adults? Thanks for taking one for the team, you 70,000 canaries in the #privacy coal mine.

https://discord.com/press-releases/update-on-security-incident-involving-third-party-customer-service

RE: https://mastodon.social/@eff/115907269906942708

It is AI integrations like these that have us concerned about the future of Florida, where a bill is being considered to require age verification for using a chatbot.

It is possible that Google could require you to verify your identity to use any Google service because of Gemini being there.

https://www.miamitech.club/oppose-sb-482/

#Privacy #AgeVerification #Security #Florida #Miami #AI #Tech

Electronic Frontier Foundation » 🌐 2026-01-16
@eff@mastodon.social

“It’s a reminder to people that email should be treated almost not quite public,” EFF’s Thorin Klosowski told The New York Times. Consider the company that runs it and law enforcement's access to it: "The more you put it in it, the more they’ll have access to.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/technology/personaltech/gmail-gemini-ai-email-inbox.html

So, You’ve Hit an #Age Gate. What Now?

This blog also appears in our #AgeVerification Resource Hub: our one-stop shop for users seeking to understand what age-gating laws actually do, what’s at stake, how to protect yourself, and why @eff opposes all forms of age verification mandates. Head to EFF.org/Age to explore our resources and join us in the fight for a free, open, private, and yes—safe—internet.
#privacy #security #id

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/01/so-youve-hit-age-gate-what-now

Roblox Age Verification System Fooled by Hand Drawn Facial Hair

Roblox opted to use state of the art AI to bolster its age verification system. It went about as well as you'd expect.

https://www.freezenet.ca/roblox-age-verification-system-fooled-by-hand-drawn-facial-hair/

#Censorship #News #AgeVerification #AI #fail #Roblox

RE: https://mastodon.social/@eff/115882949572741131

If you're watching the age verification headed our way in Florida - there is a proposal where you would have to have to identify yourself in order to use AI - this is a great event to understand why that is a bad thing!

#AgeVerification #Privacy #Florida #Miami

Electronic Frontier Foundation » 🌐 2026-01-12
@eff@mastodon.social

We stand to lose a lot as governments push to age-gate the web. That's why EFF is pushing back. You can learn more about these age-gating laws and even ask us questions during our livestream on Thursday at 12 PM PT: https://eff.org/livestream-age

EFF warns new online age‑verification mandates risk expanding surveillance, censorship, and exclusion for adults and kids alike. 🪪
They’ve launched a resource hub to track these laws and defend privacy, anonymity, and free expression online. 📚

@eff

🔗 https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/01/effecting-change-human-cost-online-age-verification

#TechNews #Privacy #Surveillance #Censorship #Data #Rights #Security #AI #Policy #Regulation #DigitalRights #FreeSpeech #Internet #USA #EFF #AgeVerification #Exclusion #Inclusion

Age verification changed the internet in 2025 – here's what it means for your privacy in 2026

Digital rights groups say that age verification measures compromise privacy, weaken data security, and invite unprecedented levels of censorship

#surveillance #privacy #censorship #ageverification #socialmedia #security #cybersecurity #technology #tech

https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/age-verification-changed-the-internet-in-2025-heres-what-it-means-for-your-privacy-in-2026

Do you see how rights and freedoms are removed from the people in the name of supposedly protecting the children,

But when actual child abuse happened from the powerful, whether literally or by proxy in the form of AI algorithms on popular commercial platforms, the same actors demanding child protections are completely silent?

1- Chat Control and Age Verification isn't about protecting the children, it's about surveilling and controlling us.

2- As long as the abuse is perpetrated in the name of "AI" or corporate profits, no laws or protections seem to apply anymore.

This should make everyone extremely angry, and should be enough to make everyone with a moral compass delete their account on X immediately.

#CSAM #X #ChatControl #AgeVerification #Privacy #HumanRights #DeteleTwitter

As Florida will have another age verification bill to fight in the next few weeks, it's a good time to familiarize yourself with the problems and knock-on effects of this policy. It's supposed to protect kids. Instead it endangers them and everyone else
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/12/age-verification-coming-internet-we-built-you-resource-hub-fight-back

#Privacy #Florida #AgeVerification #Miami #DigitalRights #Tech

Tuta #Wrapped2025: How we fought #ChatControl ⚔️

✅ Published an open letter
✅ Made noise on social media
✅ Wrote directly to politicians
✅ Gave interviews

And finally convinced politicians that #encryption must not be broken. 🔐🎉

Check out what happened in 2025, and stay tuned for the 2026 fight against #AgeVerification ✊

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Tuta Wrapped How we fought Chat Control with map of countries in favor and against in the EU Council —>

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Quote by Danish PM: We must break with the totally erroneous perception that it is everyone's civil liberty to communicate on encrypted messaging services. We said NO

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If Chat Control passes, we as an encrypted provider — have two options: sue to fight fox people’s pxivacy, or leave the EU. And we’ve decided to fight. We will never weaken ox backdoor our encxrption.” We will never build backdoors or spy on our users. Privacy is a human right, guaranteed to everyone by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. Read the full comment https://tuta.com/blog/chat-control-criticism

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And we'll continue to fight for your right to privacy!

#Ageverification must not become mandatory. In general, the effect and implementation of age verification are still unclear, and the risks outweigh the benefits. There is no law worldwide that enforces mandatory AV for messengers. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/12/after-years-controversy-eus-chat-control-nears-its-final-hurdle-what-know

🚨 World's first social media ban begins: Australian & under‑16? Your social media account is now locked. 🚨

What's next? From Dec 27 #AgeVerification checks for search engines like #Google.

BUT - Once your data is in the system, what's stopping it from being used for surveillance?

And what happened to #Privacy? 🧐

#DigitalID #Australia

YouTube already has it ➡️ https://tuta.com/blog/how-to-turn-off-youtube-ai-age-verification

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Notice from YouTube: You must be 16+ to sign in to YouTube in Australia.

Huge Victory: #ChatControl no longer forces us to break #encryption. 🎉 

🚨But: It now wants #AgeVerification.

The Trilogue starts today 🗓️ 

You've helped us stop #backdoors: https://tuta.com/blog/chat-control-criticism

Now, help us stop #AgeVerification! 👇️ 

https://fightchatcontrol.eu/#contact-tool

#Fight4Privacy 

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Map of countries in the EU that are opposing, proposed and in favor of Chat Control.

Age verification is the new trend to de-anonymize the web. 😡

🚨Starting Dec 10, #YouTube #Australia will ask for your age.

The Big Tech already started rolling out an AI-powered age estimation system. Adults are being marked as minors & are forced to submit IDs before regaining full access to decades-old accounts.

Learn how to avoid YouTube's #AI #AgeVerification: https://tuta.com/blog/how-to-turn-off-youtube-ai-age-verification

#anonymity #privacy

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Screenshot of a Reddit post in the YouTube Subreddit titled: "How do I get past age verification without giving YouTube my id?" with a screenshot of a Google pop up asking how they would like to verify their age.

@Tutanota Why do I get the feeling that lately, in so many countries, new regulations are popping up with only one purpose - to erode privacy 🔓? It feels like a bad joke. I can't keep up anymore.

I wish I could fight them all at once, put pressure everywhere 🌍, no matter where I live. But I don't have the time. I'm already drowning in an endless to-do list.

Why couldn't the government set a different deadline? Why are they so determined to push this through? My mind can't wrap around it I just hope they come to their senses and never implement it 🙏

#Privacy #HumanRights #Switzerland #SwissPrivacy #EU #ChatControl #FightChatControl #UK #OnlineSafetyAct #AgeVerification #Surveillance #StopSurveillance

Just so you know, we need to push back against privacy-invasive regulations.
Each and every time.

Shrugging and using a VPN will not save you. They will come for the VPNs next.
Then the ISP.
Then more.

Pushing against unjust laws matters.
The tools alone will not save you in the long run.

#Privacy #PrivacyLaw #AgeVerification

If every country starts requiring that people provide official ID in order to "verify their age" to use social media, there will be no way to use any social media without associating the account with a legal identity.

This is horrible for democracy,
and should terrify everyone.

It doesn't matter if platforms use third-parties or not. It doesn't matter if they use some special encrypted code, the result is the same. This gatekeeps open discussions and government criticisms free from reprisals.

This is bad.
This is China "free-speech" bad.

#Democracy #AgeVerification #Privacy

In today's episode of I Told You So:

May 2025 ⚠️
"Daily occurrences of data breach incidents have taught us we cannot trust these services to safeguard our data. Data breaches for this sensitive information are only a matter of time.

The concentration of such valuable data will likely be monetized and resold either by the platforms themselves, by the for-profit third-party "age assurance" providers they use, or eventually by the criminals who stole it from them."

Source: Privacy Guides

October 2025
"A hack impacting Discord’s age verification process shows in stark terms the risk of tech companies collecting users’ ID documents. Now the hackers are posting peoples’ IDs and other sensitive information online."

Source: 404 Media

#AgeVerification #Privacy #Discord

Early on, I got a Bluesky account and it is just sitting there, pointing to my self-hosted Mastodon server for any old Twitter followers that want to find me.

Today, Ohio started age verification for any website "primarily centered on explicit content and makes a significant amount of money on said content."

Bluesky doesn't meet that threshold yet they want age verification. Sorry, Bluesky. I'm out.

#AgeVerification #Ohio #privacy #bluesky

The law: "An Act, Am. Sub. H. B. No. 96" (pdf). Starts on page 655 https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/api/v2/general_assembly_136/legislation/hb96/07_EN/pdf

On June 30, 2025, Ohio enacted HB 96, the bill for the fiscal years of 2026–2027. The bill contained the Ohio Innocence Act, which requires websites to verify user ages to prevent minors from viewing harmful content.

The law targets porn and other unnamed harmful sites that is primarily centered on explicit content and makes a significant amount of money on said content.

The new law requires pornography websites to use a commercial service, or third-party or government database, that uses photo IDs or transactional records, such as mortgage or employment data, to confirm the user is at least 18 years old. The data would be deleted once age verification is completed.

Age verification takes effect on September 30, 2025.

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Age Assurance The laws in your location require you to verify you're an adult before accessing certain features on Bluesky, like adult content and direct messaging.

First, they'll ask for your official IDs to confirm your age and identity.

This will create a large treasure trove
of sensitive data, which will attract criminals, and will inevitably leak from either negligence or malice, sooner than later.

Then, they'll claim your official ID is
unreliable, because it was stolen so many times, and demand you share your biometric data.

They will collect your face scan,
your palm scan, and even your iris scan (no exaggeration, these are all already being collected by some companies for identification). They will claim it's super safe.

This will create a large treasure trove
of sensitive biometric data, which will attract criminals, and will inevitably leak from either negligence or malice, sooner than later.

Then what? Rinse and escalate.

You will have lost control of not just your corporate social media accounts by participating to this, but to any data capable of validating your identity, to your privacy rights, to the protections you could use online to stay safe.

We don't have to wait that it escalates.

We can, and must, push back and say No now. Start to say No now.

#Privacy #Biometrics #DataMinimization #AgeVerification

In case you are falsely feeling protected outside of Europe:

Chat Control doesn't just concern Europeans. It concerns all of us.

These kind of regulations will come for all of us, everywhere, if we do not ALL push against it everywhere.

If you do not understand how this is all intertwined, I invite you to read more privacy news and in-depth analysis. Because we must all support each other's privacy fights.

Privacy is a human right 💚

Fight for a better world, together ✊🌍

#ChatControl #AgeVerification #DataMinimization #HumanRights #DigitalRights #Privacy #Encryption #E2EE #RootForE2EE 🎉

If everyone was refusing to provide official IDs to verify their identity and age on social platforms, and just let their account rot there unused instead, we would soon see platforms themselves starting to advocate against these invasive laws to recover their users.

Just saying.
They need you more than you need them.
Stop complying with invasive requests.

#Privacy #AgeVerification

#ChatGPT Will Guess Your #Age and Might Require ID for #AgeVerification
#privacy

https://www.404media.co/chatgpt-will-guess-your-age-and-might-require-id-for-age-verification/

July 11th

“Photo ID checks
Face scanning age estimation tools
Credit card checks
Digital ID
Vouching by the parent of a young person
Using AI to guess a user's age based on the data the company already has
Relying on a third party that has already checked the user's age”

Waiting for this shit-show to blow up; #strayan government can’t compute, part N.”

#technology / #SocialMedia / #AgeVerification / #straya <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-11/age-verification-search-engines/105516256>

September 03

“all Australian social media users will need to prove their age”

The Intelligence #inference you can make on the implementation.

#JoshTaylor / #AnikaWells / #Labor / #tech / #tehc / #AgeInference / #AgeVerification / #australia #straya #strayan / #SocialMedia <https://theguardian.com/technology/2025/sep/02/under-16s-ban-how-hard-will-it-be-for-australian-social-media-users-to-prove-their-age>