Scientists are sounding the alarm: current age verification systems are crappy, unreliable, and dangerous! Over 400 top researchers declare that if implemented without careful consideration, these new regulations might cause more harm than good.
You can read the full open letter at csa-scientist-open-letter.org.
Rushed age checks promise child safety but deliver privacy nightmares and epic failures. Experts from Oxford, Berkeley, and ETH Zurich warn of mass surveillance risks lurking behind facial scans and ID uploads. One major hack already exposed 70,000 Discord users' ID photos. A chilling preview of chaos to come!
These systems crumble under pressure. Gamers tricked Discord's K-id facial scan using Death Stranding's photo mode. Just snap a fake face and you're in! VPNs, fake credentials, and simple lies make "protection" a laughable joke.
Unreliable age estimation demands government IDs everywhere or creepy biometrics from shady firms. This spells discrimination against the poor, elderly, and minorities. Locking them out of the web entirely.
EU's digital wallet dreams of universal trust, but VPNs shred it instantly. Without worldwide enforcement, it's a hacker's paradise waiting to explode.
Here's the terrifying twist. Strict age gates on major sites will force kids straight into the jaws of danger! Big platforms comply and vanish, shoving desperate users toward shadowy, unregulated hellholes packed with scams, malware, and predators. UK probes already exposed dozens of rogue porn sites laughing at the rules. Proof this disaster pushes people from safety into pure peril!
Reddit slammed with £14.47M fine for botched checks. California forces Linux and Windows to verify ages at boot. An absurd overreach doomed to fail.
No ID? No internet. Addiction forums vanish for those who need them most. True harm hidden in plain sight.
Worst of all: authoritarians could weaponize this to censor LGBTQ+ content, activism, or dissent. A digital iron curtain on every screen!
From KU Leuven to UC Berkeley, the world's brightest minds demand a total halt. Age verification isn't saving kids. It's endangering us all. Act before it's too late!