Testimony Opposing Colorado’s Age Verification Measure – SB25-201
My name is Mandy Salley, and I’m COO of the Woodhull Freedom Foundation. Our work ensures that everyone can be themselves, love who they love, and speak their truth—free from discrimination or repression.
We strongly oppose Senate Bill 201 and age-verification bills being put forward by state legislatures to prevent access to “material harmful to minors” online. These bills violate internet privacy and freedom and restrict access to legal content, including education and resources, through vague and subjective definitions. They mandate users to upload IDs or otherwise verify their identity through third parties to access legal content on the internet. Let us be clear: we share the goal of protecting minors from content that is not age-appropriate. However, this bill is just another strategy in a broader attack on free expression that includes book bans, censorship of reproductive health information, attacks on LGBTQIA+ youth, and other violations of our constitutional rights.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that the First Amendment protects our right not only to speak online but also access ideas, information, and content online — including, and perhaps especially, politically disfavored content — anonymously. No matter how admirable their goals, laws that threaten exposure for accessing controversial but legal content can be as effective as direct censorship.
In our digital age, safeguarding personal information is paramount, yet this bill demands invasive measures such as ID uploads, facial scans, or background checks, leaving individuals rightfully apprehensive about the fate of their browser history, identity documents, and other sensitive data. The potential for cyberattacks looms large, with no ironclad assurance of data security or non-storage provided. The risks inherent in accessing lawful content under such surveillance are immense.
We are deeply troubled by the broad strokes with which these bills paint the notion of material “harmful to minors,” a brush that is already being applied to literature, art, and education in other states, especially when it concerns LGBTQIA+ resources, sex education materials, and literature which addresses sex, gender, race or sexuality.
We urge you to protect our privacy and free speech by voting “no” on SB25-201.