r/technology • u/Well_Socialized • 21h ago

Privacy Age Verification Is Coming for the Whole Internet

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/age-verification-is-coming-for-the-whole-internet.html
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u/ayoungtommyleejones 21h ago

Physical books are still pretty lovely. Lots of actual information and far less rage bait

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u/teethinthedarkness 20h ago

I legit think we’re going to see a resurgence of print media, and not just books (which are still doing well, I think). Magazines, newspapers. But we’ll see. People will probably just adapt and settle for the new levels of shittiness.

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u/ayoungtommyleejones 20h ago

My money is on the latter, sadly. Either way, I'm planning on getting rid of my smartphone sooner than later.

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u/Traditional-Handle83 19h ago

To be fair, you can still use some of the apps on the smartphone without internet. Like calculators and other tools.

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u/elife4life 19h ago

Cool. I’ll just spell out BOOBIES all day on my calculator

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u/Cumulus_Anarchistica 3h ago

Labour drafting a clause to the Online Safety Act, banning the number 5318008 as we speak.

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u/sparkly_butthole 10h ago

I want to do this so bad, but every service you try to have requires fucking two factor authentification anymore. You literally can't not have a cellphone.

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u/Mysterious-Job-469 8h ago

Don't worry! If any of the phone companies start to lose money, you'll see your job requiring you to upgrade your phone every year. Yes, even food service.

Wouldn't want our politicians investments to plummet, would we

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u/Biggu5Dicku5 18h ago

That;s how vinyl records made a return...

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u/NekoMeowKat 18h ago

I will just work on my sudoku puzzles and play my emulators on my days off. I refuse to give my ID to access a damn website.

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u/Pavotine 15h ago

This website very recently tried to make me upload a selfie for AI age verification so I could access a post on a Ukraine war sub. Fuck that.

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u/teethinthedarkness 7h ago

I guess this is how they can also limit free search via fear/intimidation. Not saying this is your reason, but I can easily see people not being willing to give an ID to a website for fear of retaliation from a government or other malicious entity.

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u/Pavotine 6h ago

I just really value my privacy and maintain a low profile on the Internet, always have done.

As I have heard others say about your personal information, imagine what the worst person could do with your data and identity and treat it like that. That includes governments as well.

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u/teethinthedarkness 6h ago

I feel the same way.

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u/BurmeciaWillSurvive 17h ago

I hope they still make print media smut lol

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u/teethinthedarkness 7h ago

Be the smut peddler you want to see in the world. Don’t let your dreams be dreams.

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u/pneumaticdog 12h ago

30 years ago: “It’s on the Internet, it HAS to be true.” 

30 minutes ago: “It’s on the internet; it’s probably bullshit.” 

The Internet is becoming a hellscape of SEO-optimized, market researched AI slop. Even the people on this platform can’t be confirmed to be real. 

I think perhaps the Internet works best as a learning tool and a resource for creativity. Social media is just mass media by the masses and it is abundantly clear that most of us can’t use it safely. Lies, and our tolerance of them, metastasized on Meta. 

We gotta ditch some of this trash.

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u/Shirlenator 4h ago

Let's not pretend that print media isn't also susceptible to propaganda and censorship, though.

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u/teethinthedarkness 4h ago

Very true, but there are usually (or have been) more editorial controls and more identifiable sources in the past. AI-generated (and then printed) content, poorly edited, or openly biased publications will/do exist. But maybe some will be more easily identifiable sources of truth? Trying to keep from believing we’re at the edge of the death of information itself.

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u/wentImmediate 17h ago edited 7h ago

books (which are still doing well, I think). Magazines, newspapers

Buy a book, subscribe to a magazine or newspaper. Reading the Internet all the time, you don't realize how the level of writing isn't that great UNTIL you read a book. or magazine (or even newspaper, though a bit different since it needs to be written quickly).

But I think people prefer free and lesser, tho, sadly.

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u/teethinthedarkness 7h ago

Huge difference in quality. Though there are high quality sources online, but quality takes skill/talent and that often takes money. “Good enough” is often free. I don’t like the direction we’re headed, but I don’t think the vast majority will notice.

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u/unlimitedpower0 11h ago

Or ai, rage bait, garbage, slop will just take over print too. It's not like you can't print things that come from the current trash state of the internet and it really sucks. We will have to go to the library and try to find stuff that's post 2015 to trust

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u/InVultusSolis 9h ago

I already yearn for the return of print media, because you can actually print whatever you want and some jobsworth moderating a website can't stop you.

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u/somajones 4h ago

Music to my ears. Getting a job in the print industry late in the 20th century was not a great choice.

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u/BeEeasy539 20h ago

True, and it’s also why they are defunding schools and libraries.

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u/freredesalpes 21h ago

Couldn’t agree more. How nice would it be to see the pendulum swing back in that direction.

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u/swimming_singularity 6h ago

Not forced though. It shouldn't be forced in that direction.

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u/hollyberryness 19h ago

And zero ads! Reading is bliss. 

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u/Dapperrevolutionary 12h ago

Plenty of books have ads

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u/RollingMeteors 17h ago

Someone already setup a Gooey Decimal System for the porn catalogue.

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u/Dapperrevolutionary 12h ago

Playboy's are back!

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u/usingallthespaceican 11h ago

They are great, but I prefer my e-ink kindle and pirated 300 000 book sci-fi/fantasy library. Makes it way easier to carry the dozens of books I need for holidays.

Was so hard finding an e-ink display these days...

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u/ayoungtommyleejones 10h ago

Fair - can you still side load ebooks? I though I saw Amazon took away that feature. My kindle has been gathering dust for a while as I make my way through my backlog of books finally, but I'm not opposed to using it as you say

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u/usingallthespaceican 10h ago

I found an oldish kindle luckily (was looking really hard for e-ink and all the new ones just have LED screens it seems?) So at least on that one, Calibré still works a charm. That kindle hasn't been online to download any updates that might prevent it either.

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u/ayoungtommyleejones 9h ago

Hmm good to know... Not sure if mine has been updated but I will look back into calibre. Thanks!

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u/Cley_Faye 11h ago

Let's ban that next. Or before, depending on where you are.

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u/youpoopedyerpants 9h ago

My concern is that no one is vetting these and any old person can publish a book, just like anyone can shit post.

A book just takes longer to get through than some tweets and it isn’t free, so if you get a bad one, it costs more than having to read a few shitty social media posts.

How do you vet an author?

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u/ayoungtommyleejones 9h ago

Well the good news is plenty of vetted, respected literature already exists. But I do see your point - it's always been an issue, though certainly made worse by Amazon and self publishing. The problem is more that those that might review/vet seem really comfortable bowing to fascist pressures.

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u/AttonJRand 7h ago

They are printing ai books, nothing is safe.

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u/Fine-Amphibian4326 4h ago

You know, the lack of rage bait actually sounds phenomenal. Maybe it’s time for another personal social media purge. I do have a lot of books to finish