Proton argues that age verification systems proposed globally would require adults to submit IDs online, creating massive security and privacy risks despite sincere concerns about child safety. The article cites real breaches—including Discord's 2025 exposure of 70,000 government IDs—and warns that centralizing ID data makes platforms attractive targets for hackers while enabling governments to control internet access by nationality or political status. The core argument is credible, but the framing presents tech companies' motives as cynically exploitative and conflates legitimate child-protection goals with corporate profit-seeking in a way that oversimplifies the policy tradeoffs.