The UK has become the first major country to introduce a legal requirement for internet age verification, but it affects all websites and apps worldwide. Additionally, the US has recently revived a bill very similar to the British legislation.
While the law was presented as a way to prevent children accessing adult websites, the reality is very different, and we’re already seeing the privacy risks of good intentions being turned into bad legislation – with iMessage and FaceTime in the firing line …
The UK and US legislation
The UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA) took effect on Friday, and made websites and apps legally responsible for preventing kids accessing “age-inappropriate content.” Complying with this law requires companies to verify the ages of all their users.
We noted last week that very similar legislation in the US known as the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) was passed in the Senate last year before stalling, but has since been reintroduced in the House and looks likely to become law this year.
The four big problems
Massive overreach
While the legislation claimed to be addressing adult entertainment websites, it was later expanded to cover over 200 types of content, much of it very vaguely defined.
The British government’s own summary of the content affected reveals just how vague it all is:
Services must assess any risks to children from using their platforms and set appropriate age restrictions, ensuring that child users have age-appropriate experiences and are shielded from harmful content.
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