METAVIEWS

Legislators and Courts Clash Over Age-Gated Internet Borders

June 28, 2026

Austere editorial image representing the Pressure Systems edition “Legislators and Courts Clash Over Age-Gated Internet Borders”.

From the KIDS Act in Washington to Australia’s social media bans, state governments are attempting to hardwire age-verification and content restrictions into the network layer of the internet. These legislative maneuvers, including Illinois’ digital taxes and Florida’s moderation mandates, represent a push for algorithmic authority that frequently collapses against the material reality of platform architecture and judicial precedent.

  1. BRIEF

    The KIDS Act Would Require Age Checks To Get Online

    TechDirt — 2026-06-26

    Within the next week, Congress is preparing to vote on the KIDS Act, a sprawling package of legislation that seeks to control Americans’ web browsing and private messaging. The package includes a revised version of the Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA, combined with a collection of other internet bil…

    • media and technology
    • AI governance
    • structural power
  2. BRIEF

    Judge Says Florida’s Social Media Law Is “Literally Impossible” To Obey. Thanks To The Supreme Court, It Gets A Trial Anyway.

    TechDirt — 2026-06-25

    Remember a few years ago when both Texas and Florida passed laws trying to tell social media companies they couldn’t moderate political content? Those cases eventually made their way to the Supreme Court, where the Court (as it’s been known to do) kinda punted: sending the cases back to the lower co…

    • media and technology
    • AI governance
    • structural power
  3. BRIEF

    Australia to double fines on Big Tech as children bypass social media ban

    Al Jazeera English — 2026-06-27

    Canberra says tech platforms are still letting too many children bypass its under-16 social media ban.

    • geopolitics
    • structural power
  4. BRIEF

    The KIDS Act Would Require Age Checks To Get Online

    EFF — 2026-06-25

    Within the next week, Congress is preparing to vote on the KIDS Act, a sprawling package of legislation that seeks to control Americans’ web browsing and private messaging. The package includes a revised version of the Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA, combined with a collection of other internet bil…

    • AI governance
    • structural power
    • media and technology
  5. BRIEF

    Illinois’ Social Media Tax Is A Modern Stamp Act — And Just As Doomed

    TechDirt — 2026-06-23

    England imposing the Stamp Act on the American colonies back in 1765 was one of the final moves that pushed those colonies into open revolt for their independence. The law sought to tax printed communications, and England justified it by saying it was needed to pay for British soldiers in the coloni…

    • media and technology
    • AI governance
    • structural power
  6. BRIEF

    85% of kids are still using social media despite ban. But we need a new measure to judge its success

    The Conversation — 2026-06-24

    Six months on from Australia’s under-16s social media ban taking effect, the early verdict from headlines and children themselves has been blunt: it isn’t working. A new study published today in the British Medical Journal appears to add even more weight to this judgement. Led by University of Newca…

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  7. BRIEF

    ‘Kidfluencers’ are everywhere on social media. Should Australia consider the Netherlands’ proposed ban?

    The Conversation — 2026-06-23

    The Conversation, CC BY-SA The Dutch government is considering making it illegal to use children under 16 in paid social media content. The government argues such online content featuring children – designed to sell goods to child consumers – is basically involving them in child labour. With Austral…

    • all