North Carolina HB 8 (PAVE Act)
What it does
North Carolina's PAVE Act, folded into House Bill 8, makes any commercial site with a substantial share of material harmful to minors verify a visitor is 18 with a commercial database or another commercially reasonable method. Two groups can sue: a parent whose child got access, and any person whose identifying data the site unlawfully kept.
Why it matters
The second cause of action gives it away. By letting people sue over retained ID data, North Carolina admitted the age check itself creates a pile of sensitive records that can be mishandled. The fix for a privacy risk the state created is another lawsuit.
Our take
North Carolina attached the PAVE Act to an unrelated bill, which is how these mandates often travel. Writing a private lawsuit for retained ID data into the same law admits that age checks build exactly the identity trail that can leak.
Votes
- Senate — Passed (47 to 0) · September 27, 2023
- House — Passed (102 to 8) · September 28, 2023
Timeline
- September 29, 2023Signed into law (SL 2023-132)
- January 1, 2024Took effect
Our coverage: all age-verification stories · Status checked July 19, 2026