KIDS Act Would Pressure Websites to Collect More Personal Data for Age Checks
By
@eff
Summary
The article discusses the KIDS Act, a congressional bill that would pressure online services to determine users' ages before allowing access to websites, private messaging, or online communities. Despite supporters claiming the bill doesn't require age verification, the legislation imposes obligations that depend on websites knowing who is under 18. This legal pressure would likely lead companies to collect more personal information like driver's licenses or passports, or use unreliable age-estimation systems based on user activity or facial scans, ultimately compromising user privacy and making mistakes.
Source
bskyKIDS Act Would Pressure Websites to Collect More Personal Data for Age Checksact.eff.orgKey quotes
· 4 pulledWhile supporters insist the bill does not require age verification and have included language saying so, multiple parts of the package impose obligations that depend on websites taking steps to know who is under 18 years old.
Most companies are likely to respond to this legal risk by collecting much more personal information from users, like drivers' licenses or passports.
Others will rely on age-estimation systems that guess users' ages based on user activity or facial scans and inevitably make mistakes.
Either way, users lose.
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