4 ms·

I don't think we ought to ban anonymity, but I think we should make it a requirement for social networks to display country of origin. Unfortunately that's impo

I don't think we ought to ban anonymity, but I think we should make it a requirement for social networks to display country of origin. Unfortunately that's impossible because of VPNs. Perhaps a system where you're identity is verified by a third party, all documents erased, but leaves you with a permanent token that allows you to authenticate as a citizen of some country.

pimterry 6mo ago
The upcoming EU digital wallets in theory could do this kind of thing. They're focused on anonymity preserving age verification right now, but exposing any other government-verified attribute anonymously should be equally possible, including residency and/or citizenship if that's your bag.
- jauntywundrkind 6mo ago
  I'm extremely mixed on it, overall I expect incredibly over-demanding asks from websites, but Digital Credential API likewise allows for various scoped requests/disclosures. https://developer.chrome.com/blog/digital-credentials-api-shipped https://developer.chrome.com/blog/digital-credentials-api-sh...
  - pimterry 6mo ago
    Most of the facts exposed are likely inferable anyway, or certainly were in a non-GDPR tracking world. I think it'd be clear from my browsing patterns that I'm over 18, and broad tracking + IP checks could quite easily infer where I actually live at least to a national level, I'd be confident that e.g. Meta already know this without being told. Given that, I'm not too worried about exposing residency + over-18 status, the fingerprinting bits are redundant. Whether it's actually anonymous in practice, and/or whether it starts to go further than that (websites asking for verified gender? First name? City? Full DOB?) will be a real concern but I think there'd be plenty of push back and tech will end up setting norms here through the browser APIs & permissions prompts. In theory in this is all covered under GDPR anyway so requesting or storing information that's not necessary is illegal anyway, and at least explicit requests are less secret than invisible tracking of the same thing - much easier to reject individually, and to litigate abuse collectively.
gloosx 6mo ago
Great idea. Next step: internet visas. Want to read a forum in another country? Please submit your application, wait 3–5 business days, and dont forget to declare your browsing intent.
- saltyoldman 6mo ago
  It is a great idea. Most radicalization on the hard-left and hard-right are done by state actors (like China/Pakistan/Russia) because we're not doing anything about it. Perhaps if Joe Smalls in Kentucky and Samantha Milton in Minnesota were not radicalized to hate each other via state actors in social media messages, there would be better discourse and fewer Trumps / Bidens in office.
  - throwaway85825 6mo ago
    Most radicalization is actually done by the three letter agencies. They find a mentally deficient, convince them to participate in some concocted plot then arrest them to pad their stats. The FBI agent got congress to give him a new office after he got the homeless guy to try to kidnap Whitmer.

pimterry 6mo ago

The upcoming EU digital wallets in theory could do this kind of thing. They're focused on anonymity preserving age verification right now, but exposing any other government-verified attribute anonymously should be equally possible, including residency and/or citizenship if that's your bag.

jauntywundrkind 6mo ago
I'm extremely mixed on it, overall I expect incredibly over-demanding asks from websites, but Digital Credential API likewise allows for various scoped requests/disclosures. https://developer.chrome.com/blog/digital-credentials-api-shipped https://developer.chrome.com/blog/digital-credentials-api-sh...
- pimterry 6mo ago
  Most of the facts exposed are likely inferable anyway, or certainly were in a non-GDPR tracking world. I think it'd be clear from my browsing patterns that I'm over 18, and broad tracking + IP checks could quite easily infer where I actually live at least to a national level, I'd be confident that e.g. Meta already know this without being told. Given that, I'm not too worried about exposing residency + over-18 status, the fingerprinting bits are redundant. Whether it's actually anonymous in practice, and/or whether it starts to go further than that (websites asking for verified gender? First name? City? Full DOB?) will be a real concern but I think there'd be plenty of push back and tech will end up setting norms here through the browser APIs & permissions prompts. In theory in this is all covered under GDPR anyway so requesting or storing information that's not necessary is illegal anyway, and at least explicit requests are less secret than invisible tracking of the same thing - much easier to reject individually, and to litigate abuse collectively.

gloosx 6mo ago

Great idea. Next step: internet visas. Want to read a forum in another country? Please submit your application, wait 3–5 business days, and dont forget to declare your browsing intent.

saltyoldman 6mo ago
It is a great idea. Most radicalization on the hard-left and hard-right are done by state actors (like China/Pakistan/Russia) because we're not doing anything about it. Perhaps if Joe Smalls in Kentucky and Samantha Milton in Minnesota were not radicalized to hate each other via state actors in social media messages, there would be better discourse and fewer Trumps / Bidens in office.
- throwaway85825 6mo ago
  Most radicalization is actually done by the three letter agencies. They find a mentally deficient, convince them to participate in some concocted plot then arrest them to pad their stats. The FBI agent got congress to give him a new office after he got the homeless guy to try to kidnap Whitmer.