March 21, 2026
Age-gates or power plays?
Do Not Turn Child Protection into Internet Access Control
Readers say it’s not about kids — it’s a power grab
TLDR: Age checks are spreading from websites into apps and even device settings, effectively creating an identity layer for the internet. Commenters are furious, calling it a surveillance power grab dressed as child safety, warning kids will bypass it while everyone else faces more checks, logs, and less privacy.
The article warns that age checks aren’t just for adult sites anymore—they’re sliding into social media, games, and even your device itself, turning the web from open by default to “show your papers” mode. When the piece notes that even Linux’s system tools added a birth date field, the comments exploded. One camp calls it a surveillance layer in kid-proof clothing: “This was always about control,” snaps one top comment. Another points to a playbook: swap failed anti‑porn pushes for “anti‑trafficking” branding to win restrictions, and voilà—mission accomplished.
There wasn’t much of a defense squad in sight. The drama was mostly a pile‑on: readers accused governments and platforms of using “think of the children” as a Trojan horse for identity checks, logging, and friction—especially for people without the right devices or documents. Some joked that next up, Clippy will ask for a birth certificate; others imagined your computer demanding a parent note to open a browser. The article calls it the wrong fix for a social problem—and the crowd agreed, saying kids will VPN around it while everyone else pays in privacy. If this sticks, commenters fear we’re headed for a permission‑only internet with endless pop‑ups and less freedom. Read the article and bring popcorn.
Key Points
- •Age verification is expanding from adult sites to mainstream services (social media, messaging, gaming, search) across Europe, the USA, the UK, and Australia.
- •The article argues age verification functions as a network access control architecture, shifting the internet from open-by-default to permissioned access.
- •US proposals would implement a persistent, OS-level age-status layer exposed to applications, effectively creating a general identity layer for devices.
- •Regulatory pressure is influencing open platforms; systemd reportedly added an optional birthDate field to userdb to enable age-aware behaviors.
- •The article distinguishes content moderation from guardianship, claims centralized age-verification is easily bypassed (e.g., via VPNs) and imposes broad privacy and friction costs.