Massachusetts legislature set to vote on bill that would devastate LGBTQ youth online communities and online sex ed

The Massachusetts state legislature is quickly moving through a bill that would have massive censorship and surveillance implications for young people in the state, despite years of push back against online ID checks and age-gating online from human rights groups and LGBTQ youth. The bill would mandate that social media companies implement age verification, a process that kills anonymity online for all users regardless of age, has led to thousands of peoples government identification being leaked, and puts important resources like LGBTQ organizations, reproductive healthcare, and sex education behind age-gates, which is especially harmful for trans youth under attack across the country.

The Massachusetts bill would also require parental consent for users aged 14 or 15, leaving youth in unsafe and unaffirming households without lifelines that have been proven to decrease suicidality in LGBTQ youth of color.

This legislation is also being pushed in spite of the large coalition of Massachusetts-based LGBTQ, human rights and racial justice organizations that have been explicitly fighting age verification legislation like this because it:
a) blatantly violates the First Amendment (according to the ACLU) and will almost certainly be struck down in court
b) would lead to a massive expansion of online surveillance, forcing everyone to upload a government ID in order to post online or access online resources, and
c) would cut young people and vulnerable adults off from access to lifesaving online resources related to abortion, gender affirming care, or other topics that MAGA Republicans claim are “harmful to children.”

Here’s a letter from our MA-based coalition: https://www.fightforthefuture.org/news/2025-08-19-letter-massachusetts-lgbtq-organizations-band-together-to-fight-censorship-legislation-ask-ma-lawmakers-to-protect-life-saving-resources/

And a few more resources on this topic:
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/some-democrats-are-helping-the-trump-admins-anti-lgbtq-tech-agenda
https://www.theverge.com/policy/892075/age-verification-kansas-id-trans
https://www.wired.com/story/age-verification-is-sweeping-the-us-activists-are-fighting-back