Online age verification raises several issues, particularly around privacy. As France’s National Commission on Informatics and Liberty (CNIL) has found, more effective mechanisms contravene data protection principles while less intrusive methods are less accurate. Age-gating mechanisms are also frequently bypassed, with children misrepresenting their age and presenting themselves as adults. A study from India also found that parents are often aware of such misrepresentation and have even assisted their children in registering on social media platforms. The requirement of parental consent also rests on the flawed assumption that parents possess the maturity, experience, and technical knowledge to make decisions in their child’s best interest. For example, generational disconnects may leave parents unaware of online harms that occur on or outside of popular social media services, such as exposure to sexual content and grooming through popular games like Roblox and Minecraft.