Our generation is more online than ever. With this increase in navigating online spaces, people have started asking the question: how do we protect young people online from bad actors and protect their data at the same time?

The answer is not Senate Bill 86. Young people want the freedom to go online without fear their every click, search and conversation is being monitored and stored in government databases. With states and federal administrations introducing policies that decrease freedom of speech online, with risk data being breached, and with additional surveillance, it is time we slowed down and approached this issue with young people at the table. This fundamental concern for digital privacy is why New Era Colorado is calling on Gov. Jared Polis to veto Senate Bill 86.

Though the intent of the bill attempts to focus on online safety, SB-86 actually threatens young people’s civic engagement and the inclusive democracy we’re fighting to build and maintain. By making it legal for the government to determine who can be online by flawed, broad, provisions we will see a sweeping number of users losing their accounts or their accounts being put under investigation for seemingly innocent content. When social media companies implement policies to take bad actors off the platform they use methods like AI or algorithms, human moderators and user reporting. Flawed and inaccurate methods blur the line between private enforcement of social media companies and state-imposed restrictions of online speech.

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For communities already facing systematic marginalization, the consequences would be severe. Low-income workers organizing online for better wages and conditions would face heightened risks. Immigrant communities seeking resources would be forced to surrender sensitive personal information. Racial justice advocates coordinating direct action could find their digital communication monitored and flagged. This would undermine the very spaces where our generation organizes, educates and advocates for change.

When young people know their digital footprints are being tracked and analyzed by authorities, they retreat from the very spaces that have democratized political engagement. The chilling effect is especially pronounced for communities with historical reasons to fear government scrutiny.

As an organization that has registered nearly 200,000 young people to vote, we’ve witnessed how digital platforms have transformed civic participation for our generation. Young Coloradans aren’t just using social media for dance trends — they’re researching candidates, mobilizing peers to vote and organizing around issues from student debt to affordable housing. SB-86 threatens the very infrastructure that has helped double youth voter turnout between 2010 and 2018.

Young Coloradans understand the need for thoughtful regulation of tech, but effective regulation should curtail corporate power, not expand government surveillance. It should protect vulnerable users, not expose them to additional risks. It should strengthen democracy, not undermine it.

We now stand at a crossroads for digital rights in Colorado. By vetoing SB-86, Gov. Polis can open up the potential to allow us to bring young people into the conversation and determine what they want without those in power speaking for them. He can affirm surveillance of younger generations is not safety and true protection comes from expanding rights, not restricting them.

Kiyana Newwell is senior policy manager for New Era Colorado.