Ban Age Verification Laws. They're Surveillance

Age verification laws are being sold as child protection. They're not. They're mass surveillance infrastructure, and they need to be banned at the federal level permanently.

They're a surveillance tool. Requiring government ID or biometric data to access the internet creates a database of who is online and what they're doing. Many of us suspect this will evolve into a full ID system placing your identity on every post you make. That has. nothing to do with child safety, it's just a tracking system.

These laws are written by people who don't understand technology. They apply to software broadly meaning operating systems, robotics platforms like ROS, industrial automation, vehicle software, and calculators are all technically in scope. A factory robot is not a threat to your kids.

They hurt opensource development. Opensource software is built by unpaid volunteers. You cannot compel someone donating their time to implement expensive compliance systems. These laws would gut open-source development in the U.S.

They make everyone less safe. Users who don't verify get lumped in with minors meaning unverified adults, including predators who deliberately skip verification, land in child-designated spaces. Roblox is a well documented example of adults gaining access to children on platforms that failed to keep them separate. Kids aren't protected, they're just sharing a space with unvetted adults. The only way this actually "works" is by making it more invasive by tying a mandatory digital ID to every user online. And for everyone else, destroyed anonymity means a fully trackable online presence, putting journalists, abuse survivors, whistleblowers, and anyone in a vulnerable situation directly at risk.

Parents, not the government, should be responsible. Real filtering tools, monitoring software, and educational resources already exist we just need to use them. A simple win: mandate that companies ask whether a device is intended for a child at the point of sale, and provide parents with training on available tools when a relevant purchase is made. That actually works. A federal surveillance database doesn't.

We're calling on Congress to permanently prohibit age verification mandates that could infringe on Americans right to privacy online nationwide. We want a fundamental right to privacy online as a constitutional right. Sign this petition.