Age Verification is here!!

Wow, talk about hyperbole! At least I hope it is just hyperbole! ROFL Seriously folks - I have to laugh. (No, I am not laughing with you. )

I have not done the verification thing myself. If it becomes an issue down the road then I will consider it. However, if at that time I don't feel like giving out the required information then I won't get verified. Simple. Done... No sky falling, no end of the world, no Orwellian boot on my face forever.

I would like to add, for the sake of productive discussion, can we keep the hyperbole to a minimum? SL setting up age verification is not even close to a totalitarian socialistic police state that robs you of every shred of humanity. I won’t bother to list all the reasons why it isn’t (should be obvious even to a monkey with a crushed skull) save for this one…we can leave.

You know, this had BETTER NOT be the case

Now that I think about it more.

LL has no right to give Integrity your personal info. They agreed to keep it confidential when you signed up.

Besides if LL gives Integrity your info - then they have it from LL - whether you verify or not!!!!

I was just speculating on that Colette. I don't know why it doesn't insist on asking for my driving licence or passport number but as that was my big objection I decided to try and verify without that information and it worked.

yep yep I realize you were just speculating -

the scary part is your speculation makes sense.

Actually, it was a thought I had when they started doing a lockout of accounts with incorrect information. How do they know what info is incorrect?

But I kind of shoved the issue to the back of the mind, since the ToS says they would keep it confidential...

I dunno. I remember that episode of Friends where David Schwimmer had a go, and he was really really bad.

Very eerie that you would come up with this theory just two posts after Warda's about the Brit/Evil Genius stereotype.

That would be an *excellent* way around the European Union's disdain for data export to the United States.

1) EU user attempts to verify through LL's (USA) website.
2) LL exports user data (name, address, DOB, etc.) from USA to Integrity UK.

The EU's Data Protection Stazi just don't like it happening the other way around.

You can bet your bottom Eurodollar that Integrity UK is responsible for every SL citizen registered in an EU country. So they've got a continent containing close to a billion people covered without contravening its data protection laws .. regarding export anyway.

I have huge reservations about them requesting data they don't need. I still think that's going to get them in trouble with the Information Commissioner.

Of course we won't keep the Hyperbole to a minimum. This is an internet forum you silly person. The larger question at hand is....Do you want sex now?

That stereotype was busted ages ago.......

I've asked Robin Linden to let me know if it's data protection act compliant, she said she'll get back to me but she's a busy lady.

I, all my family and all of my friends, colleagues and associates are all evil geniuses.

I thought that was the norm

I am very surprised that Linden Lab is thinking of trying to verify people's age. To my mind, whether a child or adolescent goes on Internet and logs onto Second Life or not is not Linden Lab's responsibility but the responsibility of the parents of the youngster.

Verification of age is a myth. Any adolescent keen on coming onto Second Life can use their parent's ID and give what ever detail is required.

So who is Linden Lab trying to reassure and educate?

They've passed it over to a third party and have henceforth absolved themselves of all responsibility.

I had a conversation with a friend. He is relatively new to SL, and hasnt yet got into the habit of reading the Blog and the Forums, and i had been telling him about the Age Verification Saga, how it began, how it has been brewing for the last few months, etc, and how it is now looming upon us.

He was concerned enough to call LL and last night he told me about his conversation on the phone with LL.

I wont quote it verbatim as i don't want the log tracked.. but I promise you that i am not misinterpreting anything he said, i asked him to explain it in several ways to be sure..

Here is a summary of what he said.

"I spoke to them. They told me that all the residents here now are going to be cleared automatically and that Age Verification is for New sign ups, because there are too many accounts online now and it would take too long to check them."


imogen

LL aren't responsible for age verification.

i didnt say it was

imogen

Which has nothing to do with what I said. I was suggesting that's one group of people who might have an interest in it. I said nothing about whether the method is sound or the third party trustworthy or whether verified status would be meaningful, or anything like that. I just said that the notion of some SL users wanting to be less anonymous is not absurd.

Yeah, whatever. I'm sure that if you spoke to a different Linden, it would be a different conversation.

/me shrugs and settles back into her seat.

Well, if you folks don't see the implications of that, fine. Carry on debating at length how all this is going to be implemented, how you have to give them the information they are asking for, how this, how that, how the other.

I just thought i would let you know that its all not necessary. You can tell them you are Brigitte Bardot and you are 12 years old.. it wont matter.

love to all
imogen

It's appreciated, Imogen, and you're probably right. But like all things... you will find Lindens telling different things depending on how new they are, etc.

... more trouble than running an adult website that does not verify the age of it's visitors?

The existing precautions that LL takes are, by UK standards, generally considered sufficient precaution for adult sites. At least, teh Uk government has never seen fit to take any action against any of the innumerable sites that use equivalent precautions against minors.

Yes, I'm being UK-specific here. taht's ok, because so is Walker Moore.

For your consideration in light of the current discussion.

SEC. 208. [42 U.S.C. 408] (a) Whoever
discloses, uses, or compels the disclosure of the social security number of any person in violation of the laws of the United States;

shall be guilty of a felony and upon conviction thereof shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both.

thats so sleazy.
ll better not have passed on my billing info to these creepy people. i will be furious if they did.

Sure.. the entire thing.

Same goes fro CC numbers, the last 4 of which are frequently used as purchase confirmations in plain text emails and invoices.

A partial number is not the "number".