I’m deeply concerned about House Bill 25-1287, the so-called “Social Media Tools for Minor Users & Parents” legislation currently making its way through our state legislature. Though we all want to keep kids safe online, this bill misses the mark in dangerous ways that could hurt the very young people it claims to protect.

Looking at the details reveals immediate red flags. This bill requires social media platforms to implement age verification with 95% accuracy — an unrealistically high standard that would force companies to collect excessive personal information from users. No current verification method consistently achieves this level of accuracy without invasive data collection. The result? Colorado families would be forced to hand over sensitive personal information just to use basic online services.

Equally troubling is how inconsistently the bill applies these requirements. It exempts numerous services commonly used by teens, including interactive gaming platforms and entertainment services where content creation and communication happen regularly. Anyone who knows teenagers understands how quickly they move between different apps and platforms. These arbitrary carve-outs create a patchwork of protections that completely fails to address how young people actually use digital services.

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Perhaps most concerning of all is the bill’s vague language around “heightened risk of harm.” Who defines what content presents a “risk of harm” to minors? We’ve already witnessed attempts across the country to restrict access to LGBTQ+ materials in schools and libraries by labeling them as “harmful to minors.” This legislation could easily enable similar censorship online, with current or future administrations defining LGBTQ+ resources, educational materials, or support networks as “harmful” and effectively cutting vulnerable youth off from vital information. For LGBTQ+ young people especially, losing access to these resources could be devastating, as they often rely on online spaces to find accurate information, supportive communities and affirmation that might not be available in their immediate environment.

Beyond these structural issues, the bill also recycles the ineffective warning label requirements from previous legislation. Research and history have repeatedly shown warning labels don’t change behavior — and sometimes have the opposite effect. Remember when “Parental Advisory” labels on music actually made albums more attractive to teens? Real protection requires meaningful changes to platform design and functionality, not symbolic warnings that will be quickly ignored.

From a practical standpoint, the challenges for families would be enormous. The bill would require parents to navigate different verification and parental control systems across multiple platforms — an unreasonable burden for busy households.

As a state, Colorado has long valued both innovation and protecting our children. This legislation succeeds at neither. If we truly want to protect young people online, we need solutions that don’t compromise privacy or create excessive barriers to digital resources. We need approaches that acknowledge the positive role digital spaces can play in young people’s lives while addressing genuine concerns about harmful content.

Sara Loflin is executive director of ProgressNow Colorado and former mayor pro Tem of Erie.