European Commission Moves Us One Step Closer to the End of the Open Internet

On Monday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signaled that a European Union–wide identity verification scheme for social media users may be coming soon. It would mark a massive advancement of the privacy-invading, speech-squelching, open-internet killing juggernaut that seems sadly unstoppable in the Western world. As per usual, the scheme is being billed by authorities as a common-sense way to protect children. "Social media is not a toy," von der Leyen said in a July 12 statement. "While ultimately it is up to parents to decide when children get their first smartphones, what we already have is a consensus that there needs to be a start date for the age children can join social media." "It is clear we need age-appropriate restrictions to platforms," von der Leyen continue