The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) has filed a brief in the case of Netchoice v. Bonta, highlighting concerns over privacy and security risks associated with age verification technologies. The brief, submitted on February 6, critiques the implementation of California's Senate Bill 976, which mandates age verification to protect children from social media addiction.
According to CDT, these requirements could hinder adults' access to constitutionally protected speech without effectively safeguarding minors. The organization points out that some age verification methods, such as facial recognition or biometric scanning, are susceptible to inaccuracies and bias. Other methods like government ID uploads and third-party database checks may lead to misclassification issues and raise data security concerns.
The brief outlines various age verification techniques but notes that none provide a fail-safe solution balancing privacy protection with accuracy. CDT argues that these measures could increase barriers to online access for both minors and adults seeking constitutionally protected content, potentially infringing on First Amendment rights.