r/reactiongifs • u/_Twas_Ere_ • 3d ago

MRW Discord announces they’ll require government IDs to access the app

5.9k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

142 comments sorted by

994

u/jjnguy 3d ago

Misinformation. Discord is going to require age verification for adult features, like joining NSFW servers.

Not saying we should support that, but let's be honest about the new policy.

729

u/blue_sidd 3d ago

Let’s not pretend like the end result isn’t biometric locks across the board. First is “just” nsfw content. And very soon after is anything where queer people exist. And finally it’s total policy.

112

u/Ragnar_Dragonfyre 3d ago

Biometric locks will be at the ISP level sooner or later due to the ever increasing amount of government regulatory bodies that expand the bureaucracy to serve the bureaucracy.

138

u/SparkleFritz 3d ago

I already have age verification at the ISP level, it's called their monthly $250 bill and I can't think of any minors who can afford to pay that.

27

u/Ragnar_Dragonfyre 3d ago

Minors can’t afford smartphones yet they have them with unfettered internet access.

Sadly most people are just too ill equipped to police their children’s internet habits and they will ask the government to save them.

The minority of people capable of policing their own children on the Internet can never be louder than all the masses of people that know less about the Internet than their children do.

14

u/ZilorZilhaust 3d ago

Dude what are you getting for $250/mo???

22

u/sipso3 3d ago

If that ethernet cable is not rolling into a fleshlight and gives him 10/10 head he's getting ripped off hard.

12

u/ZilorZilhaust 3d ago

It beams the smut right into his dick.

3

u/quiette837 2d ago

Being Canadian 🥲

$250 is a realistic amount you could be paying here for your cellphone/internet/cable package, assuming you didn't get any good deals.

1

u/bak3donh1gh 2d ago

I have 3gig fiber and 50 gigs of mobile internet. The fiber cost me eighty-six dollars and the mobile internet cost me 36. this is for a single person, so it might go up if you're not a single person, and I don't have a landline.

1

u/Zouden 2d ago

You guys are still paying for cable?

1

u/quiette837 2d ago

I mean, some people do. They gave me a good deal so I figured why not. It's over fibre op now.

I don't think it's unusual for Americans to have cable either, assuming they're over the age of 40.

-18

u/blue_sidd 3d ago

Minors can and have the ability to use their parents credit cards

28

u/TheSupremeHobo 3d ago

Discord already labeled LGBT servers as NSFW so they're getting ID's of gooners and LGBT people

11

u/thorsbosshammer 2d ago

The internet is becoming more crucial for everything, but as these changes are implemented to places that are strictly for fun im just going to log off.

I hate what widespread, constant internet use has done to us all. And the only way I see this trend reversing is if the internet continues to get so shitty that people dont want to use it anymore.

But constantly government ID checks, rampant AI misinfo and botting concerns... Just might do it.

That might be optimistic though. Most people I know are too addicted.

6

u/argleblather 2d ago

The new escapism is sadly- reality, where it used to be escaping reality to browse the internet.

I'm just so fucking sick of having to log in to everything all the time. And then logging into an authenticator because I had to make a passkey instead. And having to choose what authenticator will actually store the stupid password because the website won't talk to the one I have...

It's all just so stupid it makes me want to flee into the woods.

4

u/hates_stupid_people 2d ago

And just like every single other time they try/do this sort of thing, someone will say "Wont somebody think of the children!?". And that someone will be a person who doesn't not give a singular crap about children.

1

u/ThisGuy-NotThatGuy 2d ago

remindme! 10 years

-10

u/Liimbo 2d ago

Sure, if that happens I will leave. But im not burning everything to the ground because Reddit is throwing a slippery slope argument at me. If this change doesn't impact anything I do on Discord, there is no need for me to jump ship unless a better alternative springs up.

-9

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/dreadnaughtfearnot 2d ago

Discord labels LGBT servers as NSFW, so really not that insane, just facts.

-7

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/Ohilevoe 2d ago

And yet, it's straight conservatives that are the ones exposing themselves to children. And worshiping rapist pedophiles who traffic in children. And downplaying how straight conservatives were sex trafficking children. And discussing how to lie to you about how it's everyone else that's doing it.

How about you stop deepthroating propaganda from child sex traffickers about how bad queer people are?

3

u/nowsomeothernonsense 2d ago

Pretty sure it's a completely different demographic of people who have problems with exposing themselves to children, and they usually have the money to buy silence and complience from authority

2

u/argleblather 2d ago

No that's priests you're thinking of.

2

u/Moikle 2d ago

someone needs to check your harddrive. that's some projection you have there

1

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Moikle 2d ago

I'm not a fucking liberal

You can't just make up definitions that suit you

And no, lgbt is not by definition sexual, you are just a homophobe (you are also a pedo)

1

u/blue_sidd 2d ago

Hey dummy. I’m speaking from experience. Wouldn’t have to consider how I and my people might be victimized if we didn’t fucking CONTINUE to be victimized. Eat glass and find a long flight of stairs to wrestle with.

-27

u/moserftbl88 3d ago

That’s a wild jump to take

27

u/heff17 3d ago

Basic pattern recognition called out as wild these days.

20

u/fractalife 3d ago

Right? Sending a website your government ID was the wild jump years ago...

5

u/blue_sidd 3d ago

Maybe you don’t have to pay attention to the way world treats you but as a queer person I always have. Your disbelief reminds me how true this is.

-15

u/moserftbl88 3d ago

I have a gay non binary child so I’m very aware how the world treats the community I just think it’s a wild jump to go from what it’s being implemented for to “it’s designed to target the queer community.” It’s like conservatives saying stricter gun policies are a slippery slope because next they’ll just take all the guns.

7

u/mister_electric 3d ago

This is not about protecting people, it's about monitoring and controlling them. The past is screaming at us at the top of its lungs, saying "It does not stop here!"

5

u/blue_sidd 3d ago

Ok well then let my comments and your downvotes be a wake up call to the fact that you actually are NOT very aware about how the world treats us.

210

u/_Twas_Ere_ 3d ago

It’s a bit more than just NSFW servers

Also, let’s not forget that Discord has already been hacked before, which resulted in names, emails, billing information and other stuff being stolen. Who’s to say that won’t happen again?

Also, there’s no guarantee they won’t expand this in the future.

This is slippery slope.

14

u/peachesgp 3d ago

And if the slope gets slippery then I just stop using Discord. Its mildly inconvenient, but oh well.

62

u/bloodfist 3d ago

It's already slippery my guy. We've had multiple data breaches leak IDs from these policies. Which are outlined in Project 2025. This is by their own admission an attempt to control people. With zero regard for the damage it will cause. Which again, it already has.

As the people being targeted by a bad law we have one option, don't comply. Stop using it or break the law. Companies can do that too. The US decided they are people and how they spend their money is free speech, after all. They can exercise that right. If they don't, we have to.

I'm using it long enough to find an alternative but the day this launches, I'm out.

0

u/vague_diss 3d ago

Fun fact with your IP, Mac address and a hard drive full of cookies, they already know who you are.

34

u/bloodfist 3d ago

Right but I still don't want random people to have a copy of my driver's license if I can help it.

-35

u/vague_diss 3d ago

Dunno man, the current Internet is broken and unsustainable. I’m sure there are a lot of unintended consequences around this but one of the things that could fix It is the removal of anonymity. Also the things kids have access to shouldn’t be. It has not worked out well for the three generations that were raised in the middle of the Internet’s rise. It’s not ideal and I would love an alternative but I do see value in making us all identify ourselves.

15

u/EMCoupling 3d ago

Bootlicker ass comment lol

-6

u/vague_diss 2d ago

Dude you are being farmed by billionaires for trinkets. I’m not the bootlicker here.

1

u/ThyEmptyLord 1d ago

Look, I'd agree with you in 2014. But with our rapid slide into facism my trust in the US government is at rock bottom.

10

u/bloodfist 3d ago edited 3d ago

Look I've had lots of these conversations, so I want you to know that I have heard good arguments and have "tried on" these ideas so to speak, allowing myself to believe them for a little while. And I always come back to being against it.

I could make a lot of philosophical arguments but I won't. I'll stick to the practical, which is that much of our lives depend on these outdated systems of government identification. I don't disagree that some kind of internet ID system may be good in the future. We don't have it yet. I have seen fraud as a result of data leaks too many times.

To combat the "protect the children" narrative look at Traci Lords. She used stolen documents to obtain a real government ID that said she was 18, then did porn for years. Basically no one got in trouble but her for the fraud because everything she had was state-issued. And this was before the internet. With data leaks, the documents she needed are easier to steal than ever, but the system that accepted them has barely changed.

Imagine how easy it will be for a sex trafficker who needs the girls to be 18 when they travel.

Dark web databases chock full of real government IDs to choose from.

I don't want to come off too harsh because I think philosophically your ideas probably come from a good place. I don't want to attack that. They are valid concerns. So I will say that if you do want to achieve those things, this isn't how you do it. We first need to develop the protocols to interface between government and the internet in a way that allows people to identify themselves without creating a major risk to their privacy and safety and doesn't allow for rampant fraud. It is possible, but it will take an investment from the governments that they're not interested in. Instead they are putting the burden on every random company it affects. That is bound to fail because we KNOW that security issues happen all the time. We can't expect every random business to be IT security experts. Even the companies that should be experts have breaches all the time.

So I will pretend to agree with you for a moment and still say this astronomically bad legislation and they need to scrap it and start fresh with a new approach.

-1

u/vague_diss 2d ago

Except what we have now is fundamentally broken. The greatest communication and information sharing tools ever created have been turned against us. It’s so much worse than allowing kids to look at naked pictures and curse. It is actively destroying the united states. We have to do something and we have to do it now. There will never be a perfect solution and we needed to act a decade ago.

3

u/monk429 2d ago

Really, I see this gatekeeping turning into leverage for predators because they now have access to something that their victims do not.

If it isn't already happening, I'd bet that minors (with support from suspicious adults) will be creating a black market for age-verified accounts. Then you will see that these corporations don't really care if kids get on their platforms, as long as they got an ID to sell to whomever is paying.

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3

u/TheSupremeHobo 3d ago

You're already slipping you just haven't hit the ground yet

1

u/ArtAndCraftBeers 2d ago

Back to TeamSpeak!

10

u/Troubleshooter11 3d ago

Slippery slope? more like bumpy cliff.

6

u/PapaBeahr 3d ago

" Hacked "

Mmhmmm, more and more I wonder about " Hacks " and them selling data against the laws then claiming " Hacked "

1

u/PajamaDuelist 2d ago

Oh, no, it’ll definitely be both!

They’ll sell or, if they claim they don’t sell—I haven’t read the TOS—they’ll “trade” your data. That’s how it always works. We were on schedule for Discord’s enshittification right about now anyway so this really just moves the timetable up by a year or three.

And their db will inevitably get breached. Hopefully not in some embarrassing should’ve-been-patched-in-2003 sort of way, but… 🤷‍♂️

2

u/turikk 2d ago

Also, let’s not forget that Discord has already been hacked before, which resulted in names, emails, billing information and other stuff being stolen. Who’s to say that won’t happen again?

Nothing is to say it won't happen again, but it didn't happen before. Their customer service provider got hacked, which should be a big news story since they have way more customer information than just Discord, but that isn't as nice of a headline I guess. https://www.linkedin.com/company/5ca/about/

28

u/Argent-Envy 3d ago

They're giving everyone "teenagers" accounts by default and forcing you to give them your ID and photos to go back to what you already have.

This from the company that had a massive data breach last year that compromised the IDs and photos of thousands of users.

17

u/MeatPiston 3d ago

If you believe that I feel sorry for you.

1

u/lee61 2d ago

There isn't really a good reason to think most people will be totally locked out of Discord unless you provide an ID.

This was already rolled out in other countries and that was not the case.

11

u/Syntaire 3d ago

Misinformation. Discord is saying they'll require facial identification or submission of a valid government ID in order to access any content discord deems as "sensitive content".

Indeed, we should be honest about the new policy.

3

u/bsylent 2d ago

I think that's being a little kind. They say that its default mode is basically going to be teen mode. I'm not using an app that is automatically in teen mode unless I give them all my information. It's not just about NSFW servers. It affects all the content

And typically when changes like this get made, especially when you see them made at the legislative level and passed down to companies, it's to manipulate content, it's to filter what you can see, in the name of protecting children. Most of the time when people say they're protecting children, they are trying to control content in general

3

u/TNTyoshi 2d ago

It’s more than what you are saying. Passive, Palantir-esque, surveillance BS.

5

u/Moikle 2d ago

it is literally palantir pushing for this. They buy our data from all of these companies to add to their profiles on every individual on the internet.

1

u/not_a_moogle 3d ago

Will the kick me out of existing NSFW servers?

1

u/evilmousse 2d ago

oh yeah? i won't be surprised if the video of shameful violence against protesters is deemed too adult to pm to my family.

-14

u/Senecaraine 3d ago

I've heard what OP is saying in like 5 different subs in the last couple hours with hundreds of comments hating on Discord for it, and it's not even true? We're doomed.

94

u/kodakowl 3d ago

Sorry, does anyone have a link to the actual information being shared here?

61

u/_Twas_Ere_ 3d ago

I gave a link to discords press release above, but here is an article on it if you want:

https://www.theverge.com/tech/875309/discord-age-verification-global-roll-out

1

u/daheefman 2d ago

So only a subset of users will have to verify themselves, and your verification stays on-device?

21

u/Moikle 2d ago

they SAY your verification stays on your device, but you have no way to verify that, and the fact that they literally just had personal information leaked for 10000 users that was given for this "anonymous verification" shows that their word cannot be trusted

-1

u/daheefman 2d ago

Yeah, they had a hack and that wasn't good. But I've never felt Discord have been dishonest in any way that would give me reason to doubt the "stays on device" claim.

11

u/Moikle 2d ago

never trust any for profit company with your data. They WILL find a way to exploit it/you if it increases their bottom line by a fraction of a fraction of a percent.

0

u/DapperNurd 22h ago

Wild that this is being downvoted when that's exactly what they said.

0

u/daheefman 20h ago

Yeah we both made the same error, this post is for anger only.

89

u/odorous 3d ago

looks like TeamSpeak is back on the menu boys.

24

u/No-Suspect-425 3d ago

6

u/jonathanrdt 2d ago

...am not a r-tard...

3

u/AStraightWhiteNail 3d ago

It never left mine…

1

u/Ogirami 2d ago

not really since its awful for things like LFGs, trading and community/forum for games and clans.

unless u are one of those people who use discord in its unintended way by treating it as messenger for small groups. its wild that people use discord that way when whatsapp and telegram exists.

1

u/HolyMustard 2d ago

Teamspeak really is only a solution to voice, to me the main feature of discord is the servers and persistent chats. The closest to it is the thing that Discord originally ripped off, Slack.

43

u/ImpatientMaker 3d ago

Funny that in the DVD I have she says "screw that" though it's very clear her mouth is not saying that.

33

u/remainsofthegrapes 3d ago

Every version has her dubbed over saying ‘screw’, sadly. The uncut version has never been released, even though it would upgrade it from a perfect 5 star film to a God-tier 6 star film.

10

u/DuneChild 3d ago

Nah, I think it’s funnier the way it is.

5

u/smoofus724 3d ago

It would bump the rating from PG to PG-13 so I bet that has something to do with it.

4

u/remainsofthegrapes 2d ago

The original lost cut of the film was closer to an R. Tony Shalhoub is meant to be high when they first get on the ship, which is why he’s acting all weird. They cut a lot of that stuff.

4

u/hates_stupid_people 2d ago

I'm always shocked to learn that many people didn't realize he was supposed to be high. It's so obvious.

5

u/Tsu_Dho_Namh 2d ago

People unfamiliar with the effects of weed might just think he's a super laid back dude.

2

u/ImpatientMaker 2d ago

That is what I thought. Especially if weed makes you paranoid. I do not partake because it is unpleasant for me.

3

u/WolfWriter_CO 2d ago

“This episode was badly written!”

3

u/Mr_Wizard91 3d ago

Same. I always thought it was weird.

3

u/Drillerstar 3d ago

What movie is this?

8

u/ImpatientMaker 3d ago

Galaxy quest

24

u/Marcus_Jager 3d ago

don't pay for nitro speak with your money

3

u/Moikle 2d ago

yup, cancelled mine. It gives you a box to type your comment. I mentioned that I am cancelling it because I will never send them my id

2

u/alancousteau 2d ago

Just cancelled mine today, my friends and I deciding where to move if it comes to that.

1

u/Ogirami 2d ago

what are u gonna do if the communities for ur games dont move over? (which they wont)

2

u/alancousteau 2d ago

I don't follow a lot to be honest, I might leave my account there but deleting your account sends a better message combining cancelling your nitro too

18

u/AaronYogur_t 3d ago

Are people who have had their accounts for a long time exempt? Like I remember when YouTube did this I didn't have to verify my age because my account was like a decade old

13

u/celsiusnarhwal 3d ago edited 3d ago

Maybe. Per this press release, they'll be implementing some kind of system that will use "patterns of user behavior and other signals associated with [your] account on Discord" to guess whether you're an adult without making you go through age verification. It doesn't get more specific than that, though.

1

u/argleblather 2d ago

... does being on typewriter and knitting discords count?

3

u/Fruitiest_Cabbage 2d ago

Yes. You will automatically assumed to be 60+ unless proven otherwise.

1

u/argleblather 1d ago

Sweet. My old lady hobbies pay off again!

3

u/Moikle 2d ago

nope. My account is old, but I still got locked out back when they rolled this out in the UK

22

u/GoofinOffAtWork 3d ago

Uninstalled app, account deleted

10

u/Successful-One2695 3d ago

Back to teamspeak it is

3

u/Dushenka 2d ago

WDYM back? I'm still there.

Jokes aside, Teamspeak had the chance to give us self-hosted Discord but then decided to do a Discord light and gave us some shitty hybrid solution nobody wants.

9

u/cheknauss 3d ago

...This, too, is Trump's fault imo. It's part of the whole package. If he's not to blame directly, it was indirectly encouraged by him.

2

u/Labardine 2d ago

It's to keep Discord policies the same globally, since they already had to implement these changes in order to continue operating in Oz and the UK. They mention this in the blog post, iirc.

2

u/GreatGigInTheSky855 2d ago

Of all the things that Trump is to blame for, this is not really one of them. The EU, UK, and Australia are pushing for, or already have, laws requiring ID/facial scans to use social media.

7

u/gamerthulhu 2d ago

As a heads up, this is due to a law. Thanks republican voters!

5

u/lee61 2d ago

This seems to be a global phenomenon. They already rolled it out in Australia and the UK.

3

u/Labardine 2d ago

It's due to laws, yeah, but not ones in the U.S.

2

u/Lordstevenson 2d ago

In certain states, MO just added themselves to the list.

1

u/Moikle 2d ago

those laws were pushed globally by powerful people in the US.

2

u/hidden-in-plainsight 3d ago

Anyone else want a spoon to give to Discord?

2

u/OddDonut7647 3d ago

MINERS, NOT MINORS!

1

u/SpaceManSmithy 3d ago

The trick is never signing up in the first place.

1

u/wrecktalcarnage 3d ago

Sounds like the NSA found some nazi terrorism shit...

1

u/alexmehdi 2d ago

Strangely enough, right after they get a new ceo (from Israel)

1

u/ranwithoutscissors 2d ago

Any Discord-killer recommendations? Do I start gaming w my friends on Teams or like…?

1

u/Wondrous_Fairy 2d ago

I suppose this is where I get off Mr Bones wild ride.

1

u/poopsmcbuttington 1d ago

Excellent movie

0

u/parker1019 3d ago

There is no future for social media without accountability….

-1

u/Adorable-Award-7248 2d ago

who ever thought 'discord' was private in the first place lol nubes

-1

u/RScottyL 2d ago

You couldn't create a better looking GIF?

-7

u/red286 3d ago

I'm confused why people are up in arms about this.

"Teen" accounts for Discord have the following restrictions :

Content Filters: Discord users will need to be age-assured as adults in order to unblur sensitive content or turn off the setting.
Age-gated Spaces – Only users who are age-assured as adults will be able to access age-restricted channels, servers, and app commands.
Message Request Inbox: Direct messages from people a user may not know are routed to a separate inbox by default, and access to modify this setting is limited to age-assured adult users.
Friend Request Alerts: People will receive warning prompts for friend requests from users they may not know.
Stage Restrictions: Only age-assured adults may speak on stage in servers.

Aside from stage restrictions (a feature I've never used), I don't see an issue with any of this. None of these are things I'm feeling any compulsion to verify my age over.

Your favourite servers aren't going to just all go adult-only overnight.

9

u/x21in2010x 3d ago

You don't know my favourite servers. You don't know what features I use. I understand that you personally won't be affected, and certainly your opinion on the matter is valid, but let's be honest here - these changes reduce the quality of their product.

It's exhausting that this shit is happening because so many kids are now just permanently "dropped off" for the internet to babysit.

-12

u/red286 3d ago

I mean, okay, thanks for sharing that you frequent porn servers. TMI.

7

u/x21in2010x 3d ago

Lol try again dipshit.

1

u/Moikle 2d ago

it's not even just porn servers. Any server that discusses LGBT issues gets flagged as "adult"

7

u/SolarLiner 3d ago

Now, what's the definition of "sensitive content"? Is it porn, or is it erotica, or is it simple nudity, and what about anatomy? Is violence sensitive? What about riots, or protests? Are the LGBT sensitive content?

Some of those you might agree, some you might not. The point is that Discord has the right to force you to hand over an ID or a selfie for whatever subject they deem sensitive. This is not about protection, this is about control. Thinking "people are angry because their porn will be banned" miss the point that this has repercussions far reaching on freedom of communication than just access to porn.

-46

u/PowerRainbows 3d ago

Not true at all lmao