Think of the children: How to force real ID for all internet traffic (2023)

KYC, liability, and chilling effects

• Several comments link age/ID laws to broader KYC/AML-style regimes that push liability down the stack, incentivizing overblocking, self‑censorship, and “safety” maximalism.
• Proposed counter: make companies fully liable for third‑party ID data leaks (e.g., massive per‑user fines) so that not collecting data becomes the economically rational choice.
• Skepticism: shell companies or undercapitalized entities could dodge real penalties.

Government, legitimacy, and limits of “coding a new state”

• Debate over whether you can “build a new government in code.”
  – Critics argue legitimacy and monopoly on legitimate force are political, not technical.
  – Others counter that enough popular demand plus code can shift power, but concede current evidence shows tech mostly amplifies existing power structures.

Age verification, RTA headers, and parental responsibility

• Strong preference from many for client/device‑side solutions: RTA/adult meta headers plus parental controls on devices and routers, avoiding central PII collection.
• Some advocate bans on internet‑capable devices for minors, likening unsupervised access to handing a child a loaded gun. Others call this unrealistic and hyperbolic.
• Disagreement on whether porn platforms should use KYC; some see it as necessary liability, others as dangerous data hoarding.

“Think of the children” as pretext vs genuine concern

• Many see child‑protection rhetoric as a pretext for mass surveillance, traffic control, or corporate CYA.
• Others emphasize parents are “losing the war” against addictive social platforms and support stronger, even legal, restrictions as collective action.

Real ID, disinformation, and election security

• Some favor real‑ID for major social platforms to reduce foreign disinformation and bot operations.
• Others fear irreversible infrastructure for overreach and note that current manipulation is largely via content/psyops, not fake ballots.

Technical resistance: routers, VPN meshes, radio, and hacking

• Suggested defenses: home routers with MITM filtering, mesh VPNs, underground radio/LoRa/mesh networks, privacy‑preserving identity schemes, and widespread offensive hacking literacy.
• Counterpoint: if such efforts ever meaningfully threaten state power, they’ll be repressed; ultimate defense is political change, not just technical workarounds.

Anonymity, bots, and future of online speech

• Some argue anonymity no longer empowers democracy when bots are cheap and persuasive; others insist on strong encryption and anonymous speech as non‑negotiable.
• Expectation from multiple commenters that anonymity will erode while bot activity remains widespread.

Broader fears about digital IDs and state control

• Concerns extend to digital IDs, digital currency, and environmental/social control agendas, seen as steps toward comprehensive behavioral regulation and loss of autonomy.