sites will have to verify the age of visitors, either by asking for government-issued documents or using biometric data, such as face scans, to estimate their age
Yeah, most sites are just going to block UK users. Dealing with personal data like that is a nightmare.
That headline needs a massive IF statement
IF it passed in its current state, which is highly doubtful.
The govt has already U-turned on breaking encryption. Making everyone share their biometric data to prove age is a privacy nightmare, and probably breaks existing laws
If it passed as is, hosting providers would just add a check box to allow or block access from UK IP addresses. Overnight, most of the Internet would stop working for UK residents.
Is a distinct possibility.
Even now I come across US sites which don’t work because they don’t want to have the whole GDPR compliance for EU members, which is usually overcome by a simple VPN to Canada/USA.
Funny thing about this is that the very people this is supposed to protect are probably far more tech savvy than the dinosaurs writing the legislation.
Torrent sites are blocked in UK by most isps , does it stop torrenting? No. And this wont work either it will just restrict the internet for the majority to “protect” the minority.
Except, if I understand correctly they haven’t u-turned. They aren’t removing the language re encryption, just acknowledging that it isn’t enforceable. Yet.
Is it bad that I’m becoming numb to losing my digital rights?
Yes. Yes that’s bad. That’s what they want. Same tactics used car salesman employ: wear them down.
We had digital rights? It’s been so long since we had them that I forget we had them at all.