this post was submitted on 09 May 2026
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This is an extremely ignorant take.
A think-tank is supposed to inform, but an informed decision can only be made if the person making the decision is fully informed.
First of all - we don't know if the think-tank said ONLY that. Maybe it was one ten different things they reported.
Second of all - what was the context of the report? Was it "what do we need to do to ensure that age verification is fool proof?" Or was it "IF we introduce age verification, what are some of the pitfalls we can encounter?"
Stop panicking. The EU operates on democratic principles, and everybody knows well in advance about any votes happening.
EDIT: just read the abstract of the report - yeah, it's a nothingburger. "VPN can be used to bypass age verification" is what it says. Which is a statement of fact. Sure, the language of their tweet is shifty (with a strong push to introducing AV), but who cares? The idea was shot down a couple of times already, and it will be shot down again unless a solution is found that guarantees privacy of users.
My point is that institutions like that simply should not exist. They are effectively lobbying groups (if it's nonprofit / non-governmental organization) or propaganda machines (if established by the people in power).
Neither has any place in democracy.
We don't need "purpose built" think tanks; we need people with actual experience, with jobs, etc. giving in their 10 cents of expertise when required.
And they should be required only when the governmening bodies are implementing things they have been actually voted in to do. We shouldn't havr good-for-nothing "government employees" fearing to be out of job creating busywork for themselves that only perpetuates and creates layers upon layers of useless bureaucracy that nakes the average person's lives worse.
Look up the Heritage Foundation and Project 2025 in the USA. They are "just a think tank."
Yet*
The EU is not the US.