UK NGOs Push Anti-Anonymity Digital ID Laws Across US States
Original: The UK's war on anonymity has come to America
Why This Matters
Foreign-funded digital ID legislation advancing in 21 US states raises significant internet freedom and civil liberties stakes.
An investigation by Effort has identified five foreign NGOs, primarily British, coordinating efforts to pass digital ID laws in 21 US states and Congress under the banner of 'child safety,' mirroring legislation already enacted in the UK that critics say enables political surveillance.
Effort published an investigation on August 10, 2026, identifying a coordinated campaign by five foreign NGOs and their US affiliates to influence American state legislatures toward digital ID laws that would end anonymous internet use. The NGOs — including 5Rights Foundation and the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) — have used child safety rhetoric as the primary advocacy framework, a strategy previously used to pass similar laws in the United Kingdom.
In the UK, these digital ID measures now form part of a surveillance and enforcement system that has been used to arrest and jail political dissidents, according to Effort's reporting.
5Rights, a British NGO, registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) but allegedly failed to file required disclosures about its foreign leadership. The group co-designed California's AB 2273, modeled on the UK's Age Appropriate Design Code, and paid lobbying firm Capitol Connection $50,000 to advocate for the bill — a relationship not disclosed until 2024, more than a year after the bill passed. 5Rights has engaged on 42 bills across 18 US states, 11 of which have become law.
CCDH, co-founded by British Labour consultants Imran Ahmed and Morgan McSweeney, has lobbied on Section 230 reform and other US legislation. America First Legal accused CCDH of FARA violations in 2024; the DOJ has not publicly announced any investigation. Effort independently verified that CCDH's leadership includes British nationals managing both US and UK entities.