Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Tuesday signed into law a bill requiring Apple (AAPL.O) and Alphabet’s Google (GOOGL.O) to verify the age of users of their app stores, putting the second-most-populous U.S. state at the center of a debate over whether and how to regulate smartphone use by children and teenagers.
The law, effective on January 1, requires parental consent to download apps or make in-app purchases for users aged below 18. Utah was the first U.S. state to pass a similar law earlier this year, and U.S. lawmakers have also introduced a federal bill.
How to implement age restrictions has caused a conflict between Meta, the owner of Instagram and Facebook, and Apple and Google, which own the two dominant U.S. app stores.
Meta, along with social media companies Snap (SNAP.N) and X, applauded the passage of the bill.
Apple and Google opposed the Texas bill, saying it imposes blanket requirements to share age data with all apps, even when those apps are uncontroversial.
“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.
Google and Apple each has its own proposal that involves sharing age range data only with apps that require it, rather than all apps.
Very disappointing, let’s hope Apple and Google and other tech companies can come up with a privacy preserving way to fulfill the legal requirements before they have to put it into practice.
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how will they verify?
I don’t think there’s a concrete plan yet, but likely with an ID and/or face scan?