{"id":286,"date":"2026-01-28T19:03:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T19:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/com680\/?post_type=chapter&p=286"},"modified":"2026-03-26T13:13:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T13:13:13","slug":"chapter-9-age-verification","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/com680\/chapter\/chapter-9-age-verification\/","title":{"raw":"Chapter 9 - Age Verification","rendered":"Chapter 9 – Age Verification"},"content":{"raw":"

\u201cReddit doesn\u2019t require users to share information about their identities, regardless of age, because we are deeply committed to their privacy and safety.... The ICO\u2019s insistence<\/a> that we collect more private information on every UK user is counterintuitive and at odds with our strong belief in our users\u2019 online privacy and safety. We intend to appeal the ICO\u2019s decision.\u201d<\/em> - Reddit<\/a> corporate communication.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\u00a0Overview<\/h2>\r\nAt face value, age verification in social media makes perfect sense: Why would we want 12 year olds hooked on TikTok scrolling? But at what point does age verification spill over into issues of personal privacy?\r\n\r\nIn late 2025, the Australian government<\/a> made the bold step to pass legislation that regulates access to certain social media systems to protect children from the harms they have identified as associated with misuse. In March 2026, Meta (the owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) and Google's YouTube were held liable in court<\/a> for the addictive effects of their social media products. Numerous other nations<\/a> have similar access restrictions, as have many states in the U.S.\r\n\r\nYet, even with these mechanisms, it is unclear how effective<\/a> these measure have been in achieving the goals for which they were intended. Does this \"leakage\" negate their effort, or does the friction of regulated access send a more important message about the potential harms of misuse, even if they are not 100% effective?\r\n\r\nThis issue raises strong opinions about how we control the social media systems that are a near-necessity in adolescent social behavior. Privacy advocates suggest that a more insidious effect will occur if we allow private companies to capture PII and biometric data. Can we always assure that our private data will be managed securely?\r\n\r\nHow do your app and story ideas land in this issue?\r\n

What should you be focusing on?<\/h2>\r\nYour objectives in this module are to:\r\n