1. United States
2. Colo.
3. Letter

As a resident of Loveland, I am writing to urge you to strongly oppose SB26-051, the "Age Attestation on Computing Devices" bill. While I understand the desire to protect minors online, this legislation relies on deeply flawed mechanisms that will ultimately violate user privacy, threaten free speech, and strip control away from parents. I share the concerns of digital rights groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) for three main reasons: - It hands parenting over to Big Tech: Instead of empowering families, this bill replaces nuanced parental guidance with rigid, tech-mandated restrictions. By forcing operating systems to broadcast an “age bracket” for device users, it takes control away from parents, especially in households that share devices. - It destroys user privacy: Mandating age verification and allowing apps to use “behavioral analysis” to guess a user's age transforms the internet into a surveillance system. It will force companies to collect more sensitive data on all users, increasing the risk of data breaches and identity theft. - It burdens free speech: Broad age-gating restricts everyone’s First Amendment rights by eliminating the ability to browse the internet anonymously and securely. Instead of mandating a statewide age-tracking infrastructure, Colorado should be pursuing strong, comprehensive data privacy laws that prevent tech companies from collecting excessive data on our children in the first place. Please protect the privacy, security, and parental rights of your constituents in Loveland. I urge you to oppose SB26-051.