Texas becomes second state to require app store age verification
(NewsNation) — Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed the Texas App Store Accountability Act, mandating that Apple and Google verify the age of users on their app stores.
The law, set to take effect on January 1, requires parental consent for users under 18 to download apps or make in-app purchases.
The law follows similar legislation passed earlier this year in Utah and reflects growing concern over children's access to digital platforms.
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Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, along with Snap and X, praised the bill's passage.
'Parents want a one-stop shop to verify their child's age and grant permission for them to download apps in a privacy-preserving way. The app store is the best place for it, and more than one-third of US states have introduced bills recognizing the central role app stores play,' the companies said, according to Reuters.
However, Apple and Google opposed the law, arguing that it requires them to share age data with all apps, even those that pose no risk.
'If enacted, app marketplaces will be required to collect and keep sensitive personal identifying information for every Texan who wants to download an app, even if it's an app that simply provides weather updates or sports scores,' Apple said in a statement.
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According to Reuters, both companies have proposed alternatives that would limit data sharing to only apps that require age verification.
'We see a role for legislation here,' Kareem Ghanem, senior director of government affairs and public policy at Google, told Reuters. 'It's just got to be done in the right way, and it's got to hold the feet of Zuckerberg and the social media companies to the fire, because it's the harm to kids and teens on those sites that's really inspired people to take a closer look here and see how we can all do better.'
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