EFF to Gov. Pritzker: Veto Illinois’ HB 5511

The Illinois legislature just passed House Bill 5511, which would impose age verification requirements across nearly all internet-connected devices and services. According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the bill requires platforms to collect and verify users' ages, and strips away features like personalized feeds and offline notifications for young people unless they get parental consent. The EFF is urging Governor J.B. Pritzker to veto the measure, warning it's a privacy and free speech nightmare that could actually harm young people who rely on the internet for essential information and community. The bill is modeled after controversial legislation in California and New York that's already faced heavy criticism from privacy advocates and open-source developers. The EFF argues it's premature for Illinois to copy these schemes before they've been tested in court or proven workable—and warns they'll dismantle online anonymity, jeopardize data security, and threaten the open-source ecosystem that underpins the modern internet.

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