An Aug 2025 news article that isn't news on the "European strategy for a better internet for kids (BIK+ strategy) is the EU's guiding framework for creating a safer and better online environment for children and young people... keeping children safe from harmful and inappropriate content... established as a legal requirement through a series of la…

A 21page "report brings together the perspectives of seven leading experts from fields including children's rights, psychology, computer science, cryptography, and family advocacy... reach a remarkably consistent conclusion: the harms children face online are real, but blanket social media bans fail to address their underlying causes."Instead, the…

Some quotes from various experts on age verification collected by Information Labs as part of their "Is a Ban a Plan?" site.ProblemsA representative sample:"there is no such thing as a social media ban for under 16s. There are only digital ID checks for every single one of us." - Silkie Carlo British Civil Rights Advocate, Big Brother Watch"to kno…

"Due to a data breach, one journalist was able to link a user’s post on an anonymous discussion board to their driver’s license in 10 minutes. And it is only a matter of time before governments begin requesting users’ identifying age-related data from platforms as it is already doing with other forms of data in an attempt to target critics. Anonym…

"Since 2022, twenty-five US states covering more than 40% of the US population have adopted laws compelling websites with content “harmful to minors” to verify their users’ ages. Many websites ... rely on third-party services, effectively outsourcing age verification... little is known about how these services are shaping the web and affecting use…

An IETF Internet-draft (a working document) which "describes solution-agnostic and technology-neutral schema for how various intermediaries can gate content and services based on age" Two dimensions are analysed:"efficacy of permitting or restricting access based on age,privacy costs of doing so.The document concludes with recommendations as well …

The always good Laurens on the ActivityPub-ATproto open letter: "There is a large group of people who are actively moving the space forward, and who have signed the open letter that calls for mutual respect and working together for a better open social web. The number of people who voiced objections and concerns is minimal, but by focusing on proc…