From the V-Chip to the Online ID Check: The Long Road from Parental Guidance to State Permission

The open web that once thrived on anonymity is slowly being rebuilt into a gated network where entry depends on proving you belong.

Christina Maas

In 1995, as America adjusted to a new digital world, then–Vice President Al Gore announced his support for a device that would soon become emblematic of the moral and political tensions surrounding media control:

“We want to find ways for parents to have an easier time exercising appropriate control over messages…that they feel are not appropriate for their own children.”

Become a Member and Keep Reading…

Reclaim your digital freedom. Get the latest on censorship, cancel culture, and surveillance, and learn how to fight back.

Already a supporter? Sign In.

(If you’re already logged in but still seeing this, refresh this page to show the post.)

Read Next

Britain’s Lawmakers Who Love Censorship and Hate Freedom

Read the story →

More you should know:

Two remote controls on a glossy coffee table in front of a large TV showing a blurred streaming menu, bathed in blue ambient lighting with a warm lamp glowing in the background.

Build-Your-Own Streaming: An Introduction to a Self-Hosted Home Media Stack

Aerial view of a compact, tree-lined neighborhood in a loose grid with roads and parking, mixed residential and civic buildings including a red-roofed square building, a blue-roofed octagonal pavilion, several swimming pools and playgrounds, and dense forest surrounding the area.

When the Watchers Get Watched: How One Public Records Request Shook the Surveillance Machine

A person wearing a red sweater holds their hand palm-down over a contactless payment/access scanner on a white kiosk at a store entrance, with a green directional barrier and product shelves in the background.

The Biometric Payment Revolution You Never Agreed To

A stylized digital globe centered on the Americas with teal oceans and orange-gold land and city-like speckles, flanked by abstract geometric blocks and vertical lines suggesting urban skyscrapers against a pale beige background.

VPNs Keep the Lights On in a Darkening Web

Surreal composite of the Earth as a giant blue human eye, with continents and city lights forming the eyelids and a vivid detailed iris at the globe's center against a black space background.

Attorneys General, Tech Firms, and NGOs Form Online “Safety” Plan

Two remote controls on a glossy coffee table in front of a large TV showing a blurred streaming menu, bathed in blue ambient lighting with a warm lamp glowing in the background.

Build-Your-Own Streaming: An Introduction to a Self-Hosted Home Media Stack

Aerial view of a compact, tree-lined neighborhood in a loose grid with roads and parking, mixed residential and civic buildings including a red-roofed square building, a blue-roofed octagonal pavilion, several swimming pools and playgrounds, and dense forest surrounding the area.

When the Watchers Get Watched: How One Public Records Request Shook the Surveillance Machine

A person wearing a red sweater holds their hand palm-down over a contactless payment/access scanner on a white kiosk at a store entrance, with a green directional barrier and product shelves in the background.

The Biometric Payment Revolution You Never Agreed To

A stylized digital globe centered on the Americas with teal oceans and orange-gold land and city-like speckles, flanked by abstract geometric blocks and vertical lines suggesting urban skyscrapers against a pale beige background.

VPNs Keep the Lights On in a Darkening Web

Surreal composite of the Earth as a giant blue human eye, with continents and city lights forming the eyelids and a vivid detailed iris at the globe's center against a black space background.

Attorneys General, Tech Firms, and NGOs Form Online “Safety” Plan

What Happens When Every Face Is Searchable