In defense of age signals in Linux

Using age signals is a great idea that is infinitely more privacy-friendly than any other alternative. You, an adult, buy a device, you, an adult, set up the accounts, those accounts send appropriate signals allowing or disallowing adult content, there's no need to "verify" anything, privacy is absolute.

"Age verification" as mandated by the Brazilian government or by Apple in the UK is just another name for ID verification. It's only marginally more privacy-friendly than verifying your ID on every website as long as you trust your OS not to disclose your identity.

Age signals are something we should defend. "Age verification" is a vague promise to make us comply. They're not remotely similar. You often see the terms used interchangeably because bad actors like Facebook are spending millions of dollars trying to force a digital ID to actually identify every user online. If proper, anonymous age signals were adopted, their plan would be undermined. That's why they spread messaging across the internet trying to convince everyone that they're the same thing.

It may sound counter-intuitive, but even highly negative posts benefit them. If pro-privacy people rejected "age verification" but embraced age signals, they'd have a problem. If they convince everyone that "age verification" and age signals are one and the same, it doesn't matter if pro-privacy people oppose it, because there won't be an alternative, so it'll still be easier for them to push actual ID verification.

I strongly oppose age verification. But I strongly disagree with those who claim age verification and age signals are the same.

So what's the difference between age signals and parental controls? Essentially, it's just how they’re presented to the user. I support those who argue that parental controls are sufficient, but I still think age signals are a better solution at this point because they are more deliberate.

Let me explain. Parental controls often aren’t effective because many people don’t use them. A typical parent buys a phone for their child but doesn’t set up parental controls, and then blames others when their child spends time viewing inappropriate content. If that same parent is required to specify whether an account is for themselves or for their child, the responsibility becomes much clearer. They can’t simply claim they forgot to enable parental controls; they are directly accountable.

Among the possible alternatives, requiring users to declare whether accounts are for adults or children seems like a relatively non-intrusive way to encourage parents to take responsibility for their role.

Thoughts?