[egorfine]

reddit started asking KYC yesterday.

You (and me) can bitch all you want, but reddit has well prepared for us whining and being sad will change nothing.

Mark my words: KYC will be required on HN in about two years. Not because dang will want it, but because that's the direction the world is going to.

[kklisura]

Maybe dang doesn't want it, but his boss definitely wants it.

Garry Tan, president & CEO of YC, on Flock support: "You're thinking Chinese surveillance US-based surveillance helps victims and prevents more victims" [1]

The tech/VC people want it, because that's where the money will be.

[1] https://x.com/garrytan/status/1963310592615485955

[kklisura]

"Anthropic to require age verification via Persona" [1]

Oh Persona is also used on Reddit [2].

Persona.

A YC backed company.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48628264

[2] https://help.withpersona.com/articles/7F6BaF9h8Fxf0XWkwQscXN...

[tough]

A Vibes backed company too, it seems.[1]

[1] https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2026/02/age-verificat...

[elektronika]

Right, it's dystopian if they do it, but utopian if we do. If anything I'd trust Chinese surveillance more. It's accountable to the government not the whims of profit motive and private individuals.

[egorfine]

This is new to me. Very sad.

[qwertox]

> us whining and being sad will change nothing

For me, ditching Reddit was what changed.

[egorfine]

Yeah... I have been reading threads upon threads of normies who discussed how to take better pictures of their passports to submit to Persona in order to keep using reddit.

We are clearly the minority and reddit is happy to pay the price of us leaving the platform.

[Cider9986]

Reddit doesn't want to ask for KYC, they are required by law.

Use a VPN, perhaps Mullvad or IVPN to appear to sites as if you are from a freer country (or state) to bypass the KYC.

[egorfine]

> they are required by law

Yes I understand. They are better prepared to fight the surveillance state than I am. And yet they caved in instead of putting out some resistance.

[simonask]

It's weird because... I'm not the customer on either Reddit or HN. I'm the product.

[egorfine]

You can become a customer on reddit by purchasing subscription. I did. I like reddit.

Doesn't matter. They want your passport.

[kruffalon]

This is like saying you are the customer when you buy branded goods when in essence you are just paying to advertise the product for them.

Very weird world we live in!

[hightrix]

Reddit doesn’t even have my email. No way in hell will they get any real identification.

[egorfine]

You realize people are uploading their docs to reddit by the millions, right?

[mdp2021]

What do you mean? You do realize that "those" people have little to nothing to do with proper people, right?

Of course people are deficient by the billions.

[egorfine]

And that means that largely nobody cares about us with our opinion.

Internet WILL be completely KYCed and very soon. That's kind of inevitable.

[mdp2021]

> will be required on HN in about

We moved here because it was the best place available: we'd move elsewhere in case this place will not be available.

[egorfine]

Nah. HN users just like the rest of the normies will happily oblige and upload their passports.

It's just that a small minority will continue to protect child abuse^W^W^Wresist utopia.