EU parliament accepted a last minute amendment, mandating age verification for pornographic (whatever that is) content online, punishable with up to one year prison sentence.

This was a last minute addition to a directive concerning CSAM. Because adults accessing porn need to be de-anonymised to avoid child exploitation?

Some press releases: (1), (2), (3)

  • iiiOPEnglish
    14·
    9 days ago

    In 2023 I was thinking how stupid puritan the Texan politician were. The EU commission and parliament had different ideas.

    Turns out the incumbents in EU are very scared as politicians from outside the traditional political families are getting popular votes. And instead of looking into to mirror as to why that is happening, they blame “the internet” and go authoritarian.

    Thus joining in the creation of the machinery for mass surveillance and supression.

    Currently, only the EU council can still stop this from becoming law. It already passed commission (it’s their amendment) and parliament.

    • Kyrgizion@lemmy.world
      10·
      9 days ago

      The fact that it’s happening globally tells me there’s more behind this. As you said, only a few short years ago this would seem unthinkable, yet here we are…

          • zeropointone@lemmy.world
            31·
            9 days ago

            Maybe deglobalization turns out to be a good thing in the end, it’s hard to tell. But it’s going to be rough.

            • FenderStratocaster@lemmy.worldEnglish
              2·
              9 days ago

              It’s too commercialized. It spreads misinformation, fear, and hate all to make some asshole richer. It keeps our attention at all hours. Our kids are glued to screens and more depressed and lonely than ever.

              A smaller decentralized Internet would benefit people, however uncomfortable it might make them at first.

              • iiiOPEnglish
                2·
                8 days ago

                Sadly, this legislation does exactly the opposite: it makes the barrier to entry higher. Restricted to larger groups that can bear the cost of compliance. Ending in a oligopoly, where individuals can’t participate unless they use those platforms.

              • marsza@lemmy.cafeEnglish
                1·
                8 days ago

                There won’t be a smaller decentralized internet. The internet isn’t the problem, it’s the services people choose to use and who owns them. There is just as much misinformation on Lemmy as any other network.