Age Verification: A Failure by Design?

This article argues that mandatory online age verification (AV) is a catastrophic failure. Instead of protecting children, AV drives users to unregulated and potentially dangerous platforms, harming legitimate content creators and exacerbating inequality within the adult industry. The author contends that AV is a thinly veiled attack on pornography, fueled by anti-porn activists, opportunistic politicians, and sensationalist media coverage. A device-level parental control approach is proposed as a far more effective solution.