> What the Commission describes as a tool for child protection is also something else entirely: a stepping stone toward the European Digital Identity Wallets scheduled for rollout by the end of 2026.

It always starts with “think of the children”. But make no mistake, all the promises of privacy and anonymity here cannot be trusted. It’s the government’s claim after all. They can change rules retroactively or carve things out for “national security” or whatever. Age verification is simply a violation of people’s fundamental right to anonymously access speech and communicate speech.