The SCREEN Act Threatens Privacy Far Beyond Adult Websites

Key Points:

• The Senate Commerce Committee is reviewing the SCREEN Act (S. 737), which would mandate age verification for users accessing any sexually explicit content online, impacting a wide range of platforms beyond adult sites, including streaming services and social media.
• The bill requires robust identity-linked age verification methods rather than simple user attestations, leading to the collection and storage of personal data by third-party services, raising significant privacy and data security concerns.
• The SCREEN Act's broad scope means millions of adults would have to prove their age online, effectively sacrificing anonymity and privacy to access lawful content.
• The legislation also targets VPN users by requiring age verification based on IP addresses, discouraging VPN use and undermining privacy tools that protect users' location and identity for legitimate reasons.
• Overall, the SCREEN Act imposes strict age-verification rules that threaten user anonymity, restrict access to lawful speech, and create potential vulnerabilities in data security for internet users.