Oppose Senate Bill 25-201 Age Verification Mandate

I urge you to oppose Senate Bill 25-201, which mandates age verification for online content. This legislation fails to protect children while expanding government surveillance and undermining parental responsibility. The bill requires covered platforms to verify ages using commercially available technologies and conduct annual independent audits beginning July 1, 2026. Despite promises that platforms must offer verification options that don't require identity disclosure, any age verification system inevitably creates databases linking individuals to their online activity. The requirement that platforms employ "extensive due diligence" beyond IP addresses to confirm Colorado location means more invasive data collection, not less. While the bill mandates data destruction after verification and compliance with the Colorado Privacy Act, these provisions offer little protection. Data breaches are commonplace, and once verification systems exist, they become targets for hackers and potential tools for government overreach. The appeals process for contesting age determinations creates yet another layer of bureaucracy and data retention. This legislation represents a fundamental misunderstanding of where responsibility for children's online safety belongs. Parents, not the government, should determine what content their children access and implement appropriate safeguards through existing parental control tools, device settings, and family conversations. Senate Bill 25-201 absolves parents of their duty to actively engage in their children's digital lives. The bill has been laid over repeatedly during Senate Second Reading, most recently on April 14, 2025, with the next consideration scheduled for May 8, 2025. This pattern suggests legitimate concerns about the legislation's approach. Rather than mandating surveillance infrastructure that compromises privacy for all Coloradans while providing questionable protection, I ask you to vote against Senate Bill 25-201. Effective child safety comes from empowering parents with tools and education, not from government-mandated age verification systems that fundamentally alter how the internet functions while creating new privacy risks.