Age Verification Survival Guide

December 24, 2025

We at the Woodhull Freedom Foundation have repeatedly sounded the alarm on age verification online, which threatens our fundamental human right to sexual freedom and the sanctity of the 1st Amendment. We’ve clarified that it’s not the same as “flashing your ID at a liquor store”; age verification involves storing data, allowing third parties access, and losing anonymity that would otherwise make someone comfortable accessing legal content. We’ve detailed the numerous ways that age verification limits free speech online, and through research answered two common questions: Can you protect freedom of expression while requiring age verification online? And is age verification the most effective way to ensure online safety? We fact-checked. The answers? No, and no.

Our deep concern regarding age verification has led us to advocate for lawmakers to protect our rights. In February 2024, our General Counsel Lawrence G. Walters reached out to committee members in the Florida Senate to urge them to vote no on a proposed age verification bill. A few months later, in May 2024, we and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) submitted a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court urging the Justices to find Texas’s age verification law unconstitutional.

Now, over half of all states have age verification laws regarding online platforms. More than ever, we need an age verification survival guide. Thankfully, our friends at EFF created the Age Verification Resource Hub. We encourage you to consult the resources, which include explanations of age verification laws, why they violate our rights, and how we can protect ourselves.