Canada’s proposed Bill S-209, which addresses online age verification, is currently making its way through the Senate, and its passage would be yet another mistake in tech policy.
The bill is intended to restrict young peoples’ access to online pornography and to hold providers to account for making it available to anyone under 18. It may be well-intentioned, but the manner of its proposed enforcement – mandating age verification or what is being called “age-estimation technologies” – is troubling.
Globally, age-verification tools are a popular business, and many companies are in favour of S-209, particularly because it requires that websites and organizations rely on third parties for these tools. However, they bring up long-standing concerns over privacy, especially when you consider potential leaks or hacks of this information, which in some cases include biometrics that can identify us by our faces or fingerprints. […]
What’s the difference? I use ID verification to buy alcohol and marijuana. They have no idea I’m old enough for sure, they trust the license.
The scenario you describe about using the internet with a regime knowing everything, has been the default in North America for about a decade.
This slippery slope argument is nonsense. There is a problem, and this is the tool we have to attempt to fix it with. Half the people on here seem to want to argue that porn has no negative effects on developing children and teens.
You don’t store and track who buys alcohol by that ID when you go to a shop, you just show them it
They scan my ID and absolutely save it and sell the data.
Didn’t know the dude at the liquor store you flashed your ID to was rocking the meta raybands
I’m not going to keep explaining, believe me or dont.
Do you have proof that the LCBO or gas stations scan and resell your ID?
That sounds like the very definition of ‘big if true’.
I never said they resell the ID. Are you saying porn sites are reselling IDs?
Collecting and reselling any data is far easier done by a website than it would be by the corner LCBO.
But did you or did you not say the LCBO scans the ID and sells the data? I have to admit I’ve never seen that happen. What do they scan it with?
Anyway there is no way to argue that handing a guy your ID for a glance to buy cigs, weed or alcohol is less safe than uploading to some random porn site on the internet, even if they didn’t store your data (and I believe strongly that they would store your data for documenting the verification… either they would, or the third party that does the service)
I’m saying they are the same safety. There’s alternative ways to get porn without giving an ID and its not even illegal.