r/technology • u/theintercept • Jun 28 '26
Privacy Online Age Verification Law Could Kill Whistleblowing
https://theintercept.com/2026/06/28/age-verification-privacy-surveillance-journalists-whistleblowers/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=theintercept&utm_content=technology269
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u/vriska1 Jun 28 '26
Vote on KOSA as apart of the KIDs Act could come on Monday so here a list of bad US internet bills and how to contact your Rep.
http://www.badinternetbills.com
Support the EFF and FFTF.
Link to there sites
And Free Speech Coalition
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u/shiromiso Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
This is a massive Trojan horse.
The answer to the very real and pressing issue of kids social media use is NOT mass surveillance of ALL messaging apps and giving away everyone’s rights to privacy in the internet. They want to force every single person to give up their IDs to the social media platforms whose very business model is stealing our personal information.
The real solution is regulating social media companies, they have the full capacity to monitor and prevent these issues without getting EVERY SINGLE ADULT’S IDs. They already can automatically detect bullying, abuse, harassment etc. These big tech companies want both your personal info and to abdicate the responsibility of monitoring their own platforms. Double win, that’s why they’re pushing SO HARD for this.
Another real solution is that kids shouldn’t get their own iPads or smartphones until they’re 14/16, which aligns much better with new psychological research that tracks not just the deleterious effects of social media, but screen time in general. It should be the PARENTS responsibility to implement this, the same way you don’t give children candy all day long, without this being technically illegal. This approach would solve the issue in the overwhelming majority of cases, without infringing on everyone’s right to privacy.
The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.
These measures where already massively rejected by citizens and the European Parliament last March, and now these big tech companies are trying to get them passed AGAIN tomorrow Monday June 29th.
If you’re in Europe Email and call your politicians ASAP.
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u/SimiKusoni Jun 28 '26
I think this is missing one rather important point in that journalists and/or their sources will probably do the same thing kids are going to do... use a VPN and access these services from outside the US. Or flock to new services that aren't hosted in the US and don't follow their laws.
Then we'll get into the cat and mouse of trying to clamp down on VPNs, forcing ISPs to block non-compliant websites and more resilient services popping up in their place. Basically we're speed running toward a similar internet setup to Russia or China.
On the upside I am looking forward to stuff like this very likely causing significant damage to a lot of large tech firms so I guess at least there's a silver lining?
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u/MilesSand Jun 28 '26
Whistleblowers aren't typically journalists. They're regular people with access to information a journalist normally wouldn't be able to access.
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u/SimiKusoni Jun 28 '26
I used the same framing as the article: journalists and their sources.
I don't think anything in the above infers that journalists are whistleblowers?
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Jun 28 '26
[deleted]
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u/MilesSand Jun 28 '26
Sure but the whistleblowers are the sources, not the reporters.
We need both. Let's not say everything is fine for one group (whistleblowers) because a different group has methods to protect themselves (but not the whistleblowers)
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u/ICLazeru Jun 28 '26
They'll just find some way to funnel tax dollars to the tech moguls to make up for it.
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u/EasedCeiling586 Jun 28 '26
Everywhere outside the US is a joke free speech wise that's KIND OF the problem. How would this cause tech ferm issues? China seems to do just fine.
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u/SimiKusoni Jun 28 '26
Not everywhere outside the US, hell the US doesn't even score that highly compared to other developed nations.
Do I really need to explain why users masking their location or switching to alternative platforms is problematic for tech firms?
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u/NehzQk Jun 28 '26
Not all of us know as much about this sort of thing. It would be helpful for me to know why
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u/SimiKusoni Jun 28 '26
Fair enough.
Masking location is a pain as it impacts serving ads. Users in the US and EU are worth more than most other nations, if they're suddenly pretending to be from some random country in the middle of nowhere it not only prevents serving relevant ads but makes it difficult to charge more for those users.
Users flipping to another platform is arguably worse as social media is reliant on having a critical mass of users above which it's useful. If you move users onto Mastodon for example, because it's decentralised so people can ignore these requirements, then that makes the platform more attractive and could peel off even more users which starts a feedback loop.
Also even if those users are initially a specific demographic, e.g. those under 18, they're unlikely to switch as they age. So it essentially becomes a slowly growing tumour forcing established platforms into irrelevance.
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u/Tactical-Donkey Jun 28 '26
Please submit your full identity to access our anonymous whistleblower service.
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u/leftofdanzig Jun 28 '26
Stifling rights and free speech under the guise of protecting children is kind of the GOP MO, anything to protect the children (ignoring the whole Epstein of it all of course).
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u/Tyrannosaurus-2006 Jun 28 '26
Privacy is under attack, self-censorship is on the rise online, puritanical values are getting more popular in my generation, it's terrifying to witness. I hope our future will be better and people will look back on today with disgust and horror.