itch.io

Yeah, the quote says that Mastercard shouldn’t force websites to impose invasive age and identity verification requirements to utilize their websites. That doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be any kind of age verification, as for years having a credit card was the means to do that. By putting in your card, which you must be 18 to own, you are verifying your age. I shouldn’t have to also send my driver’s license as proof to these third party verification services. The onus is on the parents to track what kids use their credit cards for in regards to their safety. I think a key point here is that payment processors should not get to have a say in what we spend our money on. Porn is an easy target because you’ve got to be out of your goddamn mind to give a thumbs up to kids having access to adult content. It’s an easy cause to rally behind. It sets groundwork for whatever they want to target next. If the website itself isn’t taking care to deal with risks to children, it’ll tear itself down. I mean, look at Roblox.

I think you may be misunderstanding the wording of the petition. It’s not asking to eliminate age verification, just monitor the process better. Protecting children is important but it’s also important to retain what shreds of privacy we have left. Letting third party verification take data like our id information and biometrics that can be sold off to other companies is a crazy way of doing it. The idea is to have these things regulated and discussed without making huge sweeping bans or privacy violations through fear mongering. Collective Shout doesn’t care about children. You can see it in all the similar fights they’ve had through the years.