No ID, No Internet
Age-verification laws are usually pitched as a simple tradeoff: give up a little privacy so kids are safer online. In a new analysis published October 8, the Electronic Frontier Foundation points at the question that framing skips, what happens to people who can't verify their age at all?
What's happening
Mandatory age checks are spreading fast. More than half of US states have now enacted age-verification laws, and similar rules are rolling out abroad (the UK's Online Safety Act, Australia's under-16 social media ban, an EU expert panel urging checks for under-13s). Many of these laws lean on a government ID, a passport, driver's license, or credit card, to prove you're old enough.
The catch almost no one mentions
Not everyone has those documents. By EFF's count, roughly 15 million adult US citizens don't have a driver's license, and another 2.6 million have no government photo ID at all. An ID requirement doesn't just expose your data, it can shut those people out of ordinary websites and services entirely. Globally the gap is larger: the World Bank estimates 850 million people have no ID, and women are 8% less likely than men to have one.
So the laws land unevenly. The same check that's a minor annoyance for most people becomes a wall for those least able to clear it, turning a privacy question into an access-and-free-expression one.
The even-handed version
Supporters say these laws protect minors from harmful material, harassment, and addictive design, real concerns. EFF's counter is that ID-based age checks don't deliver that safety: the technology is often inaccurate and privacy-invasive, it collects sensitive data in bulk, and it excludes people who can't produce the right paperwork, without reliably keeping kids safer.
What to do
Don't hand over your ID by default. When a site offers a choice, prefer on-device age estimation or a third-party check that doesn't store your documents, and skip services that demand a full ID scan where you can.
Check your state. More than half have an age-verification law on the books; know what yours requires before it surprises you.
Push back. EFF's resource hub at eff.org/age explains these laws and how to oppose them, including contacting your state legislators.
Quick tip
If a site asks you to upload a photo of your ID, stop and look for an alternative method first. Once a copy of your license or passport is uploaded, you've lost control of it, and age-check vendors have already been breached.
Up next · Wednesday
Your phone can prove you're old enough while showing far less of your ID, where it's offered.