Digital Privacy & Online Autonomy Amendment

[Opus]

(Model Constitutional Amendment — National Version)

1. TLDR

This amendment to the state constitution would:

• Create a right to digital privacy and anonymous access to lawful online content

• Prohibit government-mandated ID checks, facial scans, or biometric data for accessing websites

• Ban state-funded contracts or tools that surveil lawful digital activity

• Ensure parents — not the state — decide how to guide children’s online experiences

• Allow individuals to sue if their digital privacy rights are violated

• Block future laws from overriding these protections

2. Purpose

To protect the right of every person to learn, speak, and explore freely in the digital world — without being tracked, scanned, or profiled by the government.
To establish digital privacy and anonymous access to lawful content as a constitutional right that future laws cannot undermine.

3. Background

Across the U.S., states are passing laws that require people to upload government ID or submit to facial scans to access legal websites. These laws — often passed in the name of child safety — are:

• Exposing millions to identity theft and data breaches

• Preventing people without ID or biometric access from participating in public life

• Creating surveillance records of what adults read, watch, and search online

These systems don’t just fail to protect children — they hurt everyone’s privacy. Better alternatives already exist: parental filters, voluntary tools, and public education.
This proposal ensures that no government can force you to surrender your identity just to access lawful online speech.

4. Proposed Solutions

Solution 1: Create a Constitutional Right to Digital Privacy

Beginning immediately upon voter approval, every person shall have the right to access lawful online content, services, and expression without being tracked, scanned, or forced to share ID.

• Applies to any website, platform, or app offering lawful content

• Covers adults and minors equally — unless content is illegal

• Prevents any state law or policy from weakening this right in the future

Solution 2: Ban Mandatory ID or Biometric Checks for Legal Content

State and local governments may not require individuals or platforms to collect, store, or verify:

• Government-issued identification

• Facial recognition scans

• Fingerprints or retinal scans

• Any other personal or biometric data

⠀⠀This includes access to educational, artistic, or adult content that is legal under state and federal law.

Solution 3: Block State Surveillance of Lawful Browsing

No agency, department, or state-funded entity may:

• Track, log, or analyze lawful online activity without a judicial warrant

• Contract with third parties to monitor browsing habits or app use

• Build or maintain citizen-level databases of internet use for non-criminal purposes

⠀⠀Criminal investigations must follow existing warrant requirements.

Solution 4: Empower Families with Voluntary Digital Tools

Parents and guardians shall retain the exclusive right to guide their children’s online access using tools such as:

• Free, voluntary parental controls

• School- or library-based filters

• Digital safety and media literacy programs

⠀⠀No family shall be forced to upload ID or submit biometric data as a condition of protecting children.

Solution 5: Allow Individuals to Enforce Their Rights in Court

Any person whose rights under this amendment are violated may:

• File a civil lawsuit for injunctive relief and damages

• Receive court-awarded attorney’s fees if they prevail

• Sue public agencies, contractors, or private platforms acting under state mandate

⠀⠀Courts must interpret these rights in favor of individual privacy and free expression.

Solution 6: Prevent Future Rollbacks by Locking Protections in the Constitution

These protections:

• Shall be self-executing and immediately enforceable

• Cannot be overturned or restricted by future legislation

• May only be expanded or clarified through supporting laws

⠀⠀Any future policy must strengthen — not weaken — digital privacy rights.

5. Evidence

Academic & Legal Research

1. C. Marsden (2023). Age-Verification Laws in the Era of Digital Privacy. National Security Law Journal, 10(2).
   Read PDF
   Finds that biometric and ID-based age verification laws directly conflict with the First Amendment and privacy principles.
   Supports this amendment’s ban on mandatory ID or biometric checks to access lawful content.

2. Murray, A., Chhipa, H., & Yerby, J. (2025). Cyber Risk, Privacy, and the Legal Complexities of Age Verification.Issues in Information Systems.
   Read PDF
   Shows that biometric and ID verification systems create severe cybersecurity and identity theft risks.
   Supports the proposal’s requirement for anonymous, token-based, non-retentive verification alternatives.

3. Sas, M. & Mühlberg, J.T. (2024). Trustworthy Age Assurance? Risk-based Evaluation from a Fundamental Rights Perspective. KU Leuven.
   Read PDF
   Argues that current verification systems violate human rights law and cannot meet proportionality tests under EU or U.S. standards.
   Reinforces the constitutional framing of privacy as a fundamental right, not a regulatory choice.

   Family & Child Safety Evidence

4. Livingstone, S., Nair, A., & Stoilova, M. (2024). Children’s Rights and Online Age Assurance Systems. The International Journal of Children’s Rights.
   Read PDF
   Finds that intrusive verification harms children’s autonomy and privacy while offering little safety benefit.
   Supports this amendment’s emphasis on parental empowerment and voluntary tools, not government surveillance.

5. Livingstone, S., Smirnova, S., & Stoilova, M. (2021). *Parental Tools and Needs: Age Assurance Evidence Review.*LSE Research.
   Read PDF
   Finds that parents prefer education and voluntary safety tools over government-imposed systems.
   Justifies the proposal’s funding and support for family-driven, non-surveillance safety methods.

   Privacy, Technology & Policy Studies

6. Barrett, L. (2020). Ban Facial Recognition Technologies for Children—and Everyone Else. Boston University Journal of Science & Technology Law.
   Read PDF
   Demonstrates that facial recognition technologies are unreliable and violate privacy rights under both state and federal constitutions.
   Validates the amendment’s ban on state surveillance contracts involving biometric data.

   Public Policy and Oversight

7. Forland, S., Meysenburg, N., & Solis, E. (2024). Age Verification: The Complicated Effort to Protect Youth Online. IETF.
   Read PDF
   Concludes that identity-based safety systems introduce massive privacy risk without measurable public safety gains.
   Validates the proposal’s approach of rejecting surveillance in favor of privacy-first design.

6. Definitions

1. Digital Privacy: The right to access information, speech, and services online without being tracked, recorded, or compelled to reveal personal identity.

2. Anonymous Access: Use of the internet without disclosing government ID, biometric data, or personally identifiable information.

3. Biometric Data: Includes facial scans, fingerprints, voiceprints, retinal scans, or behavioral identifiers.

4. Lawful Content: Any material not prohibited by federal or state law.

7. Clarifications

Q: Will this let children access adult content?
No. This amendment protects adult rights only. Parents still have full authority to use filters and tools.

Q: Does this affect criminal investigations?
No. Law enforcement may still act under a judicial warrant, as required under Solution 3.

Q: Can the state still support child safety?
Yes — through voluntary, non-surveillance tools, education, and funding for families and schools.

8. Implementation

• Effective immediately upon voter approval

• Self-executing — no enabling legislation required

• Enforceable in court through private lawsuits

• Interpretation must favor individual rights over government power

9. Why This Proposal Is Critical

Just like you don’t need ID to read a newspaper or enter a library, you shouldn’t need facial recognition to visit a website.
This amendment protects every person’s freedom to learn, explore, and speak online — without being tracked by the state or forced to give up their identity.
It empowers families, blocks permanent surveillance, and enshrines digital privacy as a fundamental right.

10. Call for Feedback

“This amendment protects your online privacy and free speech by ending government-mandated ID checks for lawful content — while giving families tools, not mandates, to guide kids online.”

We’d love your feedback:

• What would make this stronger for your state?

• Would you vote for this if it appeared on your ballot?

• Should your community start a campaign to pass this locally?