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

- 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.
Reference(s)
- https://www.techdirt.com/2025/12/24/10-not-so-hidden-dangers-of-age-verification
- https://kagi.com/summarizer?target_language=&summary=takeaway&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.techdirt.com%2F2025%2F12%2F24%2F10-not-so-hidden-dangers-of-age-verification%2F