Tag: age verification
New Mexico Judge Appoints Himself Meta’s New Product Manager
Earlier this year, following the initial verdict in the state of New Mexico's case against Meta (arguing that Meta caused harm to children by doing things like encrypting messages), we noted that even if you believe that Meta is a terrible company (as I do), that Mark Zuckerberg cannot be trusted (ditto), and that the...
Why Are Gay Bars Building Databases Of Their Patrons?
Recent reports have raised alarm about the use of PatronScan, an ID-checking and face-scanning system, at multiple LGBTQ+ bars in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood. Much of the attention has focused on reports that the system photographs patrons as they enter venues and questions about whether those images are used for facial recognition. A broader privacy...
The SCREEN Act Threatens Privacy Far Beyond Adult Websites
The Senate Commerce Committee is set to consider S. 737, the SCREEN Act, a sweeping age-verification bill that would require online services to verify users’ ages before they can access any sexually explicit content. If this bill passes, it will force millions of adult internet users to give up their anonymity, privacy, and security before...
The UK’s New Under-16 Social Media Ban Will Cause More Harm Than It Prevents
Recently, politicians in the UK pushed forward with plans to eviscerate privacy and free speech on the internet by announcing a ban on social media for users under 16 that is set to take effect in Spring 2027. The UK government continues to falsely characterize this policy as a necessary response to growing concerns about...
Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 06-18-26
I missed Pook-Emu Bee links yesterday and am late today, but we can hardly let a backlog grow... so let us link today. [caption id="attachment_6010" align="aligncenter" width="975"] A black Cybertruck seen parked in Brooklyn Heights. I took this photo on June 18, 2026.[/caption] 1. Peeved NYC students, teachers, parents beg mayor to cancel school for...
Age verification, verifiable credentials, and the privacy tension rising from the debate
I left a job in March 2025 after years of engineering and researching privacy and identity at the forefront of the KYC industry, more specifically with biometrics and liveness identification. KYC is the infrastructure built to verify who someone is before granting them access to a transaction. That same year, I was invited by the Ministry of Justice (by the secretary of Digital Rights, Dr. Lilian Cintra), to join the technical committee contributing to what would become Decree 12.880, which regu...
Age Verification is spreading across the internet and not everyone is happy about it
A quick look at why governments want it, why AI made things more tense, and why companies should think carefully before adding it