I dont think it's fear. It's one's personal info being out there for anyone to see. I know online companies say they dont give it out or it's safe with them but the more your personal info is given out the more chance of identity theft and sales calls (even if you are on the do not call list).I think everyone is a little too scared of age verification but maybe that's just me.
One of the worst things to do is give out a CC card and of course we cant easily pay on line without them. I found a work around that several years ago. I pay online with shop Safe. Look it up. It's a service offered by Bank of America that allows me to obtain a CC number that is attached to my account. I enter the amount this number is good for and use it for an online purchase. I do this for each individual purchase. Gives me peace of mind that my card wont be charged bogus.