Pluralistic: There's no such thing as "age verification" (19 May 2026)
Cory Doctorow argues that "age verification" online does not truly exist and only amounts to attributing all internet traffic to identified persons, creating massive privacy and security risks. He warns that such policies are easily bypassed by kids using VPNs, leading lawmakers to then propose bans on VPNs—a predictable escalation he says experts warned about from the start.