this post was submitted on 11 Jan 2025
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Summary

Several U.S. states have enacted laws requiring pornography sites, such as PornHub, to implement age verification to prevent minors' access, prompting the site’s parent company, Aylo, to block access in affected states.

Proponents argue these laws protect children, while critics highlight privacy risks, inefficiencies, and potential censorship.

These measures reflect growing social conservatism, with some advocates aiming to restrict adult content broadly.

While privacy-focused age verification methods exist, regulatory clarity is lacking.

Critics warn these laws may suppress responsible platforms, favoring unregulated alternatives, and escalate broader culture wars around sexuality and LGBTQ+ rights.

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[–] Sprocketfree@sh.itjust.works 3 points 5 hours ago

So no one wants to talk about how maybe we should just be talking to our kids about sexuality? This is just the absence only crowd again. And of course it's taking the rest of our liberties with it but can we stop framing this has tech was of protecting children here? It's Trojan horse bullshit.

[–] randon31415@lemmy.world 9 points 8 hours ago

Mad conservative computer scientists: "Yes, using the fear that kids might see porno, we will soon require the implementation of the impossible device: Anonymous age verification! Since no one will be able to implement it, we will ban all pornography off the internet!"

Mad liberal computer scientists: : "Using generative AI, anyone can now produce any porno they want, even offline! And the interface is so easy that even a kid can use it!"

Porn companies: "We will have the computer take a picture of you and analyze your age to grant access."

Users: Uses generative AI to generate fake pictures to get access to real porn.

[–] Rhoeri@lemmy.world 6 points 9 hours ago

It’s there like, 3,000,000 other porn sites people can use? I don’t hover how this is a victory in any form.

[–] gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de 24 points 14 hours ago

don't even for a second think this is in favour of you.

it's some weird christian idea that the human must be "purified" and watching porn stops that. it's about an ideology, not about you or your wellbeing.

[–] uhmbah@lemmy.ca 52 points 18 hours ago

Right. "Protecting children". Meanwhile, lowering the age range for child workers...

"No beating off! You need to save your energy for the night shift."

https://clockify.me/learn/business-management/minimum-working-age-by-state/

https://www.google.com/search?q=+child+workers+over+night

[–] nutsack@lemmy.world 31 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (3 children)

they keep saying its about trans people but then they keep blocking porn so i don't know what it is. i think christians and conservatives are stupid as fuck

[–] nickiwest@lemmy.world 11 points 10 hours ago

Every time that a conservative equates the mere existence of trans people with sex, they're just outing their own kink.

[–] imsufferableninja@sh.itjust.works 19 points 18 hours ago

it's mostly because the red hats love trans porn, and hate themselves for loving trans porn, and they just need a little help resisting temptation

[–] FolknForage@lemm.ee 4 points 14 hours ago

Socially accepted mental illness

[–] Juigi@lemm.ee 44 points 21 hours ago (4 children)

"it's for the children" is always a red flag

[–] pyre@lemmy.world 13 points 21 hours ago

classic fascist tactic. there's a reason half of the 14 words is about children

[–] gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago)

step

  1. declare children don't understand the world
  2. declare children can't make reasonable choices
  3. parents and officials now get to decide what children do or don't
  4. have obedient slaves.
[–] electric_nan@lemmy.ml 4 points 18 hours ago

Except when it's Wu-Tang!

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[–] eletes@sh.itjust.works 11 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago) (1 children)

"Another method, used in Germany, lets people show their ID card at a post office and get a unique ID to access adult sites. This could potentially be done without logging the person’s identity, but as CNIL points out such systems require much work to set up."

This exactly what I was thinking of while reading the article. It's just like going to a bar and getting carded. As long as no info is stored, I would be fine with this if were seriously looking for a solution for the kids

[–] ThomasCrappersGhost@feddit.uk 5 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

When I got my first smart phone, to access adult media and even Facebook, I needed to go in to a shop and verify my age using ID and they edited my account details, with this phone I had an instantly refunded penny charge on my credit card. There are very simple ways around it, which they apparently aren’t interested in.

[–] Chip_Rat@lemmy.world 2 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Who is "they" in this context.

Honest question I promise. I don't understand what's going on....

[–] ThomasCrappersGhost@feddit.uk 1 points 1 hour ago

I don’t know a lot either. By “they” I just mean those who are trying to ban porn.

[–] futatorius@lemm.ee 18 points 1 day ago

They're compiling a list and they'll find a way to use it against you. Anyone who thinks the age-verification services won't share their data with the states is naive. Use a VPN and only pay using an anonymous prepaid card, and if that doesn't work, pirate the content.

While privacy-focused age verification methods exist

What might those be, and have they been reviewed by anyone with actual knowledge of security?

[–] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 11 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

At the core of the debate is a genuinely thorny technical and legal question: how to verify someone’s age over the internet without exposing them to cyber theft or government surveillance.

Age verification providers are adamant that this is possible.

I agree that it is possible if you can guarantee absolutely zero corruption in the system. Which you cannot.

[–] cley_faye@lemmy.world 4 points 20 hours ago

Proving, in a safe, privacy-friendly way, that you're able to provide to some third-party website credentials proving that you're an adult, is very easily doable. Most countries decided against the good version of it, but it is doable.

It does not, however, prove anything regarding the actual user in front of the computer. Let's remind people that we live in a world where kids have access to their parent's CC and regularly abuse it online. I doubt "more technical stuff" will prevent them from getting their hand on whatever certificate/token/thingamajig would be used for age check.

Unless we consider "good practice and proper communication", or, parenting, to be a key point in this. In which case, there's no need to do any technical implementation at all in the first place.

[–] Ooops@feddit.org 6 points 20 hours ago

"While privacy-focused age verification methods exist, regulatory clarity is lacking."

It's not lacking clarity. Privacy-focused age verification is simply not wanted by big tech and politically (because money from big tech) as they wouldn't be able to collect and make money with building profiles of what you do online.

[–] SS2k_2003@lemmy.world 55 points 1 day ago (4 children)

Fascists view sexuality as a threat to their movements.

[–] jaggedrobotpubes@lemmy.world 1 points 38 minutes ago

Also: laughing, knowing things, joy.

[–] gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de 6 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago)

sexuality is the core of human desire, and if you suppress that, you suppress the development of the individual's sense of self-determination. that's why it's so important to the government so suppress sexuality.

there are other reasons, of course. for example, almost everyone nowadays is overworked, and of course that leads to a decline in relationships.

also, people are stronger together. sexuality brings people together. if you can suppress the sexuality of large swaths of people, you can basically hinder the forming of social coherence and community.

[–] SPRUNT@lemmy.world 32 points 1 day ago

Fascists view knowledge as a threat. They use sexuality as another means of segregation.

[–] futatorius@lemm.ee 10 points 1 day ago

They view it as another tool to oppress us. They know it's not a threat to them. The only threat to them is organized resistance.

[–] HeroHelck@lemm.ee 169 points 1 day ago (17 children)

It's a classic tactic, use a somewhat legitimate concern (Minors having access to pornography). And blow it far out of proportion, and use it as an excuse to crackdown on what you're really after. You will see people defending these bans because the "reasoning" they're being presented SEEMS rational, but unwittingly they're supporting a mass crackdown on their own rights.

[–] mox@lemmy.sdf.org 93 points 1 day ago (1 children)

See also: The constant push by governments to take away our right to private (encrypted) communications.

ItS tO prOteCT the CHILDRen's comMUNIcaTIoN.

yeah no for sure and that's why we should all install spyware onto our phones. there's no "switch in the settings" to turn it off. (for a recent example, see the EU commission's newest proposals.)

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[–] natecox@programming.dev 144 points 1 day ago (20 children)

With this method, users take a photo of their face which is then analyzed by AI to estimate their age. Tombs says this involves no analysis of the user’s actual identity, and that all photos are deleted once the check is finished. Hence, neither Yoti nor the porn site ever needs to know who you are.

No. Fuck no. Just… wow.

[–] Railing5132@lemmy.world 2 points 16 hours ago

Just like the tsa deleted all the body scan images after the subject left the scanner.

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[–] adarza@lemmy.ca 58 points 1 day ago (3 children)

While privacy-focused age verification methods exist

verification methods may 'exist', but there are exactly zero which can guarantee security and privacy.

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