4 ms·

What happens when important websites start requiring login.gov, and then the government shuts down your account? Can't just sign up for a new one, can you?

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
ineptech 9y ago
Er, why not? Why would the government shut down the account you use to identify yourself, if not because there was something wrong with it, in which case presumably they'd want you to create a new one?
- simplify 9y ago
  I dunno, maybe one day a government-official-inspired muslim-phobia arises, and the government cuts off your access because you look like a middle-eastern man? Or maybe another flavor of the many instances of government minority-targeting we've seen in the past? The government does shady stuff all the time. It's unwise to give them such an easy kill-switch that cuts off any particular citizen's access at any time.
- fiblye 9y ago
  I think whenever someone asks a "why would they?" question, it's best reworded as "why wouldn't they?" The government is made up of people, and given enough people, at least one is bound to do something stupid for reasons most won't understand. If someone can do something, no matter how ridiculous, at some point, someone will.
adventured 9y ago
Better yet. What if the government shuts off a web site's ability to utilize login.gov and effectively destroys the entire site by wiping out its userbase (in a scenario where a site is heavily using login.gov for authentication). That's a far greater threat than that they might shut off any given person's access. Step 1) regulate all speech by vaguely defined hate speech laws, which change based on who has power Step 2) Start arbitrarily destroying sites based on who is in power, utilizing login.gov + speech controls, to deem a given site in violation of speech codes
dragonwriter 9y ago
> What happens when important websites start requiring login.gov, and then the government shuts down your account? Or, more plausibly, selectively refuses to authenticate you to certain classes of sites, whether “all non-government sites” or something more targeted.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

ineptech 9y ago

Er, why not? Why would the government shut down the account you use to identify yourself, if not because there was something wrong with it, in which case presumably they'd want you to create a new one?

simplify 9y ago
I dunno, maybe one day a government-official-inspired muslim-phobia arises, and the government cuts off your access because you look like a middle-eastern man? Or maybe another flavor of the many instances of government minority-targeting we've seen in the past? The government does shady stuff all the time. It's unwise to give them such an easy kill-switch that cuts off any particular citizen's access at any time.
fiblye 9y ago
I think whenever someone asks a "why would they?" question, it's best reworded as "why wouldn't they?" The government is made up of people, and given enough people, at least one is bound to do something stupid for reasons most won't understand. If someone can do something, no matter how ridiculous, at some point, someone will.

adventured 9y ago

Better yet. What if the government shuts off a web site's ability to utilize login.gov and effectively destroys the entire site by wiping out its userbase (in a scenario where a site is heavily using login.gov for authentication). That's a far greater threat than that they might shut off any given person's access. Step 1) regulate all speech by vaguely defined hate speech laws, which change based on who has power Step 2) Start arbitrarily destroying sites based on who is in power, utilizing login.gov + speech controls, to deem a given site in violation of speech codes

dragonwriter 9y ago

> What happens when important websites start requiring login.gov, and then the government shuts down your account? Or, more plausibly, selectively refuses to authenticate you to certain classes of sites, whether “all non-government sites” or something more targeted.