<
https://www.techdirt.com/2026/07/20/australias-next-target-in-the-war-on-kids-online-your-vpn/>
"We — and plenty of others — have been warning that the global rush to mandate
age verification wouldn’t stop at “let’s make sure kids can’t see porn” or even
just “keep kids off of social media.” It would inevitably expand into treating
anonymity and privacy tools themselves as the enemy. Australia is now proving
that in real time: Its eSafety regulator has gone from checking whether porn
sites gate their content to treating VPN use — one of the best tools people
have for protecting their privacy online — as a compliance problem to be
stamped out.
Last month the VPN company Mullvad put out a blog post about how age
verification would be the beginning of the end for a free internet. It’s a good
read:
The correct term for age verification as it is implemented today is
therefore identity verification. Given today’s internet infrastructure, it
is unreasonable to assume that this information will not be shared through
commercial agreements or with governments.
The consequence of introducing identity verification is therefore that
freedom of information is restricted (you can no longer visit regulated
websites anonymously) and that you can no longer post anonymously on social
media. You cannot be certain that your criticism of the government will not
be followed up by the authorities. You can no longer start a digital
initiative on a social media platform aimed at gathering people to criticize
an authority without facing a significant risk of consequences. Depending on
the country you live in, this could even endanger your life. In its current
form, social media identity verification removes important tools for
activists in countries where criticizing those in power is dangerous.
Freedom of expression is threatened not only in a direct sense (you post
something and then the police knock on your door), identity verification
also creates a chilling effect. It becomes a cornerstone of censorship
machinery in the sense that people begin to self-censor if they know that
expressing opinions may have personal consequences. This is also something
that changes over time. What is considered acceptable to post online is
determined by whoever currently holds power. Different sides of politics
often have different views on what constitutes harmful content. Just because
what you post today is not considered inappropriate does not mean it will
remain acceptable in the future.
Some can argue that they’re biased since they’re in the business of selling VPN
service, though arguably, more age verification laws increase demand for VPNs.
But, the reality is that as age verification laws spread, so too do the attacks
on VPNs and the ridiculous and dangerous threats to somehow outlaw their
usage."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
