Age verification
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Age verification is a form of datamining in which a person's name and date of birth are obtained by software with the stated purpose of verifying that the user is an adult. This is usually promoted under the noble pretext of making sure children don't goon🗝️, but it actually ends up usually just being a method of destroying online anonymity.
History
[edit | edit source]Early on, porn and gambling sites would just ask you if you were 18, but anyone could lie.
In the early 2020s, the United Kingdom, France, and some U.S. states passed laws requiring stricer age verification for access to adult content. While this is ostensibly a good thing in its raw form and was well-received by some anti-gooning advocates, most people knew that this wouldn't stop at porn. (Slippery slope was not a fallacy this time 
In February 2026, Discord announced that they would be implementing age verification in a supposed attempt to """control their notorious grooming problem""" (eve&oe everyphono knows that they just want more user data to sell to Israel). This decision was immediately met with widespread backlash, and the company quickly backtracked (although it is likely that they are just delaying its implementation until everyone forgets about it). As of September 2026, Discord has publicly announced plans to return to implementing age verification.
Most countries have enacted similar laws (except Third World countries and Africa, where only a small portion of the population has Internet access) As a rule, age restrictions and verification apply more to social media than, for example, to pornography and gambling. This is likely intended for government control and the suppression of free speech, or whatever.[1]
Methods
[edit | edit source]Honor system
[edit | edit source]The least intrusive form of age verification, in which the user is merely asked if they are 18. This has never stopped anyone, as minors can just say that they are of age and continue onto the site.
Parental controls
[edit | edit source]Parents apply restrictions to ensure that their children do not access inappropriate content. This is the ideal method, but unfortunately most parents either don't care what their kid does, don't know how to set up filters, or are actively raising their child in a "sex-positive" way.
Legal ID
[edit | edit source]The user presents a legal ID containing their name, image, and date of birth (usually a driver's license) which the site verifies. This compromises the user's identity and essentially makes anonymity impossible.
Credit card
[edit | edit source]The user gives the site their credit card information, since credit card companies almost never issue cards to minors. For obvious reasons, this is incredibly intrusive, and (you) should stay away from any website that requires credit card info for any reason other than making a purchase.
Grandfather clause
[edit | edit source]Accounts that are old enough are automatically assumed to belong to adults, based on the minimum allowed registration age. Unfortunately the rarest type of age verification, despite its unobtrusive nature. This method also only works on VERY old websites meaning it can only be rolled out in limited numbers, contributing to its rarity.[1]
Why It's Bad
[edit | edit source]Obviously, users who present their ID for verification are not anonymous, meaning the site or the CIA can track them. Also, in the event of a data breach, any information given for age verification becomes leaked, effectively doxing all users. sites like der 'cord and Jewtube uses AI detect your account to be underage based on your DM's, messages and other activity. forcing you to give them your ID if they guess incorrectly. this is a reminder to NEVER share sensitive info on any of those sites, since jannies and glowies can and WILL read your DMs
Age Verification on the Soysphere
[edit | edit source]Although users under the age of 18 are banned as of January 2026, no Soysphere sites have suggested any plans to implement age verification. (good)
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