Utah lawmakers on Wednesday passed the App Store Accountability Act (S.B. 142), which requires Apple and Google to verify the ages of their app store users when they sign up.
As reported by CNBC, the bill, signed by Utah Governor Spencer Cox, is the first law of its kind in the United States and could spur a significant shift in how user ages are verified online. The new law requires Apple and Google to verify a user’s age when they create a new account. If an account proves to have been opened by a minor under 18 years of age, Apple or Google will be required to link the child’s account to one of their parents’ accounts, putting the onus of approving app purchases by their offspring.
Bill sponsor, Republican state senator Todd Weiler, said the law is intended to protect young children, as they may not fully understand an app’s terms of services and, meaning they cannot legally agree to the terms.
A joint statement from Meta, X, and Snap on Wednesday applauded the Utah bill’s signing, expressing hope that other states would consider similar regulations. The popularity of the bill among the trio is likely due to how the new law relieves developers (like Meta, X, and Snap) of the age verification requirements.
“Parents want a one-stop-shop to oversee and approve the many apps their teens want to download, and Utah has led the way in centralizing it within a device’s app store,” the companies said. “This approach spares users from repeatedly submitting personal information to countless individual apps and online services.”
Utah’s new “App Store Accountability” law is scheduled to go into effect on May 7. However, may face possible legal challenges.
