Some New Data on Age Authentication Balk Rates

Created by ChatGPT May 2026 The issue is: if a website imposes a government-compelled age authentication wall, what percentage of users will stop at the authentication wall, either because the users turn around or fail to navigate the process? I call that percentage the “balk” rate. For background on prior studies and why balk rates can vary widely, read my prior coverage first. I’m now reporting on a study by All About Cookies entitled “72% of Americans Don’t Trust the Companies Verifying Their Age Online.” The writeup qualifies the headline claim: “72% of Americans express low levels of trust in the companies and services handling age verification data, including 40% who do not trust them at all.” The other 32% say they “slightly” trust the authenticators. This chart shows what happened when users were confronted with an age authentication wall (users could select multiple options): I disregard the first and third options because they are self-reporting, and that isn’t an…