Age Verification Laws in the U.S.: Here’s What It Could Look Like

“There’s a ton of First Amendment issues here that are well recognized,” says Shoshana Weissmann, digital director and fellow at policy think tank R Street Institute.  And if it’s all in the service of protecting children, Weissmann says, well, they have rights that need to be guarded, too. “Kids have First Amendment rights. They’re a little bit more limited than adult First Amendment rights, but generally, kids have the right to access free speech. And these laws prevent that.”

Weissmann notes that many age verification bills, which are justified as a way to keep minors from accessing content that is sexually explicit, have language that could easily restrict educational or medical content — like info on menstruation, safer sex, or gender affirming care.  She says this becomes especially concerning in the U.S. when age verification laws meet right-leaning state governments. Many of the bills require websites and platforms to introduce age gates if a “substantial portion” of the content is “sexual material harmful to minors.” For most laws, this is defined as at least 33.3 percent of content, but there is little to no guidance on what exactly constitutes as harmful content to minors.The lack of nuance in the legislative language means anything from LGBTQ-centered information to diverse authors could be considered explicit. In Florida, the same argument has been used to justify statewide book bans.…

None of the proposed bills or passed laws have consistent messaging as to what companies are required to do with the personal data they collect from their users — and there’s no plan to check if companies are deleting data when they say they are. Weissmann points to the Tea app as an example of a breach that could easily happen with age verification laws. The app was meant to be a tool to let women give feedback on dates, using I.D. verification to confirm their details and then allowing them to discuss and search potential dates to discover any criminality or sketchy behavior. But after the app soared in popularity earlier this year, hackers released over 72,000 users’ information — including I.D. cards and driver’s licenses.