A New Age-Verification Bill Could Make You Show ID To Use a Computer or Smartphone |
Technology
A New Age-Verification Bill Could Make You Show ID To Use a Computer or Smartphone
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Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 4.22.2026 11:21 AM
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Social media platforms. App stores. And next—computers and smartphones? If some lawmakers get their way, Americans could have to show IDs or submit facial scans to so much as open a laptop or power up an iPhone.
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A bipartisan federal bill called the Parents Decide Act would require age verification at the operating system level. That means most computers, smartphones, and tablets would all be age-gated.
The Parents Decide Act was introduced earlier this month by U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat. It's co-sponsored by New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik.
Gottheimer and Stefanik's bill defines operating system as "software that supports the basic functions of a computer, mobile device, or any other general purpose computing device."
It would mandate that any operating system provider "require any user of the operating system to provide the date of birth of the user" in order to set up an account or use the operating system. And "if the relevant user of the operating system is under 18 years of age, require a parent or legal guardian of the user to verify the date of birth of the user."
It would also require operating systems to share "any information as is necessary…to verify the date of birth of a user" with app developers.
How exactly would people have to provide their dates of birth? How would things work when minors are concerned—would parents have to upload a copy of their children's birth certificates, or would their word alone be enough? And how would parents have to prove they are the parents, or even prove that they are adults?
The Parents Decide Act does not answer any of these questions—and it would not require members of Congress to hash out any such details before passing this measure.
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