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- Hacker News
- I doubt the purpose is even age verification. They already can know I have a visa card which is credit card that can be only applied by an adult by looking at the BIN. Why they need my id card if the purpose is actually age verification?by mmis1000
- In my opinion, Google makes the UI too complicated and geeky which means parents are less likely to use it. Furthermore, they apply partial solution instead of complete architecture. In the article, the app must actively ask for age which means apps not asking the age, like Telegram still would allow access to inappropriate content.
There should be a single checkbox, "parent mode", which applies government-approved configuration, and the minority who bother, can manually edit it further. Many people are too lazy or not good with computers so the UI should be simple and not what is shown in the screenshots.
There is no need to ask the permission to get age information.
The parent mode should work on "white list" principle:
- only white-listed apps may be installed (list provided by government, parent may edit)
- in those apps ("age-aware apps"), only age-appropriate content is available. In a messenger, only parent- or school-approved contacts may be added.
- the browser refuses to open any web page not having a government-approved signature in HTTP headers (geek minority can add their signatures to the white list). Adult sites are not allowed to have such a signature.
- there should not be multiple age gradations, 3 is enough (adult, teenager, tiny child).
So all parents or store employee should do is to tick the checkbox and set a password or fingerprint for management.
It wouldn't solve the problem completely because there are many irresponsible parents.
by codedokode - This coordinated worldwide effort at the same time is very creepy.by sunaookami
- Well, the API itself seems fairly well designed from a privacy perspective. It only shares age ranges, not specific ages, and only if you allow it. The data is also fuzzed to prevent an app from determining your exact birth date, and it's all tied in to the parental control system.[1]
The problem remains though that, since the laws this feature was created to comply with put the onus on Google to verify the user's age and not on the device owner (e.g. the parents), the method they use to determine the user's age to feed into this API is terrible from both a privacy and freedom perspective: they force you to send them a copy of your government ID, and delete your account if you don't comply.[3]
[1]: https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/17232873
[2]: https://developer.android.com/google/play/age-signals/unders...
by Ajedi32 - Can't we build a gateway in the internet that detects if someone is a influential CEO or something and just bar access to the internet?by xinayder
- I think it's the old that need to be protected more on the Internet since they disproportionately fall prey to online scams. So let's age-gate their access to online services too. If you are old and want to send money to someone, you get age-gating and second-factor authorization from a competent young person. If you want to watch porn online, believe it or not, age-gating and second-factor authorization.
- I find myself stuck on the fence with age checks.
Companies have show that they are incapable or unwilling to address the problems they cause. And market forces are not working to correct things. It’s also pretty obvious that saying “parent should take responsibility” is also not working. Just observe the world around you to know it’s a non starter.
This is where regulation is supposed to come in.
At the same time, companies have shown that they will abuse any personal information that is shared with them and we are now giving them more details about ourselves…
by iamflimflam1 - I'm fundamentally opposed to age verification because it usually leads to mandatory account creation no matter how privacy friendly the age verification process itself may be. It's already extremely annoying that, for example, on YouTube, you can no longer watch many videos without an account. Furthermore, the whole thing also reinforces monopolies. Once you've verified your age on one platform, the barrier to switching to another is even higher than before.
The only acceptable solution would be for apps and websites to simply include a recommended age. Allowing parents to configure their children’s devices to block services that require users to be older than the specified age or that do not provide an age rating. Once this were established, websites targeting all age groups would have a strong incentive to participate. Otherwise, they would suddenly become invisible to a large portion of their underage users.
by RandomGerm4n