Local opinion: Efforts to keep kids safe online must be done responsibly

In an increasingly digital world, safeguarding online spaces, particularly for children, has never been more crucial. Effectively shielding young users from exploitation and harm has posed a significant challenge to governments and social media platforms, which are working jointly to create a safer online environment for all. However, while the imperative to protect our youth is undeniably essential, Arizona cannot afford to pass laws compromising the security and privacy they aim to preserve.

When it comes to lawmaking, walking this fine line of the need to create guardrails while preserving the right to access vital online social spaces, particularly marginalized communities, is one we take seriously. However, rather than creating pragmatic frameworks that respect that balance, legislative pushes in other states and at the federal level, advanced by companies like Meta, Snap, and X risk exposing people to greater risks than what they promise to protect us from.

One proposal we continue to see floated is age verification — a process that requires social media users in a state to submit personal information, such as state-issued IDs and biometric information, to ensure they meet a state-set age requirement. While privacy issues have already arisen from the states that have implemented this requirement at the app level, a more troubling proposition is the prospect of apps being forced to take it on. When age authentication takes place, providers are forced to handle colossal volumes of private data, which are then sent to any app a user chooses to download.

Not only does this process open people up to data security issues through the initial collection and storage of their data, but it also means that data would be shared with all apps across the store – including those that have no business handling our personal information.

Beyond security concerns, it’s clear that marginalized communities stand to lose the most from the roadblocks created by age verification legislation. For LGBTQ+ youth in particular, social media platforms and other online spaces are more than just a place to connect with others — they’re a lifeline filled with vital resources and support that can be crucial for those who face an unaccepting home or school life. In fact, LGBTQ+ youth reported lower rates of suicide when they had access to accepting online spaces.

Yet, age verification threatens to isolate these communities even further by creating new obstacles to access.

While our Legislature has avoided the influence of the companies pushing legislation like this, the thought of voices like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk advancing bills that could subjugate marginalized communities in statehouses across the country should be troubling to all.

As a proud member of Arizona’s diverse communities, I hope my colleagues join me in continuing to oppose Meta’s pushes and instead pursue balanced and reasonable policies that do not expose Arizonans to new data security concerns or unnecessarily restrict access for the communities that rely on it the most.

Everyone wants to make sure kids stay safe online — but even the most noble-minded legislation should not be passed at the expense of users’ right to privacy and safety.

Any regulation that curbs social media use and online speech must ensure that the privacy and well-being of Arizonans come first.