Missourians will soon have to prove they are at least 18 years old to access content deemed “harmful to minors” online.
Missouri’s Age Verification Law officially goes into effect on November 30, 2025, and requires any website or app that contains at least 33% “harmful” material to verify the age of its users before allowing access. Failure to comply with the new rules could cost companies fines of up to $10,000 per day.
Under the new rules, all mobile operating systems with at least 10 million users in the country – such as apple and google – must provide a digital identification system that allows websites or applications to verify the age of their users.
Digital identity and age verification: Everything you need to know
As the name suggests, a digital ID stores personal identity documents and can be used to prove your identity without having to share physical documents.
As previously reported, identity management experts believe these technologies have the potential to provide a secure age verification solution. But only if it is implemented correctly.
The reason for this is that digital identity wallets, if built correctly, would allow users to prove they are adults without revealing any identifying information. As co-founder of Private IDEvin McMullen, told TechRadar: It’s like “a thumbs up or a cryptographically signed and verifiable green light.”
The potential for greater security, privacy and convenience has led governments and major tech giants to invest in early versions of these ID wallets.
Apple recently introduced its new digital identification tool, sparking a strong privacy backlash. While this is currently only available in the US, users can only show their digital passport at around 250 airports across the country.
Comparable, Google has expanded its identification portfolio as early as April in other US states and the UK. And while there are other use cases in development, the system currently has almost the same functionality as its Apple counterpart.
While Apple and Google have made some progress with their digital ID systems, they are still far from the level required by Missouri lawmakers.
Some also argue that while digital identity wallets are more secure, there are still many privacy and security concerns when it comes to age verification.
“These digital identifiers provide many important privacy and security protections, but more in theory than in practice,” John Perrino, senior policy and opinion leader at the Internet Society, told TechRadar. This is largely because zero-knowledge systems are still in development, he explained.
There is also an issue of trust. For example, how many people would willingly entrust their most sensitive data to Big Tech giants?
“Even if it’s the most secure thing on your phone, will people feel comfortable keeping and sharing their driver’s license or passport to access restricted apps and websites? The mere perception of an invasion of privacy drives people to less secure corners of the internet,” says Perrino.
How a VPN can help protect your privacy
If you are concerned about compromising the integrity of your identity, you need to find a way to regain control of your data.
You’ve probably searched the internet for a solution and probably come across the word “VPN”. However, be careful which app you download. When we did a quick search for “Missouri VPN” we found a lot of apps we’d never heard of among the top results. While not all of these apps are necessarily dangerous, keep in mind that official app stores are full of shady VPN apps, especially free ones.
Although we only recommend a few free VPNs, they all have some limitations. The good news is that some of the best VPN providers on the market are currently offering Black Friday VPN deals, meaning you can get premium protection for as little as $1 a month.
These great deals also include NewForTech’s top-rated service, nordvpn, which is now yours for the lowest price of the year: the equivalent of $2.99 per month.
Disclaimer
We test and assess VPN services in the context of legal recreational use. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms of that service). 2. Protect your online security and improve your online privacy abroad. We do not support or condone the use of a VPN service to break the law or conduct illegal activities. Future Publishing does not condone or condone the use of pirated copies for a fee.