Quick Take…VPNs & Operating Systems next on the “Age Verification” hit list
Kit Knightly
It started with “adult content” in the UK and US, and social media bans for children in Australia, France…and many others.
The UK just passed their own social media ban, and we know they’re not done yet. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has promised to “revisit” Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) in July, with a potential ban on the table.
The US is hovering toward a federal social media ban as well.
Next comes the operating systems themselves – meaning needing ID scans to access any and all phones, laptops, desktops or tablets. Or at least those from Google, Microsoft or Apple.
As PC Mag reports [emphasis added]:
Age verification laws are no longer limited to porn sites. Two US states have already passed laws requiring your operating system to collect your age, and a federal law is under discussion. After more than two dozen states passed laws targeting adult websites like PornHub—and Utah moved against VPN use—the next battleground is your operating system.
Starting in 2027, California’s Digital Age Assurance Act will require operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Android, ChromeOS, and Linux distributions, to ask users for their age during device setup and share an age range with apps. Depending on how future laws evolve, that process could eventually involve government IDs, credit cards, or biometric verification.
In the UK, in April, Apple changed their policy to force adults to share their ID, credit card or biometrics in order to use certain features of their iPhones. The “nudity detection” software will be device-based too.
And as the technological bounds of this tyranny expand, the moral panic aspect is shifting as well.
Fresh from “protecting the kids”, we’re already talking about social media “stoking division” instead:
Kim Leadbeater, the sister of Jo Cox, tells Sky’s @cathynewman people are ‘stoking the division’ in society and using social media to do so.
Ten years ago, Jo Cox MP was murdered by a neo-Nazi in her Batley and Spen constituency during the Brexit referendum campaign.
📺 Sky 501 pic.twitter.com/xhIeA4GSV3
— Sky News (@SkyNews) June 17, 2026
The World Cup has prompted “hundreds of thousands” of “abusive” social media posts, according to tabloid headlines from earlier today.
Couple that with the UN’s shiny new “say no to hate” campaign and you can tell they’re feeling the momentum.
They’ve got their foot in the door now. Next comes the shoulder.
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Next comes the operating systems themselves—where apparently owning a phone, laptop, desktop, or tablet may soon require handing over your life story and a photo ID before you’re allowed to use the device you just paid for. At least if it’s made by Apple, Google, or Microsoft.
I purchased a fairly new Apple laptop from an authorized retailer. Silly me, I thought buying a laptop meant you could take it home, switch it on, and start using it. Instead, I was greeted with requests for photo ID, verification codes sent to my email, and yet more identity checks. Apparently, turning on a computer now resembles applying for a security clearance.
The terms and conditions helpfully explain that Apple may request this information to prevent fraud and comply with regional laws. How reassuring.
I called the retailer four times and eventually took the laptop back to the store. The staff seemed genuinely puzzled that I objected to providing layers of personal identification to a machine I had already purchased. They assured me this was all perfectly normal and was for my own protection. Nothing says “customer convenience” quite like having to prove who you are repeatedly just to use a laptop.
After two weeks of stress and irritation, I returned the device and informed the retailer that I was prepared to dispute the charge with my bank. Thankfully, a refund appeared without the need for further identity verification.
I then visited a slightly scruffy refurbished computer shop and bought a laptop for about half the price. It wasn’t as sleek, shiny, or fashionable as the Apple model, but there was one remarkable feature: I switched it on and, within 30 minutes, I was using it. No photo ID. No verification marathon. No digital border control. Just a computer behaving like a computer.
Could it be that ‘social media’ is a euphemism much like ‘surfing’ (typing stuff) the net, or, having your information stored in the ‘cloud’ (someone else’s computer)…?
If so, what the de-euphemised definition of ‘social media’ be?
The gulag beckons – and no one is even noticing. The sleepers sleep and the “awake” spend their time wringing their hands about the “wars” or ‘nuclear Armageddon’ or China invading the West or Russian shadow fleets or a whole lot of other stuff which is either not real or which is NEVER GONNA HAPPEN.
I guess imaginary problems are reassuring when subconsciously you know they’re not a real threat.
Those bleeding heart old libs crying about distant wars that may or may not be happening while they’re own country falls apart unheeded are just cowards really.
Always easier to oppose foreign wars than speak out about 9/11 or covid or any other domestic events/measures propelling us into totalitarianism.
My Hotmail account is 20 years old, and Microsoft should know that, so I’m good to go, right? 😎
Sure – for now, but not for long
I’ve paid for extra Hotmail storage over 20 years ago and still get asked to verify my identity. Apparently 20 years old payment is less convincing than a six-digit code.