KIDS Act Would Mandate Age Verification for Online Access
Original: The KIDS Act would require age checks to get online
Why This Matters
This legislation significantly impacts digital privacy, free expression, and internet access standards for all age groups across the U.S.
Congress is preparing to vote on the KIDS Act, legislation requiring age checks for online services and private messaging. The package combines the Kids Online Safety Act with additional internet regulations, creating complex age-gating schemes that will likely push platforms to verify all users' ages.
Within the next week, Congress plans to vote on the KIDS Act, a comprehensive legislative package designed to control web browsing and private messaging for Americans. The bill combines a revised version of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) with additional internet bills, study requirements, and new regulations. According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation analysis, lawmakers are moving the entire package through an expedited process without debating individual proposals on their merits. The legislation creates multiple age-gating schemes with different standards for different services. While KOSA's supporters claim it does not explicitly require age verification, the bill's language creates pressure for platforms to verify users' ages. The legislation requires special protections, controls, messaging settings, and parental tools whenever a website or app "knows or should have known" a user is a child (under 13) or teen (13-16). The standard uses negligence-based knowledge, meaning platforms could face legal liability for failing to identify minors even without explicit age verification systems. The bill includes provisions requiring government-directed moderation policies for online speech and creates new rules governing private and encrypted communications. Faced with the legal complexity and liability risks, many companies may adopt restrictive age-checking practices across entire platforms as a defensive measure.