Software Engineering Daily · Tuesday, September 1, 2026
John Coleman from FIRE discusses the growing trend of age verification requirements for online platforms, such as social media and AI chatbots. He explains that while often framed as child protection, these measures raise significant concerns about privacy, anonymity, and potential government surveillance.
“Discord, App Stores, social media platforms, and AI chatbots are all being pulled into these requirements.”
“However, beneath that goal lies a set of hard questions about privacy, anonymity, security, and the line between what a private platform may choose to do and what a government may compel.”
“FIRE does not endorse in any way any particular age assurance method. In fact, we're pretty wary of any method that requires someone to identify themselves.”