Do Not Turn Child Protection into Internet Access Control
Age verification is no longer a narrow mechanism for a few adult websites. Across Europe, the USA, the UK, Australia, and elsewhere, it is expanding into social media, messaging, gaming, search, and other mainstream services.The real question is no longer whether age checks will spread. It is what kind of internet they are turning into.The common framing says these systems exist to protect children. That concern is real. Children are exposed to harmful content, manipulative recommendation systems, predatory behavior, and compulsive platform design. Even adults are manipulated, quite succesfully, with techniques that can influence national elections.Democracy at risk: media warfare and the role of technology in modern elections – Friends of EuropeThe think tank for a more inclusive…
