Courts skeptical of online age verification laws, no matter how well-intentioned

Any decent adult, whether a parent or not, knows the threats to minors that lurk online. No graphic details are needed here about the internet horrors that tech-savvy children can easily stumble upon or, depending on their age, seek out themselves.

Yet, proposed remedies to shield minors from online sex, violence, and the like are complicated. Tech companies often push back against efforts to, among other things, impose age verification systems for minors, even if wealthy tech executives don’t make the most sympathetic characters in the court of public opinion, as they are chiefly concerned about less use for their products and a possible hit in the bottom line.