February 15, 2026
Papers, please—for Wi‑Fi?
State Attorneys General Want to Tie Online Access to ID
Internet “passport” panic: Users warn OS-level ID checks could kill anonymity
TLDR: A bloc of 40 attorneys general is pushing the Senate’s online safety bill that could require device-level age checks, effectively tying internet use to real ID. Commenters are split between child-safety arguments and fears of killing anonymity, free speech, and “open computing,” with jokes about Wi‑Fi bouncers and digital passports.
Forty state attorneys general just told Congress to back the Senate’s Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), and the comment sections lit up like a server farm. The bill would push age checks down into your phone or laptop’s operating system, which critics say is basically a national ID for the internet. One user groaned that this is the “death of open computing,” while another went full doomsday: the internet we know will be the “first casualty of a great power hot war.”
Supporters say it’s about protecting kids from addictive apps and shady algorithms; the Senate version creates a “duty of care” and lets the Federal Trade Commission sue platforms that don’t keep minors from “harmful” content. But skeptics fire back that tying browsing to real-world IDs would end anonymous speech—something the Supreme Court has long treated as protected—and create a chilling paper trail. Cue memes of a Wi‑Fi bouncer checking your license and “Clippy” asking, “Are you old enough to click that?”
Not everyone is raging; some asked for balanced resources, noting we need anonymous whistleblowers and honest critique online. Others took a swing at politicians, pleading for “better leadership.” The split is raw: child safety vs. civil liberty, with users warning this could change the internet’s soul overnight.
Key Points
- •Forty state and territorial attorneys general, via the National Association of Attorneys General, urged Congress to pass the Senate’s Kids Online Safety Act (S. 1748) and reject the House bill (H.R. 6484).
- •S. 1748 establishes a federally enforceable Duty of Care for platforms to mitigate defined harms to minors, enforced by the Federal Trade Commission.
- •The Senate bill directs the Secretary of Commerce, the FTC, and the FCC to study age verification at the device or operating system level, moving beyond platform-level age gates.
- •The article highlights constitutional concerns that device/OS-level verification could undermine anonymity and implicate First Amendment protections; courts have previously struck down similar age-verification measures.
- •State AGs argue social platforms design to attract underage users and monetize their data; several states have lawsuits or investigations against Meta and TikTok alleging harm to minors.