How ID Checks Will Work

CREATOR TOOLKIT

WHY SHOULD I CARE?

We all want the internet to be a safer place. But ID checks won’t make us safer, no matter who you are, how old you are, or what you’re doing online. In order to verify someone’s identity or age, websites collect and store your data, often through third party companies that are hackable and expose people to identity and data theft. Some companies are selling ID verification tools that use facial recognition or other biometric scans, which are inaccurate, discriminate against women and people of color, and can be abused by law enforcement.

Big Tech has already made the internet worse: it’s hard to find information or see what your friends are posting online amidst the sea of advertisements and promoted content. Now, proliferation of age-gating practices could make it even harder to access resources that are increasingly under political attack, like sex education, abortion healthcare information, and LGBTQ online communities . The data shows that when presented with age verification mechanisms, people are more likely to just give up instead of entering sensitive information, which they are rightfully mistrustful of. 

On top of these risks, age checks create obstacles for marginalized people looking for vital resources and community online. A journalist should be able to do research without leaving a paper trail. A queer person or parent of a trans kid should be able to look up information about sexuality or gender affirming healthcare without fear of a search being tied to their identity. A pregnant person in a state with an abortion ban should be able to look up abortion funds without being surveilled. Age checks interrupt the free flow of information and our right to free speech online. You should be able to interact with your online communities, fandom, friends, the news, and more without putting your sensitive information into a database where you have no control over your data and how it can be used against you. 

No matter what you care about, ID checks cause more harm than good.

UKOSA Highlights the Threat of Online ID Checks

The United Kingdom’s Online Safety Act (UKOSA) came into effect in July 2025, requiring platforms and websites to verify the age of users before allowing them to access vaguely defined “adult content.” The rollout was a disaster. Facing massive fines for failure to comply, many websites chose to shutdown or block access from the UK. Platforms and websites that did comply placed ID checks between users and vast swaths of content. Predictably, LGBTQ+ content was targeted, but users also reported age gates in many seemingly random communities, like the subreddit dedicated to critiquing flag design. Age and online ID bills in the US would expand these issues.

Digital IDs Will Make Online ID Checks Worse

Proponents of Digital IDs assure that they’ll provide great convenience, but they would actually be terribly powerful surveillance tools. Many states have launched, or are planning on launching, digital ID programs. For now, these systems are offered in addition to physical IDs, but could be made mandatory for the purpose of online ID checking and for accessing other services. Digital IDs can be used to track and surveil users by monitoring which websites or stores are sending requests to the government to verify your identity. For example, states with abortion bans could use digital IDs to track people seeking reproductive healthcare in other states. The threat of surveillance and censorship, posed by online ID checks, is only made worse by Digital IDs.

Do you want to get involved in resisting the spread of digital IDs? Consider hosting a movie night with Surveillance Resistance Labs’ toolkit and check out these additional resources to learn more!

SO HOW DO WE MAKE THE INTERNET SAFER? 

Make no mistake: the current state of things is harmful, to everyone, not just kids. Tech companies are collecting our data to power their exploitative and oppressive algorithms and making the internet worse with surveillance, censorship, and endless targeted advertising.  But the solution is cracking down on their greedy surveillance capitalist business model, not restricting speech and kicking kids offline. We should be working on comprehensive privacy legislation that prioritizes people at the margins, antitrust legislation to actually regulate these giant corporations, and the algorithmic justice legislation that digital rights experts have been calling for. 

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