Genuine question, how is it different than tobacco, driving, alcohol, all the things we gate by age for what seem to be valid reasons?

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everdrive 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Those things you listed cannot ever impact 1st amendment protections. I hate social media, but this is a concern here.

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dfxm12 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

First, tobacco and alcohol companies absolutely are regulated. Second, traditionally the age gate for cigarettes and booze is for the seller to look at your ID just to verify your age, then forget you. The process was not to establish your identity and follow you around forever, tracking and selling your behavioral data, which is a way these Internet based age gates have been implemented, and the logical conclusion of these age gates given how the Internet works. Third, even if you are coming from the angle that the age verification process for cigarettes and alcohol are bad, it's easier to prevent a bad system from being codified into law than to repeal it after the fact.

Being licensed to drive is a bit of a different situation as you do have to demonstrate some kind of proficiency, but even still, the government practically has to keep track of this in some way and presumably, that way doesn't involve selling your personal info (if it did, there likely would be the same backlash).

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traderj0e 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Nowadays grocery stores do scan the ID, so maybe there is some tracking

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chickensong 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

You can refuse the scan. It's just a surveillance grab, like the TSA photo. Unfortunately most people just go along with it.

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traderj0e 3 hours ago | parent [-]

Are they obligated to still sell the liquor if you refuse the scan? The cashier specifically told me last time they're required to scan it if I want to buy that.

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chickensong 3 hours ago | parent [-]

Yes, there's no law requiring it. It's just corporate BS. They want to scan your license, that's it. Some cashiers will push back because that's what they've been told to do, but if you ask for a manager they'll admit it's not a requirement.

	▲	traderj0e an hour ago \| parent [-]
		I know it's not required by law to scan it, but it might be a store policy, in which case I don't think there's a law disallowing that kind of store policy. They'll tell you to shop elsewhere, and every big store does it. The only law involved is the one that penalizes them harshly if anyone underage manages to buy liquor. If fake IDs are less likely to pass that scan, maybe that's why they do it.

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MarsIronPI 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Where? If it happened in my country I'd absolutely raise a fuss.

	▲	traderj0e 4 hours ago \| parent [-]
		US, in a California Safeway store for example

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barbazoo 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

> traditionally the age gate for cigarettes and booze is for the seller to look at your ID just to verify your age, then forget you. The process was not to establish your identity and follow you around forever, tracking and selling your behavioral data, which is a way these Internet based age gates have been implemented

I think that's a bit of a strawman, there exist solutions to this problem that decouple who reads the ID from the party that needs information about it, e.g. being above a certain age. Maybe it matters here how it's implemented, can that be regulated?