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Anti-privacy legislation

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Anti-privacy legislation simply put is legislation that may be created with malicious intent or not that invoke ones right to privacy. In the last decade, governments across the world have introduced various pieces of such legislation, which has caused damage to the privacy consumers have with their technology.

How it works

-- Legislators from all around the world create bills in an attempt to pass them and thus make it law.In order for a bill to be passed, It must go through "The Legislative Process"[1] --

The legislative process is as follows:

  1. A representative needs to sponsor a bill
  2. The bill is then assigned to a committee for study
  3. If the bill is released by said committee, the bill is put on a calendar to be voted on.
  4. If the majority of people vote for the bill(51 or more out of 100), then the bill is passed
  5. A conference committee made of House & Senate members then works out any differences between the House & Senate version of the bill
  6. Finally, the resulting bill heads back to the House & Senate for final approval by the President, If the bill is signed, then it has officially become law.[1]

Now that such anti-privacy legislation has been approved, it can be enforced by federal agencies via penalties.

Why it is a problem

Anti-privacy legislation is a direct infringement of the 1st & 4th amendments found in the bill of rights

  • The 1st amendment states:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.[2]

If Anti-privacy legislation were to be implemented, that gives anyone with access to data on someone the ability to restrict freedom of speech or oppose those with unwanted views of the world, thus infringing the 1st amendment.[citation needed (28 Feb 2026)]

  • The 4th amendment reads as follows:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.[3]

Anti-privacy legislation infringes on a citizen's right to avoid "unreasonable searches and seizures" since It may require/force citizens to show proof of age(selfies, id's, credit cards) and since It may also force said citizen to use less secure services, therefore allowing federal agencies to gain higher access to said services and retrieve to whatever data is "needed".[citation needed (28 Feb 2026)]

  • Anti-privacy legislation can also build the framework and foundation for other & more extreme anti-privacy measures, & such anti-privacy measures can lead to the slow development of a surveillance state.[4]

List of Legislation

Bill/Law name Country/State Basic summary of Legislation Elements of privacy taken away Status
UK Online Safety Act United Kingdom Age Verification Approved
Texas Senate Bill 2420 (2025) Texas, U.S Texas Senate Bill 2420(also known as the "App Store Accountability Act") requires app store owners & maintainers to utilize "Commercially reasonable method('s)" In order to verify the ages their users. If someone is In a category that isn't explicitly labeled "adult", then the user is considered a minor and must ask a parent or legal guardian for permission in order to install new applications that may be considered inappropriate for their age group. Age Verification Rejected
Colorado Senate Bill SB26-051 Colorado, U.S The Colorado Senate Bill "SB26-051" requires operating system owners, publishers/providers, & developers & maintainers to implement system level age verification via an "accessible interface at account setup", which then is used as an "age signal" for "applications available in a covered application store". Any person that violates this proposed bill (perhaps soon to be law) will face a fine of 2,500$ per unintentional violation or 7,500$ per intentional violation. Device-Based Age Indication Under Consideration
California Assembly Bill No. 1043 California, U.S The California Assembly Bill No. "1043" states that any Age Indication Approved (Active Jan 1, 2027)
S.737 - Screen Act U.S [TBA] Age Verification Introduced
S.1207 - Earn It Act U.S [TBA] Anti-Encryption Introduced
Utah Bill H.B. 464 Utah, U.S [TBA] Age-Gating/Verification Passed House committee
S.1748 - Kids Online Safety Act U.S [TBA] Censorship/Age-Gating Introduced
S.146 - TAKE IT DOWN Act U.S [TBA] Anti-Encryption/Censorship Approved
Utah S.B. 73 Utah, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Passed House committee
Ohio HB 84 Ohio, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Introduced
Wisconsin SB 130 Wisconsin, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Passed Senate
Missouri HB 3015/1839 Missouri, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Passed first committee
Iowa HF 2606 Iowa, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Passed first committee
Missouri HB 1839 & 901/1346/1412 Missouri, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Passed first committee
Wyoming HB 72 Wyoming, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Rejected
West Virginia HB 4412 West Virginia, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Passed the House
Rhode Island HB 7746 Rhode Island, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Introduced
Illinois SB 3946 Illinois, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Introduced
Maryland HB 908 Maryland, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Introduced
Tennessee HB 2522/SB 2398 Tennessee, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Introduced
Maryland HB 693 Mayland, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Introduced
Iowa SF 2159 Iowa, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Introduced
West Virginia SB 628 West Virginia, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Introduced
Iowa HF 864 Iowa, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Passed first chamber
West Virginia SB 498 West virginia, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Introduced
New Jersey S 1826 New Jersey, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Introduced
Missouri HB 1878 Missouri, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Introduced
New Hampshire SB 648 New Hampshire, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Introduced
New York S3591 / A3946 New York, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Introduced
Washington HB 2112 Washington, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Introduced
Parents Over Platforms Act - HR 6333 U.S [TBA] Age Verification Introduced
Hawaii HB 1198 Hawaii, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Introduced
Hawaii HB 1212 Hawaii, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Introduced
Iowa SF 207/443 Iowa [TBA] Age Verification Passed first committee
Massachusetts H 1626 Massachusetts, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Introduced
Pennsylvania HB 1513 Pennsylvania, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Introduced
Michigan SB284/HB 4429 Michigan, U.S [TBA] Device-Based Age Verification Introduced
Pennsylvania SB 603 Pennsylvania, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Introduced
Tennessee HB 222 / SB 466 Tennessee, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Introduced
Michigan SB 191 Michigan, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Introduced
Minnesota HF 1875 Minnesota [TBA] Age Verification Introduced
Minnesota SF 2105/HF 1434 Minnesota, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Introduced
Alabama HB 164 Alabama, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Approved (Active since Oct 1 2024)
Alabama HB 393 Alabama, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Rejected
Alabama HB 441 Alabama, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Rejected
Alaska HB 254 Alaska, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Rejected
Arizona HB 2112 Arizona, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Approved (Signed on May 13th 2025)
Arizona HB 2586 Arizona, U.S [TBA] Age Verification Rejected
[TBA] Age Verification
[TBA] Age Verification
[TBA] Age Verification
[TBA] Age Verification
[TBA] Age Verification
[TBA] Age Verification
[TBA] Age Verification
[TBA] Age Verification
[TBA] Age Verification
[TBA] Age Verification
[TBA] Age Verification
[TBA] Age Verification
[TBA] Age Verification
[TBA] Age Verification
[TBA] Age Verification
[TBA] Age Verification
[TBA] Age Verification
[TBA] Age Verification

What you can do

In order to oppose/dispute Anti-privacy legislation created by legislators, you can:

  1. Spread the word; not everyone knows about these bills or the mere existence of these types of bills and therefore wont even fight back
  2. Contact local legislators & representatives; If enough people oppose a proposed bill, local legislators may delay the bill or back off on their decision entirely. If enough citizens instead urge a representative to vote against a bill, said representatives could potentially follow up on the citizen's behalf.
  3. Sign Petitions; Signing petitions is another way to the message across to both legislators & other people alike.
  4. Support Pro Consumer/Privacy Bills; Supporting bills that protect consumer privacy & ownership helps circumvent future bills that aims for the opposite affect.

Tools & Resources

  • Age Verification Bills is a sub-site of the the domain Action Free Speech Coalition that specifically lists all bills pushing for any form of "Age verification".
  • Bad Internet Bills is a website listing quote "bad internet bills" in a easily accessible manner.
  • US State Privacy Legislation Tracker is a sub site of the domain Iapp that tracks many but not all pro-privacy or consumer U.S bills that have passed or not. This includes bills that support consumer rights & bills that businesses are obligated to comply with. (Click here to view the chart & here to view the map in the U.S)

Further Reading

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "The Legislative Process". house.gov. Archived from the original on 19 Jan 2026. Retrieved 23 Feb 2026.
  2. ↑ "U.S Constitution - First Amendment". Constitution Annotated. Retrieved 28 Feb 2026.
  3. ↑ "U.S Constitution - Fourth Amendment". Constitution Annotated. Retrieved 28 Feb 2026.
  4. ↑ Sherwinter, Daniel. "Surveillance's Slippery Slope; Using Encryption to Recapture Privacy Rights" (PDF). Journal on Telecommunications and High Technology Law. Retrieved 28 Feb 2026.
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