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Fighting Online ID Mandates: 2024 In Review

This year, nearly half of U.S. states passed laws imposing age verification requirements on online platforms. EFF has opposed these efforts, because they censor the internet and burden access to online speech. Though age verification mandates are often touted as “online safety” measures for kids,...

California In January, we submitted public comments opposing an especially vague and poorly written proposal: California Ballot Initiative 23-0035, which would allow plaintiffs to sue online information providers for damages of up to $1 million if they violate their “responsibility of ordinary care and skill to a child.” We pointed out that this initiative’s vague standard, combined with extraordinarily large statutory damages, will severely limit access to important online discussions for both minors and adults, and cause platforms to censor user content and impose mandatory age verification in order to avoid this legal risk. We pointed out that the Fifth Circuit’s flawed ruling diverged from decades of legal precedent recognizing, correctly, that online ID mandates impose greater burdens on our First Amendment rights than in-person age checks. Late last week, the Senate released yet another version of the Kids Online Safety Act, written, reportedly, with the assistance of X CEO Linda Yaccarino in a flawed attempt to address the critical free speech issues inherent in the bill.

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