U.S. Age Verification Laws: 79% Support Legislation for Adult Content and Social Media, But Question its Effectiveness [Survey]

In an effort to deter minors from accessing age-inappropriate content, governments around the world are implementing age verification laws aimed at limiting minors’ access to adult content and social media platforms. These measures require websites to verify a user’s age before granting access, typically through ID checks, third-party verification services, or parental consent systems.

In the United States, age verification laws have become increasingly common. Since 2023, roughly half of U.S. states have enacted strict requirements for accessing adult content, typically mandating verification through a government-issued ID, financial records, or similar methods, with additional states considering similar legislation.

To better understand how Americans feel about these laws, we conducted a survey exploring public attitudes toward online age verification, including levels of support for these laws, perceived effectiveness, how users navigate or circumvent them, and more.

Key findings

• The majority of Americans support age verification (79%), but also feel the current age verification process is too easy to get around (85%).
• The most common concern regarding age verification laws is privacy and data security, which 79% of people worry about. Identity theft and scams are the number two concern (66%).
• An overwhelming majority of respondents felt age verification laws should be implemented for sports betting sites (90%) and dating apps (88%).
• More than half of users who have been asked to verify their age online (51%) have tried to get around the law without completing the verification process.

Support for age verification

While age verification laws are going into effect in more and more states and countries every year, how do actual internet users feel about them?

Most people are in favor of age verification, though there are concerns about how well the laws currently in place actually work. 79% of Americans said they’re in favor of age verification laws for accessing adult content, while 74% said they support age verification laws for social media platforms.

While most see the intent of these laws as positive, there is near-universal agreement that the restrictions in place today are too easy to circumvent. 85% of Americans said that existing age verification laws are not effective enough at preventing users from getting around them, meaning just 15% of people feel these laws are strong enough to achieve their goal of restricting inappropriate content for minors.

Other kinds of sites users feel should have age verification

The strictest age verification laws, which require users to use things like government-issued identification or financial records to prove that they are 18 or older, are currently limited to sites and platforms where a significant portion of available content includes adult material. We wanted to see if there are other kinds of content and platforms where users feel similar age restrictions should apply.

Since a 2018 Supreme Court ruling that legalized sports betting on a federal level, apps and websites that allow sports fans to wager on their favorite teams and players have become omnipresent both online and on sports-focused TV broadcasts. Those betting platforms are almost unavoidable, which may be a big reason why 90% of survey respondents say there should be strict age verification laws in place to prevent minors from accessing them, the top response in that regard.

Nearly as many (88%) would support laws keeping minors off dating sites and apps. Nearly three-quarters (72%) say that stricter age verification laws should be applied to social media platforms, while more than half of users (58%) say that a newer digital phenomenon, artificial intelligence chatbots, should be more strictly legislated.

Navigating the age verification process

41% of users we surveyed said they have been asked to verify their age online, which isn’t surprising, since nearly half the states in the country currently have strict age-verification laws in effect.

Of those who have been asked to verify their age, more than half (51%) have done something to get around the verification process. Comparatively, just one-third report giving up on accessing restricted content after being asked to verify their age.

The most common workaround, used by 45% of users, is simply finding the same or similar content on a different website with looser adherence to age restrictions. Another top option is using a virtual private network (VPN) to change a user’s digital location to a location without age verification laws and access restricted content that way. 22% of respondents said they have used that method instead of verifying their age before.

Americans’ top concerns about age verification laws

Nothing is perfect, and age verification laws are no exception. Both critics and supporters of these laws have raised concerns about this kind of legislation. All told, 92% of survey respondents expressed at least one concern related to age verification laws.

The number one concern when it comes to age verification laws is privacy and data security, as 79% of users say they are worried their personal information may be collected or exposed if they submit it in order to comply with verification. Two-thirds are concerned about scammers and identity thieves devising schemes related to age verification. Generally speaking, mandating verification creates centralized databases of highly sensitive information that can be targeted in identity theft campaigns.

The other concern that more than half of users report is a general loss of anonymity that would result from submitting their personal information to verify their age, something that 57% say they are worried about.

Most think monitoring tools are a better way to protect minors online

With so many users expressing concerns about age verification laws and finding them too easy to circumvent, we wanted to find out what people feel is the best way to keep kids safe online.

In this regard, one answer stood out from the rest. More than half of respondents say the onus for keeping kids safe should be on their parents, and 55% said that parental controls and monitoring are the best way to keep kids safe on the internet. While age verification laws were the second-most chosen answer, just one-fifth chose that option, while 16% said increasing education and digital literacy about the internet is the way to go.

How to privately navigate age verification online

• Keep your private information private: All About Cookies has compiled a step-by-step guide for bypassing age verification for users who want to access restricted content in a state or country where age verification is required, but they don’t want to submit their personal information.
• Find the right VPN for your needs: Using one of the best VPNs to bypass age verification laws is a reliable way to get around age verification requirements while browsing the internet.
• Check on the best parental control apps. See how your tracking method stacks up against some other top brands with our best parental control app comparison page.

Methodology

All About Cookies surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults ages 18 or older using a survey platform in February 2026.