Age of online privacy coming to an end as Australia adopts digital ID

Todayville

Published

1 year ago

3 minute read

By Didi Rankovic

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Defends Controversial Online Age Verification Digital ID Methods

Julie Inman Grant, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner (to her critics – the country’s chief censor), has attempted to explain how Online Safety Amendment – Social Media Minimum Age Bill 2024 – will be enforced.

The bill mandates online age verification, and bans minors under 16 from using social platforms, in what is described as “the strictest crackdown” yet in the world – with many in the world, no doubt, looking at how things pan out in Australia before they make their own restrictive moves.

The “small” question that remains to be answered Down Under now is – how does the government propose to determine the age of a person using an online platform, before the government orders them to be banned?

Grant may be trying to sell one method as less invasive, less potentially harmful, and otherwise controversial than another – but they appear to be as bad as each other, only in different ways.

“There are really only three ways you can verify someone’s age online, and that’s through ID, through behavioral signals, or through biometrics,” she told NPR.

The “ID” route means that every internet user would have to provide government-issued documents to platforms, revealing their real-world identity to these platforms and anyone else they’re in business with (such as governments and data brokers) and ending online anonymity for everyone.

And that, in fact, is the only sure-fire way to determine someone’s age. The other two produce estimates. The biometrics Grant mentions refer to uploading selfies to companies like Yoti, who then guess a user’s age.

Better than the “ID” method – that is, if you believe it’s a good idea for minors, or anyone, to just hand over biometric data to third parties.

Then, there are “behavioral signals” – and it sounds positively bonkers that a government would entertain the idea of deploying such technology on/against its citizens.

Grant said she met with yet another third party in the US – “an age assurance provider” – this unnamed company doesn’t monitor and analyze your facial features, but hand gestures. For age verification.

Like so: “Say you do a peace sign then a fist to the camera. It follows your hand movements. And medical research has shown that based on your hand movement, it can identify your age.”

One way to look at all this is that tech is being developed to step up online surveillance, while a flurry of “think of the children” laws may be here to legitimize and “legalize” that tech’s use.

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Related Topics:#DidiRankovic #ReclaimTheNet AustraliaDigitalID OnlineAgeVerification

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Digital ID

The Global Push for Government Mandated Digital IDs And Why You Should Worry

Published on December 29, 2025

Duane Rolheiser

From StosselTV

Countries all over the world are imposing digital IDs. They tie your identity to everything you do. Spain’s Prime Minister wants “An end to anonymity online!”

Tech privacy expert Naomi Brockwell ‪@NaomiBrockwellTV‬ warns that’s dangerous. “Privacy is not about hiding,” she tells Stossel TV producer Kristin Tokarev. “It’s about an individual’s right to decide for themselves who gets access to their data. A Digital ID… will strip individuals of that choice.”

The new government mandated digital IDs aren’t just a digital version of your driver’s license or passport. “It connects everything,” Brockwell explains. “Your financial decisions, to your social media posts, your likes, the things that you’re watching, places that you’re going… Everything you say will be tied back to who you are.”

And once everything runs through a single government ID, access to services becomes something you need permission for. That’s already a reality in China where citizens are tracked, scored, and punished for “bad” behavior.

Brockwell warns the western world is “skyrocketing in that direction.” She says Americans need to push back now.

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Digital ID

Canadian government launches trial version of digital ID for certain licenses, permits

Published on December 22, 2025

Todayville

From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

The Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) department has officially confirmed it is developing a digital ID for certain licenses and permits.

The Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) department has officially confirmed it is developing a digital ID for certain licenses and permits, called “GC Issue and Verify,” which has already been listed on the Google Play store, as a trial-only app for certain users.

The digital ID claims the government can replace and be full “digital versions” of the “physical credentials they already provide today, like work permits and boating licenses.”

“Instead of only having physical credentials in their wallets, people will also be able to securely store their digital credentials on their mobile devices,” says the government.

According to ESDC officials, the digital IDs can be shared online or in-person “when needed, making it easy for departments, organizations, and businesses to validate their information.”

The government argued that since many Canadians already use “digital credentials without realizing it,” such as a digital ticket “stored on our mobile device instead of using a printed ticket,” this would be the same for IDs such as licenses.

ESDC said that “digital options” will be voluntary and that people can still use “traditional physical methods of verification,” instead.

READ: Canada releases new digital ID app for personal documents despite privacy concerns

The reality is that digital IDs and similar systems have long been pushed by globalist groups like the World Economic Forum, an organization with which Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has extensive ties, under the guise of ease of access and security.

Also, Canadians do not want digital IDs, as noted by Canada’s Privy Council research from 2023, which said there is strong public resistance to the use of digital IDs to access government services.

Both GC Wallet and GC Issue and Verify are now being tested with federal partners, those being Transport Canada and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

During COVID, the Canadian federal government released a digital-type app called ArriveCAN app for travel that was a form of digital ID. The app was riddled with technical glitches along with privacy concerns from users.

As reported by LifeSiteNews, the Canadian government hired outside consultants tasked with looking into whether or not officials should proceed with creating a digital ID system for all citizens and residents.

Opp0sition MP Leslyn Lewis, recently warned Canadians to be “on guard” against a push by the ruling Liberal Party to bring forth digital IDs, saying they should be voluntary.