零知識證明如何解決年齡驗證的難題

我們目睹了提議的法律提升，限制了未成年人進入社交媒體和互聯網，包括澳大利亞，佛羅里達和中國。

The state of Louisiana recently enacted a law meant to block minors from viewing porn. To do so, the legislation required sites to make users upload an ID before viewing content.

路易斯安那州最近制定了一項法律，旨在阻止未成年人觀看色情。為此，立法要求站點在查看內容之前先上傳用戶上傳ID。

The Free Speech Coalition, a trade association that represents the adult entertainment industry, challenged the law in a lawsuit, arguing that it was unconstitutional. The lawsuit claimed that the law forced the plaintiffs to engage in conduct that violated the First Amendment in order to avoid an allegedly unlawful restraint on their right to free speech. The lawsuit also stated that the plaintiffs would be forced to choose between two constitutional rights: the right to free speech and the right to privacy.

代表成人娛樂業的貿易協會的言論自由聯盟在訴訟中對法律提出了質疑，認為這是違憲的。該訴訟聲稱，該法律迫使原告從事違反第一修正案的行為，以避免據稱對言論自由權的非法限制。該訴訟還指出，原告將被迫在兩種憲法權利之間進行選擇：言論自由權和隱私權。

The lawsuit was eventually dismissed by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana on procedural grounds. However, the reaction to the law highlights the dilemma facing policymakers and platforms: how to block minors without violating adults’ rights or creating new privacy risks.

該訴訟最終以程序理由被美國地方法院駁回了路易斯安那州西部地區。但是，對法律的反應突出了政策制定者和平檯面臨的困境：如何在不侵犯成年人權利或造成新的隱私風險的情況下阻止未成年人。

Currently, age verification tools are either ineffective or invasive. Self-declaration is meaningless as users can simply lie about their age. ID-based verification is overly invasive. No one should be required to upload their most sensitive documents, putting themselves at risk of data breaches and identity theft.

當前，年齡驗證工具要么無效或侵入性。自我傳播是毫無意義的，因為用戶可以簡單地說明自己的年齡。基於ID的驗證過於侵入性。不應要求任何人上傳他們最敏感的文件，從而使自己處於數據洩露和身份盜用的風險。

Biometric solutions like fingerprints and face scans are convenient for users but present important ethical, privacy and security concerns. Such systems are not always accurate and may generate false positives and negatives. The irreversible nature of the data, which can’t be changed like a regular password can, is also less than ideal.

指紋和麵部掃描等生物識別解決方案對於用戶來說很方便，但提出了重要的道德，隱私和安全問題。這樣的系統並不總是準確的，可能會產生誤報和負面因素。數據的不可逆轉性，不能像常規密碼那樣更改，也不是理想的。

Other methods, like behavioral tracking and AI-driven verification of browser patterns, are also problematic. For example, some platforms use machine learning to analyze user interactions and identify patterns and anomalies. However, this can create a surveillance culture and may not be effective in all cases.

其他方法，例如行為跟踪和瀏覽器模式的AI驅動驗證，也有問題。例如，某些平台使用機器學習來分析用戶交互並識別模式和異常。但是，這可以創造一種監視文化，並且在所有情況下可能並不有效。

A privacy-preserving solution exists in the form of zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs). Like a government ID provider, a trusted entity verifies the user's age and generates a cryptographic proof confirming they are over the required age.

以零知識證明（ZKP）的形式存在隱私的解決方案。像政府ID提供商一樣，受信任的實體驗證用戶的年齡並產生加密證明，以確認其超過所需的年齡。

Websites would only need to check the proof, not the underlying personal data, ensuring privacy while keeping minors at the gates. No centralized data storage would be required, reducing the burden on platforms such as Google, Meta and WhatsApp and eliminating the risk of data breaches.

網站只需要檢查證明，而不是基本的個人數據，從而確保隱私，同時將未成年人留在大門。不需要集中的數據存儲，從而減輕了Google，Meta和WhatsApp等平台上的負擔，並消除了數據洩露的風險。

Adopting and enforcing ZKPs at scale presents some difficulties. ZKPs can be complex to implement and the notion of “don't trust, verify,” proven by indisputable mathematics, may cause some regulatory skepticism. For example, policymakers might be less likely to trust cryptographic proofs than visible ID verification.

大規模採用和執行ZKP會帶來一些困難。 ZKP可以很複雜，並且通過無可爭議的數學證明，“不要信任，驗證”的概念可能會引起某些監管懷疑主義。例如，與可見的ID驗證相比，政策制定者的信任證明可能不太可能信任密碼。

There are also occasions when companies may need to disclose personal information to authorities, such as during an investigation into financial crimes or government inquiries. This would challenge ZKPs, whose very intention is for platforms not to hold this data in the first place.

在某些情況下，公司可能需要向當局披露個人信息，例如在對金融犯罪或政府調查的調查中。這將挑戰ZKP，其意圖是平台首先不持有此數據。

Moreover, ZKPs struggle with scalability and performance, being somewhat computationally expensive and tricky to program. However, efficient implementation techniques are being explored and breakthroughs, such as the Noir programming language, are making ZKPs more accessible to developers, driving the adoption of secure, privacy-first solutions.

此外，ZKP與可擴展性和性能鬥爭，在計算上有些昂貴且棘手的編程。但是，正在探索有效的實施技術和突破，例如Noir編程語言，使開發人員更容易訪問ZKP，並推動採用安全，隱私優先解決方案。

Google's recent move to adopt ZKPs for age verification is a promising signal that mainstream platforms are beginning to embrace privacy-preserving technologies. But to fully realize the potential of ZKPs, we need more than isolated solutions locked into proprietary ecosystems.

Google最近採用ZKP進行年齡驗證的舉動是一個有前途的信號，即主流平台開始採用隱私保護技術。但是，為了充分意識到ZKP的潛力，我們需要的不僅僅是將孤立的解決方案鎖定在專有生態系統中。

Crypto-native wallets can go further. Open-source and permissionless blockchain-based systems offer interoperability, composability and programmable identity. With a single proof, users could access a range of services across the open web — no need to start from scratch every time, or trust a single provider (Google) with their credentials.

加密本地錢包可以走得更遠。開源和無許可的基於區塊鏈的系統提供互操作性，合併性和可編程身份。有了單個證明，用戶可以在打開的網絡上訪問一系列服務 - 無需每次從頭開始，或者信任單個提供商（Google）及其憑據。

ZKPs flip the script on online identity — proving what matters, without exposing anything else. They protect user privacy, help platforms stay compliant and keep minors off restricted content, all without creating new honeypots of sensitive data.

ZKP在在線身份上翻轉腳本 - 證明重要的是，而無需公開其他任何內容。它們保護用戶隱私，幫助平台保持合規性，並使未成年人不受限制內容，而無需創建敏感數據的新蜜餞。

Google's adoption of ZKPs shows mainstream momentum is building. But to truly transform digital identity, we must embrace crypto-native, decentralized systems that give users control over what they share and who they are online.

Google對ZKP的採用表明，主流動力正在建立。但是，要真正改變數字身份，我們必須採用加密本地，分散的系統，使用戶控制他們共享的內容和在線誰。

In an era defined by surveillance, ZKPs present a better path forward — one that's secure, private and built for the future.

在監視定義的時代，ZKP提出了更好的前進道路，這是安全，私密且為未來而建造的。