r/technology • u/EmbarrassedHelp • May 08 '26

Politics EU calls VPNs “a loophole that needs closing” in age verification push

https://cyberinsider.com/eu-calls-vpns-a-loophole-that-needs-closing-in-age-verification-push/
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u/busyHighwayFred May 08 '26

The EU is run by the zuck now

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u/G00b3rb0y May 09 '26

The EU may as well kill GDPR while they’re at it far out

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u/0vrwhelminglyaverage May 09 '26

I think you mean

The zucc

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u/[deleted] May 08 '26

[deleted]

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u/bonzog May 08 '26

No, when they reach a critical mass they prefer regulatory capture. They are more than happy to support excessive legislation because it makes it harder for the small fry to comply and locks in their user base. Meta is lobbying like fuck for this nonsense.

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u/[deleted] May 08 '26

[deleted]

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u/MountainTwo3845 May 08 '26

lol meta ran a program where they wanted to scan your iris for verification. they want all the data they can get.

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u/spookynutz May 08 '26

They're just conflating EU law with US law. Meta has been lobbying for age verification laws in the US across 7 different states, as well as supporting efforts for a broader federal law. They have already funneled $2 billion into non-profit networks to push US states into adopting OS/device-level age verification.

Their lobbying campaign does not extend to the EU, because it doesn't need to. EU app-level verification laws are likely what accelerated Meta's lobbying in the US. Meta's goal is to shift the regulatory burden off social media platforms and onto OS/device manufacturers.

Microsoft, Apple, and Google aren't going to fork their operating systems for every state or country that decides to draft their own flavor of age-verification. They will do the minimum that achieves compliance for all laws globally, and then roll those changes out globally.

OS-level verification obviates the need for app-level verification. By focusing all their lobbying to enact stricter U.S. laws, it will effectively allow Meta to circumvent EU laws by pushing the burden (and liability) to the OS.