Has anyone signed up to Yoti for verification

[Alex321]

Dame Rachel de Souza is calling for age checks on VPNs to “close a loophole”.

Which would cause all sorts of hassles, to people using VPNs for perfectly normal business usage.

And I suspect that a very large proportion of the people who have recently installed or started using VPNs for access to porn are adults who just don't like the idea of giving details to age verification sites.

 

[Psamathe]

Dame Rachel de Souza is calling for age checks on VPNs to “close a loophole”.

Many VPNs have no idea who you are when subscribing, maintain no logs, ensure anonymity. Better ones allow you to pay using crypto-currency. For activities requiring additional security/privacy some bounce you through two VPN servers so each server doesn't actually "know" where the connection is originating from (which destroys the concept of "UK users".

Some configure the VPN routing into their router ensuring the entire property protected so anybody using the Wi-Fi LAN would also be running through the VPN so whose age are you going to check?

To start requiring age verification sort of shows she really doesn't understand how VPNs work.

 

[Regular.Cyclist]

Simply reporting what was in the news 🙂, but it’s not a good sign when the children’s commissioner for England starts commenting, on things they don’t understand, thus raising unnecessary interest in them.

The government are currently saying that there is no intention to ban VPNs but the fact that they have had to comment means they are aware of the Dame’s comments in the news.

 

[Psamathe]

Dame Rachel de Souza is calling for age checks on VPNs to “close a loophole”.

Simply reporting what was in the news 🙂, but it’s not a good sign when the children’s commissioner for England starts commenting, on things they don’t understand, thus raising unnecessary interest in them.

The government are currently saying that there is no intention to ban VPNs but the fact that they have had to comment means they are aware of the Dame’s comments in the news.

The other aspect that makes Ms de Souza's suggestion irrelevant is that smartphones & devices need software & configurations to use VPNs and those devices include lock facilities so parents can/should be stopping their children from installing such functionality.

So children can only start using VPNs if permitted by their parents/guardians. If parents are not technically capable there is no end of online help from recognised bodies (eg NSPCC) with non-technical explanations as to what to do on the phone to restrict what your children can access and setup parental controls.

 

[Alex321]

The other aspect that makes Ms de Souza's suggestion irrelevant is that smartphones & devices need software & configurations to use VPNs and those devices include lock facilities so parents can/should be stopping their children from installing such functionality.

So children can only start using VPNs if permitted by their parents/guardians. If parents are not technically capable there is no end of online help from recognised bodies (eg NSPCC) with non-technical explanations as to what to do on the phone to restrict what your children can access and setup parental controls.

A large proportion of parents wouldn't have a clue what a VPN is, nor how to stop their kids installing/using one without stopping them installing anything (which TBH should be the default position, but many parents don't take that stance).

And most mid-teens would object strenuously to any attempts by parents to interfere with "their" devices.

 

[Psamathe]

A large proportion of parents wouldn't have a clue what a VPN is, nor how to stop their kids installing/using one without stopping them installing anything (which TBH should be the default position, but many parents don't take that stance).

And most mid-teens would object strenuously to any attempts by parents to interfere with "their" devices.

Without wanting to get into NCAP areas, if parents chose to not control what their children are viewing and opt not to limit what software they install (or succumb to pressure from their youngsters) then it would seem wrong to constrain and the rest of the country to make up for their own choices.

I don't know that parents need to know what a VPN is as installing one would be blocked by the same parental controls as preventing 101 other things youngsters shouldn't install.

I've always assumed that being parents means learning and addressing a whole host of things that otherwise they might not.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Or visit foreign porn sites when having a J. Arthur.

New terms will arise such as “ahogando al pollo”

 

[Pat "5mph"]

A large proportion of parents wouldn't have a clue what a VPN

I think this is incorrect.
On average parents of under 18s are what, mid 40's?
Those parents have most likely been using devices since they were teens themselves.
On another note, I like to watch German/Nordic thrillers in original language.
To access German channels I have to use a VPN.
To prove my age I had to upload my passport (once) and set a pin to input anytime I access scary/violent/contains sex content.

 

[sungod]

there's a surprise

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq68j5g2nr1o

it's hard to make extraterritoriality stick when other countries see you as irrelevant

 

[Alex321]

I think this is incorrect.
On average parents of under 18s are what, mid 40's?
Those parents have most likely been using devices since they were teens themselves.

I'm sure they have, but most people, unless they use one to connect to their work systems from home, will never have used a VPN.

And using one for that purpose doesn't really tell you that you can use one to appear to be connecting from elsewhere.

On another note, I like to watch German/Nordic thrillers in original language.
To access German channels I have to use a VPN.
To prove my age I had to upload my passport (once) and set a pin to input anytime I access scary/violent/contains sex content.

There are certainly plenty of people who have used them for a variety of things, and who do know very well what they are. But I still think there will be more people in the 30-50 age bracket who really don't than who do.

That will change quickly and significantly as a result of this new law.

 

[Psamathe]

There are certainly plenty of people who have used them for a variety of things, and who do know very well what they are. But I still think there will be more people in the 30-50 age bracket who really don't than who do.

That will change quickly and significantly as a result of this new law.

To my mind, parenting involves finding about a load of stuff you don't know about. Loads of publicity about inappropriate content for children from the internet so giving your child an internet connected device means as a parent you need to do a bit of research. Loads of advice (incl. about VPNs) from all sorts of reputable sites (NSPCC, various schools, etc.

Of course if parents can't be bothered ...

 

[Alex321]

To my mind, parenting involves finding about a load of stuff you don't know about. Loads of publicity about inappropriate content for children from the internet so giving your child an internet connected device means as a parent you need to do a bit of research. Loads of advice (incl. about VPNs) from all sorts of reputable sites (NSPCC, various schools, etc.

Of course if parents can't be bothered ...

That is, of course, the issue. Many can't.

The ones who can, will mostly not actually need to know particularly about VPNs until the day their child asks to install one, since they will normally require admin access to install anything, and only the parents will have admin access.

 

[richardfm]

A VPN is much more effective, since most of the "foreign" porn sites know from your IP address where you are accessing from, and are implementing age verification for those accessing from the UK.

How many "foreign" porn sites did you access to reach this conclusion?

 

[Vapin' Joe]

How many "foreign" porn sites did you access to reach this conclusion?

I'm sure it was purely for "Research" purposes.