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Discord's started hammering early...
a month ago
General
I was hearing news that Discord was going to hold off on their age verification crap until later this year, rather than this month, but that seems to only be the case for the rest of the world. In Brazil's case, they're rolling it out today because of a new law that's being enacted on March 17th (the Digital Statute for Children and Adolescents, aka "Digital ECA"). As of today, I can no longer access any NSFW channels unless I hand over my ID or a video selfie. It's asinine that the fact I've had Nitro consistently for the last 4 years (and therefore valid payment info) isn't enough evidence for my age. So much for the whole "We'll infer your age based on things we already know" spiel they tried giving. Turns out Discord can't even use age inference because of how strict this new Digital ECA thing is, so my account is restricted to a teen-by-default state unless I verify.
Supposedly they'll be trying to make payment info a means of age verification, but doing so in a way that satisfies Brazilian regulators is going to be a pain in the ass, so I don't have much hope at the moment. Just gonna have to archive my server's NSFW channels and step down as an admin for the one other fetish-oriented server that I've helped moderate for so long. I may be 30 and overweight, but I still get mistaken for younger. I'd be taking a gamble doing a video selfie unless I somehow make myself look older than I actually am. Scratch that; I bit the bullet and did a video selfie. I passed more easily than I thought I would. I'm not pleased about it, though, but what else can one do in today's times?
Stoat still seems like a viable option to me, but not everyone I'm friends with uses it yet... nor do I expect them to, honestly. Discord is effectively a monopoly and has no real viable competition. I'd use Telegram if that were an option available to me, but unfortunately one needs a cellphone number, and I haven't had access to mine since moving countries in 2024 (and wifi calling was never an option that my carrier provided, either).
Of course, I'll still be reachable on Discord. I just can't access any smut channels or effectively moderate any servers I was part of before.
I'm with ya, though... no matter where these age verification laws are enforced, I also have to wonder how truly effective they can be, especially when minors can just have their parents, an older sibling, or another adult family member complete the facial verification for them if they don't have access to an ID of some sort. Not to mention, anyone seeking to be predatory towards minors can still easily do so without verifying their age group, so it's all for naught either way, imo.