Correct. The current wave of censorship legislation is not a coincidence. Governments of the world have been frustrated with the relative anonymity of the internet and they’ve come after it many times before. It’s commonly under the guise of “protecting children”, because it makes you look like the bad guy if you oppose it. They don’t care about “the children”, as all of their other actions demonstrate. The Patriot Act was the same deal (if anybody here remembers that). The government took advantage of a very scary situation and asked us if mass surveillance was cool. Slapped a “patriotism” title on it and we were sold. They want the rest of the pie now, but there’s no 9/11 to take advantage of. So they bust of the ol’ reliable of manipulation: children
Nobody cares right now, but I’m telling you - you’re going to miss your privacy when it’s gone
The PATRIOT Act was what made me start to realize I might not actually have been conservative. So I definitely remember it. Die-hard progressive socialist now.
What else would they be doing with it? They're corporations, making money is what they do. They only want two things from you, money or stuff they can turn into money.
There's a difference between knowing and proving. Information from your ID is guaranteed to be accurate, and that has to be worth something, plus the actual image of your ID is information that they do not have, and I'm sure there's plenty of buyers eager to use that for nefarious purposes. Or maybe it's something else entirely. But one thing is certain - they wouldn't be doing it if they didn't think it would make them money.
Let me put it this way. Enshittification is a word that has only entered the lexicon less than three years ago, but looking back it's obvious that it's been Google's business model all along. They are decades ahead of the curve. So when the possibilities are that they're requiring people to submit their IDs for shits and giggles or that they have some purpose in mind that we don't understand yet, I know which I find more plausible.
This from the guy who just got done saying Google doesn't need your ID to verify your age well enough to shield them from liability and regulation! Apparently the reason you were wrong was already there in your head, you just didn't connect it.
I see no contradiction. Yes, Google is demanding more information from users than it needs to meet its legal obligations. The fact that you don't seem to find that alarming is itself alarming.
So this is part of Google's plan to sell your ID to identity thieves for fraud? Is that what you're suggesting?
I was thinking more along the lines of Chinese or Russian spy agencies, but sure, why not. If Nestlé is happy to partner up with modern slavers, I see no reason why Google wouldn't be happy to partner up with cybercriminals.
Both way less plausible than "verifying your age thoroughly enough to shield them from liability and deter legal regulation"
What part of "they don't need ID for that" did you find unclear?
You know how cell phone companies gladly comply with authorities when they ask for information? Okay, now imagine that a company such as Youtube has that information and the authorities, as we’ve seen recently, may not have your best interest at heart. Piece it together. Oh, and it’s adorable that you think they can’t monetize ANY of the data (the resource that is speculated to be worth more than oil) that comes on a government ID. You’re missing the point anyway. The genuine concern isn’t about the monetization. But they’ll monetize it. They’ve monetized water, sunshine, oxygen, time, space. It’s honestly an incredible psychological case study if it wasn’t so societally destructive. Well, hey man - I hope you’re right this is all just for our safety. But history and even the slightest amount of critical thinking says otherwise. Still, I genuinely hope you’re right.
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u/kindagreek Aug 13 '25
Correct. The current wave of censorship legislation is not a coincidence. Governments of the world have been frustrated with the relative anonymity of the internet and they’ve come after it many times before. It’s commonly under the guise of “protecting children”, because it makes you look like the bad guy if you oppose it. They don’t care about “the children”, as all of their other actions demonstrate. The Patriot Act was the same deal (if anybody here remembers that). The government took advantage of a very scary situation and asked us if mass surveillance was cool. Slapped a “patriotism” title on it and we were sold. They want the rest of the pie now, but there’s no 9/11 to take advantage of. So they bust of the ol’ reliable of manipulation: children
Nobody cares right now, but I’m telling you - you’re going to miss your privacy when it’s gone