Age Verification Wars: Apps vs. Big Tech 📱💥

Tech & Science

Growing pressure exists at both state and federal levels to protect children from age-inappropriate content across apps and websites. This has led to increasing momentum for shifting responsibility away from individual developers and toward app stores, as evidenced by the proposed App Store Accountability Act. Currently, app developers bear the legal responsibility for age verification when required. Utah and Texas have already held Apple and Google accountable for this process, and numerous other states are considering similar legislation. According to The Verge, a federal law could implement this nationwide. The proposed legislation would require mobile app stores to verify users’ ages and then transmit that information to the apps upon download. While Apple has thus far opposed this approach, there’s a growing consensus that it represents a sensible solution. As Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), a co-sponsor of the House version, stated to The Verge, it’s a “commonsense measure.” Rep. James argues that the bill simply “holds Big Tech companies to the same standard as local corner stores.” Furthermore, proponents believe a single age verification would offer a superior user experience, eliminating the need for each individual to repeatedly verify their age upon downloading age-gated apps.