Congress is pushing the KIDS Act, which would force online services to implement age checks that could compromise user privacy. While supporters claim the bill doesn't require age verification, its provisions effectively mandate that websites identify users under 18. Companies will likely respond by demanding personal information like driver's licenses or passports to comply with legal risks.

The legislation also pushes platforms toward encrypted communications restrictions while pressuring them to moderate broad categories of lawful speech. Age-estimation technologies using facial recognition or behavioral analysis will inevitably misidentify users, creating privacy violations for everyone. Either approach—collecting sensitive documents or deploying flawed AI—harms internet users.

Rather than protecting children, this legislation drags all users toward an internet requiring age verification before reading, posting, or communicating online. Congress should reject this step backward for digital freedom.