[Summary] 10 (Not So) Hidden Dangers of Age Verification - Techdirt

[Summary] 10 (Not So) Hidden Dangers of Age Verification – Techdirt

December 27, 2025

Age-verification laws, while intended to protect minors, can disproportionately harm adults without identification, leading to exclusion from online services.
Biometric and AI-based age-estimation systems exhibit racial bias, performing less accurately for people of color and potentially blocking their access to online spaces.
Individuals with disabilities face significant barriers due to facial recognition system inaccuracies and liveness detection failures, further compounded by lower rates of current identification.
Transgender and non-binary individuals are put at risk, facing the impossible choice between revealing sensitive personal information or losing access to online platforms.
Age verification mandates erode online anonymity, which is crucial for the safety of domestic abuse survivors, journalists, activists, and whistleblowers.
Young people may be denied access to essential information regarding health, sexuality, and gender due to age verification laws, hindering their education and self-discovery.
LGBTQ+ youth, especially those without supportive families, rely on the internet as a lifeline, and age verification systems that require parental consent can sever these vital connections.
Youth in foster care systems are particularly vulnerable and can be excluded from online platforms if parental consent is a requirement and no legal guardian is available.
Mandatory age verification systems create significant privacy risks by requiring users to submit sensitive personal data to third-party companies, increasing the likelihood of data breaches and identity theft.
Age verification systems can infringe upon free speech rights by being over-inclusive (blocking adults) and under-inclusive (failing to block minors), thus restricting lawful speech.

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