The European Commission's proposed EU Kids Act, presented last week, is intended to restrict young people's access to the internet. But a Techdirt analysis argues the draft would come at a high cost, forcing online services to implement age gates and expanding the use of age verification.
The concern is that these measures are intrusive and would undermine privacy for all users, not just minors. Verification systems would likely require people to share more personal data, and the burden would fall on everyone accessing online services, not only those the law aims to protect.
Techdirt's central argument is that the law won't deliver its stated goal of making the internet more accountable and trustworthy. Instead of addressing underlying issues, it shifts the burden onto users and platforms in a way that may harm privacy while failing to build trust.