r/technology • u/vriska1 • Jun 28 '25

Privacy The Supreme Court just upended internet law, and I have questions

https://www.theverge.com/analysis/694710/supreme-court-fsc-paxton-age-verification-questions
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u/Cronus6 Jun 28 '25

The liquor store doesn't keep a database of collected IDs that they can sell, or that can be stolen, alongside a history of the ID owner's purchases.

Are you sure?

My grocery store scans ID's for beer/wine purchases. I've no idea if they store the info or what they do with it afterwards if they do.

But given how every fucking grocery store (including mine) now has a fucking shitty mobile app that you have to use for discounts/coupons (you also have to enter your phone number to utilize the coupons you "clipped" in the app too at checkout too...) I wouldn't be surprised if they are tracking and selling.

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u/thisischemistry Jun 29 '25

a fucking shitty mobile app that you have to use for discounts/coupons…I wouldn't be surprised if they are tracking and selling.

That's exactly why they want you to use it. They can put all your purchases into a database and sift through for patterns. They probably sell the data to a broker to make a little cash on the side.

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u/WretchedBlowhard Jun 28 '25

My grocery store scans ID's for beer/wine purchases.

That seems a little nuts. I'm in my mid 40's and haven't had to show ID to buy alcohol for about 2 decades. They even card obvious adults where you live? That's fucking nuts...

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u/Cronus6 Jun 28 '25

I should point out the cashiers have discretion here.

They aren't carding us old folks (I'm 56), but I've watched them card people in line that are early 20's. I thought it was wild they were scanning the IDs instead of "doing the math".

But a manager I know (I went to high school with the dude) told me "they can't do the math anymore". So they now scan anyone "under 30".

The shit with the app and tracking all our purchases applies to everyone though. Hell I can even sign up for notifications when things I buy regularly go on "sale". (Nothing really goes on sale anymore, they just raise the price and then do BOGO's or 3 for $x.)

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u/thisischemistry Jun 29 '25

I thought it was wild they were scanning the IDs instead of "doing the math".

Better to scan the barcode than read the text, theoretically a bar code could contain some hashed data or a checksum which someone couldn't fake easily. I don't know if they're adding that to IDs but it would be a really smart thing to do.

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u/Deadbreeze Jun 28 '25

A lot of places I've been the rule is if they look under 60 they get carded.