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Internet censorship is expanding in the U.S. through state laws that compel network providers to solve complex identity and age-verification problems. This misuses the network's role, as an IP address isn't an ID, leading to broad, inaccurate blocking and a dangerous precedent for domestic censorship.
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The problem with AI-generated non-consensual imagery is the act of its creation, regardless of the creator's age. Applying age verification as a fix misses the core issue and wrongly shifts focus from the platform's fundamental responsibility to the user's identity.
Journalist Taylor Lorenz argues the bipartisan push to protect children online is a "moral panic" co-opted from far-right origins. These laws, she claims, lead to mass ID verification, censorship of LGBTQ+ and journalistic content, and mimic surveillance tactics used in authoritarian states.
When direct censorship is unconstitutional, governments pressure intermediaries like tech companies, banks, or funded NGOs to suppress speech. These risk-averse middlemen comply to stay in the government's good graces, effectively doing the state's dirty work.
A dangerous form of government overreach is censoring "malinformation"—information that is factually true but is deemed harmful to a public policy objective, such as vaccine compliance. This practice prevents open discourse and society's ability to discover the actual truth, creating a path toward tyranny.
Instead of outright banning topics, platforms create subtle friction—warnings, errors, and inconsistencies. This discourages users from pursuing sensitive topics, achieving suppression without the backlash of explicit censorship.
The push for age verification on platforms like Meta, aimed at protecting minors, forces all users to prove their age. This creates a significant trade-off, potentially eliminating online anonymity for everyone as an unintended consequence of child safety measures.
The problem isn't anonymous speech, but that a few tech giants control the information landscape, making them targets for authoritarian influence. The structural solution is promoting a decentralized, federated social media ecosystem to diffuse control.
Australia's social media ban for minors highlights the failure of enforcement technology. AI-based age assurance is not accurate enough to distinguish between similar ages (e.g., 15 vs. 16). Meanwhile, more accurate ID-based systems face resistance from platforms concerned about the privacy and security risks of storing personal government IDs.
The UK's ban on social media for under-16s, requiring system-level ID checks, is framed as child protection. However, the real goal is often to eliminate online anonymity and monitor adult speech, extending government control.
Social media companies often claim it's technically difficult to remove underage users. However, when Australia passed a law requiring it, platforms immediately deactivated 5 million teen accounts, proving the capability exists but is deliberately withheld in unregulated markets like the U.S.
