Age-verification mandate on porn sites creates data collection infrastructure for all users
S. 737 — SCREEN Act · Filed by Mike Lee (R-UT) · 4 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 26, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill requires adult websites and platforms that host pornographic content to implement age-verification technology within one year to prevent minors from accessing that content. Platforms must verify users' ages through technology (not just self-certification), make their verification process public, and comply with FTC audits. The bill defines 'covered platforms' as interactive services that regularly host or create pornographic material for profit, and imposes FTC enforcement with penalties for violations.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a regulatory mandate on adult platforms to implement age verification—a child-safety measure. However, the operative effect includes mandatory data collection and retention tied to identity verification, creating a secondary privacy infrastructure that affects all users and may benefit age-verification vendors.
What the text implies
- Age-verification technology requires collection of identity, device, and behavioral data; the bill permits retention 'as long as reasonably necessary' to demonstrate compliance, creating an indefinite data-retention window that could outlast the verification purpose.
- Platforms may contract third parties to perform verification; the bill does not prohibit data sharing with those third parties, only that platforms remain liable—third-party vendors gain access to user identity and device data at scale.
The full analysis lists 5 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
age-verification technology vendors; identity-verification service providers; data security and cryptography firms contracted for compliance