Don’t trade liberty for the illusion of keeping kids safe online

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OPINION — In the final days of the state legislative session, Arizonans should be watching House Bill 2991, an age-verification mandate that would require residents to prove who they are before they can speak, read or browse online.

Parents are rightly worried about what children encounter online. The last thing government should do is make it harder for parents to protect their kids. Good intentions have never been a sufficient substitute for thoughtful, common-sense public policy.

Start with the bill’s requirements: every adult in Arizona would hand over a government ID or other sensitive personal information just to access lawful content. The Republican Liberty Caucus opposes any government pre-authorization before citizens can exercise constitutionally protected freedoms. Mandating a digital ID checkpoint at the entrance to the internet is permission to speak, granted by the state.

It also wouldn’t work. The bill stops at the app store, but children don’t. They roam the open web, gaming consoles, and school laptops — none of which the mandate touches.

The bill creates a First Amendment problem. Courts have repeatedly struck down age-verification schemes because they burden adult speech to regulate minors. Arizona taxpayers would foot a bill litigating a predicable loss.

Ask who benefits. The largest platforms can absorb compliance costs; the Arizona startup cannot. That is not protecting families — it is a protection racket or a liability shield wearing the costume of protecting kids.

The right answer is to strengthen parental authority — device controls, filters, account settings — not deputize government as gatekeepers of every Arizonan’s online life.

So, call your legislators. Tell them to slow down. Read the bill. Ask who holds the data, who pays, and who benefits. Then amend it or defeat it. Liberty is rarely lost in a single dramatic vote but is lost in the rush, when no one is looking.

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