us midterms are done. federal age checks for adult sites have until 3 january

the federal bills

two bills would bring age checks for adult sites to the federal level.

per fanchecked, the screen act was approved in committee in august, but the vote lapsed because not enough members were in the room. it's still waiting in committee.

the kids online safety act was blocked on the senate floor on 30 september.

the deadline

the current congress ends on 3 january 2027. any bill not passed by then dies and has to be reintroduced.

the last window is the lame-duck session after the midterms. the house passed a different package, so the two chambers would still need to agree on one text.

until then, age checks stay state by state.

new york, from 1 january

new york signed a law restricting what ai companion chat products can offer to minors and to users whose adult status hasn't been established. it takes effect 1 january 2027.

per my adult attorney, the definition can reach creator replicas, roleplay tools and general chat products. there's no general exemption for adult businesses. it focuses on where the user is.

why it matters for a creator business

if federal checks pass, every us fan gets id checked before paying. that's friction at scale.

and any chat product used by fans in new york needs to look at the new law now.