1. United States
2. N.Y.
3. Letter

I'm writing to urge caution regarding the Youth AI Privacy Act (S. 4199). While I appreciate the intention behind protecting young people from AI chatbot harms, this legislation needs meaningful amendments before moving forward. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has raised serious concerns that bear close consideration. EFF argues the bill creates a "privacy paradox"—requiring additional data collection to verify ages and implement "safe design features" would expose young people to more surveillance, not less. Their analysis notes that vague provisions allowing companies to collect minors' data for identifying "harm to users" lack clear definition, creating a loophole that could enable widespread data harvesting under the guise of safety. Beyond EFF, digital rights advocates point to similar child safety legislation having already been struck down in several states due to unconstitutional age verification mandates that chill free expression and compromise privacy for all users. The fundamental tension remains: mandating specific technical designs risks regulating speech itself, while requiring identity verification for minors inherently collects data we're trying to minimize. Some privacy groups like EPIC support the bill, which shows legitimate disagreement exists among experts. That's precisely why rushing passage would be unwise. A better path forward might be comprehensive federal privacy legislation that applies protections to all users regardless of age, avoiding both discriminatory age gates and fragmented state laws. I respectfully ask you to advocate for amendments that narrow data collection requirements, clarify ambiguous language around "harm prevention," and consider broader privacy frameworks that don't sacrifice one group's security for another's. Protecting youth is vital, but not at the cost of entrenching surveillance infrastructure. Thank you for your consideration.