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.
