I’m asking for public policy ideas here. A lot of countries are enacting age verification now. But of course this is a privacy nightmare and is ripe for abuse. At the same time though, I also understand why people are concerned with how kids are using social media. These products are designed to be addictive and are known to cause body image issues and so forth. So what’s the middle ground? How can we protect kids from the harms of social media in a way that respects everyone’s privacy?
You can’t just buy one on the dark web because the credential is tied to a private key — you’d need the actual device or key, not just the token.
A government-issued cryptographic credential lets you prove you’re a real adult citizen without revealing your identity. It eliminates bots and foreign actors, protects children, and preserves privacy — because the government only gets involved once at enrollment, and platforms never see who you are, just a yes/no proof.
(I’m not an expert, so if anyone has input please correct)
EDIT:
The one-time government verification moment is a major privacy chokepoint. Who runs it? How is that database secured? History is not encouraging here – government identity databases get breached, misused, or quietly expanded in scope. “The government only gets involved once” is doing a lot of work
Would be doable in the UK.
All citizens can register for a Government Gateway account to help you manage your tax affairs so it is indelibly attached to your identity.
Once you have registered it wouldn’t be too difficult to add a link that lets you download this key thing you mentioned.