🇪🇺 European Citizen's Initiative against ID age verification online
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@Frisk I said that it was against
️ID
️ age verification. Having a privacy friendly solution that doesn't require you to send your ID or reveal your identity is already better.From their page :
"The legislation should require anonymous or pseudonymous proof-of-age, data minimisation, selective disclosure, open-source implementation, independent security audits, prohibition of cross-service tracking by relying parties, and equivalent alternatives for citizens who do not use a digital wallet."
That's already way better than "Send your ID and face to persona". It's not perfect but it's moving in the right direction!
@helloyanis Except there is no privacy friendly solution to age verification. Not even with so called "Zero-Knowledge Proofs" (https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/08/zkps-arent-age-verification-silver-bullets).
The problem with Age Verification laws is that those mechanisms are being introduced as means to control the kind of content that we can access. I'd expect this to be especially important for us - furries and LGBT creatures on the Internet, often marginalized and excluded, often thanks to sexual aspects of the identity.
This is why I believe this initiative is ultimately harmful, it gives a signal that citizens are okey with age verification at all as long as it's "private". But those laws are harmful not only because they cannot be private and secure, but because they cut our voices and further marginalize our communities.
(I also recommend giving https://www.nicfab.eu/en/posts/eci-digital-id-age-verification/ a read, while I have different viewpoint from the author, they covered the initiative pretty well I think)
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European Citizen's Initiative against ID age verification onlineJust yesterday, Stop Killing the Internet, from the people at @StopKillingGames, launched an ECI against ID age verification! This is great but it needs 1 million signatures !
So, if you are a citizen of #eu , please sign it! If you don't, or even if you do, still share it around so more people know about it and can sign it!
https://eci.ec.europa.eu/066/public/#/screen/home
Reaching the signature threshold will not mean that ID age verification will immediately become illegal, but the subject will be brought to the @EUCommission and they'll have to do SOMETHING about it. This is already a huge step in the right direction!
Please boost and share this post to spread the word! Thank you!@helloyanis the website is not accessable for me. Duckduckgo stops it and even if i tell it "its alright, lemme through" it shows a black page
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@helloyanis Except there is no privacy friendly solution to age verification. Not even with so called "Zero-Knowledge Proofs" (https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/08/zkps-arent-age-verification-silver-bullets).
The problem with Age Verification laws is that those mechanisms are being introduced as means to control the kind of content that we can access. I'd expect this to be especially important for us - furries and LGBT creatures on the Internet, often marginalized and excluded, often thanks to sexual aspects of the identity.
This is why I believe this initiative is ultimately harmful, it gives a signal that citizens are okey with age verification at all as long as it's "private". But those laws are harmful not only because they cannot be private and secure, but because they cut our voices and further marginalize our communities.
(I also recommend giving https://www.nicfab.eu/en/posts/eci-digital-id-age-verification/ a read, while I have different viewpoint from the author, they covered the initiative pretty well I think)
@Frisk After reading the annex, I see
"Citizens must not be required to identify themselves to access lawful online content or services unless strictly necessary, proportionate, and provided by law"I think, in that case, that means no ID age verification unless it's for like doing taxes and stuff where your ID is needed, and otherwise no verification, and the verification for these must be open source, decentralized etc?
For example with social media bans, facebook doesn't NEED your id for you to open an account so that would be against the law?
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@helloyanis the website is not accessable for me. Duckduckgo stops it and even if i tell it "its alright, lemme through" it shows a black page
@Korawolfsrain I have no idea, it works for me. Try a different network or browser maybe?
(What kind of network provider blocks the ECI website??)
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@Korawolfsrain I have no idea, it works for me. Try a different network or browser maybe?
(What kind of network provider blocks the ECI website??)
@helloyanis i only tried it on m, phone and i'm not versed enough in IT to know if its the link, the browser or my phone
It says "warning: this website may be unsafe" and "the cerificate is invalid"
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@helloyanis i only tried it on m, phone and i'm not versed enough in IT to know if its the link, the browser or my phone
It says "warning: this website may be unsafe" and "the cerificate is invalid"
@helloyanis crome lets me through after i copied the link now and claims the website is safe
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@helloyanis crome lets me through after i copied the link now and claims the website is safe
@Korawolfsrain This is strange! Well, at least it works now, right?
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@Korawolfsrain This is strange! Well, at least it works now, right?
@helloyanis looks like it, yes
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@helloyanis looks like it, yes
@Korawolfsrain Awesome :3
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@helloyanis @StopKillingGames @EUCommission @privacy I'll say what I said under many other posts. The initiative is NOT against age verification mechanism on the Internet. It only claims to be in the slogan, the annex gives EU government pat on the back on their existing work towards EU ID wallet based verification. In all actuality it might actually do more harm than good.
They want the age verification to be anonymous, no? No personal data other than “yes, I’m 18+”. Or did.I miss something?
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@Frisk After reading the annex, I see
"Citizens must not be required to identify themselves to access lawful online content or services unless strictly necessary, proportionate, and provided by law"I think, in that case, that means no ID age verification unless it's for like doing taxes and stuff where your ID is needed, and otherwise no verification, and the verification for these must be open source, decentralized etc?
For example with social media bans, facebook doesn't NEED your id for you to open an account so that would be against the law?
@helloyanis That's what I thought when I first read it as well. But then politicians *supposedly* believe that age verification laws are proportionate to protect children. They establish law for purpose of protecting children and they believe this is a necessary step towards safety of children.
I think the only side that can actually step in and have different take on question whether age verification laws are proportionate is the EU Court, similarly to how French Constitutional council rejected social media ban for children. But this can take time.
And how "voluntary" ID Wallet could be within framework of this initiative is explained by section on article I've linked "The law may qualify a tool as voluntary, but voluntariness risks being merely formal when the main services accept a single infrastructure, when the alternatives are less accessible, slower or more costly, when not using the Wallet produces practical disadvantages, or when the user is effectively forced to choose between identifying themselves and giving up the service — possibly even in contexts where age assurance is neither necessary nor proportionate.".
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European Citizen's Initiative against ID age verification online
Just yesterday, Stop Killing the Internet, from the people at @StopKillingGames, launched an ECI against ID age verification! This is great but it needs 1 million signatures !
So, if you are a citizen of #eu , please sign it! If you don't, or even if you do, still share it around so more people know about it and can sign it!
https://eci.ec.europa.eu/066/public/#/screen/home
Reaching the signature threshold will not mean that ID age verification will immediately become illegal, but the subject will be brought to the @EUCommission and they'll have to do SOMETHING about it. This is already a huge step in the right direction!
Please boost and share this post to spread the word! Thank you!@helloyanis@furries.club not to crap on this initiative (i think its good) but i find it kinda ironic that you have to verify your id to sign a petition to ban id verification
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@helloyanis@furries.club not to crap on this initiative (i think its good) but i find it kinda ironic that you have to verify your id to sign a petition to ban id verification
@atom@mk.absturztau.be @helloyanis@furries.club no you don’t?
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@atom@mk.absturztau.be @helloyanis@furries.club no you don’t?
@sam@shonk.sam.ax @helloyanis@furries.club nevermind then
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@sam@shonk.sam.ax @helloyanis@furries.club nevermind then
@atom @sam You do need to fill in your personal info so they can check for duplicates and if they have 1 million unique signatures, that's how the EU system works sadly. At one point I think you could also send them a letter for that, IDK if that's possible still.
But they don't scan your face or ID.
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European Citizen's Initiative against ID age verification online
Just yesterday, Stop Killing the Internet, from the people at @StopKillingGames, launched an ECI against ID age verification! This is great but it needs 1 million signatures !
So, if you are a citizen of #eu , please sign it! If you don't, or even if you do, still share it around so more people know about it and can sign it!
https://eci.ec.europa.eu/066/public/#/screen/home
Reaching the signature threshold will not mean that ID age verification will immediately become illegal, but the subject will be brought to the @EUCommission and they'll have to do SOMETHING about it. This is already a huge step in the right direction!
Please boost and share this post to spread the word! Thank you!@helloyanis A bit of a nitpick, but it's for EU _citizens_. You cannot sign it if you live in the EU long-term but otherwise are a third-country national.
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@helloyanis A bit of a nitpick, but it's for EU _citizens_. You cannot sign it if you live in the EU long-term but otherwise are a third-country national.
@fothsid Yeah sadly that's how the system works. But at least you can share it to people you know who might be EU citizens! Just like I'm doing with this post!
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They want the age verification to be anonymous, no? No personal data other than “yes, I’m 18+”. Or did.I miss something?
@illi I do not know who is "they" in your message, but "unlinkability" is a design idea behind Zero Knowledge prrofs. A website communicates with an application, which communicates with government (actual implementation might differ) to ask for cryptographic proof of your trait (such as age).
Government verifies, sends back data to the application which then forwards only signed information about your trait to the website.
The devil is in the details however, as EDRI's Policy Advisor explains (https://youtu.be/euSkCvhzweQ?t=4964). Anonymity is not guaranteed by the European Wallet solution.
This is not to say ZKP's are not a huge improvement in terms of privacy compared to what is being asked from residents of USA or Australia. They are.
I still argue in this discussion however, that even if well designed privacy solution existed, we cannot compromise on it, as the drawbacks of this entire idea are harmful to culture, safety and freedom of all (including children), and this is the real issue with Age Verification laws around the world.
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European Citizen's Initiative against ID age verification online
Just yesterday, Stop Killing the Internet, from the people at @StopKillingGames, launched an ECI against ID age verification! This is great but it needs 1 million signatures !
So, if you are a citizen of #eu , please sign it! If you don't, or even if you do, still share it around so more people know about it and can sign it!
https://eci.ec.europa.eu/066/public/#/screen/home
Reaching the signature threshold will not mean that ID age verification will immediately become illegal, but the subject will be brought to the @EUCommission and they'll have to do SOMETHING about it. This is already a huge step in the right direction!
Please boost and share this post to spread the word! Thank you!Sadly, I want to sign a “No verification whatsoever, fuck off with your shit, you don’t fool me” not a “p-p-p-please atleast pretend to make it less distopian”
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European Citizen's Initiative against ID age verification online
Just yesterday, Stop Killing the Internet, from the people at @StopKillingGames, launched an ECI against ID age verification! This is great but it needs 1 million signatures !
So, if you are a citizen of #eu , please sign it! If you don't, or even if you do, still share it around so more people know about it and can sign it!
https://eci.ec.europa.eu/066/public/#/screen/home
Reaching the signature threshold will not mean that ID age verification will immediately become illegal, but the subject will be brought to the @EUCommission and they'll have to do SOMETHING about it. This is already a huge step in the right direction!
Please boost and share this post to spread the word! Thank you!@helloyanis @StopKillingGames @EUCommission @privacy
Looks like if you're a resident in Europe, but not naturalised, you're shit out of luck.
