A broad child-safety package meant to protect minors from explicit content, AI and compulsive computer activity was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last week. But critics say the Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act could increase online censorship for all and increase the risk personal data exposure, as it also ignores parental control and tools already available.
Sexual Content and Age Verification
Age verification is a hot topic beyond sexual content at the moment: on Monday, July 6, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to block Texas from enforcing a state law that requires apps stores to verify users’ ages and obtain parental consent for minors seeking to download them or make in-app purchases on mobile phones. Justice Samuel Alito denied petitions by plaintiffs claiming that the Texas App Store Accountability Act violates constitutional rights to free speech.
KIDS, which passed in the House on June 29, more specifically hones in on adult websites, stating that any publicly available online platform where at least one-third of the content is considered sexual material harmful to minors, would be required to adopt technology to identify underage users and block their access.
Rep. Mary Miller (R-Oakland, Illinois) sponsored the folded-in bill called the SCREEN Act (Shielding Children’s Retinas from Egregious Exposure on the Net) which creates a national age-verification requirement for any commercial website distributing “obscene” material — essentially federalizing what has so far been a state issue.
Miller says nearly 80% of American children are exposed to pornography before adulthood, which can lead to anxiety, depression, addiction, low self-esteem, and distorted views of relationships. “Today’s internet has made explicit sexual content more accessible than ever before,” she says. “And the House took an important step today to protect America’s children.”
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) however, opposes the bill, arguing it incentivizes platforms to remove material the government deems “inappropriate” for minors —including addiction recovery information, mental health resources, and gender-affirming care content— leading to widespread censorship. The ACLU also states that expanding age-verification requirements will implement collection of vast amounts of personal data, which can increase the risk of users information being exposed in breaches. Age-verification mandates usually require submitting one’s government ID and/ or a facial scan.
Social Media, Video Games and AI Chatbots
KIDS would also require AI chatbots to disclose that they aren’t human beings and impose default to settings that limit “compulsive usage” features for minors, restricting who can contact them on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. It states that it will give parents tools to manage a minor’s privacy/account settings, and ban “ephemeral” (disappearing) messaging, but many are pointing out that these tools are already available.
As Stephen Kent, media director for the Consumer Choice Center, writes for Daily Wire, “as with most power grabs in Washington, KIDS is framed as common-sense child protection. However noble it is to want age verification on the front-end of porn-sites, going down this road will have parents give up ultimate authority in their own households — authority they’ll never recover.”
Kent also points out that most internet service providers —including Xfinity, Verizon, Spectrum, etc.— already allow parents to block sites and companies like Bark, Gabb, and Pinwheel offer smartphones designed specifically for kids, with built-in restrictions on downloads, screen time, and contact access. KIDS also states that platforms must give parents tools to limit who can communicate with their minor and to restrict in-platform purchases, which many parents are already doing.
Sites like Pornhub have voluntarily blocked themselves in half the country (25 U.S. states) already to protest state-mandated age-verification laws and privacy concerns, so it remains to be seen how they’ll respond if the federal measure passes. It now moves to the Senate.
