The outcome so far is an assortment of online services handling sensitive user information \u2014 a \u201cprivacy nightmare,\u201d says Cody Venzke, senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union. \u201cThere is no standardization of how age verification is supposed to take place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some age verification platforms promise to erase your data after a certain period of time, like the seven days that Persona says it will keep the information used to verify your age on Reddit. But there\u2019s no guarantee every service will do this, and there are still massive security risks given how common<\/a> data breaches have become. Last year, a security researcher found that AU10TIX \u2014 an identity verification solution used by TikTok, Uber, and X \u2014 left user information and driver\u2019s license photos exposed for months, 404 Media reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n Governments are plowing toward the future of an age-gated internet<\/p>\n \u201cWhen uploading your ID … you are handing it over to a third party,\u201d Venzke says. \u201cYou\u2019re going to take their word that they\u2019re going to delete it or remove it after they\u2019re done using it.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite these potential pitfalls, governments are plowing toward the future of an age-gated internet anyway. In addition to a crackdown in the UK, the European Union is hurdling toward a broad rollout of digital IDs, Australia is age-gating search engines<\/a>, and users in many US states need IDs to access porn sites.<\/p>\n Age verification was long viewed as unconstitutional in the US, but the Supreme Court overturned that precedent earlier in 2025<\/a>, concluding \u201cadults have no First Amendment right to avoid age verification\u201d if it\u2019s meant to protect underage users from \u201cobscene\u201d content. Several states, including Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Texas, have implemented laws requiring verification measures on adult websites. Some have tried to extend this to social media or app stores as a whole, but so far, they\u2019ve failed \u2014 lawsuits filed by NetChoice, a technology trade group backed by Google, Meta, X, Amazon, Discord, and other tech giants, have successfully blocked bills in California<\/a>, Arkansas<\/a>, Georgia<\/a>, Ohio<\/a>, and Florida<\/a>.<\/p>\n As in the UK, there\u2019s no guarantee against privacy and security breaches for states with age verification laws, and there\u2019s little standardization in this bevy of rules. Efforts in the US also coincide with escalating government digital surveillance<\/a> and attempts to declare<\/a> expressions of LGBTQ sexuality, like drag shows, as obscene, raising the risks of handing over personal data even further.<\/p>\n Not all age verification efforts entrust users\u2019 privacy to third-party services with a host of different methods. The EU is trialing not only age-gating requirements, but also government-managed digital IDs. It has started testing an age verification system prototype designed to \u201cbridge the gap\u201d<\/a> before digital IDs arrive by the end of next year. The solution will allow users to upload their passport or government ID card to a government-built system, which then generates a \u201cproof of age attestation\u201d that is passed to sites. Sites can also use the customer identification methods<\/a> employed by banks and mobile carriers. The goal is that users can upload sensitive information to a single system that can be held to a high privacy standard and is simple for sites to use.<\/p>\n Though having a centralized age verification solution may prevent users from having to pass their information through multiple verification services, plenty of questions remain regarding surveillance and accessibility. Aside from the ever-present possibility of data breaches, digital IDs may also restrict undocumented individuals from accessing content online. And, without the proper safeguards, digital identity systems may still \u201cphone home\u201d to the ID\u2019s issuer when a user\u2019s age is verified, potentially allowing providers to track online activity.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I pull up my ID at the liquor store, the DMV doesn\u2019t know that, but with digital identification, there\u2019s a potential for that,\u201d says Alexis Hancock, the director of engineering at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).<\/p>\n Down the line, the EU says it plans to enhance the framework with technology called zero-knowledge proof (ZKP). This is a cryptographic verification method that allows a service to prove something is true or false without revealing any additional information, as outlined by the EFF<\/a>. That means an app could verify that a user is over the age of 18 without disclosing their exact birthdate. Google has already built a ZKP system<\/a> into Google Wallet and has since open-sourced the technology<\/a>, which it\u2019s encouraging EU members to adopt.<\/p>\n Even with ZKP in place, Hancock says that there are still concerns about what sites and apps can ask for information about a user\u2019s age. \u201cI haven\u2019t seen anything remotely promising at the moment that actually reels in verifiers in particular,\u201d Hancock says. \u201cThere\u2019s not a lot of scope restriction on who can actually ask for this and if it\u2019s even needed in some cases.\u201d<\/p>\n Lawmakers and regulators have argued that there are overwhelming benefits to protecting children from harmful content or exploitative social media platforms. Melanie Dawes, the chief executive of Ofcom, the UK\u2019s communications regulator, boasted that \u201cprioritizing clicks and engagement over children\u2019s online safety will no longer be tolerated in the UK,\u201d and US lawmakers and regulators have declared porn and social media a public health crisis. \u201cPutting in place commonsense guardrails that protect our kids from the dangers of social media is critical for their future and America\u2019s future,\u201d Sen. Katie Britt said in an announcement<\/a> about the Kids Off Social Media Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n While keeping kids safe online is important, this messaging downplays or ignores the ripple effects. Right now, there just isn\u2019t any clear-cut way to verify someone\u2019s age online without risking a leak of personal information or hampering access to the internet. Until lawmakers stop and think about the bigger picture, everyone\u2019s privacy is going to be at risk.<\/p>\n <\/a>Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Emma RothClose Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n PlusFollow<\/p>\n See All by Emma Roth<\/a><\/p>\n AnalysisCloseAnalysis<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n PlusFollow<\/p>\n See All Analysis<\/a><\/p>\n FeaturesCloseFeatures<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n PlusFollow<\/p>\n See All Features<\/a><\/p>\n PolicyClosePolicy<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n PlusFollow<\/p>\n See All Policy<\/a><\/p>\n PrivacyClosePrivacy<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n PlusFollow<\/p>\n See All Privacy<\/a><\/p>\n SecurityCloseSecurity<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n PlusFollow<\/p>\n See All Security<\/a><\/p>\n SpeechCloseSpeech<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n PlusFollow<\/p>\n![\"Emma](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/EMMA_ROTH.0.jpg\"\/)
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