A cybersecurity expert wrote an opinion piece for The Daily Beast, stating that the ongoing state-by-state legislative push to enforce age verification on social media poses a threat to online privacy and free speech.
Jeff Kosseff, an associate professor of cybersecurity law in the United States Naval Academy’s Cyber Science Department, wrote an op-ed titled “Social Media Age Requirements Are Anti-Free Speech.” In the article, Kosseff argues that age verification requirements, which are intended to protect children online, actually pose a threat to Americans’ ability to remain anonymous online because the laws mandate the collection of information from everyone, regardless of age.
Additionally, Kosseff highlights that the state laws being passed nationwide, led by religious conservatives and sometimes with support from both parties, do not clearly state the type of age verification that is necessary.
“Their lack of clarity regarding this matter implies that there is no clear solution to meet the requirements without causing significant privacy issues,” Kosseff explains. He provides examples such as the Utah law which mandates parental consent for minors to use social media, a similar Arkansas law, and the proposed federal legislation called the “Protecting Kids on Social Media Act.”
Kosseff argues that legislators are showing a disregard for anonymity by not acknowledging that no company can ensure the safety of personal information with the current technology.
“Debates about online harms often fuel calls for real-name requirements or other abrogations of anonymity,” he writes. “Although these proposals often are well intentioned, they ignore the prospect of silencing marginalized groups that do not have the luxury of speaking and receiving information under their real names.”
Kosseff, who wrote the definitive account of Section 230 titled “The Twenty-Six Words That Created the Internet” (2019) and is also working on a book called “Liar in a Crowded Theater: Freedom of Speech in a World of Misinformation,” recognizes valid worries about the negative impact social media can have on young people. Nevertheless, he questions whether age verification mandates “can withstand a constitutional challenge” due to their limited effectiveness.
“Illegal identification avoidance is likely to be discovered by resourceful teenagers, leaving law-abiding social media users with no option but to provide their personal information,” he concludes.
To read “Social Media Age Requirements Are Anti-Free Speech,” visit TheDaily Beast.com.
Main Image: Jeff Kosseff (Photo: JeffKosseff.com)