[108032] in Cypherpunks
Adult Verification and Shenanigans
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Tim May)
Tue Feb 2 02:28:03 1999
Date: Mon, 1 Feb 1999 23:17:06 -0800
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
From: Tim May <tcmay@got.net>
Reply-To: Tim May <tcmay@got.net>
In light of the "CDA II" going to trial sometime this year or next, I
thought I'd share an experience I've had recently.
Some months back I bit the bullet and signed up for something called
"AdultCheck." Increading numbers of sites wanted an "age credential," and
AdultCheck was the most commonly discussed one. So I authorized the $15
(IIRC) payment for one year, and that was that.
Or was it? Recently I discovered that sites I planned to drop in on were no
longer accepting the AdultCheck ID. They were, instead, offering me the
chance to join "AdultCheck Gold." A new, more expensive service.
Now one of the very interesting features of a pure age verification system
is this: age increases monotonically. Once someone has _ever_ verified that
they are 18, for example, then they are forever thereafter at least 18. The
simple ontology of how aging works.
So, why should _anyone_ ever, ever, ever need an "AdultCheck Gold" if they
have already at any time in the past owned an Adult Check standard
certificate?
The answer is obvious: these "age verification" systems are not about
verifying age, they are ways of collecting gatekeeping fees. If they were
age verification, then clearly one would never need a renewal, only proof
that one had once qualified.
(One can imagine very cheap hashings of past verifications, exploiting this
"age only increases" ontology.)
Sure, there is some nonzero cost for checking the certificate, but the
whole evolution of multiple AdultCheck-like services shows that they are
primarily just "club membership" cards, with some age verification cruft
thrown in for respectability.
If all crypto is about economics, then all e-commerce is about shakedowns.
--Tim May
Y2K -- Where were you when the lights went out?
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
ComSec 3DES: 831-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Licensed Ontologist | black markets, collapse of governments.
