Take this whole age verification software push. On the surface, it’s supposed to stop kids from seeing ‘inappropriate’ content. That sounds harmless enough, except:
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You can’t just verify once—time after time, you’re asked to prove your age.
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That means your online activity is tracked, categorised, and stored by the government.
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The list of “undesirable” websites is controlled by someone with power—and who’s to say that won’t expand to include political content, forums, news sites?
This isn’t just theory. This is happening now. We’ve seen it in the UK, and now our federal government in Australia is sprinting to follow suit.
I watched—and I suggest you watch—the YouTube video “The Truth About Those Age Verification Pop-Ups”. It lays it all out: what starts as “keeping kids safe” becomes “keeping tabs on adults.” Who gets to decide what’s “safe”? What “undesirable” websites even get banned next?
Let’s cut the crap:
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Privacy isn’t negotiable. If your browsing has to be verified—repeatedly—then an intimate profile is being built. That’s not protection; that’s surveillance.
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Censorship is never neutral. Today’s “undesirable” sites might be tomorrow’s whistleblower platforms—especially if they challenge the powers that be.
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Adults should decide for themselves. I don’t need a digital bouncer validating every website I visit. If someone’s hiding behind protecting the kids, ask them whose rights they’re compromising next.
We’ve got the leadership of our Western democracies flirting with digital censorship in the name of safety. It’s a slippery slope. And the most vulnerable victims won’t be kids—but anyone who values a private, uncensored life online.
Sorry to sound like a broken record, but this isn’t progress. It’s control. And we’re walking right into it.
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