A coalition of 40 state and territorial attorneys general is pressing Congress to adopt the Senate’s version of the Kids Online Safety Act, a move that would fundamentally alter how Americans access the internet. Acting through the National Association of Attorneys General, the group is backing S.1748 while rejecting the House alternative as too weak. Though promoted as child protection, the Senate framework introduces a federally enforced “Duty of Care” that would push platforms—and potentially devices themselves—into mandatory age verification regimes. The enforcement power would rest with the Federal Trade Commission, granting regulators authority to examine algorithms, moderation systems, and internal platform controls to ensure compliance.

What makes this proposal especially concerning is its shift away from platform-level safeguards toward device- and operating system–level identity checks. S.1748 directs federal agencies, including the Federal Communications Commission, to study technologically feasible methods for embedding age verification directly into hardware and software. That architecture cannot function without credentialing—effectively tying online access to government-issued or third-party digital IDs. Anonymous browsing, once a defining feature of the internet, would be replaced with identity checkpoints upstream of lawful speech. Even if content itself isn’t stored, verified identity tokens would leave a persistent trail, chilling expression and placing broad swaths of online activity under regulatory oversight.

SOURCE: Reclaim the Net