Hi. I want to be as transparent as I can regarding this topic, however, the nature of it makes it difficult to ignore. I generally do not engage in typical discussions but the age checks are a major issue that mandates attention.
To make it plain and simple, in my opinion, age checks are part of a far bigger plan which will certainly pass because nothing in this world is random, especially not implementations of this kind. The only reason they are optional for now is to test the waters, to test how people would react, but they will certainly become mandatory in a year or two at most.
I also understand not complying is difficult due to the safety of developers and Whonix’s team, however, implementing age-checks kills the entire project purpose. Anonimity. It is not a matter of whether we can strip out the age checks or not but that credibility disappears.
Additionally, I know that Whonix is unique due to its design but there is a significant chance many people will migrate to projects that explicity reject these implementations.
It is a complicated topic and there is much to discuss but alternatives to this are crucial.
Thank you for reading.