A Canadian lobby group is promoting "widespread adoption of age verification"

Overall Concerns About Age Verification Bills

• Thread centers on Canadian proposals (e.g., Bill S‑210) to mandate age verification online, framed publicly as child protection, especially from porn.
• Many see this as a pretext to normalize identity infrastructure that can later be reused for broader control and censorship.
• Some argue a parallel bill (C‑63) is even more concerning in terms of speech and surveillance.

Privacy, Surveillance, and Identity Risks

• Strong fear that any system tied to real IDs or biometrics will:
  • Create high‑value databases vulnerable to leaks and identity theft.
  • Enable tracking of who visits sensitive sites (e.g., porn, political content).
• Several argue that once real‑world identity is tightly coupled to online accounts, accounts become so valuable that users (especially kids) are easy targets for scams and coercion.
• Some see this as a step toward a surveillance state and the erosion of anonymous speech.

Technical Approaches and Limitations

• Proposed solutions include:
  • Zero‑knowledge proofs and cryptographic attestations.
  • Intermediary “trust anchors” that verify age/identity once, then issue reusable tokens or certificates.
  • Browser-level mechanisms like private state tokens.
• Consensus in discussion: truly anonymous age verification is not possible; at least one party must know your identity.
• Debate over whether “privacy but not anonymity” (pseudonymous certificates traceable via trust chains) is an acceptable compromise.
• Concerns that any practical scheme will end up centralized, favor large platforms, and lock out smaller actors and alternative browsers.

Impact on Children and Society

• Broad agreement that kids will try to circumvent restrictions; some see this as a useful way they learn technical skills, others note modern locked-down devices reduce that possibility.
• Disagreement on porn’s harms:
  • One view: adolescent porn exposure is comparable to violent games—little real-world harm, not worth surveillance.
  • Opposing view: porn distorts sexuality, worsens mental health and relationships, and justifies regulation for minors.
• Some argue education and parenting tools are better levers than state-mandated identity systems.

Political and Business Dynamics

• Multiple comments highlight lobbying by business interests aiming to sell verification services, predicting regulatory capture and de facto monopolies.
• Privacy erosion is described as incremental, bipartisan, and driven by structural politics rather than explicit public demand.
• Widespread worry that “child safety” narratives will entrench big tech or government as unavoidable gatekeepers of digital life.