Online age checks are proliferating, but so are concerns on freedom

Online age checks are spreading in the U.S. and abroad, requiring people to present IDs or undergo face scans to prove they are over 18, 21 or even 13. Supporters see them as a way to keep children away from adult websites and harmful content.

Opponents fear a less secure, less private internet where access is denied not only to pornography but also to news, health information and anonymous speech. “I think that many of these laws come from a place of good intentions,” said Jennifer Huddleston, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. “But they could have significant impacts on the speech and privacy rights of adults.”

More than 20 U.S. states have passed age-verification laws, though many face legal challenges. While no federal law exists, the Supreme Court recently upheld a Texas law preventing minors from watching pornography online, ruling that adults lack a First Amendment right to access obscene speech without proving their age. In June, it allowed Mississippi’s age check law for social media to stand.

Other countries are moving in the same direction. The United Kingdom now requires pornography sites to verify users’ ages. France and several other EU states are testing a government verification app. Australia has banned children under 16 from accessing social media. “Platforms now have a social responsibility to ensure the safety of our kids,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in November.

State laws vary. Louisiana and Texas require websites with more than 33% adult content to verify ages or face fines. Wyoming and South Dakota regulate sites with any material deemed obscene or harmful to minors. The problem, experts say, is subjectivity: what’s harmful to minors differs widely, potentially sweeping in platforms from Netflix to a neighborhood blog.

“In places like Australia and the U.K., there is already a split happening between the internet people who identify themselves can see and the rest of the internet,” said Jason Kelley of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “That’s historically a very dangerous place for us to end up.”

Some companies say the rules are unworkable. On Friday, Bluesky announced it will leave Mississippi, saying the law requires every user to undergo checks, not just those seeking adult content. The company argued the law “creates barriers that limit free speech and disproportionately harm smaller platforms.”

Meta has proposed shifting responsibility to app stores like Apple and Google, requiring them to verify users before downloads. But Google rejected the idea, saying it would fail on desktop computers or shared devices and could be ineffective against pre-installed apps.

Meanwhile, major tech companies are quietly building verification systems. Google is testing AI-based age checks on YouTube, analyzing watch histories to distinguish minors from adults. Instagram is testing a similar system to detect children lying about their ages. Roblox, sued in Louisiana for failing to protect children, now requires photo IDs and face scans for access to some games rated for over-17 users and for teens who want freer chat.

But such systems raise concerns. Face scans can be inaccurate for women, minorities or certain physical traits, Huddleston said, forcing additional invasive checks. IDs raise security risks if companies fail to delete files.

Recent breaches underscore the dangers. Tea, an app where women warn each other about men they date, required IDs or scans. It promised not to store files, but did — allowing hackers to access not only images but also private messages. MDT/AP