It’s happening — the “open internet” is dying before our eyes. In Australia, a new wave of regulation is quietly transforming the web into a monitored, ID-verified space where anonymity no longer exists.
Under the guise of “protecting children,” Australians will soon be forced to verify their age — and, by extension, their identity — every time they log into a search engine like Google or Bing.
The government calls it age assurance. Critics are calling it what it really is: the first step toward a digital ID prison planet.
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has officially registered a new “industry code” that compels major search providers to enforce age verification for all users.
The move is framed as a safety measure — supposedly to keep minors away from adult content — but the methods of enforcement tell a darker story. The code allows providers to verify a user’s age through photo ID, facial recognition, credit-card data, or a government-linked Digital ID wallet.
Think about what that means: to perform a Google search — something that used to be as natural and anonymous as breathing — you may soon have to upload government-issued identification or submit your face to an algorithm. Every keystroke, every curiosity, every question you ever ask the internet could be tied directly to your verified identity. No pseudonyms. No incognito mode. No escape.
This dystopian shift didn’t appear overnight. It’s part of a broader framework laid down by the Digital ID Act 2024, which came into effect late last year.
The Act, sold as a “voluntary” measure to streamline government services, conveniently opened the door for private companies to integrate the same ID system. Now, search engines — the gateway to all human knowledge — are becoming the latest extension of that digital grid. Once your ID is tied to your search activity, the infrastructure for total surveillance is in place.
In practice, this means that nearly every Australian will be affected. Google controls over 90% of the country’s search traffic.
Providers that fail to enforce the new rules face penalties of up to A$49.5 million per breach. No company can afford that — so they’ll comply, and they’ll err on the side of maximum data collection.
The justification is always the same: “safety,” “child protection,” “responsibility.” But these are the same buzzwords that have accompanied every major erosion of digital freedom. First it was social media moderation, then “fact-checking,” and now — age verification for search. Once digital identity becomes normalized, it will no longer be limited to “adult” content or “risky” behavior. The same framework can easily be applied to speech, transactions, travel, or even political affiliation.
Critics online have already sounded the alarm, warning that this is the Trojan Horse for a global digital identity regime.