age verification
17 briefs
Von der Leyen Wants to Delay Children's Access to Social Media. The Question Is Delay It Until When.
The EU is proposing a 'social media delay' for kids, backed by an age-verification app that is ready to deploy. Ten member states already have different rules. A summer legal proposal could unify them. Or not.
Germany Wants to Ban Social Media for Kids Under 14. The Age Verification Problem Will Break It.
The SPD's proposal uses the EU Digital Identity Wallet as the enforcement mechanism. That is either a serious policy or a data collection system with a safety branding.
The GUARD Act Passed Committee 22-0. It Would Also Require All Adults to Show ID Before Using a Chatbot.
Framed as child protection, the bill advancing through the US Senate would build a national ID database for AI access. The same architecture is being replicated in Australia, Ireland, and the UK simultaneously.
Every Government Is Banning Children from Social Media. None of Them Know If It Works.
The UK has now passed mandatory social media restrictions for under-16s. Canada, California, and Sri Lanka are following. The policy is running ahead of the evidence.
The Bill That Bans Kids from AI Chatbots Would Card Everyone Else
The GUARD Act passed committee unanimously. To protect minors from AI companions, it would require identity verification for anyone who uses a chatbot. The child safety framing is hiding what it actually is.
The UK Banned Social Media for Kids. It Just Doesn't Know How Yet.
The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act passed last week with a mandatory July 2027 deadline for under-16 restrictions. The government has not yet named the platforms, the age verification method, or whether ISPs will be required to block VPNs.
Norway, Indonesia, and Australia Are Banning Social Media for Under-16s. Meta Is Threatening to Leave States That Try It.
A global wave of age restriction laws is converging on the same question New Mexico is testing in court: can a government force a platform to redesign itself, or does it have to accept the platform leaving instead?
Indonesia Just Made Roblox Scan Children's Faces. No Other Country Has Done This.
Under a new law called PP TUNAS, Roblox must verify the age of its 23 million Indonesian child users through facial recognition. It is the first country to extend age verification rules to gaming platforms.
The Social Media Ban Experiment Is Failing in Real Time
Australia's under-16 ban is four months old and 60% of teens are still online. The UK Lords vote today on whether to delay action three more years. Manitoba is planning a ban anyway. Everyone is watching the data and ignoring it.
The World Is Copying Australia's Teen Social Media Ban. Australia's Is Already Failing.
Four months after Australia became the first country to ban social media for under-16s, 61% of affected teens are still on the platforms, and Turkey, Norway, Manitoba, and a dozen US states are lining up to enact the same policy.
Turkey Bans Social Media for Under-15s. The Global Wave Just Got Bigger.
A school shooting triggered the law. Erdogan's political agenda is sustaining it. The question is whether any country that bans children from social media is actually protecting them or just building surveillance infrastructure with parental consent.
The Kids App Ban That Big Tech Will Actually Win
Norway and Turkey both moved today to block children from social media. The courts found Meta liable last month. The laws will pass. The platforms will comply on paper and change almost nothing.
Governments Are Banning Teens From Social Media. The Evidence Says It Won't Work.
Australia's under-16 ban, Canada's Liberal resolution, Missouri's new law, Indonesia's crackdown. A global wave of social media age restrictions is building. Every expert says enforcement will fail.
A Federal Judge Blocked Arkansas's Social Media Age Law. This Is the Third Time.
NetChoice keeps winning in court. States keep passing new versions of the same law. Neither side is trying to resolve the constitutional question. They are trying to outlast each other.
The Social Media Ban That Already Failed
Australia's under-16 ban went global this week as governments launched an EU age-verification app, a world leaders summit, and Australian legal threats. The app was hacked in two minutes.
The Ban That Made VPNs Mandatory
Australia banned social media for under-16s in December. Four months later, 61% of affected teens still have access. Now the UK and US are considering the same approach.
The EU Just Built the Infrastructure to Ban Children from Social Media. The Harder Question Is Who Decides What a Child Is.
Von der Leyen announced an EU age verification app today. Canada is going further and applying the same logic to AI chatbots. The technology exists. The politics are just beginning.