> This will force you to log into every single web site that has commenting.

which website doesn't? I can only imagine the high quality discussions that such a site encourages.

You're literally on one. Do you want to upload your driver's license to Hacker News? Does Hacker News want to be in the business of storing those driver's licenses securely?

I wouldn't use hackernews if they required that. So, maybe they shouldn't store my IP address and location by default.

If this bill passes it will be illegal for Hacker News to not do that.

How many different websites is any one person really commenting on these days anyway? It’s not like 1) independent blogs and forums are really a thing any more, 2) the blogs and forums that do barely exist have comments any more, 3) the major news and media companies have comments on their websites any more, or 4) you’d ever want to read them even if they did (let alone post your own!).

Can you qualify any part of your statement? I'm trying to understand where you're coming from, but none of it follows at face value.

> This will force you to log into every single web site that has commenting

Says who? You just made up a random scenario.

That's the sense of the bill, essentially. If sites are required to confirm you aren't children before you're allowed into adult conversations, they have to be able to authenticate and authorize you.

What is the practical implication of this anywhere beside eg 4chan? Almost every place with any quality of discussion requires logging in.

In theory anonymous and instantaneous commenting is an ideal of free speech. In practice it repeatably seems to just become wasteland.

Logging in and verifying age are very different. See the new account creation process for the comment you typed, as an example.

Actually this won't really affect 4chan either; while it's speculated the servers reside in California there's no critical dependency that they actually stay there, and once the physical servers leave all ties are severed with the state and California looses any reasonable way to enforce the new law.

It's kinda the same reason the site is accessible in Germany/UK/whatever despite violating every hate speech law in there jurisdiction

Are you suggesting the lack of it is a preferable alternative?

I'm suggesting that it's utterly irrelevant.

This fear is completely disconnected from reality.

Privacy already doesn't exist online. And discussion and commenting (anonymous or otherwise) have been absolute net negatives for "free and open" society.