Op-Ed: Age Verification Technology Would Create New Barriers for Young Disabled People

CDT’s Aliya Bhatia and Ariana Aboulafia collaborated on a new op-ed that first appeared in Teen Vogue on September 24, 2024.

Read an excerpt:

Online communities are critical for young people with disabilities. Many disabled people rely on online spaces to get information on diagnoses and healthcare, navigate career options, and even find companionship, community, and love. Barriers to physical accessibility for people with disabilities — including risks exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic — can make gathering in person either dangerous or impossible, making online spaces imperfect yet integral proxies.

But young people with disabilities are vulnerable to the same online harms as other children, including invasive data collection, targeted advertising and engagement tactics that prey on their insecurities, and manipulation and exploitation by bad actors. As Congress continues its quest to protect children online, we ask: do the current proposals purporting to protect children help or even properly consider those with disabilities?

Full Op-Ed here.