The Ethicist in The New York Times Magazine has this interesting take on underage drinking.
At a restaurant, I was seated next to two young ladies who ordered beers. As soon as they produced their I.D.’s, I knew they were fake. Having worked in the bar-nightclub business for 15 years, I am adept at spotting fake I.D.’s. Should I have informed the waiter or, as I was not working, minded my own beeswax? Glenn Price, Stamford, Conn.
Your coming forward is permitted but not required. Here’s one guideline: will doing so thwart serious imminent harm to a particular person? In this case, no. If you mind your own business, a couple of young women — not toddlers, clearly, but old enough to pass for 21 — will have a beer. Why is that bad? Until about five minutes ago, it wasn’t even illegal, assuming they’re 18. (And assuming they want only a beer with dinner, not to go on a drunken spree or pilot a 747.)
The unfortunate consequences of your keeping silent? The restaurant is at legal risk, and the law — not just this law, but all law — is slightly eroded by the customers’ flouting it. Set against the innocent pleasure of a tall cool one with dinner, I’d not have it in me to rat out the customers.