Free Speech

Tell Congress: The GUARD Act Won't Keep Us Safe

Congress is considering the GUARD Act, an age-verification mandate that would force every AI chatbot to verify all users' ages, ban teens from using many everyday digital tools, and require AI companies to collect sensitive IDs or biometric information from everyone before allowing them access to speak, learn, or ask a question online.

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The GUARD Act may look like a child-safety bill, but in practice it’s an age-gating mandate that could be imposed on nearly every public-facing chatbot—from customer-service bots to search-engine assistants. The GUARD Act could force countless AI companies to collect sensitive identity data, chill online speech, and block teens from using the digital tools that they rely on every day.

EFF has warned for years that age-verification laws endanger free expression, privacy, and competition. The GUARD Act is no different. It would make the internet less free, less private, and less safe for everyone. It would further consolidate power and resources in the hands of the bigger AI companies, crush smaller developers, and chill innovation under the threat of massive fines. And it would cut off vulnerable groups’ ability to use helpful everyday AI tools, further stratifying the internet we know and love.

While there may be legitimate problems with AI chatbots, young people’s safety is an incredibly complex social issue both on- and off-line. The GUARD Act tries to solve this complex problem with a blunt, dangerous solution. Rather than keeping us safe, it will build a sprawling surveillance and censorship regime that could reshape how people of all ages use the internet.

Lawmakers should reject the GUARD Act and focus instead on policies that provide greater transparency, more options for users, and comprehensive privacy for all. Tell your representatives to oppose the GUARD Act today.

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Sample message:

As your constituent, I'm asking you to oppose the GUARD Act, an age-verification mandate which would force countless AI companies to collect users' most sensitive identity data, chill online speech, and block teens from using the digital tools that they rely on every day.

There is no such thing as "safe" age verification. Every method out there—whether facial or biometric scans, government ID uploads, or behavioral or account analysis—creates new privacy, security, and expressive harms. While protecting young people's online safety is important, to do so by forcing invasive ID checks, criminalizing AI tools, and banning teens from legitimate digital spaces is not the answer.

The GUARD Act would make the internet less free, less private, and less safe for everyone. It would further consolidate power and resources in the hands of the bigger AI companies, crush smaller developers, and chill innovation under the threat of massive fines. And it would cut off vulnerable groups’ ability to use helpful everyday AI tools, further stratifying the internet we know and love.

Please oppose the GUARD Act today.

Yours,

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