A method is disclosed for authenticating user access to an Internet service such as a chatroom based on age appropriateness, wherein a user must provide officially verified age identification information to an access server of the Internet service in order to be granted access. The method comprises inserting an official secure identification card containing encrypted identification information into a secure identification card reader attached to the user's computer and transmitting the encrypted identification information to the access server, whereupon the access server compares the encrypted identification information to identification information maintained either by the access server or by a governmental identification card authentication server to which the access server is connected. This comparison verifies the age appropriateness of the Internet service for the user and the access server then grants or denies access to the user.