In late 2025, Discord disclosed a significant data breach where a third-party customer service and age appeal system was compromised. This breach allowed hackers to gain unauthorized access to the support system, where critical personal information was stored. Among the affected data were photos of government IDs that users had submitted to verify their age and prove they were adults. Additionally, the breach exposed other sensitive personal data, including names, usernames, emails, IP addresses, and partial credit card information, putting countless individuals at risk. You shouldn’t have to show ID to read, speak, or exist online. Age verification turns free speech into permission-based speech while forcing users to surrender personal data under the false pretense of child safety. Repeal age-verification laws and restore parental supervision without forcing users to surrender privacy or free expression.

This incident highlights the pressing need to reconsider the security and privacy implications of AI-driven age verification systems across websites. While the intention behind implementing AI age verification methods is to ensure the online safety and compliance with age-restricted content, the potential for data breaches presents a significant risk to personal privacy. When personal data, such as government IDs, become vulnerable to cyber-attacks, it poses a grave threat to individual security, and the consequences can be devastating.

We are calling upon all websites and online platforms to remove AI-based age verification systems. The risks associated with these systems outweigh their potential benefits, as demonstrated by the recurring incidents of data breaches. Also, We call on lawmakers to halt age verification laws that threaten privacy, free expression, and data security while creating unnecessary barriers to lawful access to information.

Please support this petition to demand safer, more secure alternatives for age verification across the internet. Sign and safeguard our personal data today!