- Mandatory age verification comes to Missouri on November 30, 2025
- All websites containing 33% “material harmful to minors” must comply
- Missouri is the latest US state to implement age verification rules
Starting November 30, 2025, Missouri residents will need to prove they are over 18 to access adult content online.
Missouri is the last of the US states to pass some form of age verification law. This is expected to further fuel discussions about data privacy and security risks related to age-guarantee methods, most likely causing a further increase in the use of top VPN apps.
Under the new rules, all websites or apps containing more than one-third “material harmful to minors” are required to verify that their users are adults before granting them access. A provision that experts in discussion with TechRadar criticized for its “vague” language.
Violations of the rule are considered “an unfair, deceptive, fraudulent or otherwise unlawful practice” under Missouri law, with online services subject to a penalty of $10,000 per day for non-compliance.
Instead, these adult online sites and services may conduct age verifications using a digital ID, other government-issued identity documents, or other transactional data.
It’s crucial that mobile operating systems with at least 10 million devices in the United States provide digital age verification “that a website or app can use to comply” with the rules.
How Age Verification in Missouri Could Impact Your Privacy
Missouri law requires that website and application providers use all reasonable methods to secure user data, as well as requiring that no identifying information be retained unless otherwise directed by law enforcement. However, experts do not believe that these guarantees can constitute a real guarantee against abuse or data leaks.
“By forcing everyone to hand over their most valuable and sensitive identity data, the law creates a dangerous new surveillance infrastructure instead of actually keeping young people safe,” Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) campaigner Molly Buckley told TechRadar.
After all, in the UK we saw firsthand how easy it was for sensitive age verification information to be compromised when third-party service Discord was hacked, leaking more than 70,000 government ID photos used to verify users’ ages.
According to John Perrino, senior policy and advocacy expert at the Internet Society, Missouri’s law is essentially a “cut-and-paste version” of key provisions included in similar laws elsewhere in the country. This means that the same risks of increased surveillance, censorship and accessibility apply.
What’s new here is that Google and Apple will have to provide a secure digital ID tool that websites could use to verify age. The problem ? Big Tech giants aren’t quite ready for this, with these digital ID features still limited to driver’s licenses and passport checks at airports.
“Even if it’s the most secure thing on your phone, will people feel comfortable storing and sharing their driver’s license or passport to access restricted apps and websites? Even the simple perception of an intrusion into privacy drives people to less secure corners of the internet,” Perrino told TechRadar.
If you are one of the people who are worried about the possibility of compromising the privacy of your identity, now is the best time to secure your digital life with a reliable solution. Most VPN providers have already dropped their prices with Black Friday VPN deals, including TechRadar’s top-rated service, NordVPN. Here’s everything you need to know:
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Access a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protect your online security and strengthen your online privacy abroad. We do not support or approve the use of a VPN service to break the law or conduct illegal activities. Consumption of paid pirated content is not endorsed or endorsed by Future Publishing.
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