(C) Alec Muffett's DropSafe blog.
Author Name: Alec Muffett
This story was originally published on allecmuffett.com. [1]
License: CC-BY-SA 3.0.[2]


Porn – dropsafe

2023-07

I was delighted to be invited back to the LockAndCode podcast to speak about American lawmakers discovering “Age Verification,” comparing it to similar experiences in the UK:

There are some links in the podcast show notes, but I’ll attach below the extended set of links which I originally built to help David & the team, and which I’ve since augmented.

[*] Previously.

2016 – the initial “modern” AV discussions

A Sequence of Spankingly Bad Ideas (first article in the series, catalogue of variously-terrible AV methods including aggregation and AI analysis of social media profiles)

On the Digital Economy Bill (rewrite & expansion of the above, submitted as evidence to Parliament)

Restricting niche porn sites is a disaster for people with marginalised sexualities – Pandora Blake

“Why you need to stop telling me you can get round a porn block” – Girl on the Net (The nerd culture of “I know how to use a VPN” allows censorship to creep up on us, unchecked…)

PAS1296: Reviewing a draft of a proposed “security standard” for Age Verification (including stored data) and finding it very lacking; long twitter thread, some key points

2018 – the debate continues / “traditional methods”

Adults might have to buy GBP 10 ‘porn passes’ to prove their age online (news report)

Data which “concerns a person’s sex life or sexual orientation” is cited for special treatment in the Data Protection Act

Response to draft Guidance on Age-Verification Arrangements and draft Guidance on Ancillary Service Providers (legislators and purported standards do not appear to care deeply about AV data protection)

Age Verification Enthusiasts: “It’s okay when it’s my kids creating a fake account”

Age Verification: BBFC Data Protection Proposals

2019 – First attempt at appointing a regulator, regulator proposes data protection standards

The BBFC AgeVerification “Certificate Standard” has been published. This is the document which is being proffered to protect the facts & details of YOUR online #Porn viewing. Let’s read it together! (long but fun twitter thread)

Age verification won’t block porn. But it will spell the end of ethical porn – Girl on the Net

2021 – companies start to pitch “AI facial analysis” as somehow being “anonymous”

Notes on “Can facial analysis technology create a child-safe internet?”

(including more on: “Identities are Relationships”)

https://alecmuffett.com/article/14828

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jul/11/proof-of-age-verification-online-facial-analysis-data-protection-act (selectively quotes from the above)

Subsequent Twitter discussion with Yoti staffers

2023 – the USA and Age Verification

Jess Miers’ entire current timeline, but especially this thread:

Minnesota’s Attempt to Copy California’s Constitutionally Defective Age Appropriate Design Code is an Utter Fail | Eric Goldman

Nationwide push to require social media age verification raises questions about privacy, industry standards | CyberScoop

Why Connecticut’s Age Verification Law Could be the Next Target for Constitutional Challenge | by Jess Miers | Chamber of Progress

The Fundamental Problems with Social Media Age Verification Legislation – R Street Institute

Futures: AI Facial Age Estimation

Using AI Filters to make yourself look older:

“One of the funniest sentences in the report is “to mitigate errors in age estimation, users have to identify themselves with a government approved document like a passport or driving license” – i.e., the age estimation is a red herring.” (Official UK Academic analysis of Age Verification and Online Child Protection technologies, the “REPHRAIN Project”)

Corporate Backstory

YouTube: Access age-restricted content & features – Google Account Help (manual redaction of personal info for YouTube Age Verification)

“4 out 5 parents use no content filtering at all on their kids phones!”

Pornhub / Cherie DeVille: Utah / We Need Special Phones For Kids (…and of course the parents who don’t install content filters will somehow instead prevent them from buying burner phones?)

Age Verification, Credit-Card processing, etc, all leading to centralisation of adult content into corporate spaces

Reminder that MindGeek still exist, with 1300+ employees

Sample MindGeek Job: Corporate Security Analyst
[END]

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[2] URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

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