Washington – The Computer & Communications Industry Association will testify today before the Georgia Senate Children and Families Committee in opposition to SB 467, cautioning that the proposal’s sweeping age verification requirements could undermine user privacy, create significant compliance challenges for businesses, and raise serious constitutional concerns. While the association supports efforts to protect young people online, it warns that the bill’s broad mandates risk restricting access to lawful speech and imposing new risks on users of all ages.
SB 467 would require procedures to validate the age of users accessing certain mobile applications and impose parental consent requirements on app store providers and developers. CCIA notes that many platforms already offer robust parental controls and privacy protections designed to help families manage online experiences, and cautions that prescriptive age verification mandates could force companies to collect sensitive personal information that increases the risk of data breaches and identity theft.
The association also raises concerns that the bill’s approach may conflict with established First Amendment protections. Courts have repeatedly held that laws restricting access to protected speech in the name of protecting minors must be narrowly tailored, and CCIA warns that broad age-gating requirements could unintentionally limit access for both teens and adults. The association further cautions that requiring retroactive age verification for existing users may introduce new privacy and security risks without meaningfully addressing youth safety goals.
CCIA supports policies that empower parents and promote digital literacy while preserving privacy and innovation. The association will encourage lawmakers to pursue balanced, technology-neutral solutions that protect young users without creating unnecessary compliance burdens or weakening longstanding free speech protections.
The following statement can be attributed to Tom Mann, Southern Region State Policy Manager for CCIA, who will testify before the Senate Children and Families Committee:
“Georgia lawmakers understandably want to protect young people online, but SB 467 takes an overly broad approach that risks undermining privacy and restricting access to lawful speech. Age verification mandates often require collecting sensitive personal data that can expose users to new security risks while creating significant challenges for small developers and app providers. Effective policy should empower parents and their ability to use safety tools that already exist, rather than imposing mandates that may ultimately do more harm than good.”
