[micromacrofoot]

that's what my credit card is for

[ceejayoz]

Credit cards don't validate age. I set my kids up with authorized user cards when they started going out with friends.

[onepointsixC]

Maybe they should. It would be far less intrusive for venders who wish to sell age restricted goods to simply have it built in like that.

[ceejayoz]

You want to let every merchant I swipe my card at know my age? To improve privacy?

[galleywest200]

No, the assumption is that you must be 18 years old to apply for a credit card. Surely we could have the machines determine that an "authorized user card" does not guarantee 18+ but the actual card does.

[nairboon]

They don't need to know the exact age. But if kids couldn't get credit cards... then possession of a credit card would be a proof of adulthood.

[ACCount37]

An absence of "this user is underage" flag would be good enough. Less than 1 bit of private information leaked by transaction.

[scottlamb]

ceejayoz> You want to let every merchant I swipe my card at know my age? To improve privacy?

Remember the site guidelines:

SG> Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize.

The obvious solution is instead of "every transaction comes with the user's birthday", the vendor can in some way set a minimum age enum of say (13, 15, 18, 21, 25) — a handful of ages that are significant with respect to some law or regulation. Then the transaction succeeds or fails.

[micromacrofoot]

neither does my face but that isn't stopping them, so what exactly are we doing here

[ceejayoz]

Isn't the face scan intended to validate your passport, which you show, and does demonstrate age and identity?

[micromacrofoot]

haha wait they ask for passports too?

[ceejayoz]

The Fable shutdown requires them to limit access to US citizens.