“Ready or not, age verification is rolling out across the #Internet”

“It’s just a taste of the issues that many other countries might face as they launch their own systems, and it’s a situation that privacy and security experts have long warned about — to little avail.

Following a yearslong political push to make the internet safer for kids, age #verification has started seeping into online spaces across the globe. Lawmakers in the #USA, #Europe, #Australia, and elsewhere have all passed #AgeGating #rules, and platforms have begun to comply.

The likely methods for verification are similar to those in the UK. #Platforms typically ask users to either enter a #PaymentCard, upload a #GovernmenIssuedID, take a selfie, or allow a platform to use their #data (like account #CreationDates and #UserConnections) to “estimate” their age. Most rely on #ThirdParty services: #Bluesky uses the #EpicGames-owned Kids Web Services; #Reddit is working with #Persona; and #Discord has partnered with #kID.”

#UK / #OnlineSafetyAct / #OSA / #AgeVerification / #surveillance / #control <https://www.theverge.com/analysis/715767/online-age-verification-not-ready> (paywall) / <https://archive.md/jQuvd>

To quote #Caprica6, "Are you alive?" As in, when do we need to verify that we are human [alive]? Hmmmm...

#OpenAI’s #ChatGPT Agent casually clicks through “I am not a robot” #verification test

"This step is necessary to prove I'm not a bot," wrote the bot as it passed an anti-AI screening step.

by Benj Edwards – Jul 28, 2025

"Maybe they should change the button to say, 'I am a robot'?

"On Friday, OpenAI's new ChatGPT Agent, which can perform multistep tasks for users, proved it can pass through one of the Internet's most common security checkpoints by clicking #Cloudflare's anti-bot verification—the same checkbox that's supposed to keep automated programs like itself at bay.

"#ChatGPTAgent is a feature that allows OpenAI's #AIAssistant to control its own web browser, operating within a #sandboxed environment with its own virtual operating system and browser that can access the real Internet. Users can watch the AI's actions through a window in the ChatGPT interface, maintaining oversight while the agent completes tasks. The system requires user permission before taking actions with real-world consequences, such as making purchases. Recently, Reddit users discovered the agent could do something particularly ironic.

"The evidence came from Reddit, where a user named "logkn" of the r/OpenAI community posted screenshots of the AI agent effortlessly clicking through the screening step before it would otherwise present a #CAPTCHA (short for "Completely Automated Public Turing tests to tell Computers and Humans Apart") while completing a video conversion task—narrating its own process as it went.

"A screenshot of OpenAI ChatGPT Agent showing the bot writing "The link is inserted, so now I'll click the 'Verify you are human' checkbox to complete the verification on Cloudflare. This step is necessary to prove I'm not a bot and proceed with the action."

"The screenshots shared on Reddit capture the agent navigating a two-step verification process: first clicking the "Verify you are human" checkbox, then proceeding to click a "Convert" button after the Cloudflare challenge succeeds. The agent provides real-time narration of its actions, stating "The link is inserted, so now I'll click the 'Verify you are human' checkbox to complete the verification on Cloudflare. This step is necessary to prove I'm not a bot and proceed with the action."

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2025/07/openais-chatgpt-agent-casually-clicks-through-i-am-not-a-robot-verification-test/

The #VerificationScam on #Mastodon has resurfaced. Now they claim to be from #MastodonSafetyTeam. Do NOT click on the links, and report and block.

SCAM or REAL?

In the past hour I've received a bunch of messages from something called MastodonVerifyAgent at the account "mstdn" then a period then "plus"

Wants me to click a link because my account "has not been verified" — if not, I get "limited functionality."

Can anybody validate this?

I'm wondering whether this growing #fascist practice of forced user identification on the public Web (under the knowingly fraudulent pretext of "age #verification") will lead to moving everything politically serious (and otherwise significant) onto the #darkweb (.onion etc.)? Or will the #Nazis be able to block that too?

Data scientists at York St. John University have published a new tool for identifying fake images: Pixelator v2. The software can detect alternations as small as one pixel.

Article by Alex Scroxton for Computer Weekly.

https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366616231/Scientists-demonstrate-Pixelator-deepfake-image-verification-tool

"It’s important to approach online content with a skeptical eye, especially after major news events or tragedies."

For @Poynter, Grace Abels documents typical red flags in disaster videos (and shows how "engagement farming" has gotten way out of hand).

https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/media-literacy/2025/how-to-spot-fake-viral-videos-of-texas-flooding/

Someone has probably already thought of this, but I wonder if it would be helpful, at least in search, to show when a verified domain has been registered.

Believable, because this is the world in which we live.
#internet #verification #QR #SecureLogin

Michaela Klauck introducing us into #verification and #validation at the @ACM @SIGSOFT #Summerschool on #SE-Robotics

Compiled by Johanna Wild | @Bellingcat:

A useful list of #IJF #Perugia sessions dedicated to topics like #OSINT, #verification, and #investigation.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1m80df-1FvHAgd0Tw-qN_cTBy3QtBki7pyzVUquAMDZU/edit?tab=t.0

Inside R&D: Innovation Explained is our new series of interviews with the R&D team, lifting the lid on technological changes that are affecting the media industry.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/articles/2025-05-inside-rd/

The podcast is available on several platforms - all the links and episode details below

Try #2.
I have a question about #Mastodon #Verification. Where exactly does the rel=me link have to go to be noticed by mastodon. I've tried in the header and in the body (with a thing to make it invisible.)
Here's the site if you're interested https://tourma.great-site.net

Also, @mods how long does it take for tech.LGBT to notice a rel=me and give a checkmark?
Thanks.~<3

A question with #Mastodon #Verification. Where exactly does the rel=me link have to go to be noticed by mastodon. I've tried in the header and in the body (with a thing to make it invisible.)
Here's the site if you're interested https://tourma.great-site.net