Privacy and security podcast focused on the everyday person and using simple tools and techniques to become a smaller target for online attacks. Learn to protect yourself using VPNs, DeGoogled phones, VPNs, TOR, end to end encrypted communications, and techniques to help become more private online. Visit the website for more information: https://closednetwork.io
Closed Network Privacy Podcast
Claim This Podcastby Simon Walsh
4.9(70 reviews)
57 episodes
Updated Bi-weekly
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Podcast Overview
Privacy and security podcast focused on the everyday person and using simple tools and techniques to become a smaller target for online attacks. Learn to protect yourself using VPNs, DeGoogled phones, VPNs, TOR, end to end encrypted communications, and techniques to help become more private online. Visit the website for more information: https://closednetwork.io
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Publishing Since
2/4/2021
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Recent Episodes
May 15, 2026
Episode 57 - Age Verification Is Becoming Digital Border Control
Privacy Bad Ass Michael Bates and Privacy Bad Ass David explore how age verification transforms into digital border control, impacting online privacy.
April 21, 2026
Episode 56 - When the Gatekeepers Fail: EU Age App Cracked in 2 Minutes, HR 8250, Palantir Pressure, Signal Notification Leaks, and Taking AI Local
<p>Full Shownotes - <a href="https://forum.closednetwork.io/t/episode-56-when-the-gatekeepers-fail-eu-age-app-cracked-in-2-minutes-hr-8250-palantir-pressure-signal-notification-leaks-and-taking-ai-local/188" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://forum.closednetwork.io/t/episode-56-when-the-gatekeepers-fail-eu-age-app-cracked-in-2-minutes-hr-8250-palantir-pressure-signal-notification-leaks-and-taking-ai-local/188</a></p><p>Website / Donations / Support - <a href="https://closednetwork.io/support/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://closednetwork.io/support/</a></p><p>BTC <u>Lightning</u> Donations - closednetwork@getalby.com / simon@primal.net</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Thank You Patreons & Direct Supporters! - </strong></p><p><a href="https://www.patreon.com/closednetwork" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.patreon.com/closednetwork</a></p><p>Subscribe Without Patreon - <a href="https://closednetwork.io/#/portal/signup" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://closednetwork.io/#/portal/signup</a></p><ol><li data-list="bullet"><span class="ql-ui" c></span>Michael Bates - Privacy Bad Ass</li><li data-list="bullet"><span class="ql-ui" c></span>David - Privacy Bad Ass</li><li data-list="bullet"><span class="ql-ui" c></span>TK - Privacy Bad Ass</li><li data-list="bullet"><span class="ql-ui" c></span>David - Privacy Bad Ass</li><li data-list="bullet"><span class="ql-ui" c></span>Trying - Privacy Bad Ass</li><li data-list="bullet"><span class="ql-ui" c></span>VO - Privacy Bad Ass</li><li data-list="bullet"><span class="ql-ui" c></span>MrMilkMustache - Privacy Supporter</li><li data-list="bullet"><span class="ql-ui" c></span>Hutch - Privacy Advocate</li><li data-list="bullet"><span class="ql-ui" c></span>Inferno_Potato Privacy Supporter</li></ol><p>TOP <u>LIGHTNING</u> BOOSTERS !!!! THANK YOU !!!</p><ol><li data-list="bullet"><span class="ql-ui" c></span>@bon 2,345 sats!!</li><li data-list="bullet"><span class="ql-ui" c></span>@fireflygo - 3,361 sats!!</li><li data-list="bullet"><span class="ql-ui" c></span><br></li></ol><h3>Thank You To Our Moderators:</h3><p><strong>Unintelligentseven</strong> - Follow on NOSTR <a href="http://primal.net/p/npub15rp9gyw346fmcxgdlgp2y9a2xua9ujdk9nzumflshkwjsc7wepwqnh354d" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">primal.net/p/npub15rp9gyw346fmcxgdlgp2y9a2xua9ujdk9nzumflshkwjsc7wepwqnh354d</a></p><p><strong>MaddestMax</strong> - Follow on NOSTR <a href="http://primal.net/p/npub133yzwsqfgvsuxd4clvkgupshzhjn52v837dlud6gjk4tu2c7grqq3sxavt" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">primal.net/p/npub133yzwsqfgvsuxd4clvkgupshzhjn52v837dlud6gjk4tu2c7grqq3sxavt</a></p><h3>Join Our Community</h3><p>Closed Network Forum - <a href="https://forum.closednetwork.io" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://forum.closednetwork.io</a></p><p>Join Our Matrix Channels!</p><p>Main - <a href="https://matrix.to/#/#closedntwrk:matrix.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://matrix.to/#/#closedntwrk:matrix.org</a></p><p>Off Topic - <a href="https://matrix.to/#/#closednetworkofftopic:matrix.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://matrix.to/#/#closednetworkofftopic:matrix.org</a></p><p>SimpleX Group Chat - <a href="https://smp9.simplex.im/g#SRBJK7JhuMWa1jgxfmnOfHz7Bl5KjnKUFL5zy-Jn-j0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://smp9.simplex.im/g#SRBJK7JhuMWa1jgxfmnOfHz7Bl5KjnKUFL5zy-Jn-j0</a></p><p>Join Our Mastodon server!</p><p><a href="https://closednetwork.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://closednetwork.social</a></p><h3><strong>Follow Simon</strong> On The Socials</h3><p>Mastodon - <a href="https://closednetwork.social/@simon" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://closednetwork.social/@simon</a></p><p>NOSTR - Public Address - npub186l3994gark0fhknh9zp27q38wv3uy042appcpx93cack5q2n03qte2lu2 - <a href="http://primal.net/simon" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">primal.net/simon</a></p><p>Twitter / X - <a href="https://x.com/@ClosedNtwrk" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@ClosedNtwrk</a></p><p>Instagram - <a href="https://www.instagram.com/closednetworkpodcast/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/closednetworkpodcast/</a></p><p>YouTube - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@closednetwork" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/@closednetwork</a></p><p>Email - <a href="mailto:simon@closednetwork.io" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">simon@closednetwork.io</a></p><h1><br></h1><h1>Full Show Notes - <a href="https://forum.closednetwork.io/t/episode-56-when-the-gatekeepers-fail-eu-age-app-cracked-in-2-minutes-hr-8250-palantir-pressure-signal-notification-leaks-and-taking-ai-local/188" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://forum.closednetwork.io/t/episode-56-when-the-gatekeepers-fail-eu-age-app-cracked-in-2-minutes-hr-8250-palantir-pressure-signal-notification-leaks-and-taking-ai-local/188</a></h1><p><br></p><h2>Episode Summary</h2><p><strong>This week, every gate the establishment built to control your digital life is leaking.</strong> Brussels unveiled its flagship EU age verification app and watched it get cracked in under two minutes by a researcher editing a settings file. HR 8250 — the "Parents Decide Act" — just dropped in Congress, pushing the same age verification infrastructure down into the operating system at the federal level. Meta is reportedly preparing facial recognition for its Ray-Ban smart glasses, and seventy civil rights organizations have told the company to abandon the plan. Thirty lawmakers demanded answers from DHS and ICE about Palantir's surveillance tools, with an 11-point letter and a response deadline of April 24th. In a federal terrorism case in Texas, the FBI recovered deleted Signal messages from a suspect's iPhone — without ever breaking Signal's encryption — by forensically extracting them from the iOS notification database, which keeps decrypted message previews for up to 30 days even after the app is uninstalled. Vercel disclosed a real security incident that started inside a third-party AI productivity tool called Context.ai — one of the cleanest textbook examples of AI-tool supply-chain risk turning into credential exposure that we've ever seen.</p><p>On the hopeful side — the quiet good news of 2026 is that running a usable AI model on your own hardware, with no cloud and no account, is finally a weekend project instead of a research project. Simon walks through his month-long experiment running OpenClaw with Ollama on a System76 Oryx Pro and an Apple Mac Studio M1 Max, using Qwen 2.5 and Llama 3.1 — what works, what doesn't, and how to get started in 30 minutes.</p><p>And finally: a time-sensitive call to action. Congress has 10 days to reform Section 702 of FISA — and it is the strongest leverage moment privacy advocates have had in the program's history. Make the call.</p><p><br></p>
March 30, 2026
Episode 55 - My issues with Ubuntu - The Architecture of an Identity-Gated Internet
<p>Show Notes -</p><p>Website / Donations / Support - <a href="https://closednetwork.io/support/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://closednetwork.io/support/</a></p><p>BTC <u>Lightning</u> Donations - closednetwork@getalby.com / simon@primal.net</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Thank You Patreons & Direct Supporters! - </strong></p><p><a href="https://www.patreon.com/closednetwork" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.patreon.com/closednetwork</a></p><p>Subscribe Without Patreon - <a href="https://closednetwork.io/#/portal/signup" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://closednetwork.io/#/portal/signup</a></p><ol><li data-list="bullet"><span class="ql-ui" c></span>Michael Bates - Privacy Bad Ass</li><li data-list="bullet"><span class="ql-ui" c></span>David - Privacy Bad Ass</li><li data-list="bullet"><span class="ql-ui" c></span>TK - Privacy Bad Ass</li><li data-list="bullet"><span class="ql-ui" c></span>David - Privacy Bad Ass</li><li data-list="bullet"><span class="ql-ui" c></span>Trying - Privacy Bad Ass</li><li data-list="bullet"><span class="ql-ui" c></span>VO - Privacy Bad Ass</li><li data-list="bullet"><span class="ql-ui" c></span>MrMilkMustache - Privacy Supporter</li><li data-list="bullet"><span class="ql-ui" c></span>Hutch - Privacy Advocate</li></ol><p>TOP <u>LIGHTNING</u> BOOSTERS !!!! THANK YOU !!!</p><ol><li data-list="bullet"><span class="ql-ui" c></span>@bon 108k SATS!</li><li data-list="bullet"><span class="ql-ui" c></span>@wartime - 22,861 SATS</li><li data-list="bullet"><span class="ql-ui" c></span>@SircussMedia - 48,663 SATS!</li><li data-list="bullet"><span class="ql-ui" c></span>@sn@x</li><li data-list="bullet"><span class="ql-ui" c></span>@fireflygo 6,517 SATS !! - 17,567 !!</li><li data-list="bullet"><span class="ql-ui" c></span>@unkown</li><li data-list="bullet"><span class="ql-ui" c></span>@anonymous</li></ol><h3>Thank You To Our Moderators:</h3><p><strong>Unintelligentseven</strong> - Follow on NOSTR <a href="http://primal.net/p/npub15rp9gyw346fmcxgdlgp2y9a2xua9ujdk9nzumflshkwjsc7wepwqnh354d" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">primal.net/p/npub15rp9gyw346fmcxgdlgp2y9a2xua9ujdk9nzumflshkwjsc7wepwqnh354d</a></p><p><strong>MaddestMax</strong> - Follow on NOSTR <a href="http://primal.net/p/npub133yzwsqfgvsuxd4clvkgupshzhjn52v837dlud6gjk4tu2c7grqq3sxavt" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">primal.net/p/npub133yzwsqfgvsuxd4clvkgupshzhjn52v837dlud6gjk4tu2c7grqq3sxavt</a></p><h3>Join Our Community</h3><p>Closed Network Forum - <a href="https://forum.closednetwork.io" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://forum.closednetwork.io</a></p><p>Join Our Matrix Channels!</p><p>Main - <a href="https://matrix.to/#/#closedntwrk:matrix.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://matrix.to/#/#closedntwrk:matrix.org</a></p><p>Off Topic - <a href="https://matrix.to/#/#closednetworkofftopic:matrix.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://matrix.to/#/#closednetworkofftopic:matrix.org</a></p><p>SimpleX Group Chat - <a href="https://smp9.simplex.im/g#SRBJK7JhuMWa1jgxfmnOfHz7Bl5KjnKUFL5zy-Jn-j0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://smp9.simplex.im/g#SRBJK7JhuMWa1jgxfmnOfHz7Bl5KjnKUFL5zy-Jn-j0</a></p><p>Join Our Mastodon server!</p><p><a href="https://closednetwork.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://closednetwork.social</a></p><h3><strong>Follow Simon</strong> On The Socials</h3><p>Mastodon - <a href="https://closednetwork.social/@simon" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://closednetwork.social/@simon</a></p><p>NOSTR - Public Address - npub186l3994gark0fhknh9zp27q38wv3uy042appcpx93cack5q2n03qte2lu2 - <a href="http://primal.net/simon" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">primal.net/simon</a></p><p>Twitter / X - <a href="https://x.com/@ClosedNtwrk" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@ClosedNtwrk</a></p><p>Instagram - <a href="https://www.instagram.com/closednetworkpodcast/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/closednetworkpodcast/</a></p><p>YouTube - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@closednetwork" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/@closednetwork</a></p><p>Email - <a href="mailto:simon@closednetwork.io" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">simon@closednetwork.io</a></p><p><br></p><h1>TOPICS</h1><h2>- Ubuntu, Canonical, and the Slow Erosion of Linux Trust</h2><h2><strong>"Your Phone Is Now the Checkpoint"</strong></h2><h3>Age Verification, iOS 26.4, and the Architecture of an Identity-Gated Internet</h3><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><h3>Lunduke List of operating systems out right rejecting or accepting age Verification</h3><p><a href="https://github.com/BryanLunduke/DoesItAgeVerify" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://github.com/BryanLunduke/DoesItAgeVerify</a></p><h3><strong>Operating Systems Not Implementing Age Verification</strong></h3><p>The developers or publishers of these open source Operating Systems have decided to not implement Age Verification, or are currently restricting access in regions with Age Verification laws.</p><table><tbody><tr><td data-row="1"><strong> </strong></td><td data-row="1"><strong>Operating System</strong></td><td data-row="1"><strong>Notes</strong></td></tr><tr><td data-row="2">⛔</td><td data-row="2"><strong>Omarchy Linux</strong></td><td data-row="2"><u><a href="https://x.com/lundukejournal/status/2029580164498108846" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Developer statement</a></u></td></tr><tr><td data-row="3">⛔</td><td data-row="3"><strong>Devuan Linux</strong></td><td data-row="3"><u><a href="https://x.com/lundukejournal/status/2034697759291310115" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Developer statement</a></u></td></tr><tr><td data-row="4">⛔</td><td data-row="4"><strong>Slackware Linux</strong></td><td data-row="4"><u><a href="https://x.com/LundukeJournal/status/2036520144239743302" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Developer statement</a></u></td></tr><tr><td data-row="5">⛔</td><td data-row="5"><strong>Vendefoul Wolf Linux</strong></td><td data-row="5"><u><a href="https://x.com/lundukejournal/status/2035390136356077822" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Developer statement 1</a></u>, <u><a href="https://x.com/vendefoulwolf/status/2035441292520386852" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">2</a></u></td></tr><tr><td data-row="6">⛔</td><td data-row="6"><strong>GrapheneOS</strong></td><td data-row="6">Android-based mobile OS, <u><a href="https://x.com/lundukejournal/status/2035073741613338964" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Developer statement</a></u></td></tr><tr><td data-row="7">⛔</td><td data-row="7"><strong>FreeDOS</strong></td><td data-row="7"><u><a href="https://x.com/lundukejournal/status/2034770975309361583" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Developer statement</a></u></td></tr><tr><td data-row="8">⛔</td><td data-row="8"><strong>Artix Linux</strong></td><td data-row="8"><u><a href="https://x.com/lundukejournal/status/2034776326901555488" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Developer statement</a></u></td></tr><tr><td data-row="9">⛔</td><td data-row="9"><strong>DB48X</strong></td><td data-row="9">Calculator firmware, <u><a href="https://x.com/lundukejournal/status/2027358439991615715" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Developer statement</a></u></td></tr><tr><td data-row="10">⛔</td><td data-row="10"><strong>Arch Linux 32</strong></td><td data-row="10"><u><a href="https://x.com/lundukejournal/status/2033896030178029675" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Developer forbids usage in Brazil, California</a></u></td></tr><tr><td data-row="11">⛔</td><td data-row="11"><strong>Ageless Linux</strong></td><td data-row="11"><u><a href="https://x.com/lundukejournal/status/2032951803134837237" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Debian fork created to protest Age Verification</a></u></td></tr><tr><td data-row="12">⛔</td><td data-row="12"><strong>Garuda Linux</strong></td><td data-row="12"><u><a href="https://x.com/LundukeJournal/status/2036164910699188456" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Developer statement</a></u></td></tr><tr><td data-row="13">⛔</td><td data-row="13"><strong>Void Linux</strong></td><td data-row="13"><u><a href="https://x.com/LundukeJournal/status/2036521455752495439" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Developer statement</a></u></td></tr><tr><td data-row="14">⛔</td><td data-row="14"><strong>EndeavorOS Linux</strong></td><td data-row="14"><u><a href="https://x.com/LundukeJournal/status/2037393956384674196" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Developer statement</a></u></td></tr></tbody></table><h3><strong>Operating Systems Planning to Implement Age Verification</strong></h3><p>The developers or publishers of these Open Source Operating Systems have made plans and/or statements that they intend to comply with new Age Verification laws. But, as yet, that Age Verfication functionality is not fully implemented.</p><table><tbody><tr><td data-row="1"><strong> </strong></td><td data-row="1"><strong>Operating System</strong></td><td data-row="1"><strong>Notes</strong></td></tr><tr><td data-row="2">🏗️</td><td data-row="2"><strong>Ubuntu</strong></td><td data-row="2"><u><a href="https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel/2026-March/043510.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Planning Discussion</a></u>, <u><a href="https://x.com/lundukejournal/status/2029198322309681311" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ubuntu VP Statement</a></u></td></tr><tr><td data-row="3">🏗️</td><td data-row="3"><strong>Pop!_OS</strong></td><td data-row="3"><u><a href="https://blog.system76.com/post/system76-on-age-verification" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">System76 Statement opposing, but planning to implement</a></u></td></tr><tr><td data-row="4">🏗️</td><td data-row="4"><strong>elementary OS</strong></td><td data-row="4"><u><a href="https://mastodon.social/@danirabbit@mastodon.online/116250766314705297" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Founder Statement planning to implement</a></u></td></tr><tr><td data-row="5">🏗️</td><td data-row="5"><strong>Midnight BSD</strong></td><td data-row="5"><u><a href="https://github.com/MidnightBSD/src?tab=License-1-ov-file" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">License temporarily forbids usage in Brazil, California</a></u>, <u><a href="https://x.com/midnightbsd/status/2030992394703732872" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">until implementation finished</a></u></td></tr><tr><td data-row="6">🏗️</td><td data-row="6"><strong>Fedora</strong></td><td data-row="6"><u><a href="https://x.com/LundukeJournal/status/2036526650154729543" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Planning Discussion</a></u></td></tr></tbody></table><h3><strong>Operating Systems Which Have Already Implemented Age Verification</strong></h3><p>As of the most recent update to this document, no known Open Source Operating Systems have fully complied with legal Age Verification requirements for Brazil or California.</p><h3>1. Brazil's Digital ECA Went Live March 17 — and Nobody Was Ready</h3><p><strong>This week's biggest story.</strong> Brazil's mandatory age verification law went live on March 17, 2026, and Proton VPN reported a staggering 250% increase in Brazilian sign-ups between Monday and Tuesday, as users scrambled to avoid submitting biometric scans and identity documents just to access social media. Th <a href="https://tech.yahoo.com/vpn/articles/brazil-age-verification-law-triggers-163446783.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Yahoo!</a>e law — the Digital ECA — bans self-declaration as a verification method, and fines run up to 10% of a company's Brazilian revenue or R$50 million (~$9.5M USD) per infraction. It <a href="https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/03/14/brazils-age-verification-law-takes-effect-march-17-2026-and-nobodys-ready/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Adafruit</a> gets stranger: the law contains its own internal contradiction — Article 37 says regulations cannot impose "mass, generic, or indiscriminate surveillance mechanisms," but Article 9 bans self-reported age and Article 12 demands "auditable" verification. An <a href="https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/03/14/brazils-age-verification-law-takes-effect-march-17-2026-and-nobodys-ready/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Adafruit</a>d it's pulling in Linux distros — Ubuntu Linux landed on Brazil's regulatory watchlist, and Rockstar Games simply pulled its storefront from Brazilian customers entirely rather than absorb the compliance burden. St <a href="https://www.mysteriumvpn.com/blog/news/brazil-social-media-ban-is-live" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">MysteriumVPN</a>rong standalone episode or a tight follow-up segment.</p><p><br></p><h3>2. Discord: Leaked 70,000 IDs — Then Rolled Out ID Collection to Everyone</h3><p>A gift of a story for Closed Network. In October 2025, Discord disclosed that hackers breached third-party vendor 5CA and exposed approximately 70,000 government-issued ID images used for age verification. A single compromised account gave attackers access for 58 hours. <a href="https://stateofsurveillance.org/news/discord-age-verification-id-biometric-privacy-2026/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Stateofsurveillance</a> Discord's response? Beginning in early March, Discord started locking all users into a "teen-appropriate experience" unless they proved they were adults — through a face scan or government ID upload via a third-party vendor. <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/02/discord-voluntarily-pushes-mandatory-age-verification-despite-recent-data-breach" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Electronic Frontier Foundation</a> The EFF called it out directly: Discord delayed the global rollout to the "second half of 2026" after backlash, and said one of its initial partners, Persona, "did not meet the bar" for on-device processing. <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/02/discord-voluntarily-pushes-mandatory-age-verification-despite-recent-data-breach" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Electronic Frontier Foundation</a> The through-line for Simon: the system that leaked 70,000 IDs isn't fundamentally different from the one being rolled out to 200 million users.</p><h3>3. Colorado SB26-051: Every OS Must Card You at Setup</h3><p>Colorado's SB26-051 "Age Attestation on Computing Devices" passed the Senate on March 3, 2026 with a 28–7 vote. <a href="https://legiscan.com/CO/bill/SB051/2026" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">LegiScan</a> The bill doesn't regulate websites — it shifts responsibility directly to operating system providers and app distribution infrastructure. OS providers would be required to collect a user's date of birth at account setup, generate an age bracket signal, and make it available to developers via API every time an app is downloaded or launched. <a href="https://www.biometricupdate.com/202602/colorado-moves-age-checks-from-websites-to-operating-systems" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Biometric Update</a> The kicker: the bill never specifies how age is actually determined — account holders just "indicate" their birth date. No ID check. No verification mechanism. Any user could lie and the system would accept it. <a href="https://itsfoss.com/news/colorado-age-attestation-bill/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">It's FOSS</a> Strong angle: this is California AB 1043's little sibling — but potentially even more technically sweeping because it explicitly covers Linux distros and general-purpose computing devices.</p><p><br></p><h3>4. Character.AI Rolls Out KYC — AI Companions Now Require Government ID</h3><p>Character.AI's March 2026 update mandates that users prove their age through KYC protocols. If you cannot verify your identity, you cannot chat with the bots. <a href="https://agileleadershipdayindia.org/blogs/character-ai-age-verification-compliance/character-ai-age-verification-update.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">AGILE LEADERSHIP DAY</a> The angle here is mission creep — age verification has now expanded from social media and adult content to AI chatbots. The EU AI Act's rules for high-risk AI systems take full effect by August 2026, and the Act strictly prohibits AI systems from deploying manipulative techniques or exploiting user vulnerabilities related to age — forcing platforms like Character.AI to definitively prove they are not exploiting minors, which means knowing exactly how old their users are. <a href="https://agileleadershipdayindia.org/blogs/character-ai-age-verification-compliance/character-ai-age-verification-update.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">AGILE LEADERSHIP DAY</a> This is a natural bridge episode connecting age verification to the AI regulation space.</p><h3>5. Congress: KOSA vs. The App Store Accountability Act — Two Very Different Bills</h3><p>Two bills now moving through Congress take fundamentally different approaches — KOSA requires companies to conduct risk assessments, restrict default settings on minors' accounts up to age 17, and give parents oversight tools. The App Store Accountability Act attempts to stop the problem before a child ever opens an app: requiring age verification at the account level and parental consent for every minor's download. <a href="https://fortune.com/2026/03/18/kosa-kids-act-app-store-accountability-act-minors-age-verification/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Fortune</a> Also notable: COPPA 2.0 covers ages 13 to 16, bans targeted advertising to minors entirely, and creates a dedicated FTC enforcement division — closing the loophole that allowed companies to treat teenagers as unprotected users. <a href="https://fortune.com/2026/03/18/kosa-kids-act-app-store-accountability-act-minors-age-verification/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Fortune</a></p><h3>6. The Bypass Problem Is Getting Worse — AI Deepfakes Are Now a Tool</h3><p>A Brazilian lawyer told Rest of World: "Age-verification technologies are not infallible. Minors are using increasingly sophisticated techniques, including VPNs and AI-generated deepfakes or selfies." <a href="https://restofworld.org/2026/social-media-age-verification-tools/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rest of World</a> On Roblox, one user posted a video showing a crude face painted on a thumb passing the age check and being assessed as 13–15 years old. Another user wrote they used a fake ID of Joseph Stalin and it got accepted. <a href="https://restofworld.org/2026/social-media-age-verification-tools/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rest of World</a> This is darkly funny and devastating at the same time — and directly undermines the entire premise of facial age estimation as a security measure.</p><h3><br></h3><h2>What does Google keep on you?</h2><p>Austin Evans downloaded his Google Takeout - 527 GB of data:</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcHrqgz30pk" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcHrqgz30pk</a></p><p><br></p><p><br></p>
57 total episodes available with 11 transcripts
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