Age Verification Schemes are suddenly popping up around the globe. Unfortunately it probably has nothing to do with protecting any children. It also is very likely that it has nothing to do with online safety, or anything what they say it is for. There, I said it. Since nobody else does... Here are my thoughts about why Age Verification schemes are suddenly implemented everywhere around the world.
It's a concerted effort by whoever controls the countries, some unifying organization, that wants to control the population in some way. Some kind of agreement between all participating countries to keep everyone under their thumb.
Since these systems are unlikely to safeguard much of anything, it's far more likely that it's a way of indexing or locating the population. Logically as a way to track and control you and everyone around you. That's the worst case scenario. Or, similarly, it's a way to link everywhere you are online to your identity. All your social media and whatever account you verified, linked to your person. A sligthly less worse scenario, but terrible all the same.
Or, and this is by far the best outcome, it'll be a lazy but elaborate method to know who corporations can advertise to and manipulate us as adults. Which is slightly better than the other 2 options, but not at all something the world at large should want or toleate either.
It's a way to control the population
If you upload your passport, or any identity document, they'll know you exist, who you are and where you are. How? Through your IP address. Simple as that. Why is that important? Because you're likely to do the verifcation from your home or a place you frequent - Your workplace, school or university, someplace you are comfortable. Everyone focusses on that they do not want to upload a copy of their ID, but really that's the least of your worries.
The government, or the verifcation companies in bed with the authorities can easily promise they'll delete your ID after verification. They don't need to keep it so that's an easy promise to make. The information they get from it and keep around is far more important, which is likely your name, age and location.
Why is this relevant and logical? Because nobody ever talks about incidental data such as IP Addresses, geo locations and what these pieces of information mean to you. Since you upload your verification through the internet on a server they control there is a bunch of other information they 'incidentally' learn about you. This includes things like if you're on a phone or a computer, what language you likely speak or understand. Your location at that time, plus the data you knowingly provide yourself. There is probably more information that I don't even know about included in that process as well.
Everyone focuses on not wanting to share their identification documents, which ultimately is just a file to be deleted, stop caring about that so much. It's the part they do not tell you about that you should worry about. Everyone seems to forget the other data that's being collected. But rest assured, the government didn't forget. So much so that uploading your passport and the promise that they'll delete it is a trivial matter. It's a worthless file that once read and processed has no value to keep around. But the info they get with it is what's important; your name, age and location plus whatever else they get.
What they want with it is anybody's guess. But as with everything in the last 10 to 15 or so years it's probably about controlling you. Taking away your freedoms. Not so much to actually keep you at home, but if they know where you are likely to be at all times, it becomes increasingly easy to control you.
Be it for extracting taxes, where you go or who you meet, to know what you say and why, and to who. Basically to monitor and predict what you do all the time so someone can control you. Either with or without your knowledge of it happening. Simply because if they have your home location it's easy to find you since you always go back to that location.
It's high level censorship and dissident monitoring
Similar to tracking you in the real world as described above, it can also simply be to track you online. I say simply because these technologies exist and have existed for years already. Literally every website you ever visited knew your IP Address. And if someone would care to read the logs they can find your location with it. From these generic logs it's hard to know who you are. But if they know where you browse from... One photo and facial scan and they know it's probably you who made that comment.
Now imagine the comment you made is linked to your ID, they don't even have to figure it out. They already know who you are from step one. If a government types in your name into their searchy-search-spy-system and you pop up on Instagram, because by chance your username matches it that's not too bad. But if your Discord, Microsoft account, Apple ID, Reddit and Google account also show up. That's a bit of a bigger issue. Especially if you have been posting critical things on a few of those.
This is mostly a nuisance for the majority people, because they probably have nothing to hide. But if you do have something to hide, or even if you're blunt with your words, it mean that someone, somewhere knows where you live and what you look like. It also means that you can not have an anonymous shitposting account anymore. And if they see your entire profile, everything you ever did, it indicates if you're just a dumb kid posting crap or that they need to contact your parents. Or if you're not a kid, that you're an adult who might be making a conscious effort to undermine their totalitarian democracy.
Furthermore, if that simple insight determines that you live within their jurisdiction they do not even have to bother with contacting the authorities of whatever country you live in to slap you for them. No, they simply drop by your house all by themselves. And because they know who you are from step one that can happen within hours of you speaking your mind.
It's merely an advertising opportunity
In recent years every government has prevented kids from being targeted with adverts and more and more from algorithms doing their thing. And I think that that is good! Less good, for the corporations, is that many adults now pretend to be children online. This is often done by simply not acknowledging that you're an adult when asked by the website or Google, Facebook or whoever. This then results in that they can't track you or show you ads or use other privacy invasive methods to sell you something.
If they know your name, age (range) and location, they know you're an adult and thus can advertise to you. All the sneaky algorithms and influencing software can be unleashed on you. And the location is relevant because they then can do it in a targeted way that's highly relevant for the advertiser.
Why Age verification is bullshit
Now I could be wrong, maybe I'm overthinking it. But usually the simple answer is the best answer. And to me either of the above 3 use-cases seems simple enough. Especially since no kid is going to be protected in the current parenting climate.
"Daddy, please look here?!" and whoop, the sound of a photo. Daddy thinks it's a photo, and the child can do his thing.
Or, simpler, a family sharing their computer on one account. Mom or dad installs the computer and does the verification. The whole family, including the kids use the machine. How is the kid protected then? It's not!
Or VPNs to go through a country that does not do verification. Or visit that one forum that is not even required to do this verification nonsense. Or their older friend helps them out. Or, or, or...
Try whatever you want, argue for these 'protections' all you can. People always find a way around it.
And if I can come up with all these dumb elementary school-level 'solutions' and workarounds in less than a minute then so can any government with half a braincell.
Something to think about!
Welcome tot the Totalitarian Democracy of the world!