1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

I'm asking you to vote no on H.R. 8250, the Parents Decide Act. This bill creates more risks for children than it prevents. The bill requires birthdates to be stored by operating systems and shared with every app a person downloads. This creates a centralized database that cannot be secured. In October 2025, hackers stole at least 70,000 government ID images from a third-party age verification vendor during the Discord breach. Unlike passwords, birthdates cannot be changed once stolen, making them prime targets for identity theft. Age verification doesn't work. Australia's under-16 social media ban took effect in December 2025 and was bypassed the same day using VPNs and borrowed faces. Kids migrated to less regulated platforms with fewer protections, and when they encounter grooming or harassment, they won't report it because they're breaking the rules. Better solutions exist. The UK's Age-Appropriate Design Code and Instagram's default privacy settings for minors actually protect children without building surveillance infrastructure. These design changes restrict contact from strangers and disable engagement-maximizing features without collecting sensitive data. Vote no on H.R. 8250. Protecting children shouldn't require making everyone less private and more vulnerable.