A TikToker says that Amazon required her to input her driver’s license information to buy a First Response pregnancy test online.
TikToker @decrepit_plant, who is 30 and requested to only be identified by her last name Gross, posted a TikTok about her experience on May 8. In the video, she shows a screenshot appearing to come from an Amazon page that asks her for her license information. A prompt reads, “You must verify your age to purchase this item,” and asks for her date of birth and driver’s license information for identification.
“What the fuck is going on?” Gross says in her video, which on Monday had over 86,000 views. “There’s no reason they need that information. Why do they need it? Where is it going?”
@decrepit_plant ♬ original sound – Decrepit Plant
In a follow-up video, Gross shares a screen recording of herself buying the pregnancy test that shows a message stating that Amazon needs to verify a customer’s age because the state that she is shipping the tests to requires it. Gross also shared the screen recording with the Daily Dot.
Gross shared in her TikToks that she lives in California. According to the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, those living in the state have a right to pregnancy testing without “permission from anyone,” including parents and/or guardians, “under California law.” Those incarcerated in California jails also have the right to a pregnancy test “at any time,” according to the ACLU of Northern California.
The Daily Dot reached out to the California attorney general’s office.
In the comments of her viral video, Gross said the age verification requirement seems to be related to the First Response brand and that when buying pregnancy tests from ClearBlue and Easy@Home, she was not asked for her age.
The Daily Dot was able to purchase First Response pregnancy tests to be shipped to New York and Utah without age verification required. The Daily Dot was also able to buy ClearBlue and Easy@Home tests to be shipped to New York without needing to verify the buyer’s age.
A commenter on Gross’ video shared that a cashier had refused to sell her a pregnancy test when she was 15, and Gross responded that she experienced the same thing. Their experiences go against the guidance that First Response provides on its website: “You can purchase home pregnancy tests over the counter and without a prescription at most drug stores and supermarkets. You do not need to show an ID or be a certain age to purchase one.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Church & Dwight, First Response’s parent company, via phone and email.
In response to individuals who have had issues buying a pregnancy test because of their age, Planned Parenthood advises people to “visit a different store.”
Even though Amazon’s age verification requirement isn’t universal, it could, like potential state-by-state restrictions on abortion in the U.S., affect specific populations like people who don’t have a license or identification in states where Amazon requires verification. Commenters on Gross’ video mentioned teenagers, children, and people without identification.
Other commenters alleged that Amazon is selling information about where pregnancy tests are being bought in the U.S. Though the company states in its privacy notice that it’s not “in the business of selling [its] customers’ personal information to others,” Amazon states that it does share customer’s information “related to transactions” with third-party sellers. The Daily Dot reached out to Amazon via email.
In a statement to the Daily Dot via email, Gross said that she thinks that Amazon’s age verification requirement on pregnancy tests is “part of a worrying trend of tracking women’s personal data,” and that she’s concerned people will be discouraged from buying pregnancy tests because they don’t want to share their personal information.
With abortion rights soon to be overturned based on the Supreme Court draft leak released early last week, Politico reported the penalties for performing an abortion in states with abortion bans: In Texas, someone who performs an abortion can be charged with a first-degree felony; in Alabama, anyone who performs an abortion or provides abortion pills could face a year in jail.
Gross worries that information about who is buying pregnancy tests could be involved in the prosecution of people who perform abortions in states where they are banned.
“Just buying a pregnancy test could very soon be used as evidence against you in some states very soon,” Gross told the Daily Dot. “This just feels targeted.”
Update 12:22pm CT, May 10: In a statement to the Daily Dot, an Amazon spokesperson said that the age verification prompt for the First Response pregnancy test was an “error.”
“Amazon does not require age verification for pregnancy tests,” the spokesperson told the Daily Dot. “We apologize for the error on this listing, the age request has been removed.”
Update 3:23pm CT, May 11: The TikToker’s first name has been removed from this article due to privacy and safety concerns.
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