Age Verification Bills are Popping Up Across the Country

Since January 1, 2023 when Louisiana’s age verification law went into effect, over a dozen states have now introduced AVS measures.

• Arkansas, Virginia, Florida, South Dakota, West Virginia, Kansas and Mississippi have introduced legislation virtually identical to Louisiana.

• Oregon, Texas, South Carolina, Minnesota, Utah, Oklahoma, Missouri and Arizona have either introduced or plan to introduce other age-verification legislation.

We’ve created an Age Verification Bill Tracker because some of these bills are moving quite quickly.

The good news:

• FSC has been meeting with legal counsel and allies in the civil/digital rights about potential challenges to the law(s).

• We have also been meeting with AVS providers, billers, platforms and technologists about currently available technology (with its strengths, weaknesses, risks and benefits), in hopes of finding options for less invasive methods of AVS.

• We are speaking out in the press and on social media to raise awareness about the legislation and the potential issues. Currently, there are few voices raising concerns beside ours. We need to change that.

It should go without saying that if you or anyone you know is served with a lawsuit or other AVS-related regulatory action that you contact FSC before responding. We’ve been strategizing responses with our First Amendment attorneys since the law was introduced, and can potentially offer some assistance with legal as well as press strategy.