⚡️🇬🇧 NEW - UK internet identity verification law backfires.

Britain's new "online safety" law was supposed to prevent minors from accessing porn sites by requiring identity verification.

However, according to the Washington Post, 14 major sites with no identity verification are seeing their traffic explode, with one site even doubling its traffic in the UK in one year.

Conversely, sites that play the game and comply are seeing their traffic plummet, and are therefore losing a great deal of money.

As a result, the new law penalizes platforms that respect the rule, and benefits those that ignore it. What's more, the law is easily circumvented.

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Discussion

And this news highlights who creates black markets: government regulations. In some cases, black markets are largely harmless, and the regulations guide rather than demand adherence. In others, like this UK nonsense, incentivize MORE illegality.

My longstanding maxim when COVID first happened was that the gov’t crackdowns on masking, social distancing, Zoom school, etc. would eventually lead to more lawlessness. I contend that I accurately predicted our future we’re living through now.

The solution is likely for more degens like us on Nostr to get elected or placed in government positions so we can rip out and tear down regulations in whatever ways we can.

Law of unintended consequences.

Govt "control" is an illusion that we all participate in to various degrees

I hate to say it, but porn is the litmus test of the free market

Porn and cat JPEGs are the cornerstone of the Internet’s success 😂

Very predictable outcome, it was always gonna go to overseas sites that don't care about legality.

If you try to grip water, it just trickles through your hands...

Never saw that one coming. Bunch of dummies. 😂

Classic law of unintended consequences. The rules reward the cheaters and punish the rule-followers, proof that regulation often helps those who ignore it. Britain just made breaking the rules profitable.