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Join EFF Lists * Copyright (CC BY) * Trademark * Privacy Policy * Thanks Electronic Frontier Foundation Donate [effectingc]EFFecting Change Livestream Series: Is There Hope for Social Media? [effectingc] Electronic Frontier Foundation * About + Contact + Press + People + Opportunities * Issues + Free Speech + Privacy + Creativity and Innovation + Transparency + International + Security * Our Work + Deeplinks Blog + Press Releases + Events + Legal Cases + Whitepapers + Podcast + Annual Reports * Take Action + Action Center + Electronic Frontier Alliance + Volunteer * Tools + Privacy Badger + Surveillance Self-Defense + Certbot + Atlas of Surveillance + Cover Your Tracks + Street Level Surveillance + apkeep * Donate + Donate to EFF + Giving Societies + Shop + Org. Membership + Other Ways to Give + Membership FAQ * Donate + Donate to EFF + Shop + Other Ways to Give * Search form Search [ ] First Porn, Now Skin Cream? 'Age Verification' Bills Are Out of Control DEEPLINKS BLOG By Rindala Alajaji March 7, 2025 A striped cat opines using a megaphone. First Porn, Now Skin Cream? 'Age Verification' Bills Are Out of Control Share It Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Copy link A striped cat opines using a megaphone. I'm old enough to remember when age verification bills were pitched as a way to 'save the kids from porn' and shield them from other vague dangers lurking in the digital world (like..."the transgender"). We have long cautioned about the dangers of these laws, and pointed out why they are likely to fail. While they may be well-intentioned, the growing proliferation of age verification schemes poses serious risks to all of our digital freedoms. Fast forward a few years, and these laws have morphed into something else entirely--unfortunately, something we expected. What started as a misguided attempt to protect minors from "explicit" content online has spiraled into a tangled mess of privacy-invasive surveillance schemes affecting skincare products, dating apps, and even diet pills, threatening everyone's right to privacy. Age Verification Laws: A Backdoor to Surveillance Age verification laws do far more than 'protect children online'--they require the creation of a system that collects vast amounts of personal information from everyone. Instead of making the internet safer for children, these laws force all users--regardless of age--to verify their identity just to access basic content or products. This isn't a mistake; it's a deliberate strategy. As one sponsor of age verification bills in Alabama admitted, "I knew the tough nut to crack that social media would be, so I said, 'Take first one bite at it through pornography, and the next session, once that got passed, then go and work on the social media issue.'" In other words, they recognized that targeting porn would be an easier way to introduce these age verification systems, knowing it would be more emotionally charged and easier to pass. This is just the beginning of a broader surveillance system disguised as a safety measure. This alarming trend is already clear, with the growing creep of age verification bills filed in the first month of the 2025-2026 state legislative session. Consider these three bills: 1. Skincare: AB-728 in California Age verification just hit the skincare aisle! California's AB-728 mandates age verification for anyone purchasing skin care products or cosmetics that contain certain chemicals like Vitamin A or alpha hydroxy acids. On the surface, this may seem harmless--who doesn't want to ensure that minors are safe from harmful chemicals? But the real issue lies in the invasive surveillance it mandates. A person simply trying to buy face cream could be forced to submit sensitive personal data through "an age verification system," creating a system of constant tracking and data collection for a product that should be innocuous. 2. Dating Apps: A3323 in New York Match made in heaven? Not without your government-issued ID. New York's A3323 bill mandates that online dating services verify users' age, identity, and location before allowing access to their platforms. The bill's sweeping requirements introduce serious privacy concerns for all users. By forcing users to provide sensitive personal information--such as government-issued IDs and location data--the bill creates significant risks that this data could be misused, sold, or exposed through data breaches. 3. Dieting products: SB 5622 in Washington State Shed your privacy before you shed those pounds! Washington State's SB 5622 takes aim at diet pills and dietary supplements by restricting their sale to anyone under 18. While the bill's intention is to protect young people from potentially harmful dieting products, it misses the mark by overlooking the massive privacy risks associated with the age verification process for everyone else. To enforce this restriction, the bill requires intrusive personal data collection for purchasing diet pills in person or online, opening the door for sensitive information to be exploited. The Problem with Age Verification: No Solution Is Safe Let's be clear: no method of age verification is both privacy-protective and entirely accurate. The methods also don't fall on a neat spectrum of "more safe" to "less safe." Instead, every form of age verification is better described as "dangerous in one way" or "dangerous in a different way." These systems are inherently flawed, and none come without trade-offs. Additionally, they continue to burden adults who just want to browse the internet or buy everyday items without being subjected to mass data collection. For example, when an age verification system requires users to submit government-issued identification or a scan of their face, it collects a staggering amount of sensitive, often immutable, biometric or other personal data--jeopardizing internet users' privacy and security. Systems that rely on credit card information, phone numbers, or other third-party material similarly amass troves of personal data. This data is just as susceptible to being misused as any other data, creating vulnerabilities for identity theft and data breaches. These issues are not just theoretical: age verification companies can be-- and already have been--hacked. These are real, ongoing concerns for anyone who values their privacy. We must push back against age verification bills that create surveillance systems and undermine our civil liberties, and we must be clear-eyed about the dangers posed by these expanding age verification laws. While the intent to protect children makes sense, the unintended consequence is a massive erosion of privacy, security, and free expression online for everyone. Rather than focusing on restrictive age verification systems, lawmakers should explore better, less invasive ways to protect everyone online--methods that don't place the entire burden of risk on individuals or threaten their fundamental rights. EFF will continue to advocate for digital privacy, security, and free expression. We urge legislators to prioritize solutions that uphold these essential values, ensuring that the internet remains a space for learning, connecting, and creating--without the constant threat of surveillance or censorship. Whether you're buying a face cream, swiping on a dating app, or browsing for a bottle of diet pills, age verification laws undermine that vision, and we must do better. Related Issues Free Speech Share It Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Copy link Join EFF Lists Discover more. Email updates on news, actions, events in your area, and more. Email Address [ ] Postal Code (optional) [ ] Anti-spam question: Enter the three-letter abbreviation for Electronic Frontier Foundation: [ ] Don't fill out this field (required) [ ] [Submit] Thanks, you're awesome! Please check your email for a confirmation link. Oops something is broken right now, please try again later. Related Updates Trump free speech Deeplinks Blog by Jason Kelley | March 5, 2025 Trump Calls On Congress To Pass The "Take It Down" Act--So He Can Censor His Critics We've opposed the Take It Down Act because it could be easily manipulated to take down lawful content that powerful people simply don't like. Last night, President Trump demonstrated he has a similar view on the bill. He wants to sign the bill into law, then use it to... 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Our goal is to demand greater transparency in tech companies' moderation practices and ensure that their actions do not silence critical conversations about reproductive rights. Globe showing Europe with digital rights icons Deeplinks Blog by Paige Collings | February 19, 2025 Saving the Internet in Europe: Defending Privacy and Fighting Surveillance This post is part three in a series of posts about EFF's work in Europe. Read about how and why we work in Europe here. EFF's mission is to ensure that technology supports freedom, justice, and innovation for all people of the world. While our work has taken us... Discover more. Email updates on news, actions, events in your area, and more. Email Address [ ] Postal Code (optional) [ ] Anti-spam question: Enter the three-letter abbreviation for Electronic Frontier Foundation: [ ] Don't fill out this field (required) [ ] [Submit] Thanks, you're awesome! Please check your email for a confirmation link. 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