The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) has filed a lawsuit challenging Alabama’s new app store law, arguing that its age verification and parental consent requirements violate the First Amendment rights of app stores, app developers, parents and children.
The law, sponsored by State Rep. Chris Sells and passed by the Alabama Legislature in its previous session, requires app store providers to verify the ages of users, affiliate minors’ accounts with parent accounts and obtain consent from the holder of the parent account. App stores must also notify users when an app makes a significant change, give developers real-time access to the age category and consent status of minor accounts, and protect personal age verification data.
The measure also bars app store providers and developers from enforcing contracts against minors, misrepresenting information in disclosures or sharing personal age verification data.
A federal district judge ruled that a similar app store law in Texas was likely unconstitutional and initially blocked it from being enforced, but a federal appeals court overrode that injunction.
CCIA says the law would require all users to provide personal data to access content in app stores so that companies can enforce the new age restrictions and parental consent requirements. The trade group also argues that the law can be read to compel speech by requiring app developers to “age-rate” their content into several subcategories, a requirement it says conflicts with federal law.
“[T]he law walls off virtually all mobile apps behind a series of verification and consent gates. That includes apps that facilitate core political or educational speech; creative or artistic expression; religious instruction and information; or the exchange of ideas, information, and culture,” the association wrote in its filing.
“Users should not have to provide ID to access information and applications online any more than they would to enter a bookstore,” said CCIA President and CEO Matt Schruers. “Alabama’s law would mean not only teens, but all internet users, would need to show government ID to prove their age before accessing information and apps. The First Amendment protects the rights of citizens of all ages to access information, and the rights of software distributors and developers to disseminate lawful speech.”
–
By the ID Tech Editorial Team
