Thank God massive data leaks don’t regularly happen and sensitive personal data is usually handled with great care and responsibility.

This whole article is goddamn infuriating:

“We’re very used to proving our age in lots of different areas of life at the moment, and it makes sense that we do so more assertively when it comes to online activity,” he said.

“I think people actually think it’s pretty weird that you are age checked when you want to buy a can of Monster, but you’re not age checked when you access certain material online.”

No one that is sane thinks that is weird, peter. No one. If anything they think the new age verification is weird.

Chris Sherwood, chief executive of children’s charity the NSPCC, said Friday’s new rules mean services “can no longer evade their duty for protecting children”.

It is NOT THE SERVICE’S DUTY TO PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN. IT’S THE PARENTS’!

Derek Ray-Hill, interim head of the Internet Watch Foundation, meanwhile welcomed the new rules for sites allowing porn but said “there is still more to be done”.

But of course there is. Derek wants to know everything about your kinks when you log in.

Many of the sites which operate age verification services say they do not retain ID, videos or images required for them to carry out age checks for any longer than necessary.

Which can mean six fucking months for all we know.

Anyway, I welcome the age of paper porn and VPNs in The UK.

UK to see record number of VPN new users.

This is ridiculous, every kid in the country will know how to start up a VPN and get around this. In another article some campaigner called Naomi is claiming there’s a big correlation between sexual abusers and viewing violent porn. That’s like saying there’s a big correlation between people who drink water and being thirsty, so water must make people thirsty. Kids start forming their impressions of women when they’re born, they don’t suddenly change from respectful young men into misogynists in the time it takes to have a wank.

She also says that by stopping people from watching porn it’ll eventually lead to porn being eradicated. She’s delusional.

Reminder that this is #12 on Umberto Eco’s list of Ur-fascism warnings. When you let authorities curb expression of things that bother you, you have given them permission to curb any expression they want.

Since both permanent war and heroism are difficult games to play, the Ur-Fascist transfers his will to power to sexual matters. This is the origin of machismo (which implies both disdain for women and intolerance and condemnation of nonstandard sexual habits, from chastity to homosexuality).

Many of the sites which operate age verification services say they do not retain ID, videos or images required for them to carry out age checks for any longer than necessary.

Pinky promise?

How about I just pay for a good VPN that isn’t under your finger and avoid a “oops, somehow these IDs got leaked” crisis.

“But then how are we supposed to know what you’re doing?”

Exactly.

This is just the beginning. Eventually it will be required just to go online at all, mark my words. It’ll take a while to get there, sure, but by the end of this decade I’m adamant that most countries will have implemented some sort of mandatory online ID verification. Nothing you do online will be unmonitored.

Who knew it was going to be so easy to honeytrap all the politicians?

I mean, I guess everyone but, I’d never thought about it.

It would do you all very well to remember that we British are most civilised, unlike those yankee baboons. Most civilised, indeed.