CCIA Tells NTIA to Avoid Social Media Age-Verification Regulations

Requiring platforms to verify age forces businesses to collect sensitive information in conflict with data minimization principles, the Computer & Communications Industry Association told NTIA in comments Thursday in docket 230926-0233. NTIA requested comment on risks associated with youth mental health and privacy related to social media use. CCIA urged policymakers not to adopt burdensome age-verification regulations and instead focus on passing a federal privacy law. “Any further government measures should be tailored to address specific harms and encourage participation from all stakeholders, keeping in mind who is best equipped to address the issue,” President Matt Schruers said. “Age-specific regulations that require sites to collect and maintain additional sensitive data on more users to show compliance are counterproductive.” CCIA recommended policymakers find ways to increase resources for law enforcement agencies policing crimes against children. Numbers show that convictions are lagging behind a gradual increase in reports of child sex abuse material, NetChoice said in its comments. NetChoice cited statistics from the U.S. Sentencing Commission showing that reporting of CSAM jumped 18.8% between 2021 and 2020, but the number of offenders remained flat for the previous five years. NetChoice noted that age-verification laws in California and Arkansas have been deemed “unconstitutional attempts to regulate online speech.”