When I was a kid, we would watch "The Wizard of Oz" at my buddy Pearl’s house. The movie aired annually from 1959 until 1991 (except for 1963, for some reason). I always laughed when the Scarecrow pointed in opposite directions when Dorothy asked him for directions.
The scene reminds me of several recently proposed laws about children’s online safety. Legislators are looking at ways to verify kids’ ages before they can download certain apps, particularly social media platforms. When determining who should be responsible for this verification, app developers and app stores point their fingers at one another.
Meta, which operates Facebook and Instagram, and several other social media companies argue the burden should be put on app stores to verify kids’ ages. “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,” Meta, X, and Snap Inc. said in a joint statement. “The app store is the best place for it.”
App stores, on the other hand, claim app developers are far better equipped for verifying users’ ages and implementing other safety measures. According to Apple, putting the onus on app stores will require all users to provide sensitive identifying information, such as a driver’s license, passport, credit card or Social Security number, even if they don’t want to use an age-restricted app.
Both Google and Apple’s app stores consider age a matter of privacy and they let users decide whether to disclose it. Parents are given the option to set age-appropriate parameters for app downloads. “Because many kids in the U.S. don’t have government-issued IDs, parents in the U.S. will have to provide even more sensitive documentation just to allow their child to access apps meant for children,” Apple said in its most recent online safety report. “That’s not in the interest of user safety or privacy.”
App stores won a victory last year when a federal judge temporarily blocked Utah’s first-in-the-nation proposed law requiring social media companies to check the ages of all users and place restrictions on accounts belonging to minors.
So, this year, Utah has tried again, but now they’re putting the obligation on app stores. While similar bills have been introduced in at least eight other states addressing children’s online safety, the Beehive State became the first to pass legislation requiring app stores to verify users’ ages and get parental consent for minors to download apps to their devices. The eight other states’ proposals would also place responsibility on app stores to verify ages and seek parental permissions.
Utah’s measure would require app stores to request age information when someone creates an account. If a minor tries to open one, the bill directs the app store to link it to their parent’s account and may request a form of ID to confirm their identity, which would typically be a credit card. Further, if the app allows in-app purchases or requires them to agree to terms and conditions, parents will first have to approve.
The bill was sponsored by Republican Senator Todd Weiler, who believes it’s “a lot easier to target two app stores than it is to target 10,000 (app) developers.” Not surprisingly, developers fully support the new bill. “We applaud Utah for putting parents in charge with its landmark legislation and urge Congress to follow suit,” read the joint statement from Meta, X and Snap Inc.
If Governor Spencer Cox signs the bill, the new law will go into effect on May 7.
I’m currently developing a matchmaking app for paleontologists. I call it “Carbon Dating.”
Reg Wydeven is a partner with the Appleton-based law firm of McCarty Law LLP. He can be reached at pcbusiness@postcrescent.com.
