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Age Checks Create New Tech Winners
State lawsuits and new laws are forcing apps to verify age and filter content. Here’s your play on the new digital ID market created by regulation.
By Peter Christensen
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Louisiana just filed sui t against Roblox (RBLX), an online platform where users, mostly teens, can play and create games (called “experiences”) and interact with others in user-created virtual worlds. The lawsuit accuses Roblox of weak age checks that let predators contact kids. Roblox learned that weak age checks attract both predators and attorneys general.
Hours later, the Supreme Court also allowed Mississippi to enforce its strict social media age-verification law. Elsewhere, Texas is debating an under-18 social media ban, and Nebraska passed legislation requiring apps to be “less addictive for kids.”
For the first time, courts and legislatures are backing states’ power to impose online safety rules. That turns child protection into a compliance mandate and a new investment theme.
Why Online Child Safety Matters
Congress Can’t Agree on Anything Other Than Child Safety
Online child safety is one of the rare areas where Democrats and Republicans agree. Both parties have made it a priority, with hearings grilling tech CEOs on their handling of minors and legislation advancing at the state level. The Supreme Court’s decision to let Mississippi’s law stand signals that these efforts have teeth. Other states are watching closely, and more laws are likely.
Compliance Spending Rises
Platforms that rely heavily on teens, like Roblox and Snap, face an expensive reality. Age verification tools, parental consent processes, and moderation systems are no longer optional add-ons. They require a compliance infrastructure, and each new compliance hire is another margin point lost. Compliance also risks slowing user growth as teens used to be able to sign up easily. Now they’ll feel more like a TSA check-in.
Scale Benefits the Giants
While smaller or youth-focused platforms will struggle, large-cap tech firms may adapt more easily. Alphabet (GOOGL) and Microsoft (MSFT) already operate trust and safety teams at a global scale. If app stores or operating systems become the gatekeepers of age verification, these giants are positioned to extend their dominance. What looks like regulation aimed at “big tech” to level the playing field could, ironically, end up reinforcing their moat.
A Growing Market for Digital ID
Age verification does not happen in a vacuum. It sits within the broader digital identity market, which is expanding as governments, banks, and apps all need reliable digital ID verification tools. Industry research pegs the global digital ID market at more than $36 billion in 2024, projected to grow from $43.07 billion in 2025 to $153.63 billion by 2032 . From travel to fintech to healthcare, age checks are just one of many use cases driving demand.
As a $150 billion market grows out of regulation, investors don’t need to bet only on the “kids online” story. They can own the companies building the infrastructure for a digital-first identity economy.
The Finance Play on Age-Verification
State lawsuits and new laws are forcing platforms to verify age and filter content. This compliance wave is turning child protection into a durable growth theme for investments in digital identity and cybersecurity providers.
Bottom Line
Age-verification mandates are reshaping tech, turning digital ID into a compliance necessity. ETFs like CIBR, HACK, BUG, and IHAK give investors diversified exposure to the cybersecurity firms positioned to win from this regulatory wave, while teen-heavy platforms risk higher costs and user drag.
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