Age Verification Lobbying: Dark Money, Model Legislation, Institutional Capture
2 days ago
- #dark-money
- #lobbying
- #age-verification
- Meta spent $26.3 million on federal lobbying in 2025 and deployed 86+ lobbyists across 45 states.
- Meta covertly funded the Digital Childhood Alliance (DCA) to advocate for the App Store Accountability Act (ASAA).
- The Heritage Foundation funds three of six named DCA coalition organizations and staffs the advocacy pipeline.
- Two competing model bills exist: ICMEC’s DAAA (device/OS-level age verification) and DCA’s ASAA (app store-level age verification).
- Meta committed over $70 million to four state-level super PACs, including ATEP and META California.
- Age verification bills were introduced in 30+ jurisdictions within an 18-month window (October 2024 to March 2026).
- Meta spends EUR 10 million annually on EU lobbying, retaining 18+ consulting firms across jurisdictions.
- ICMEC, which authored the competing DAAA model legislation, is under severe financial distress with Meta as a confirmed major donor.
- ConnectSafely classified tech company donations as 'program service revenue' for nine consecutive years to avoid donor disclosure.
- Three states have passed ASAA laws (Utah, Texas, Louisiana), with 17+ others pending.