Age Verification Laws Signal a New Era of Digital Regulation

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The days of the internet as an unregulated frontier may be numbered. In a compelling discussion on This Week in Tech (Episode 1040), host Leo Laporte and guests Harper Reed and Amy Webb dissected the implications of recent Supreme Court decisions and emerging legislation that could fundamentally reshape how we experience the digital world.

The Supreme Court's Digital Turning Point

The conversation centered around the Supreme Court's decision in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, which upheld Texas's age verification requirements for websites containing sexually explicit material. However, as the panel quickly identified, this isn't really about adult content but the broader shift in how America approaches internet regulation.

"The case's true importance lies not on its effect on the adult entertainment industry, but it shifts America's willingness to regulate digital technology at all," Laporte explained, citing analysis from The Atlantic. Justice Clarence Thomas's majority opinion marked a clear departure from decades of light-touch regulation, declaring that the internet is no longer a "nascent" technology deserving special protection.

Innovation vs. Protection

The discussion revealed three distinct but complementary viewpoints on this regulatory shift:

Webb immediately zeroed in on the business implications, predicting that traditional free adult content sites like Pornhub would lose market share to subscription-based platforms like OnlyFans. "If you now have to age verify for Pornhub, I don't see a lot of people willingly doing that," she observed. Her analysis went deeper, suggesting this could be blockchain technology's moment to shine: "This seems like perhaps the first reasonable use case for blockchain... if there's going to be some kind of regulation going forward, it would be a good time for a third party to come in."

Reed brought a developer's perspective, focusing on the technical realities and unintended consequences. "I don't know if you've ever interacted with young people, but they're pretty good at getting around rules," he noted wryly. His biggest concern? The technology itself isn't the problem, but how it will be weaponized: "We could have the best technology that's open and privacy preserving... and still it could be used to stifle free speech."

Laporte acknowledged the legitimate concerns about protecting children while expressing reservations about government overreach. He drew parallels to traditional age verification (like buying magazines in bookstores) while warning about the slippery slope: "It's not just going to be adult content, it's going to be LGBTQ content, it's going to be political speech that some people don't like."

Beyond Porn: The Broader Implications

The panel didn't stop at adult content. They explored how these regulations are expanding globally:

• Australia is rolling out age verification for search engines like Google, with potential fines of nearly $50 million per breach
• The UK's Online Safety Act is forcing platforms like BlueSky to implement age verification
• California's Age Appropriate Design Code could apply to virtually any online service

Webb captured the broader trend: "I think we're hitting this inflection point across multiple technologies and forums for communication, where we've had this unbridled, totally open, you know, restrict nothing approach for a really long time and I think that that worked, except that society also changed."

The Generational Divide and Enforcement Reality

One of the most fascinating aspects of the discussion was how the panelists viewed young people's relationship with these restrictions. Reed predicted that strict age verification would create "a whole generation of hackers," drawing from his own experience with technological restrictions.

Webb, as a parent of a 15-year-old, offered a more nuanced view. She acknowledged that today's online content is "dramatically more extreme" than previous generations encountered, while also recognizing the enforcement challenges: "You've got readily accessible content... and you're dealing with kids whose frontal lobes aren't quite working yet."

The Technology Solutions (And Their Limitations)

The conversation touched on various technological approaches to age verification:

• Blockchain-based identity verification that could preserve privacy while confirming age
• Biometric age estimation through facial recognition
• Third-party verification services that could reduce the need to share IDs directly with content providers
• Browser-based solutions like VPNs integrated into specialized browsers

However, Reed pointed out that existing technologies like Apple's digital ID system and web standards for verified credentials already address many of these needs without requiring blockchain solutions.

The Business Opportunity in Disruption

True to form, both Webb and Reed quickly moved beyond the regulatory challenges to identify business opportunities. Webb speculated about new verification platforms, while Reed noted that every technological restriction historically creates new entrepreneurial opportunities. The discussion highlighted how regulatory disruption often benefits established players who can afford compliance while creating barriers for smaller competitors—a pattern that could further consolidate power among tech giants.

The panel's realistic acceptance of where things are heading made this discussion particularly valuable. Rather than simply lamenting the end of internet freedom, they focused on understanding the implications and preparing for what comes next. As Webb put it: "I'm very pragmatic. So if this is the situation, then my job is to say where is the world going, where will value be created, or where is there absolute destruction ahead, and then what do we do about it?"

The Regulated Road Ahead

The conversation revealed that we're likely in the early stages of a fundamental shift in how democratic societies approach internet regulation. The 30-year experiment with minimal oversight is giving way to a more controlled approach, driven by concerns about child safety, mental health, and social cohesion.

Whether this represents necessary guardrails for a mature technology or the beginning of broader speech restrictions remains to be seen. What's becoming clear is that the internet of the future will look very different from the one we've known.

Ready for more insights on technology? Listen to the full episode of This Week in Tech Episode 1040 for the complete discussion, including the panelists' thoughts on AI regulation, international tech policy, Jack Dorsey’s Bitchat, and much more. Ad-free versions are also available by joining Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit