1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

Vote no on HR 8250, the Parents Decide Act. This bill creates a massive centralized database of birth dates and family relationships without actually protecting children online. Requiring operating system providers to verify every user's age means Apple, Google, and Microsoft will collect and store sensitive personal information on hundreds of millions of Americans. The FTC has 180 days to write data protection standards, but we've seen repeatedly that even major tech companies suffer breaches. One successful hack would expose the ages and identities of minors across the country, creating a goldmine for identity thieves and predators. This approach won't keep kids safer. Determined children will find workarounds, borrow devices, or lie about their ages just as they do now. Meanwhile, law-abiding families surrender their privacy to access basic technology. The bill's safe harbor provision even shields companies from liability if they follow the rules, removing accountability when the system inevitably fails. Real child safety requires better enforcement of existing laws, not a surveillance infrastructure that tracks every American from the moment they turn on a device. Reject HR 8250.