Yale Privacy Lab

Alabama passed a law, 138 votes to nothing, that makes every phone user in the state prove their age before downloading a single app. A 45-year-old who wants a news app has to hand ID to Google first. Existing accounts get no pass either. Every one of them must be verified by October 2027. Teenagers will need a parent’s sign-off to install Wikipedia, Duolingo or a Bible app, and kids without a parent to ask get locked out completely. Apple, Google and Amazon’s lobby group has now sued to block it on First Amendment grounds. reclaimthenet.org/alabama-is…

The EU swore its digital ID wallet would be voluntary. The law says so in writing. Regulation 2024/1183 promises that people who refuse the wallet will not be restricted or disadvantaged in any way. Now the EU’s anti-money laundering authority has told banks to use electronic ID “wherever possible.” Video checks and selfie verification are still allowed, but only as an exception. Any bank that onboards you without the wallet has to justify that choice to its supervisor and keep the images, video, and audio on file for later inspection. Customers who use the wallet need no further checks. Customers who don’t become paperwork, liability, and a conversation with a regulator. Banks can do that math. Nobody is being forced to use the wallet. Your bank is simply being given every reason to make sure you do. The wallet is voluntary in the same way a bank account is. reclaimthenet.org/eu-eudi-wa…