EU to launch age-check app, precursor to the digital identity wallet due in 2026

https://www.ft.com/content/6b672468-a085-47dc-b195-daa98d6a591b

by gasull • 1 year ago

7 15 1 year ago

gasull• 1 year ago

Age checks are only for minors. Parents have full control over their children's devices. If they wanted to, this could all be done without any new legislation - the EU makes some easy-to-use filtering software (whitelist, blacklist, time limits, etc.), parents can (if they want to) install it on their children's devices (it could even come preinstalled, with sensible defaults, since we can all agree on what is "harmful content"), and voila - the child is "protected".

That they instead chose to expand surveillance [1] tells me they have ulterior motives.

[1] They claim it'll be privacy-protecting. I'll believe it when I see it.

JPLeRouzic2• 1 year ago

"Parents have full control over their children's devices"

Do you have experience as a parent with teens?

like_any_other6• 1 year ago

Why don't you hold my hand through the scenario? Parent buys phone/table/computer for their child, but retains admin control so the child can't disable the filter. Now what?

Sure, some kids will find a way to get an unlocked device, and use it enough to cause "harm", but they would have probably found a way onto foreign sites that don't comply with EU rules anyway. I don't see why we should assume this digital ID check will prevent "harm" so much better than the alternative I proposed, especially without even trying the alternative first.

redczar4• 1 year ago

Not all parents are responsible. FB, Google, and others have shown no desire to combat mass manipulation or to combat the psychological harm their services can do. It is appropriate for society to force the issue.

like_any_other6• 1 year ago

Then that is those parents right. It's not up to a supra-national entity to step in and decide how their children may be raised. And please don't "well we already forbid child labor and sex abuse, so why not pick which websites they're permitted to access or books to read" motte-and-bailey this.

fuzzfactor• 1 year ago

They claim it'll be privacy-protecting.

It's always possible that a more accure translation into common English would be "not as privacy-compromising as it could be".

EU to launch age-check app, precursor to the digital identity wallet due in 2026

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