Comment by tyre
5 days ago
They could require government ID to sign up and an adult sponsor to certify accounts for kids. Plus a limit on how many accounts an adult can sponsor.
It would be a mess, but solve the problem. It’s not that we don’t have the technology, we just don’t want to because the friction would decimate user numbers and engagement; it would be much simpler to regulate (e.g. usage limits on minors); and minors are less monetizable, which would lead to lower CPM on ads.
Then there’s the legal liability if you know someone is a minor and they’re sending nudes, for example. And the privacy concerns of tying that back to de-anonymized individuals.
But obviously I wouldn’t believe that social media companies care about user privacy on behalf of people.
>They could require government ID to sign up and an adult sponsor to certify accounts for kids. Plus a limit on how many accounts an adult can sponsor.
Requiring all online account creation to go through some government vouching system sounds far worse for privacy than OS doing age verification.
OS-based age verification would also have to use a government ID. There is no alternatives to a government ID for such verification.
>OS-based age verification would also have to use a government ID.
Source? Another commenter claims the opposite: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47416653
1 reply →
You're wrong. These laws aren't very long. You should read them instead of just passing around incorrect assumptions.
The points: 1. No new law is required, FB could do this voluntarily. 2. Meta has a vested interest in a low-friction solution that maintains engagement.
> They could require government ID to sign up and an adult sponsor to certify accounts for kids.
Even if they used an open source zero knowledge proof, HN will still immediately dismiss it as an attempt to steal your data. The proposal here and the similar bill that passed in California doesn't require any validation that you enter you age correctly.
I think the public in general woul be happier with the office on the moon idea than compulsory Government ID requirements to use services.
It's only required for services that require it. The states are also regulating which services those are.
All you have to to to become a member of tautology club is to join tautology club.