LANSING – A trend of requiring websites to verify users’ ages that began with Louisiana in 2023 and has since spread to states like Texas, Florida and Utah has now come to Michigan.
Legislative proposals for such a requirement may extend beyond websites and social media with adult content, raising concerns about free speech and privacy.
A bill by Sen. Thomas Albert, R-Lowell, would require commercial entities to establish a system of age verification for their account holders. Similar mechanisms are in place for online gambling apps in Michigan, according to his press release.
Children under age 18 would need a parent’s consent to open an account, and parents would be allowed to supervise the account, including authority over time restrictions and privacy settings.
Internet service providers would be required to obtain age verification through “reasonable” methods, including asking users to upload government identification to their websites.
Internet service providers could be fined for violations.
According to Albert, websites would not be permitted to keep users’ data once their age is verified.
A related bill by Albert outlines parental supervision of minors’ social media accounts and would require parental consent for minors under 16.
Critics like the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have raised questions about freedom of speech and privacy rights.
According to an ACLU press release, such laws “will inevitably censor speech that is not pornographic, much less obscene” and “could potentially reach social media sites like Reddit, streaming services that host enough R-rated movies or websites that focus on sexual health.”
The Electronic Frontier Foundation criticized identity verification by service providers in a press release. It argues that despite an assumption that those operating verification systems will act responsibly, there is a risk they may collect excessive data and misuse sensitive information.
Although Albert’s bills are pending in the Senate Regulatory Affairs Committee and have not passed the Legislature, some internet service providers in Michigan already voluntarily operate age verification systems.
In addition, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, already has a system to verify user identities and ages.
According to its help center, Meta may ask users to upload a government-issued ID to confirm their identity for security purposes, as well as to verify ages for accounts with a minimum age requirement.
The process, as outlined by Meta, involves uploading a photo of an official document, such as a driver’s license, national identity card or passport.
X, formerly Twitter, also implemented an age assurance system due to the United Kingdom’s Online Safety Act, the Irish Online Safety Code and the European Union Digital Services Act, according to its help center.
Beyond social media, even search engines are operating age verification.
Google primarily operates its search engine as its core business, while also owns YouTube. Its identity verification system incorporates both automated processes and manual verification when necessary.
The company says it has a long-standing feature called SafeSearch, which filters explicit content from search results. This feature is automatically set to “filter” for users under the age of 18.
