This will break in the direction of whomever happens to be in power. Post a science article you found which says a vaccine is not safe and effective? DHS says you are posting "misinformation" and your Internet use is revoked. Joined an anti-ICE Facebook? Expect a knock on your door.
The politicians know no one wants this but they don't care, they are ramming these laws through anyway. Unless we stand up right now and start making a LOT of noise.
A moment's thought would tell us that there is nothing these laws would do to "protect children" that the simple use of "parental control" settings on devices would not.
Twelve "child safety" bills in Congress would end online anonymity
ELLSWORTH TOOHEY 10:38 AM FRI MAR 6, 2026
>Twelve bipartisan "child online safety" bills now moving through the House would require age verification for internet access — effectively ending online anonymity in the United States.
>The flagship bill, the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), is co-sponsored by Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn and backed by Elon Musk and the Heritage Foundation. It would give state attorneys general the power to target content they consider harmful to minors. Another bill in the package would require identity checks at the operating system level. The FTC has signaled it won't enforce the existing children's privacy law, incentivizing platforms to adopt mandatory ID verification, according to The Intercept.
>Linking offline identity to online behavior creates a mass surveillance infrastructure. The people most at risk aren't children — they're trans youth in states with hostile legislatures, undocumented immigrants, abortion seekers, whistleblowers, and journalists. The UK's Online Safety Act has already been used to restrict content related to Palestine. Governments in China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia already use online identity systems to track and imprison activists.
The Intercept, March 5, 2026
Congress Is Considering Abolishing Your Right to Be Anonymous Online
>The problem is that there’s no way to reliably verify someone’s age without verifying who they are. A platform cannot magically discern that a user is 16 without collecting identifying information, whether through government documents such as a passport, payment information like a credit card, or other identity-disclosing data. Whether that data is stored by the platform itself or outsourced to a vendor, the result is always the same: A user’s offline identity is forever linked with their online behavior.
>Stripping anonymity from the internet would constitute one of the most sweeping rollbacks of civil rights in recent history. It would allow for unprecedented levels of mass surveillance and censorship, endangering the most marginalized members of society. Whistleblowers exposing corporate wrongdoing could be tracked and fired, government employees speaking out about illegal behavior or bad policies could face prosecution, and activists organizing protests could be identified and surveilled before ever setting foot on the street.
>Already, the U.S. government is flooding social media platforms with subpoenas seeking to unmask hundreds of anonymously run anti-ICE social media accounts. These laws would make it all the more easier for the government to target and prosecute those who dissent.
>Vulnerable members of society will suffer most. Trans people under attack from the government could be identified and outed without their consent. Undocumented immigrants could be cut off from the ability to communicate and connect with advocates. Young people seeking abortions in states with restrictive laws might no longer have the ability to access information safely and anonymously.
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