#ageassurance — Public Fediverse posts

The Australian Government has just killed Xbox in Australia...
Let's just ignore the payment info on my account or the fact my account is older than 18...
#Xbox #AgeVerification #AgeAssurance #Australia #gaming

🚀 Oh wow, open-sourcing Zero-Knowledge Proofs for "age assurance" — because that's what the world was missing. 🤔 Who knew the key to #privacy was just a few more buzzwords and a sprinkle of #AI pixie dust from Google Labs? 🧙‍♂️
https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/technology/safety-security/opening-up-zero-knowledge-proof-technology-to-promote-privacy-in-age-assurance/ #OpenSource #AgeAssurance #ZeroKnowledgeProofs #GoogleLabs #HackerNews #ngated

Opening up 'Zero-Knowledge Proof' technology to promote privacy in age assurance

https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/technology/safety-security/opening-up-zero-knowledge-proof-technology-to-promote-privacy-in-age-assurance/

#HackerNews #ZeroKnowledgeProof #privacy #AgeAssurance #techInnovation #Cybersecurity

There are a narrow but valid set of use cases where using age estimation tech makes sense. In its current state of efficacy, it should *only* be used as an indicative signal, and never for a decision. Especially when it can mean life or death.
#AgeAssurance #Identity
https://www.wired.com/story/facial-age-estimate-uk-asylum-seekers/

I need to figure out more ways to work "magical 'nerd harder' thinking" into my conversations.
#AgeAssurance #SocialMediaBans #PeopleNotTech
https://www.techdirt.com/2026/06/16/the-uks-teen-social-media-ban-is-political-theater-not-child-safety-policy/

Linux and open source getting age checking exemptions could be problematic https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2026/05/linux-and-open-source-getting-age-checking-exemptions-could-be-problematic/

#Linux #AgeAssurance #AgeChecking #OpenSource

Age Assurance on the Internet: Identity, Privacy, and the Limits of Verification

https://sphericalcowconsulting.com/2026/04/14/age-assurance/

#HackerNews #AgeAssurance #InternetPrivacy #DigitalIdentity #VerificationLimits #OnlineSafety

I'm currently working on a presentation about age restricting social media as part of my "Critical Computer Science" course. I think this article from @edri sums it up perfectly: "Why age verification misses the mark and puts everyone at risk".

https://edri.org/our-work/why-age-verification-misses-the-mark-and-puts-everyone-at-risk/

#AgeVerification #DigitalRights #SocialMedia #Privacy #AgeAssurance

Many more US states are planning or already have operating system age verification laws https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2026/03/many-more-us-states-are-planning-or-already-have-operating-system-age-verification-laws/

#Linux #Windows #AgeAssurance

"#AgeVerification", aka the "Think of the children!" Rider of the Infocalypse, is already making its way into #Debian.

The amount of compliance in advance is truly breathtaking, with dutiful enablers of #fascism already discussing implementation details.

See e.g. this discussion on the debian-legal mailing list:

https://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2026/03/msg00000.html

#AgeAssurance

Aggiornamento sugli strumenti per sviluppatori per obblighi di verifica età.

Aggiornamenti alla Declared Age Range API ora in beta.

Per USA, Brasile, Australia, Singapore, Utah e Louisiana.

🇺🇸📱

#ageassurance #developers #api

https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=f5zj08ey

Thanks to Pirat_nation and Mr_T for sharing this.

A bill sponsored by State Senator Matt Ball and State Representative Amy Paschal (both Democrats) would require operating systems to provide "Age Attestation".

https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/SB26-051

Firstly, if I understand the bill correctly, the correct term is age-gating:

PROVIDE AN ACCESSIBLE INTERFACE AT ACCOUNT SETUP THAT REQUIRES AN ACCOUNT HOLDER TO INDICATE THE BIRTH DATE OR AGE OF THE USER OF THAT DEVICE FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING AN AGE SIGNAL TO APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE IN A COVERED APPLICATION STORE

Also known as self-declaration, age-gating means requiring users to self-declare their age or birth date before accessing a site.

Or in this case, when setting up an OS-level account.
Age assurance would also be an acceptable term, as it covers all forms of detecting a user's age.

https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/to-read-this--please-upload-photo-id

As I understand it, it requires all operating systems to ask for their user's age when creating a new account. That age can then be accessed by applications on the device, who are required to use it unless they have evidence the user is a different age. Applications are forbidden from sharing this information with a third party for purposes other than age assurance.
Any OS-level account created before 1 January 2028 is required to verify its user's age before 1 July 2028.

Violations may be punished with up to $2,500 in civil fines, unless the violation was intentional, in which case the fine is up to $7,500.

#Colorado #AgeAssurance #AgeGating

Discord, the online communication platform beloved of gamers and chat groups around the world, is experiencing a severe backlash over its rollout of age assurance tech.

https://www.computing.co.uk/news/2026/security/discord-faces-backlash-over-age-verification

#discord #ageverification #ageassurance #privacy #infosec #technews

Starting in March 2026, Discord is rolling out "teen-by-default" safety settings and advanced age assurance systems globally.

More details here: https://ostechnix.com/discord-global-teen-safety-rollout/

#Discord #TeenSafety #AgeAssurance #AgeInference #Socialmedia #AI #Policy

Wow some Lords have created an amendment that would age-gate all online user-to-user services to ban all under 16s. This would include online games like Fortnite or Minecraft, messaging apps, alongside social media. It goes way further than Australia. https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3909/stages/20215/amendments/10027477 #onlinesafety #ageAssurance

I know this is all security theater for now (since proof is not required) but I have a question about age assurance:

What birth date should be entered when it's an account that represents a group or organization?

Is it the person who is creating the account? Or the youngest person in the group? What about when the group changes and a bunch of new folks are running the social media account?

Meanwhile I'm just making up birth dates because I have no idea.

#Bluesky #Mastodon #AgeAssurance

Age Verification, Estimation, Assurance, Oh My! A Guide To The Terminology

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.techdirt.com/2025/11/24/age-verification-estimation-assurance-oh-my-a-guide-to-the-terminology/

pleased to advise that I have completed another rant about the #socialmedia #ageassurance shit in #australia

https://hey.paris/posts/ageassurance/

#auspol

"If you've been following the wave of age-gating laws sweeping across the country and the globe, you've probably noticed that lawmakers, tech companies, and advocates all seem to be using different terms for what sounds like the same thing. Age verification, age assurance, age estimation, age gating—they get thrown around interchangeably, but they technically mean different things. And those differences matter a lot when we're talking about your rights, your privacy, your data, and who gets to access information online.

So let's clear up the confusion. Here's your guide to the terminology that's shaping these laws, and why you should care about the distinctions."

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/10/age-verification-estimation-assurance-oh-my-guide-terminology

#AgeVerification #AgeGating #AgeAssurance #Privacy #Censorship #DigitalRights

I was pleased to chat with The Guardian Australia team who actually looked at the Age Assurance trial data in detail.

They found that racial and other biases that were concerns before the trial are still very evident in the trial's actual data (downplayed in the official top level summaries): https://www.theguardian.com/news/2025/sep/19/how-accurate-are-age-checks-for-australias-under-16s-social-media-ban-what-trial-data-reveals #auspol #ageassurance #socialmediaban

The global #onlinesafety movement, driven by legislation like the #UK’s Online Safety Act and the #US Kids Online Safety Act, is pushing #tech to implement #ageassurance systems. This has led to a surge in #AIpowered #ageverification technology, with companies like #Yoti leading the way. However, concerns about #privacy infringements and #databreaches remain. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/30/global-movement-to-protect-kids-online-fuels-a-wave-of-ai-safety-tech.html?eicker.news #tech #media #news

#Bluesky has #blocked access to its service in #Mississippi due to a new #ageassurance law requiring #ageverification for all users. The company, citing #resourceconstraints and #privacy concerns, believes the law would limit #freespeech and harm smaller platforms. https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/22/bluesky-blocks-service-in-mississippi-over-age-assurance-law/?eicker.news #tech #media #news

🚀🎭 #Bluesky responds to Mississippi's Age Assurance Law by touting their "investments" in #moderation tools—because nothing says "we care" like algorithms pretending to babysit your kids. Meanwhile, they aim to "empower users," assuming those users are old enough to read their endless blog posts without parental guidance. 👶💻
https://bsky.social/about/blog/08-22-2025-mississippi-hb1126 #AgeAssurance #Mississippi #Tools #UserEmpowerment #DigitalSafety #HackerNews #ngated

Our Response to Mississippi's Age Assurance Law

https://bsky.social/about/blog/08-22-2025-mississippi-hb1126

#HackerNews #AgeAssurance #Mississippi #Law #Response #BlogPost #OnlineSafety #SocialMedia

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/08/americans-be-warned-lessons-reddits-chaotic-uk-age-verification-rollout?utm_source=effector

#ageassurance schemes ultimately ask us to do two things: give tech companies more of our private information and give governments more control over what we can see. Do you trust either of them? Try to answer quickly. Once the next #ageverification law is enacted, it may be too late.

The Online Safety Act is technologically naive and ignorant to privacy risks, so people are finding ways around age verification. But...

❌ Teens could be pushed towards riskier things like the dark web, dodgy free VPNs or scams.

✅ Invest in a public information campaign to help people navigate online safety and learn about the privacy risks of age verification.

#OnlineSafetyAct #onlinesafety #OSA #privacy #ageverification #ageassurance #ukpolitics #ukpol #security #cybersecurity

Reddit, Grindr and Bluesky have chosen age verification providers based outside the UK with concerning privacy policies. Go figure.

❌ You can't choose provider
❌ Platforms don't need to pick certified providers
❌ Providers don't need to meet specific privacy or security standards

✅ Regulate the age verification industry now.

#OnlineSafetyAct #onlinesafety #OSA #privacy #ageverification #ageassurance #ukpolitics #ukpol #freedomofexpression #censorship #netplurality