I'm just going to straight up say it... I do not like the direction Sharkey is taking here. They're about to merge a PR that will add ID verification to the software, contributing to the normalization of privacy invasive practices and to methods that are not effective at protecting children, and very effective at making the internet a less open and more unsafe space for everyone, including children.

The feature is going to be optional, but it still normalizes ID verification and leads people to believe this is a safe method to check a person's age online.

Instance admins on the fediverse should always make sure they have enough capacity to check on their users, it should be their responsibility to verify their user's age, and prevent users from seeing NSFW posts if needed. If you, as an instance admin do not have enough capacity to do this, you should re-consider the size of your instance.

Machine ID verification methods like this one completely de-humanize the process, making it so children are only seeing a screen saying "you can't access this content" which will make them want to see it even more. Whereas direct contact with the instance admin (a human being), explaining to them why they shouldn't be seeing that content and having a constructive conversation, are much more productive at preventing underage users from exposing themselves to potentially disturbing content. Not just on the instance, but also elsewhere.