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The Free Software Foundation urged opposition to the proposed U.S. GUARD Act and similar age-verification laws, arguing that mandatory device- or service-level identity checks would undermine privacy, anonymous access, and the principles of free software. In its advocacy, the organization said the bill could bar minors from using chatbot services in the United States and force providers to verify users, which it characterized as a surveillance-oriented approach to regulating online access.
The group tied its objections to its broader definition of free software, which emphasizes users' freedom to run, study, modify, and share software. It warned that age-verification requirements could also burden free software and open machine-learning projects, including small or single-maintainer efforts, if they are treated as covered providers under the legislation, and called on U.S. residents to contact senators to oppose the measure.
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The European Commission’s proposed **EU Kids Act** would impose age-based access controls and child-safety duties on social media, video-sharing platforms, games, AI companions, chatbots, and app stores. Covered social-media and video-sharing services would be barred from offering accounts to children under 13; users aged 13–15 would require closely parent-supervised accounts, while users aged 15–18 would receive more autonomous accounts designed with safety protections by default. The proposal also targets addictive design features, harmful interactions, and emotional dependency risks. Critics warn that broad age-verification and age-gating mandates can require platforms to collect or validate sensitive identity data, creating privacy, security, and free-expression risks while limiting access to lawful information. They also argue that compliance costs could disproportionately affect smaller providers and consolidate the position of dominant technology firms. The Electronic Frontier Foundation identifies age verification as a wider digital-rights concern, and opposition to the EU proposal has focused on whether its restrictions are necessary, proportionate, and adequately supported by an impact assessment.
Sep 29, 2026
The Senate Commerce Committee is preparing to mark up a package of technology policy bills focused on child safety, online privacy, age verification and artificial intelligence, with the **Kids Online Safety Act** (`S.1748`) serving as the centerpiece. The bill would require covered platforms to use reasonable care in designing features for users under 17, add parental controls, limit certain research involving children under 13, and give the **Federal Trade Commission** enforcement authority. The package also includes the **Youth AI Privacy Act**, **Chatbot Act**, and **Children’s Artificial Intelligence Toy Safety Act**, which would impose new safeguards and parental oversight requirements for AI systems used by minors. The debate has also intensified around the **SCREEN Act** (`S.737`), which would require age verification for online services and social media hosting sexually explicit material. Critics say the measure could force adults to submit identity-linked credentials, expand collection and retention of sensitive personal data, and increase breach and surveillance risks. Opponents also warn that the bill’s reliance on IP-based location checks and scrutiny of traffic from known VPN addresses could undermine lawful anonymous browsing and discourage use of privacy tools such as VPNs and proxy services.
Aug 5, 2026
Policymakers in multiple jurisdictions are advancing **child online safety** rules that would restrict minors’ access to social media, “addictive” product features, and certain content (including pornography), increasing pressure on platforms to implement **age assurance/age verification** to determine users’ ages before allowing access. The Lawfare analysis highlights that while protecting children online is a widely shared goal, enforcing age-based restrictions at scale effectively requires collecting and validating age signals for *all* users—raising significant implementation, privacy, and governance challenges as governments consider measures such as the **Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA)**, the **Kids Off Social Media Act**, and the **App Store Accountability Act**.
Jun 30, 2026