How do you think age verification laws will affect OSINT?
I've been thinking about this topic a lot these past few months, and I don't know how to get ready if/when these laws become unavoidable.
What should we in the OSINT community prepare for?
How will this affect research?
What are the pros and cons?
For employers and freelancers that provide research services, would this increase your legal risk of using incorrect age data? Would findings be invalidated/inadmissible if the researcher's details don't match what their social media accounts show or their operating systems they use?
Would some reliable FOSS tools or Operating Systems shut down because they can't comply with the laws? Or would they attempt to block by geography?
I value the safety and separation sockpuppets create and I value open source tools that are reliable. It's making me anxious thinking about what the future of OSINT looks like.
For those that want a quick look, here's a wiki on age verification laws in the US https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media_age_verification_laws_in_the_United_States
What are your thoughts?