Background: Senate Bill 180 would require an individual to undergo an invasive age verification process before accessing certain apps from an online app store.
Our position: The ACLU opposes Senate Bill 180. Imposing unconstitutional age-verification requirements burdens users who may want to engage in anonymous speech, who do not have government ID, and who are otherwise concerned about their privacy and security.
Young people deserve our protection and support, but age-gating the an online app store is not the answer. Rather than creating a digital surveillance state that imperils us all, we must shape a safer digital universe through evidence-based approaches that give control to people, not the government, like parental controls that already exist.
Age verification laws are ineffective at achieving their stated goal of preventing minors from accessing adult applications, but they are effective at violating adults’ rights to access constitutionally protected speech.
