I am not required to identify myself when I move freely through public spaces, and when a bouncer asks for my ID, he doesn't keep a copy for his records. Journalists are not required to reveal their sources.
Anonymity is a keystone in a free society. If you think online ID verification is justified, you need to think very carefully about your next steps. If you think your online purchase of pornography, or a sex worker's services is private; think again. Your vices may become public record.
You may feel that your morals are justified because you do not indulge in those vices. But when a tirant rises, an opinion you thought was mainstream, may fall out of favor. And then the only way to speak truth to power without risking your own life, may be through anonimity.
Don't call it age verification. Call it mandatory ID.
Stop Killing Games has joined a big coalition pushing back against new age verification laws that claim to be for our safety.
Big companies can afford the costly ID checks and rules, while small teams, fan fixes for private game servers, and community projects usually cannot.
These are exactly what keep old games alive after the makers stop supporting them. One example is the free browser game Urban Dead, which ran for nearly 20 years until its solo developer shut it down in 2025 because UK rules made it too hard to continue.
Stop Killing Games signed an open letter with groups like Mozilla and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
The letter says that while protecting kids online matters, these wide age checks create new gatekeepers, collect private data, and shrink the open web.
Some of that the rules could make private servers and even some Linux systems illegal in places like California.
Games we own should stay playable