So... de-facto mass deanonymisation of all Spanish social media users? I see a lot of supporters of these policies either not acknowledge that you can't identify under-16yo without identifying over-16yos.
In fact, if these laws make the requisite infrastructure (ID cards that offer that functionality) a hard requirement then creating an anonymous web that nevertheless has age checks easier, not harder.
What you basically want is an ID card where you as the owner can decide what you want to share with the private business. And for age verification that’s basically just requirement fulfilled yes/no.
So if the law is well written then this could be an advantage, not a disadvantage. Preemptive cynicism isn’t helpful here.
It’s simple really: zero trust age verification should be a strict requirement of any such law and anything else illegal for age verification.
That to me is what has to happen and it’s important to me. That’s my perspective on this – not that‘s never going to happen anyway, so no point in trying to.
Unsealed Court Documents Show Teen Addiction Was Big Tech's "Top Priority" - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46902512 - February 2026
TikTok’s ‘Addictive Design’ Found to Be Illegal in Europe - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46911869 - February 2026
Because I really can't recall anything outrageous, and surely nothing on the level of surveilance existing in the UK.
If you set up a system of ID identification linked to your real ID and IP, Hacienda (and the police, and eventually private companies) will be able to backtrack.
The current PM's rother, wife and half of his cabinet are involved in corruption scandals linked to COVID funds given to companies that bribed people. This is the government that will implement such efforts. Would you be able to trust them ?
That’s bold and inaccurate. What you shouldn’t trust is El Corte Inglés, who would code another shitty platform for the Spanish institutions.
Zero trust age verification means both sides don’t have to learn anything about each other beyond old enough yes/no. Should mean that.
I’m fine with age verification if it fulfills at least the same criteria that offline age verification does. When you show your ID card in a supermarket to buy alcohol or cigarettes or whatever then the government doesn’t learn anything about what you did and if the cashier doesn’t memorize and write down anything on the card the supermarket doesn’t learn anything about your identity. Here the digital solution can and should do better and close that theoretical deanonymization vector.
But yeah, that‘s the ideal to aspire to.
It's hardly zero-trust in that case.
Well, it doesn't. Absolutely none of the systems people are putting into place, or suggesting putting into place, are actually zero trust. The ones that claim to be are "somewhat lower trust if you don't think hard about how to exploit them". Yes, we know in theory how to do zero trust. The reality of these mandates is that people can easily get de-anonymized to all kinds of actors who should't be able to identify them.
It's also a "solution" to a massively exaggerated problem, one that's not in any way specific to any given age group. But that's unrelated to the fact that nobody is, in practice, doing or planning to do anything privacy-preserving.
Please stop spreading FUD when the actual implementations behind the government initiative are actually open source and have been designed to allow anonymous verification.
[0]: https://ageverification.dev/ [1]: https://github.com/eu-digital-identity-wallet
"How X's new location feature exposed big US politics accounts" https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj38m11218xo
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/23/rightwing-in...
https://weaponizedspaces.substack.com/p/x-just-accidentally-...
or maybe VPN using Canadian secessionist from Thailand?
https://www.cp24.com/news/canada/2025/12/04/rage-or-real-exp...
For Europeans ID is not as big of a deal as losing democracy thru foreign influence manipulating public opinion on a massive scale.
Whereas if I upload my ID to a tech company (that potentially answers to both my own government and foreign governments, as well as having its own ad-related agenda) I am a bit less certain about what will happen to this data.
"A bit less certain" is a really mild way of putting it. I'd be confident that whatever ID I upload to the Internet is going to be stored forever, shared with "partner" companies, linked with as much data about me as those partner companies can find, and then eventually leaked in a security breach, resulting in the company issuing a press release telling everyone they "Take Security Very Seriously."
And if you're suggesting Digital ID (EUDI style); showing ID at the store doesn't share metadata of that purchase with the government.
Prescription drugs are different because those are tied to your name anyway, and that’s why medical information has a different protection standard.
As a parent of 2 I think it’s better to talk to your kids, check what they’re up to, and, you know, be involved in their lives. Also, as a former kid, if there’s something they want to do but you don’t want them to: they’ll do it. Better that they know they can trust you to say “I still want to do X” than have to do it in hiding and without your support if anything goes wrong.
So all Spanish social media users are currently anonymous? I do not think so.
De jure?
https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/de-jure-or-de-iure.4...
any age identification done online is not anonymous
Meaning: these websites simply need to request 2 pieces of data: a boolean stating whether you are older than 16 or younger, and a UUID. Zero other pieces of identifying information. Where does the mass deanonymisation enter into this? What does it even mean in the context of using algorithmic social media whose entire business model is surveillance of its users?
How is it not deanonymisation when your tax ID is inextricably linked to your social media profile?
Via the UUID. Also via the fact that the authentication service sees what you're logging into, regardless of whether the social media site does or not.
This isn't complicated. It's obvious if you're not desperately trying not to think about it.
The "authentication service" is the national id. The tax man already knows your name, address, date of birth, financial possessions, income, family members, etc etc. There is no further information, apart from which website you logged on and when. This quite literally the standard of Signal [1]. And this is of course assuming the worst from the national id implementation; any sensible law would require the id provider to delete all information as soon as the login is complete.
Which is the whole damned problem, obviously.
> This quite literally the standard of Signal [1].
Yes, Signal is weak in a similar way. Although there is a difference between having to set up a bunch of wiretapping to do traffic analysis, and having the information handed to you on a plate.
> And this is of course assuming the worst from the national id implementation; any sensible law would require the id provider to delete all information as soon as the login is complete.
Assumptions that laws will be followed are out of order. Yes, you have the laws. Yes, you punish violations. But you still deal with the fact that violations will happen.
I’ve stopped using Facebook a long time ago, but started using a similar locally made social media app/site, which is based on logins tied indirectly to national ID. Holy crap it’s so much better. Only real people. No bots or scams. Even the ads are better. Actual relevant local businesses. And people hesitate before writing nasty comments. Not that I’m using it a lot, I’m still not a big social media guy, but having groups for the neighbourhood or town is nice for becoming aware of events and such happening nearby.
I still have the Facebook account for now. There’s a group or two I need to check in on sometimes. Every time I log in I get so confused why anyone would still use it.
Recent years changed that perception completely. It's a platform where russian oligarchs create discord in Europe cheaply (and the West in general) and American oligarchs profit from it.
I don't have any hopes left that the business will deliver us freedom of speech in any form. Next best bet is democratically elected government.
When you put on top of this how some things like youth suicides, youth grneral mental health decline, number of people killed in school shootings in US correlates with development of social media I will happily see it burn.