Lobbyists representing Apple and Google have sought state age-check legislation that would prevent individuals from suing app stores under those rules, leaving enforcement to state attorneys general.
The lobbying involved Arizona, Georgia and Kansas earlier this year. Alternative Mobile Ecosystem Responsibility Act language circulated in Arizona and Georgia, while the Kansas Chamber of Commerce proposed changes on Apple’s behalf. The states’ sessions ended without an age-check bill receiving a governor’s signature.
The competing App Store Accountability Act approach would require age verification and parental consent for minors’ downloads and purchases. Apple and Google-backed alternatives largely relied on users stating their own age instead of commercial verification methods.
Apple said it supports protecting children and privacy, expressing concern about proposals requiring sensitive information for app downloads. Google similarly defended parental control and privacy. Meta supports app-store checks to spare parents separate requirements across different apps.
The proposed restrictions concern private rights of action, which allow individuals to bring lawsuits under a law. They would leave state enforcement available rather than remove the age-check obligations entirely.
California has taken an operating-system age-signal approach through its Digital Age Assurance Act. The law becomes operative January 1, 2027, requiring an interface at account setup for the account holder to indicate the device user’s birth date or age. Participating applications receive an age bracket rather than the full birth date through a programming interface.
The brackets distinguish users under 13, those aged 13–15, those aged 16–17 and adults. Developers must request the signal when an application is downloaded and launched. California’s act provides civil penalties enforced by the attorney general, with maximum amounts of $2,500 per affected child for negligent violations and $7,500 for intentional violations. It also limits additional information collection to what is necessary for compliance.
Device-level age checks are also under regulatory examination in the UK. Ofcom has opened an investigation into Aylo’s use of Apple’s age assurance for Pornhub access. The inquiry concerns Aylo’s implementation under the Online Safety Act, including its due diligence and testing of whether children could access the site. The service provider remains responsible for preventing minors from encountering pornography.
Sources: Politico, California Legislative Information
–
By the ID Tech Editorial Team
