Utah today passed the App Store Accountability Act, a law that requires mobile app stores from Apple and Google to verify the age of users rather than having individual apps do age verification.
According to CNBC, Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed the bill this afternoon. It is the first law related to mobile app store age verification that has passed in the U.S., and it will require Apple to verify user age when an Apple Account is created. If a child under the age of 18 opens an account, Apple will need to link the account to a parent’s account, and parents will have to consent to app purchases.
Ahead of when Utah’s law passed, Apple announced new age assurance features that are designed to make children safer online. During account setup, Apple will ask for the age range of the person using the device, and if the account is for a child under the age of 13, parents will be able to use a Connect to Family option to provide parental consent.
Apple also updated its age range categories for apps, and created a Declared Age Range API for developers that provides an age range to ensure that kids don’t see content in apps that is meant for adults. Apple’s system is not full age verification, and Apple has said that it does not want to collect date of birth info at the App Store level because all users would need to hand over that information regardless of whether they want to use an age limited app.
While only a fraction of apps on the App Store may require age verification, all users would have to hand over their sensitive personally identifying information to us-regardless of whether they actually want to use one of these limited set of apps. That means giving us data like a driver’s license, passport, or national identification number (such as a Social Security number), even if we don’t need it. And because many kids in the U.S. don’t have government-issued IDs, parents in the U.S. will have to provide even more sensitive documentation just to allow their child to access apps meant for children. That’s not in the interest of user safety or privacy.
Apple believes that requiring invasive data like driver’s licenses, passport numbers, and Social Security Numbers to verify age would violate user privacy and safety, but it is not clear if the new system meets Utah’s requirements.
Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta has been pushing for the app store age verification legislation, arguing that age verification at the platform level is the simplest solution. Requiring the App Store and Play Store to confirm user age will mean that Meta does not have to invest resources into age verification procedures, and it would not be the target of outrage over the content that children are exposed to.
Utah’s law is set to go into effect on May 7, but it may be delayed due to legal challenges.
