New York Will Require Digital ID Checks for Social Feeds

3 hours ago

New York's SAFE for Kids Act requires age verification (digital ID) before algorithms curate feeds or platforms send midnight notifications to users under 18, effective January 25, 2027.
Users over 17 must prove adulthood via government IDs, face scans, phone numbers, or emails; platforms must offer at least one verification option beyond ID upload.
For minors, default settings disable algorithmic feeds and overnight notifications (midnight to 6 a.m.) without parental consent, which requires digital ID checks for parents.
Age checks must meet accuracy standards (e.g., ≤0.1% false pass rate for ages ≤7 up to 15% for age 17), block ≥98% of circumvention attempts, and undergo annual testing with results retained for 10 years.
Collected data must be minimized, used only for age/parental consent, and deleted or de-identified after use—though enforcement challenges remain due to hacking, breaches, or non-compliance.
The law targets major platforms (Instagram, TikTok, etc.) and any service where users spend ≥20% of time on addictive feeds, exempting sites with <5 million monthly users or <20,000 minor users, with penalties up to $5,000 per violation.

Congress is set to vote on the KIDS Act, which combines KOSA and other internet bills, pushing age verification and content moderation.
The act uses a 'knows or should have known' standard for minors, pressuring platforms to implement age checks, risking privacy and free expression.
Age verification may involve invasive methods like driver's licenses or facial scans, disproportionately affecting marginalized groups.

The UK government decided not to limit VPNs, citing their legitimate privacy and security uses.
Research shows only 7-10% of teenagers use VPNs to bypass age checks, while 45% use false dates of birth.
Social media platforms will be required to prevent underage users from circumventing age assurance measures.

Australia’s social media law, effective Dec 2025, raised the age for accounts to 16, a global first, requiring platforms to verify and enforce age minimums.
Early surveys show under-16 social media use declined partially, but critics argue the law fails due to workarounds; however, the law targets account-based access, not all content viewing.
Platforms removed 4.7 million under-16 accounts, and parents report positive behavioral changes in children, including more in-person interaction and improved relationships.

Age verification laws in various regions are framed as protecting children but function as identity attribution systems.
These laws aim to tie digital accounts to real identities, making it easier for authorities to identify individuals.
The state seeks to automate identity attribution, enabling swift action against individuals for online speech without requiring traditional investigation methods.

Age verification systems require submitting sensitive personal data to third-party companies to access certain online content, starting with adult sites and expanding to social media and beyond.
Anonymous speech is essential for protecting vulnerable groups like whistleblowers and political dissidents; age verification leads to self-censorship and chills free expression.
Privacy is compromised as data breaches expose IDs, selfies, and other personal information, with systems enabling surveillance under the guise of child safety.

Congress is set to vote on the KIDS Act, which combines KOSA and other internet bills, pushing age verification and content moderation.
The act uses a 'knows or should have known' standard for minors, pressuring platforms to implement age checks, risking privacy and free expression.
Age verification may involve invasive methods like driver's licenses or facial scans, disproportionately affecting marginalized groups.

The UK government decided not to limit VPNs, citing their legitimate privacy and security uses.
Research shows only 7-10% of teenagers use VPNs to bypass age checks, while 45% use false dates of birth.
Social media platforms will be required to prevent underage users from circumventing age assurance measures.

Australia’s social media law, effective Dec 2025, raised the age for accounts to 16, a global first, requiring platforms to verify and enforce age minimums.
Early surveys show under-16 social media use declined partially, but critics argue the law fails due to workarounds; however, the law targets account-based access, not all content viewing.
Platforms removed 4.7 million under-16 accounts, and parents report positive behavioral changes in children, including more in-person interaction and improved relationships.

Age verification laws in various regions are framed as protecting children but function as identity attribution systems.
These laws aim to tie digital accounts to real identities, making it easier for authorities to identify individuals.
The state seeks to automate identity attribution, enabling swift action against individuals for online speech without requiring traditional investigation methods.

Age verification systems require submitting sensitive personal data to third-party companies to access certain online content, starting with adult sites and expanding to social media and beyond.
Anonymous speech is essential for protecting vulnerable groups like whistleblowers and political dissidents; age verification leads to self-censorship and chills free expression.
Privacy is compromised as data breaches expose IDs, selfies, and other personal information, with systems enabling surveillance under the guise of child safety.

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