Gating speech

Being able to speak online freely, under a pseudonym, is an important backstop for freedom of speech.

If government turns repressive, or bans some kinds of speech, or locks you out of some kinds of employment for having used the wrong words, at least you can online under a pseudonym. 

Well, unless you're only allowed online after logging into a government app. Then it's game over. 

Nevertheless, some in Wellington are itching to follow Australia’s lead. 

While legislation is in its early stages in Parliament with Catherine Wedd’s Member’s Bill, Education Minister Erica Stanford is leading cross-agency work to explore viable legislative options and practical implementation.  

The Prime Minister has publicly supported moving ahead.  

Paul James, the Government chief digital officer, told me on The Business of Tech podcast last week that the digital identity verification system underpinning the upcoming all-of-government app and digital wallet could offer the age verification needed to support a ban – if the Government seeks to enforce one.

I've suggested before that a trilemma applies here, or something like one. Online age gating requires adults to prove that they're not kids. 

And that means at least one of three problems.  

A system could be easily worked around by kids.

It could be very cumbersome for those over the age limit.

Or it could be the end of online pseudonymity and privacy.

Suppose that the government-app runs a zero knowledge proof solution. You log into the app. It generates a key verifying that the person logged into the app is over some age. You use that key with your favourite social media app. It verifies the key's authenticity anonymously, so the app doesn't know which platform is checking. And you're set - privacy maintained. 

But that's easily worked around if a sixteen year old logs into the government app on his fifteen-year-old friend's phone. 

And enough kids doing that means the Before 16 lobby group will characterise it as a loophole that must be closed. And then the verification is no longer done through a ZKP, ending online privacy, or we have to do daily re-verification to impose a differential cost on under-16s, making things cumbersome for other users. 

I do not like where this is heading.