The Global Rise of Age Verification Regulations : What can we do about it?
**The Global Rise of Age Verification Regulations:** We are seeing a huge influx of regulation targeting a specific idea: that certain kinds of information are not appropriate for people of all ages and that access to those kinds of information on the internet should be limited. The idea itself is not generally controversial–many people agree that exposure to some forms of expression can be harmful for kids–and age-based restrictions on physical access to some kinds of content, like pornography, do exist in the law. We are seeing more and more of these laws come into effect across the globe. These laws require some sort of a technical block to either access certain content or all content depending on age.
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These laws often have a specific narrative around child safety but they can be so much broader in scope. Legal mandates to impose age-based restrictions on the internet conflict with Wikipedia’s prime objective, infringe human rights, and threaten the open internet. **Let's have an open discussion within the Movement about the trends in these laws and what, if anything we can do to avoid or mitigate them.** This would be structured as a constructive dialog to workshop solutions, rather than a review of specific age verification laws
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