Members of Congress reviewed 19 online safety bills Tuesday, which could significantly shape the future of the internet, as age-verification laws have now reached half of the U.S. and many countries around the world. In response, the digital and human rights organization Fight for the Future is organizing a week of events across Reddit, LinkedIn, and various livestreams to highlight what they see as a dangerous trend in these bills, claiming they make the internet more exploitative, not safer. Many of the proposed bills mandate ID or age verification, requiring individuals to upload identification, undergo face scans, or find other ways to prove they are not minors before accessing adult content. Fight for the Future warns that these policies will lead to increased censorship and surveillance.
Among the 19 bills discussed at the House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing was the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which gained broad bipartisan support in the Senate last year, and the Reducing Exploitative Social Media Exposure for Teens Act (RESET), aiming to ban tech companies from allowing anyone under 16 on their platforms. Beyond age verification, these bills raise concerns related to parental controls, consumer research on minors, artificial intelligence, and data privacy.
“We’re witnessing a major push for ID checks to become standard in tech policy, and we felt it was vital to engage with communities that feel unheard in Congress,” explains Sarah Philips, a campaigner with Fight for the Future. “If you look on YouTube, you’ll find content creators talking about KOSA and reacting to this legislation; it’s quite unpopular among the public. However, it’s seen as very reasonable on Capitol Hill.”
Earlier this week, Missouri’s age gate law went live, bringing the total number of states with some form of age verification to 25. The process typically involves third-party services, which can be particularly vulnerable to data breaches. Additionally, this year the UK implemented the Online Safety Act, which requires age verification, and Australia’s upcoming teen social media ban mandates that companies deactivate accounts for users under 16, starting December 10. Instagram, YouTube, Snap, and TikTok are adapting to this significant ban.
Philips argues that these laws threaten democratic freedoms. “These are censorship laws,” she declares. “In the South, where I live, these proposals echo many of the arguments used for book bans and laws that criminalize gender-affirming healthcare or information about abortion.”
