EU Kids Act Won't Keep the Internet Accountable and Trustworthy
The European Commission has proposed the EU Kids Act, a draft law designed to protect minors online by imposing age-based access rules and safety requirements on social media, video games, and AI systems. Critics argue the legislation will force widespread age verification, creating privacy costs that fall on all users, not just children.
Why this matters: Age verification sounds like a child-protection measure. In practice, it is a data collection requirement for everyone. To prove you are old enough, you have to prove who you are. That means more platforms holding more identity information on more people, with more ways for that data to be misused or leaked. The people writing this law are focused on the harm to children. The harm to adults is getting less attention. A rule that makes the internet safer for kids by making it more surveilled for everyone deserves more scrutiny than it is getting.
Who should care: Lawyers · Privacy officers · Compliance · General readers · AI governance · Policy
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