United States of America: Budget Bill including age verification for harmful online content enters into force

On 30 September 2025, the Budget Bill, including age verification for harmful online content, enters into force. The Bill establishes age verification obligations for commercial online entities whose business substantially involves material deemed obscene or harmful to juveniles. The Bill requires such entities to verify the age of users using approved methods, including commercial systems based on photo identification or transactional data, and to re-verify accounts every 2 years. Entities covered by the Bill have to deploy geolocation checks to identify users in Ohio, block access until age is verified and issue notifications in the event of verification failure. Personal data collected for verification purposes can only be retained for account and billing purposes, and must be deleted immediately after use. Transfer of this data is prohibited, except for the purposes of verification. The Ohio Attorney General is granted exclusive enforcement authority, including the ability to seek injunctive relief after providing a 45-day period for violations to be rectified.